A Great News Story

Here are some videos starring some former CYL’s (Cattlemen’s Young Leaders) a great program through the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and other knowledgable people in the industry.. I was a part of this program a few years ago and that is how Erika Fossen my co-blogger and I met, she was my mentor in that program. These videos are great because they showcase the work beef producers do on a regular basis to ensure the welfare of their animals and the sustainability of the environment. I love sharing the story of real ranchers and informing consumers about the practises producers are doing everyday on their operations. I hope you enjoy these videos.

Environmental Sustainability
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9fuiEtWkzQ

 

Careers in Agriculture/the Beef Industry/Animal Care
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2PUxtuwJiY&feature=youtu.be

Pine Ranch’s 1st Calf

The day after Erika Fossen posted about their first calf of 2016 we had ours! Our first calf falls under the category of a problematic calf that Erika Fossen described. All our cows were down away from the calving area on about a 75 acre fields where they were getting fed. We like to keep the cows off the calving ground for as long as possible to keep the area as clean as we can before calving. The cleaner, less manure etc the less chance for spreading bacteria and diseases among the cows. Things like the scours (basically like diaherra) can be spread through manure and picked up by another animal and potentially cause them to become sick.

Dad was feeding the older group of cows yesterday when he spotted something a little different… (cue jingle “One of these things isn’t like the other”.

One of the cows my husband and I bought last year had calved early! She calved in the field about a 1km away from the barns. My dad and husband brought her and her calf into the barn. The calf they pulled behind them with the calf sled and the cow followed. Once they got the calf into the barn they put her (a little heifer calf) under the heat lamp to warm up. We could tell the calf was a bit premature as the cow had no milk and the calf’s hair was a bit short. Because the cow calved with no milk that is a huge problem. The calf needs to get colostrum, the first bit of milk that is full of antibodies to protect the calf from getting sick. We just went to a calving clinic put on by our local vets and they explained that a calf is born with no immunity to disease all their immunity comes from their mother (the cow) in the form of antibodies from the colostrum and they need to get that colostrum within the first 6 hours of life. This is super important, so if the calf is not going to be able to get the colostrum, that is where the rancher comes in, we need to ensure the calf gets that colostrum. We had some frozen in the freezer from last year, not ideal, but better than nothing. The other option is buying it from the feed store in powder form and mixing it with water and bottle feeding the calf.

That was our job last night to unthaw the colostrum and bottle feed the calf.

Well 2016 calving is under way. Nothing like the first calf being tricky to keep you on your toes and make sure you are organized!

This is the bad mama who calved too early with no milk!

Macy and I arrived to help after she got fed, just on time to see them shut the gate after putting the calf under the heat lamp and the cow in the pen with her calf.

The calf under the heat lamp getting warm.

Feeding Zone

Our ranch not only feeds our livestock but is a haven for Bald Eagle’s as well!  Here are some pictures and a video of the bald eagles’ that come back to our ranch year after year to feed on placenta’s.  I’m always amazed at how big these birds are. I’m glad we can supply them something to eat in the winter time when food is scarce.

~Erika Fossen~

Here is my video of them on YouTube:

 

Just In Time

Disclaimer… This blog should have been posted right after my last one about bringing our new bought cows home! Things have gotten crazy quickly and we are in full swing of calving, so this post is a bit late! SORRY!

We ended up getting our girls home just in time! We brought the last 2 loads home on Friday and Saturday morning we had our first calf! Our first calf gave us quite the scare… Everything started our normally we saw 24W (her tag number to us their tag numbers are like their names) she was off by her self and her tail was lifted (a pretty good indication that she is starting to calve), so we kept an eye on her. In an hour when I checked on her things had progressed, but there were 2 back feet sticking out first instead of two front feet! Ideally we want a forward presentation of a calf at birth the two front feet coming and the head right behind! However 24W was calving backwards two back feet coming first. This makes us very nervous because if the umbilical cord breaks the calf’s head is still inside and can suffocate! As soon as I saw two back legs I yelled at my husband to grab the calving chains from the barn and bring them down to the pen! He was taking along time and I was getting annoyed and anxious when he yelled down the chain weren’t there! What the heck I thought where else could they be? When suddenly the light bulb went off… I had brought them to Vancouver for the Ag In The Classroom presentations and had not put them back! 😦 ooooops! My husband, Cyle,  sprinted from the barn up to our house to retrieve the missing chains! Once we had them we pulled the calf out! It was a beautiful ring eyed bull calf (intact male).

That evening we had another calf! A heifer calf (a female)! Our timing on bringing our new cows home could not have been any better!
Cyle and I’s first calf, the ring eyed bull calf.

Our second calf, the heifer calf!

