Checking on the Steers: The County Fair Countdown

Posted: May 29, 2012 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: Our Animals, Our Farm | Tags: livestock, farm life, raising cattle, 4-H, beef cattle, cattle, farm, steers | 1 Comment »

I was a bit shocked when I looked at the calendar and realized that we’re only a couple of days away from June…and a little more than a month away from our county fair.

And that made me very, very sad, because that means it’s almost time for the boys in the barn to leave us.

There are currently five steers in our barn. The black and white-faced steer, a.k.a. DQ, is the boy’s show steer. Two others will be auctioned off at the fair as carcasses, and the remaining two will fill our family’s freezers.

Nothing better than a nice bale of hay for breakfast.

Our 4-Her has been working with his three almost every day, and I have to say that they (the boy and the steers) look good.

Here is what DQ looked like back in December and the official weights for the 4-H projects.

Here are what the boys looked like yesterday:

They’re all turned this way (and quite content) because there’s an industrial-sized fan blowing on their butts.

Though some people may not be happy about how this story will end (including me), I can promise you that while we have our animals, we take the best care of them that we can.

My big baby, 110.

Most farmers will tell you exactly the same thing.

Goofing Off: Random Photo Friday

Posted: April 13, 2012 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: My Photos, Our Animals | Tags: b&w, dog, dogs, pets, photo, photography | 5 Comments »

Rodeo is looking at Miss Annie the same way Farmer D usually looks at me.

The Steers Say, “Moo.”

Posted: January 25, 2012 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: My Life, Our Animals, Our Farm | Tags: angus, beef, cattle, farm, livestock, steer | Leave a comment »

Actually, they don’t say much of anything, which according to Farmer D is a good thing, unless you’re in the barn around supper time…then you’re serenaded by a bunch of lovely guys with beautiful baritone voices.

The boys in the barn.

Is that too weird for you?

It’s a little weird to me, and I’m the one that just wrote it.

DQ wishes I was carrying the curry comb instead of the camera.

Anyhow, the cattle are doing fine. The oldest of the bunch will be one year old in February; the youngest is a little over six months old.

Since the weather is cold and endlessly wet here, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading about raising beef and about the processing process.

In the food world, the grass-fed vs. grain-fed thing—and which one is best—is a huge (non) issue. Many proclaim that grass-fed beef is the only way to go…but read what Jeff Fowle, a California beef farmer and agvocate, has to say about Grass vs. Grain.

For the record, Farmer D subscribes to the “grass-fed, grain-finished” school of thought.

Milton showing off his good side.

As for the processing part (though I have no desire to do it myself), I’m fascinated with Megan Brown’s article, Brown Ranch: From Pasture to Plate. Ms. Brown is a 6^th generation cattle rancher, and a strong voice in the agvocate world, who loves to share what goes on in her family business.

T couldn't be bothered to come over and visit.

If you want to learn more about your favorite meat, and how it gets from the farm to your table, read everything you can from Jennifer Dewey at Chico Locker & Sausage Company, Inc., and follow @KYFarmersMatter (on Twitter.) You’ll find amazing ladies in both places that really know their stuff.

(And by now, you’ve probably noticed that I love to read and love to research.)

I’m sure I’m missing more great info out there, but it’s time to go outside and check on the boys in the barn.

Baby's my fave he loves to snuggle (and there's nothing more attractive on a woman than cow snot in your hair).

What other beef-related sites do you think I should check out?

Random Photo Friday: Bashful Dog

Posted: January 13, 2012 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: My Photos, Our Animals | Tags: animals, Annie J. Dog, pets, snapshot | Leave a comment »

Either Annie dog's feeling shy, or she's tired of me following her around with the camera.

Baking Day: Easy Dog Biscuits

Posted: January 12, 2012 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: Cooking, Canning & Preserving, Our Animals | Tags: baking, dog snack, dog treat recipe, dog treats, dogs, recipe | 2 Comments »

Farmer D is always excited when he walks in the house and sees that I have the oven on.

“Mmmm, I smell garlic,” he said today

“Yep,” I answered.

“How soon till it’s done?” he asked.

“Shortly,” I replied, “but they’re not for you.”

He looked sad, as if I he caught me making dinner for some other man, until I explained that I was trying out a recipe for dog treats for our indoor and outdoor security staff (a.k.a., Ike, Rodeo and Annie).

The following recipe is simple, and you can use whatever “meat” you have on hand. (I used chicken stock. I strain, skim and freeze the drippings whenever I roast chicken)

EASY DOG BISCUITS

2 c. Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour

1/2 c. Milk

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 large Egg, beaten

1/4 c. Beef or Chicken Stock (you can also use bacon drippings)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit; lightly spray or grease a cookie sheet. Lightly flour a surface to roll the dough out on.

