From the Pastures: Hard to forget

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. Our lambing season has been more spread out than usual, but since we sold off a large portion of the flock last November, it’s not been as hectic. It’s nice to come in after evening chores and not have to worry about late-night visits to the lambing barn. If only two or three have lambs during the night, they have plenty of room in the barn now to distance themselves and avoid confusion.

In the past if 10 or more ewes would drop overnight in a more crowded barn it was difficult keeping moms and babies segregated and rejections would sometimes occur. That required frequent trips night and day to pen them as they drop. It is a lot easier when we spring lamb on pasture and not have to interfere with nature.

No matter when these lambs drop they have become a more valuable asset to our farming operation than ever before. Whether it’s the reduction of imports or the growth of immigration the result is encouraging to this old shepherd. I think I will stick with it a while longer, Lord willing, as it would be difficult to be without them around. It’s amazing how livestock can be such an integral part of farm life.

Now that February is over half gone I can say it hasn’t been that challenging of a winter. Even if it hits us with more cold and snow it can’t last. Just as Steve Foglesong mentioned in his From the Barns beef article, nothing compares to the late ‘70s when the cold and snow was extreme and lasted for what seemed like forever.

Chores then were a marathon I hope never to repeat. Between drifts so big we had to cut fences to drive in the field just to get to town and shoveling snow off roofs to prevent collapses and shoveling fence lines in places to keep the animals from stepping over them, it was an adventure.

Many days it took more time to move snow for feed grinding and hay hauling and thawing out frozen water pipes than the chores themselves. I hope you will pardon an old farmer’s reminisces to just say we have caught a break this winter so far.

Looking ahead to spring we have some clover to frost seed pretty soon and some fence-line trees to trim or cut down and manure to haul before we get to planting the oats and peas. And then the rest of the spring fieldwork starts. What a great life. Let’s take each day as a gift from God and be glad. Happy trails.