Expansion

Like I stated in my previous blog cattle prices have been record high in 2014 and now into 2015. That is a huge plus for ranchers wanting to sell calves, but not such great news for ranchers wanting to buy cows and expands their herds. My husband and I find ourselves in the latter position. We have been really wanting to expand and add more cows to our personal herd, not just the family ranch’s herd. Even though price are high, we feel that it is still a wise business decision because we will be buying the cows for a high price, but their calves in the fall will be selling for a high price as well. We have been scouting out different auction sales, but felt more comfortable buying cows from somebody we knew and knew their health records, especially considering we would be bringing these animals back to our ranch right before our cows are due to calve. This is a concern because some herds may carry different diseases that our cows may not be vaccinated for or are not use to and that can cause health issues. My dad is very strict on keeping a closed herd, that means not bringing any outside cows into our herd, which I agree with because it makes for a healthy herd and we know everything about our cows. However, it makes it very difficult to increase your herd because the only means to increase is to retain more heifer calves in the fall. This process is great and the only one we have used since I can remember, but it only allows for minimal and slow herd expansion. One day when my blogging partner Erika Fossen and I were chatting she mentioned that Echo Valley Herefords, the people they buy bulls from, were wanting to decrease their herd and selling 30 bred cows. My husband and I were very interested in this. That night we called them and had a great chat with them over the phone about their cattle and the cattle business in general. We decided we were serious about this so our next step was to contact FCC (Farm Credit Canada) an agriculture lending institution to see if they would give us the money required to make the purchase. Next, we decided to take the 3 hour drive to go look at these cows ourselves. The cows were fantastic exactly the type of cows we were looking for, so everything was a go, now we just have to wait patiently to see if we are approved for a loan.

BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation

I spent 2 days last week touring around Vancouver, Surrey and Maple Ridge to different high schools doing BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation Presentations. I was touring around with a lady from the BC Cattlemen’s Association and two other ladies from the BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation; who also administer the Take a Bite of BC program. The Take a Bite of BC Program sounds amazing they bring BC grown food to the schools to teach students what is grown here in British Columbia, but also introduce them to new foods,

More, specifically what I was doing was presenting on beef production and what being a rancher entails. The other ladies and myself created a presentation to teach the students in the Culinary Arts programs at 7 different schools about where their beef comes from and what are the steps and processes involved. It was such a fun 2 days. The classes were really interactive and asked lot of questions which always makes presenting more fun. In addition, they brought up some great examples of myths or things that are poorly portrayed in the media like the use of growth promotants (hormones), BSE (mad cow disease) and environment issues. We had great discussion around these things. All in all it ended up being a great couple of days, thankfully because my trip did not start off well. I headed from Vancouver Tuesday evening after I was done work. I got half way there (to Chilliwack, which is about an hour and a half from my house) and realized I forgot a VERY key part of my presentation. I bring in tools that we use at the ranch, and give them to the students and they need to guess what the tools are used for. Needless to say my presentation would not have been near as interesting or interactive without the tools, so I decided to turn around and drive back and get the tools I forgot. I called my dear sweet dad and he met me half way with the forgotten tools. I added and extra hour and a half to my journey, but at least the presentations went well and the students seemed to enjoy it!

A photo with the students and I after my presentation in Maple Ridge!

2014… A Year To Remember

At the beginning of every New Year I always reflect on the year gone by. What a great year 2014 has been. This year we had record high calf prices and I am so thankful for that. We sold our calves at the beginning of November and the average price of our steer calves (casterated male calves) was 614 pounds and we averaged $2.64 per pound per calf. For our heifer calves (females) they weighed on average 511 pounds and we averaged $2.56 per pound. These prices are incredible considering last year we thought things were good and our average price for steer calves was $1.62. I feel 2014 will be the year to tell my grandchildren about…. Back in 2014…..
In all seriousness though it is such a great boost of optimism of the industry. It also permits us on our family farm to be able to look at improving some production practices like new equipment to make silage instead of hay, that in the past we could not afford to do due to money constraints. One of the reasons prices are so high, is simply supply and demand (among other things) there are simply not as many animals as there were the past. The past 10 years in the beef industry have been a really rough storm to weather, but those who weathered it are benefiting this year!:) Some agriculture statistics companies say that even though prices are so high throughout the industry heifer retention is quite low, so people are seeing these high prices and selling everything and not keeping any replacement heifers to grow their herd. Which, I totally understand especially because the average age of a rancher is 50+, I would probably want to cash in as well, however my family and I are in a very different situation. My dad is in that 50 + category, but my husband and I are far from that and are very keen on taking over the ranch, so we actually kept more replacement heifers this year to grow our herd and are looking to buy more cows. Some people may think this is crazy because yes prices are high and that is good when you are selling, but when you are buying this makes it difficult. This was a business decisions we talked a lot about, but we think it is a good investment because yes the initial cost is higher, but calves are worth more, so it will take less time for that cow to pay for herself. Also, the futures are predicting high prices for the next five years. We are very excited for the years to come in the beef industry.
I am also so thankful for my other half Erika Fossen for all her knowledge and friendship and for doing this blog together and we are so thankful for all of you who are interested in our story and interested in what it really takes to raise food in today’s society. Wishing everyone the very best in 2015!

