Reta the Cow (aka: Turnip Eater)

One of the things that happens on the farm is that I get close to our animals, the cattle in particular. Since I spend so much time with them (twice a day in the winter for example), they get to know me and I get to know them. They all have their own personalities and quirks but they also have a history. For some like Mack, it includes coming from another farm, but for most, it's a history of living here. For Reta, her lineage has always been on the farm.

Although I don't have any pictures, her mom looked just like her and was a cow my grandfather had that we used to call Longhorn because, you guessed it, she had long horns. When dad took over the farm he had Longhorn for a few years but then kept one of her calves before she had to go to market. Reta was the cow he kept and she is 1/2 Herford and 1/2 Angus although you only see the Hereford in her looks. She has been one of the cows that sticks out on the farm since dad was working the cattle and now as I do, she has grown into the leader of the herd. 

Reta often is at the front of the pack and leads the herd to graze and to rest. She is so calm and gentle to everyone she meets and has been second only to Bud the bull, with her great personality with people of all ages. In the above picture, she is being nice and calm around total strangers (except Christina) and always is up for a petting. If you were to ask me what I look for in a cow to have on the farm, it will 100% always be a cow that is calm and quiet in their demeanor so they are easy to handle or be around. 

Reta also has the distinction of having the largest calf every year. This year she had "Carson" and although he came backward, he is still a large calf that I am going to raise as a bull to sell since he has an amazing angus/hereford look. 

She also picked up a nickname since we moved home of "Turnip eater" since she loves turnip leafs that Christina gives her from the garden. Watching her eat them is like watching me eat Dominos Pizza. She loooooves them!

Although I shouldn't, I get very attached to our cows and Reta is no exception. She is like a member of the family and I feel like we are both so connected to the land here since I grew up around her mother and now being on the farm with her brings a unique connection. 

Working Remote.....on a farm

I think I mentioned in my first blog, that I work an office job during the day and the farm work takes evenings/weekends/vacations. Since Covid-19, I've been working remotely for 13 weeks with no time in the office with a remote office here on the farm. This has offered some real insight into the benefits/challenges of remote work but also the benefits of working an office job remotely on the farm.

Some of the benefits of remote work, in general, have been so much more available time and feeling less in a rush. I gain 3 hours a day back from no commuting and in March/April, that was amazing since it allowed me to get barn chores done in the morning and have lots of time to make a good breakfast and start work by 7:30AM. I am amazed how much better I have felt since no longer commuting and getting a great breakfast instead of shoving down a nutrigrain bar and heading out the door. I haven't had to use my alarm clock in all that time home, since I naturally wake up around 5:30AM every morning, giving me lots of time to feed cattle, dogs and chickens before myself and starting work at 7:30. 

I also get lots of time at the end of the day to work 4-5 hours on the farm when I'm done work at 4PM. Normally I would have to drive home and maybe get stuck in traffic, meaning I didn't actually get home, eat then get outside until around 6pm. This has been huge as far as feeling healthier and being able to get more time outside working on the farm. This was a big reason why I was able to get fertilizer spread and also rebuild our pasture fence line. I also got so much more time with the cattle at chore time, so they are so much tamer in the field. 

On top of all that, I also have less wear and tear on vehicles and costs of gas. Overall this has been a healthier, more cost-effective, and actually productive time in both office and farm work. 

The main thing I miss when working remote has been the social connections to my best friends, many of which are at work. We have done lots of virtual happy hours and chats but I do miss all my close friends during this time. If I didn't have the farm to keep me so busy, I would be in a serious funk. 

Whenever things get back to a form of normal, at this point I'll have a hard time adjusting to not working remote since it's been such a healthy change of pace, but I will be glad to see so many people I miss so much. 

 

Mack the Bull

Since the cattle are now out to pasture, I've been able to spend time with them in their natural environment. As they get their winter fur off, they start to get the sharp Angus look I like about this breed of cow. 

We keep one bull on the farm for breeding the herd. Even though the herd is small this year (6 cows and 4 calves), I still like having a bull on the farm to breed the cows. Many farmers do artificial insemination but you have to watch for the cow to be in heat and I find that hard to catch. The bull is able to know when they are and when they need to be bred so I don't have to worry about it. 

Our current bull is just 3 years old and his first crop of calves came this year. He is a certified Red Angus from a farm in Falmouth, NS and it's taken some work to get him tame. He is now so much better and easier to handle then when I first got him. I'm a big fan of having all our cattle very tame but especially the bull since he will get to be well over a ton in weight and it's so much easier to handle them when they are tamer. 

 

We've had a number of bull in the past. Before Mack, we had Bud and he was the best bull that we've ever had. He was so tame, and calm. You could tell he was a calm soul in a large body since he was over a ton when I got him. By the time he was left, I was able to walk him with one hand on his halter or often he would just follow me when I called him. The biggest part of why he was so tame was how much time we spent together so he really trusted me. 

In the barn or in the field, I would spend most night with him, giving him a good scratch or petting and because of his personality, he really grew into a pet, which is a problem because they are livestock not petstock. Letting him go was one of the hardest things I had to do but we had to 2 years ago. 

Mack is currently doing a great job but I'm planning to raise one of his calves as our next bull. Rex was born this year so he could start breeding next year. He is a registered black and red Angus (Bessie is his mom and she was the first cow we bought on the farm) and from day one I knew he would be super tame and friendly. Over the winter I took him for walks around the farm and he was better than walking our dogs.

I'm excited to watch him grow since raising Bulls is definitely a highlight for me on the farm.