Tag: cows
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Producers and Their Cows
Part of the reason people don’t know much about cattle handling practices is because the cattlemen are busy spending time with their cows. Ranchers are committed to raising and caring for their stock to the best of their ability which means getting frequent updates on their herd. Numbered ear tags serve as an identification and…
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Calling Cattle Names
The only cows we name are any calves that are born from the kids’ cow Annabelle, and our butcher critters. (Although there are a few that gain a reputation and get named.) Our kids’ cow herd started out seven years ago with a bottle calf they named Annabelle. After Annabelle was old enough to get…
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Waiting For A Downpour
I’m one of those people who look for the bad in a situation. Problems are commonplace on a ranch and I thrive on the drama that our ranch’s problems produce. The basis of my column is about marriage, parenting, ranching, and rural life in western South Dakota but it’s describing the troubles we face that…
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Producers and Their Cows
Part of the reason people don’t know much about cattle handling practices is because the cattlemen are busy spending time with their cows. Ranchers are committed to raising and caring for their stock to the best of their ability which means getting frequent updates on their herd. Numbered ear tags serve as an identification and…
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Fall Vaccination Day
The night before we worked cattle, my husband and daughter went to the Father Daughter Ball. Working cattle on Friday turned out to be a decent day. Fortunately, temperatures were in the 40’s and the sun peeked out a few times. The temperatures on Thursday only reached a high in the mid-twenties and it snowed…
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What Really Counts
People who spend any amount of time around a rancher should expect to be asked to count something sooner or later. My rancher counts things like money, days, years, bales, elk and cattle. After selling culled cows at a sale barn, he counts each day that the expectant check hasn’t come in the mail. Once…
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A Lifestyle of Infinite Variety
Our lifestyle is one of infinite variety. Our daily summertime routine involves making a big morning loop to check on salt, Alberson Valley and the tanks at a location called Callon Spring. All of which takes about an hour to drive. Seeing that the floats haven’t stuck is vital in making sure the stock tanks…
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Moving the Heifers
Since my husband and I moved our heifer calves in the fall for the winter months, he’s been planning, worrying and wondering how we’re going to get them loaded to take to summer range. Without having been loaded much, everything we try to get them to do is difficult. Friday, my husband, son and I…
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Branding Day 2009
Monday lived up to it’s reputable name last week when neighbors stopped by to tell my husband and me that the girls had gone wild and were seen a mile or so away from where they were supposed to be. About thirteen head of those sassy heifer calves found a weak spot in a gate…