(Bringing the cows home from the range in the fall.)

(A good mom with her huge steer calf, still drinking milk!)

It still amazes me every fall what an amazing job our mother cows do at raising beautiful calves on a grass diet that they forage for themselves in the mountain. It is hard country up there and would be considered pretty useless if cows couldn’t turn that grass into delicious and nutrias beef!

Testosterone: Friend or Foe?

My last blog I explained how we have turned the bulls in with the cows and have turned all the mama cows and their calves onto grass. For the past 2 weeks we have been riding everyday to now move cows off grass that is close to home and up into the mountains, onto our crown range land. One day when dad and I were gathering cows a prime example of darn bulls and their testosterone happened and I had to share! It was just dad and I and we had gathered about 80 pairs (cows and their babies). We were holding them at the salt, so we could get ourselves sorted out and make a plan. There are always 30 different cows trails you have to try and block while moving cows and generally only two or three riders so it is always a challenge. In this instance we had to move the animals off this flat bench down a hill and up the other side to eventually get them to a gate and onto our trail to send them to the mountains. However, just as the hill drops down there is a trail into the thick willows that the cows take and if they do we cannot get them back because the willows are so thick you can only walk in. So we needed to block that trail as well as somebody needs to get in front of the herd to turn them out the gate and somebody needs to bring them as well. Math has never been my strong point, but even I know that is too many places to block for just dad and I, but somehow we made it work, my border collie working dog, Millie is a huge help because she is basically like another person and can bring the cattle forward, so I could watch the trail into the willows. However, Dad was just about to ride away to get ahead of the herd to turn them out the gate, which was about half a kilometer from where we had the cows. Just as he was leaving two bulls started fighting. We had to put our whole operation on hold and try and wait for them to stop fighting because we wanted to make sure we brought both bulls. So we had to stop moving the herd and hold them until the bulls finished their match. Once they finish it’s usually doesn’t make things any easier because now the bull who lost tries to leave the herd. It was one of those disastrous days, nothing went smoothly, but we got the job done!   ~Erika Strande~

Dad in front of the herd trying to stop them while we wait for the bull fight to be over.

A Game Changer

Our ranch just guaranteed the minimum amount of income we will make this fall. This is revolutionary for the ranching industry and a real game changer!

One of the major downfalls to having cattle, and making your income from selling cattle, is that you are dealing with a very volatile market. Circumstances completely out of your control sets what your product is worth. Throughout the year input costs (expenses) are fixed or rising, i.e. fuel, seed grain, machinery, etc. We could rely on the minimum expenditures, but up until yesterday in British Columbia, we could not rely on an estimated income.

In the last 14 years, we have seen violent swings in the market! In 2003 when a case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) was discovered in Canada, our market crashed. I remember sitting in the auction market and saw a old mama cow go for a cent/pound! Which made her worth $12!! This spring a similar cow sold for $1500. Because of that catastrophic BSE event, the whole ranching and beef industry was devastated and billions of dollars where lost. It significantly played a part in the price of beef, because of closed borders, but there are many other factors that play a part in the price of beef too. These factors can be:
-The Weather: making a surplus or shortage of cattle feed.
-The US/Canadian $
-The availability of trucks and the weather during shipping.

It may be hard to understand, or appreciate what it feels like when your income is cut in half by nothing that you have or haven’t done. Imagine with your job that you do right now, if at the end of the year: 2/3’s of your pay check was not there! That is how it has been working with the cattle market. We did the work, but did not get paid equally for it. Our calves were born and grew beautifully; we worked the same as any other year to manage them, dealt with all the stresses of drought and expenses, but at the end of the year we made 1/2 of what we needed. To cover for the loss, many ranchers had to go get another job, working it as well as the ranch. This is how it has been for the ranching industry, especially since 2003. Writing this blog has made me very emotional as I try to articulate why this insurance is so important. It has brought up ‘penned-up stress’ of all the years wondering if we were going to be able to make a living.

The arrival of this insurance has made me realize two things, one: how thankful I am that we are now guaranteed a minimum income and two: how much our family was subconsciously stressed by dealing with unknown nature of volatile markets. I can’t tell you how revolutionary this insurance is for all of us.
~Erika Fossen~

TWINS!