I cheated on both of these and used silicone mats — sprayed one with Pam to bake on, and rolled the dough out on another.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, and garlic powder. Add the milk, egg and your stock of choice. Stir.

This dough is very stiff. I started stirring it with a wooden spoon, but ended up kneading it with my hands.

3. Roll out the dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter or a cookie cutter to cut the dough into the desired shapes.

My mini rolling pin works great for small jobs like this.

Though I have a bone-shaped cookie cutter, I wanted smaller treats so I used circle shape.

This is where silicone mats come in handy - nothing sticks!

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly before storing.

These look good enough to eat (and you actually can - if it makes you happy).

And remember, every good dog deserves a treat!

And I Thought I Had a Big Butt

Posted: December 5, 2011 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: Our Animals | Tags: 4-H, 4-h steers, cattle, hauling cattle, steer weigh in | Leave a comment »

1874 lbs.

That’s the combined weight of three of our “babies,” the 4-H steers.

Of course, I had to get up at the crack of dawn yesterday to learn this—Farmer D wanted to be at the county fairgrounds by 7:30 a.m. when the weigh-in started.

The view out the front door before I headed out the back.

Maybe 7:30 a.m. doesn’t sound too bad, but that meant D and I both had to get our middle-aged butts up and start pounding the Advil and coffee (and I had to pee at least 14 times) just to be able to move and bend enough to load the steers onto our borrowed trailer.

This trailer from Cluck n'Squeal Farm was in front of us (love the name and the graphics).

Luckily, our future son-in-law showed up to help, so I got to be a “girl” and wasn’t one of the luckily souls pushing cow butts. (I’m usually in the middle of the action…and the muck…because I generally don’t mind getting dirty to get a job done.) It took some tugging and rump smacking (on the cows, not the boys), but Adam and Tim got the job done.

When we got to the fairgrounds, and it was our turn, the boys had to move each steer, one at a time, out of the trailer and into the chute so the cattle could get their weights recorded. Each animal also got a new ear tag.

101 Getting Weighed

Though the steers were not happy about the whole process, they did good (and got fresh hay and lots of head scratching when we got home.)

The future son-in-law steering the steer toward the trailer.*

And so, without further adieu (and because it makes my weight sound light as a feather), the official weights are:

173 (aka Norman, because he sometimes looks at you like Anthony Perkins at the end of Psycho) – 582 lbs.
174 (aka DQ, because he has white curls on top of his head like an ice cream sundae) - 636 lbs.
175 (aka the cow formerly known as 101) - 656 lbs.

That equals 1874 lbs., or what I call some serious beefcake.

(I had to say that because Farmer D teases me about always sneaking out to snuggle with the guys in the barn.)

Not one of our guys, but I thought he was quite handsome.

I can’t wait to see what they look like when it’s time for the fair.

*Many thanks to Lazy B Trailer Sales, Inc. for the rental trailer. You guys rock!

Life (and Death) on the Farm

Posted: November 30, 2011 | Author: Real Life Farm Wife | Filed under: My Life, Our Animals | Tags: animal health, bloat in cattle, cattle, cattle bloat, cattle digestive disorders | 2 Comments »

I sat down tonight with every intention of writing some feel-good, isn’t-my-life-grand kind of post, but you know what? Today, I can’t do it.

Why, you ask?

Because sometimes life as a farm wife sucks.

Especially when something you care for dies.

103, I miss you already.

So much for the cold, uncaring beef farmer…Farmer D is still upset that we lost a steer to bloat this week.

This example of bloat is from www.thebeefsite.com.

Being pretty new to this whole cattle thing (though the family farm had a feedlot when D & I first started dating), I had never heard of bloat, so I got on the trusty Internet and looked it up.

According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, bloat is a fairly common digestive disorder in cattle. Bloat results when cattle produce more gas than they can eliminate. When the cattle cannot release the gases, the pressure on the diaphragm and lungs can cut off the oxygen supply.

Though we were all in and out of the barn and hanging with the cattle that day (I was the last one out there before bedtime), we had no idea there was a problem. Apparently bloat can come on rather quickly:

Cattle suffering from bloat swell rapidly on the left side and may die within an hour.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any better.

Though the rest of the herd is fine, we keep wondering if there’s something we did wrong, but the MSU article says that “susceptibility to bloat varies with the individual animal.” Some cattle bloat and others do not.

I’m sad because it happened to one of ours.