And then there were three...cows!

The Spring of 2020 is definitely going to be one I remember. If you’re reading this post right now, you probably have no doubts as to why this is. Here we find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic, and as I write this our state (and many other states and countries) are in a form of shutdown. Time seems to be standing still, and the world feels like it’s waiting.

In the midst of all this though, our farm took a giant step forward. The first cattle of Section 32 Farms quietly made their way onto the farm. We welcomed three pregnant cows as the first cattle we’ve ever had in this new system. They walked out of the trailer and onto our farm as peacefully as if they’d been there all along. And the first thing they did was start eating grass!

Since the pasture is pretty wet right now from all the rain we’ve been getting, and the grass is just starting to green up, we’ll be keeping them off it for a while and eating some hay for a couple more weeks. I’m not sure who's more excited for them to be on pasture - them or us! But it’s really important to give the pasture time to establish before we let them out on it. It’s also important for the cattle since they have to eat dry hay through the winter and fresh, green grass is like candy to them at first. Too much of a good thing and they’ll eat too much too fast.

These three cows are significant to us for several reasons. More than being the first cows onto the farm, they’re also the foundation of our herd. These three cows are literally the future of our herd. Cows pretty much have a calf every year (that’s our hope anyway).

These particular mamas are due to have their calves in June. So we’re busy making preparations for that and studying up a bunch on the whole process. We’ve never seen cows have calves before, and we want to be sure we know what to expect and be there to help if they happen to need it (which most of the time they don’t). While most cows like to have their calves out on the open pasture, we also want to have a small structure built in case the weather happens to be bad when they go into labor, or if we need to keep a special eye out on any of them.

They’re pretty ladies. And if I ever find myself wondering where Joe is, I’ll likely start wherever the cows are. I don’t think he has stopped grinning since they stepped foot on the farm. I’m sure that smile will only get bigger the first day they step onto that pasture. More to come on that soon!