Most ranchers hear that word and shudder, but I just love twins. Maybe I am still too young and naïve, but there is something so amazing to me about twins! Yes, they are a pain in the butt and cause extra work during calving season, a time where extra work is not needed, but I can’t help it I love them. Every year it’s different 2 years ago we had 3 sets of twins, last year we had one set and this year so far we’ve only had one set as well. This set was born one afternoon when I was at the ranch all by myself (I swear all disasters happen when I am by myself). I was doing some chores around the barn yard and looked down to the bottom field where all our pregnant cows are and noticed that a cow had calved, I grabbed the calf sled (refer to my last blog post about the calf sled) because it was quite cold that day and still a lot of snow on the ground. I walked down and pulled the one calf up to the barn no problem and resumed doing some other chores. Not an hour later I looked down at the field again and noticed another cow had calved, so I grabbed the sleigh and went to pull up the latest calf. I got down there and noticed this calf was tiny (one clue it might be twins), but I put her in the calf sled to tow her up to the barn. I figured if it was twins, the mom will follow and she can have the second calf in the dry barn. WRONG! That is not what happened at all. I put the calf in the sled and the cow who is older, this was her 4 calf behaved like a heifer, she did not follow the sled and just walked away and layed down. At this point I was positive she was having twins, so I left the first calf in the sled, I thought at least she was up off of the snowy ground and let the mom have the second calf. This plan was going well until I noticed that the second calf was being born right in the amniotic sac. This is scary because the thick skin is covering the calf’s nose and it could suffocate. I decided to sneak up behind the cow and try to break the skin, well the skin was too tough and I couldn’t break it and on top of that I scared the cow, so she stopped pushing and got up. I was pretty nervous at this point that I had messed up and I was worried that the second twin wasn’t going to be alive. I was worried because she had already had the first one quite awhile ago and there is the possibility of umbilical cord breaking on the second twin. I just wanted her to lay down and HAVE THE SECOND BABY. Of course, that is not what happened she just kept wandering around, not pushing meanwhile the second calf’s 2 front legs and nose was out, but still covered in that skin. I am going into definite panic mode at this point, so I decided to run up to our calving shack and grab a rope, I figured my only option at this point was to rope her, dally her to a fence post and pull this poor little guy. So that’s what I ended up doing, of course it took me quite a few shots with the rope, but I finally got her and got the calf out and he was alive! YAY! So that ended up going well thanks goodness. However, now is the part where Rancher’s don’t like twins because there mom’s generally don’t have enough milk to raise two calves. There are two options, you can possibly draft the twin onto another cow who has recently lost her calf or bottle feed both of them. We have been bottle feeding the twins twice a day. Currently, both twins are doing great and we have recently quit bottle feeding them because we are feeding their mom separately really good feed and grain, so she is milking really well and producing enough to feed both calves. 

 
The red white faced calf is a heifer calf (girl).

 The black white faced calf is a bull calf (boy).

I tried to take a video of bottle feeding the twins, but apparently it didn’t work,  because it was so funny they would get so excited for their bottle and when one calf was sucking the bottle the other would try and push them off of it and latch on themselves.

~Erika Strande~

Baby’s First Toboggan Ride

Depending on the weather, sometimes we have to pull the newborn calves up to barn in our “calf sled”. We do this if the weather is really cold and wet. We have found that calves do a lot better and keep for getting sick if they can stay dry for their first couple of days of life. This past February the entire month was miserable and cold, -20 and colder, and lots of snow, so we tried to calve everything in the calving barns in hopes of preventing the calves from getting sick. However, sometimes the mama cows don’t cooperate and have their baby out in the field in the snow. This is where the calf sled comes into play. If we feel the weather is too cold and too wet for the calf to stay outside we will walk down with the sled, put the calf in the sled and tow him into the barn. Usually this works well because the mom will follow the smell of her calf and follow the sled right into the barn. However, sometimes it does not work out that well, especially if you are dealing with a heifer’s calf. A heifer is a female who has calved for the first time, therefore the whole experience is new and a bit frightening so throwing a calf sled in the mix can really throws things for a loop. The majority of the time the heifer will follow her calf in the sled as well, but occasionally she just runs around looking for the calf and returns to the last place the calf was. This can be frustrating because when this happens it usually turns into quite a chore chasing the heifer around, so she follows her calf. If only we could communicate with them that we are just trying to help….

~Erika Strande~

A Little Girls Paradise!

Lately on our ranch, our three daughters are in ‘baby animal paradise’!
As you know we are in the middle calving. This is when all the mother cows have their young. But to add to the mix, in December we bred our cattle-herding dog ‘Red’. A few days after Valentines Day she had seven puppies. On my farm as a child, our female dog would often have puppies. I have such fond memories of playing with the puppies and wanted my girls to experience the joy too. Then last night, in conjunction with our 4H Club, the girls got 12 baby chicks. They are heritage breeds which will grow up to be laying hens.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie ‘Despicable Me’ but there is a scene in it where the youngest daughter says, “It’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die!!”

That is about where my girls are at! Its like a petting zoo around here and the girls are loving it!
Here are some pictures of the various babies:



~Erika Fossen~