A lesson in surrender... and hand washing

We are overdue for a pig photo but pretty sure what you all need is some baby cow medicine. If you don’t happen to follow along in our stories, you missed out on the birth and death drama when our first calves ever born at the farm arrived in -11 degree weather. We won’t be making that mistake again, but also as usual most lessons in farming come down to the fact that you can’t control things like the weather, and it’s often quite difficult to control the birds and the bees. Had they been born three days later it would have been 40 degrees and sunny. We’re grateful to have two surviving heifer calves, and are expecting around ten more calves to be born in May and June (when we actually planned to have them) and hopefully the weather will be more accommodating.

Every day on the farm can be a lesson in surrender and hand washing. There are a number of zoonotic diseases—meaning transferable between animals and humans—that a farmer can get from livestock. I was once sick to my stomach for a week from something that I caught from a lamb that ultimately died. There are also dangerous viral diseases that can put your whole herd or flock in peril like BVD, OPP, and PED. I won’t go into detail but BVD often spreads undetected among cows, OPP causes pneumonia in sheep, and PED is a pig coronavirus. They are usually brought to the farm by a new animal or dirty boot from another farm. You can see the parallels. 

Farming is quick to teach you both the fragility and resiliency of life. The wolves are often actually at our door, but we trust the guard dogs will keep doing their job. And livestock farming in particular can sometimes feel like a chosen self-quarantined life. It’s difficult to ever leave when every day there are a hundred mouths to feed and water. There is surrender in that kind of community caretaking too.

These are strange times to be certain. The beauty of animals it seems is that they see things as they are—no better or worse. They don’t think themselves into extra anxiety and don’t delude themselves when danger is near. May we all surrender to the weather but face the wolves head on.

The Rhythm of Winter

We are in the rhythm of winter now. Yesterday I sat in a County Commissioner meeting all morning to hear about the refugee resettlement issue. Pleased to report that our board of commissioners would not plan to turn away refugees. I was so cold sitting there though that I was super reluctant to go home and do chores in the whipping wind.

But there’s no choice when it comes to being a livestock farmer. So I got on my wool long underwear, fleece-lined jeans, two pairs of wool socks, thin wool turtleneck, followed by thick alpaca wool mock turtleneck... and that was just my base layers! Then I put on the navy-issue shearling-lined pants from my father-in-law, my fleece-lined Carhartt coat, Bogs insulated boots, wool neck gaiter, wool stocking cap, touch-screen friendly gloves covered by thinsulate flip-open mittens, and out the door I went.

The wind was indeed whipping, but I had only walked halfway across the yard when I realized I was already feeling warmer than I had all morning. By the time I came back in an hour later I was sweating. Dress appropriately and move your body. That’s how we get through winter.

Cheers!

Cheers and happy holidays! May you know the peace of a pasture sunset all through the year.

It's Very Cold and Snowy

It’s winter,

it’s very cold and snowy,

it’s a bright Gemini full moon.

The lambs are fat,

the rams are ready for breeding season,

and we eat pot roasts for every meal.

The days are short and nights are long

and I’m getting even stronger from the trudging and shoveling

than from the summer’s work load.

I love these animals

and I love feeling alive

and I love a good long rest after being outside.

Winter is Coming

Winter is coming and I have all these photos I never got around to posting. Let’s relive the wonder of long days and green grass, while my hoses all freeze and I finish chores in the dark, continuing on in denial. 

This is a lamb born in May

This is a lamb born in May, looking quite grown up now. Lambs (and piglets) grow extremely fast. By the time a lamb reaches market weight, the average person would not even know it’s a young animal because it no longer looks like a baby lamb.

This is the best our lambs have ever looked, as our first few years raising sheep on this land we slowly figured out our soil has a cobalt deficiency. We have always provided mineral to our animals, but when starting from a deficiency it just wasn’t quite enough for optimal health. Now all the ewes receive a cobalt bolus, which is like a big pill that they swallow and hangs out in their rumen, slowly releasing the essential vitamin b12 over the course of a few years.

And with a larger flock now (60 sheep this year as opposed to the 20 we started with) we are also able to rotationally graze all our land while keeping our grass in a vegetative state, which means the animals are eating it when it’s providing optimal nutrition. Without so many animals we couldn’t always get to certain pastures before the grass got stemmy and went to seed. But this difference in grazing in combination with the ewes getting enough cobalt has resulted in big, healthy lambs like we’ve never seen before!

Farm Party Follow Up

Thank you everyone who made it out for the farm party on Saturday! It is so wonderful to connect with customers and neighbors, friends and strangers alike. The potluck was something to behold yet again and I can’t help but love introducing the animals to so many adoring fans. And the kids! The kids have so much fun!!!

We know many of you couldn’t make it but there’s always next year! And please do reach out if you’re ever passing by, we’re happy to give impromptu tours as well.

Women Farmers are a Growing Population

Twin Cities Public Television did a profile of women farmers on a recent episode of Almanac. I was thrilled to be featured along with other women of the Minnesota Farmers Union.

Grazing Sequesters Carbon

The grass has been slow to grow up in northern Minnesota but the cattle are grazing and enjoying a feast of dandelions. We now have a respectable herd of 46 cattle, mostly Shorthorn and Hereford/Red Angus crosses.

I have been doing a lot of grass monitoring to determine what size paddock this many cattle need. We already know the biology in our soil is not super active as it had never been grazed before our arrival. But now that we have a real herd, we can reach more of our pastures with rotational grazing.

The more we graze, allowing the proper rest time, the more the soil biology will be stimulated to wake up and do the work of feeding the grass. The more the grass is eaten and regrows, the more it pulls carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and stores it in the soil. 

The more cattle we can get rotationally grazing the land, the more carbon is sequestered. The more YOU eat grass fed beef and lamb, the more we both fight climate change.

Lambing Drama

Lambing and the start of grazing are a very busy time of year. There’s been icy rain and snow, hypothermia, lamb sweaters, 3am bottle feedings, triplets, QUINTUPLETS(?!), hand milking, lambs snuggling with dogs, many healthy unassisted births, and lots of crying lamb babies.

This little lamb was from the set of quints. The two biggest took right to nursing but she and her even smaller brother were premature at 3.5 and 3 pounds and became bottle babies. I worked with her for a few days to see if she could eventually learn to nurse from her mama, but ultimately the bonding window closed and the ewe no longer recognized her as her lamb. She was a vigorous little thing but looked like a doll at half the size of all the other lambs in the pasture. When her mama wasn’t interested anymore, she snuggled up to Lena the livestock guardian dog’s tail. 

Ultimately it became clear she and her little brother—who was still just learning to walk and having some trouble with a leg—needed to be raised as full time bottle babies by someone who could give them more time and attention. I felt fortunate to find a wonderful family just starting their homesteading journey who took them both and are showering them with love.

There are still a handful of mamas left to give birth, and a gaggle of 25 lambs bouncing around the pastures each morning and night. I post many videos of all the lambing action to my Instagram and Facebook stories each day. Follow along there to catch some major cuteness along with all the drama!

Lambs Arrived on Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day! The first lambs arrived this morning. It’s a perfect day for lambing; warm and sunny for the lambs but not too hot for the mamas. The livestock guardian dogs are doing a great job keeping watch, giving a few licks to bond, but not interfering with nursing or mothering by the ewes. And reminding me to thank all the mother figures who tend to the children—we couldn’t do it without you!

Keep an eye on our social media feeds for all the lambing action as it unfolds. This is just the beginning!