What in the heck has she been doing?

So, as you know, I’ve been out of the blogosphere for quite a while.  Somehow, I let life get in the way of typing & sharing my story.  I do share brief snipets & texts via Facebook & odd quotes & notes on Twitter as @GreenRanchMom.

I did share the story of MamaCow on our website a week or so ago.

So, I’ll catch you up quite quickly.

Farmers markets are tons of fun!  I love the connection with our customers & sharing our story with everyone.  Plus, then most people take home some yummy steaks or Beef Sticks : )

I was a very active Founding Member of TallGrass Grocery Coop  and we finally opened the store in September!!  It is located in Historic Valley Junction, so stop by & shop for some affordable, local, real Foods (including EbersoleCattleCo Beef).

 

We had a Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day in October.  It was super scary preparing for other beef producers to come to our ranch.  Then, once the day arrived, it was TONS of fun!!  Jill & Sean from Blue Gate Farm, even stopped by after market (& brought greens for us, so of course I sent some sticks home)!!

The next week, we unexpectedly welcomed nearly 50  Fullblood Maine Anjou cows to our Ranch.  It was a quick, rescue type of situation, so we have had to work really hard to improve their nutrition & health.  But, these cows are beautiful to look at AND work with.  Their dispositions are so sweet & willing!  We selected a fall heifer for J.ustaCowgirl to show  and she was halterbroke & lead-able in 3 days!!  This is nearly unheard of from a calf that had only seen a human about 5 times in her life before October!!  We are really excited to offer our Fullblood calves for sale!!  We will be selling about 5 cows & 10 Bred heifers  this spring in order to cover our costs of wintering 50 extra cows.  If you’re in the market for a MaineAnjou heifer or  cow, drop me a note.  We’ll have both Purebreds and Fullbloods.

And now, I’m just really enjoying the winter “break”!!  We’ve enjoyed a beautiful mild winter and have plenty of grass & hay for all of our cows.  Plus, we cleaned out the big barn, so we’ve all been riding lots : )  I’ve even started a couple of our colts, so we should have some great minded saddle horses to offer this spring.

 

Hope this catches you up a bit.  I'll share more stories as we go

Making Breakfast

Dude - "Mom"
Momma - Yes?
Dude - You Makin Breakfast?
Momma - Yes
Dude - Fore MEEE!!!
Momma - No, for PJ
Dude (with confused sour face) - PJ tant tome in the house to eat...?  I eat it.
Momma - Little Man I'm making you some oatmeal, but this is for PJ
Dude - Otay
moments later
J.ustaCowgirl - It smells good, whatcha cookin for breakfast Mom?
Momma - PJ's food, want some?
J.ustaCowgirl - Ummmm, no.  But its wierd, it really does smell good, but looks nasty.

So, you guessed it, my house is filled with yummy smelling food.  Its just not people food.  PJ is somewhere over 26 years old.  He's the rope horse that tought tons of guys around here to rope.  He taught me the right way to rate a steer.  He was the babysitter for A.Cowgirl & J.ustaCowgirl while we bred literally thousands of cows.  He has severe arthritis & now his teeth are getting pretty thin.

So, I cook a hot breakfast for him. I don't cook a hot breakfast for my family every day, but I do for PJ.  He also gets a hot lunch & supper too.  We're taking Beet Pulp (very high energy) and Equine Senior and cooking it in the crock pot to heat it up & serving it warm to him. 3 to 5 times a day.  The water is also warm from the automatic waterer in the run that he shares with the show calves.  This has made a huge difference in his energy level & hopefully will make it easier for him to get through another winter.

While I'm on this subject I need to talk about animal "comfort".  We have a barn & stalls.  It also has runs that open to the east with hay bale feeders in them.  PJ is really old and its pretty hard for him to get around.  But, he HATES being in a stall.  But he really should be in a stall to feed him & give him some of his own space.  But then, he wouldn't be able to play (or bite at) with 7-up.  He wouldn't be able to have his own choice to go in or out, eat hay or not eat hay.  Its a daily mental battle to put him in a stall or let him be.  Granted, he has his own pen to eat in (the calves & 7-up are locked out). But he should really be in a stall for his best interest.  Right??

No. I don't think so.  He is happier out with 7-up and the calves.  He is happier standing outside.  Does his comfort count for something? I think so.  I will make sure that he's fed well (better than well) and happy.  So remember that when you drive by a pasture & there are cattle & horses out in the snow.  They might like to be there.  (But I do love the option of having my entire herd under a roof).

So, if you stop by the house & it smells really yummy, don't get excited, its just horse food.  But you're welcome to try it, I have.

Showing

THIS is why we show. We raise good cattle. They make great beef, & they have even better dispositions. The show-ring thing drives me nutz.
I get really frustrated that a heifer who is rude, or even downright mean or NOT broke can do well in the ring. Disposition IS a culling factor in our herd. More on that subject later.

I also get frustrated with the families that show cattle & the children just walk in, in time to lead the calf in the ring. The child doesn’t WORK with their calf. Then there’s the type that show & get really upset when they don’t win. They are rude & mean when the judge doesn’t pick them.

And another thing that frustrates me is the politics! A judge who has no consistency & just picks the stick that’s leading them, or breeding them. THAT really gets me going.

BUT my Honey loves to show. He grew up showing & loving cattle. Our girls are really doing well with their cattle. But to me, the main thing is that they WORK with their cattle. Each day, they get up before dawn, catch, wash, blow, brush & feed their calves. Then, several times each day, they’re out checking & walking their heifers. Each night, they again work with their heifers to make sure they are fed.

Their calves are calm, tame & broke before they ever step in a showring. Don’t get me wrong, there have been days when Freedom wants to play or Sophie wants to just stand still & not walk. But our heifers would never be mean to a child.

We love to go to shows. I love how the girls get so excited & intense watching the classes & the judge. I actually enjoy the preparation too. I like getting up early on show day, washing & getting the heifers all ready. I LOVE talking with all of the other exhibitors & breeders. The comraderie is awesome.

The thing that I really love about showing is truly the smiles!! I love the smiles on our girls’ faces when they go in the ring. I love how intense A.Cowgirl gets. Each child that smiles and enjoys themselves is really the ONLY reason to go to a show.

 

Smile!! & Eat Happy Beef

~GreenRanchingMom - Mama to the Momma Cows @ the ECC