It's Showtime!

I love to show off... but I'm not talking about showing off myself... I love to show off my cattle!

If you have ever heard of a cattle show, this is what I am referring to!

What is a cattle show?


A cattle show is just like any other type of show, like a car show or a horse show.  It is a way for cattle producers to market their product, hear about what the industry is looking for and compete against one another for the top cow!  The video below gives you an idea of just what a cattle show looks like! The video is from a fair in Prince Edward Island, but cattle show are fairly standard around the world!

At a cattle show, exhibitors compete against other cattle in their breed for a chance to be number one.  A judge enters the show ring and judges the cattle based on which cattle he thinks have the best conformation.  Conformation:  the best body structure, the best structural soundness, the animal that carries itself the smoothest when it walks in the ring.

Cattle shows not only market the cattle, but at most shows there is a chance for people to market themselves!  Junior shows are cattle shows that only allow young ranchers to take part, usually ages 9-21, with some shows starting at age 3 or 4 to age 24.  At the Junior shows, there are always a bunch of competitions for the junior showman to compete in, all testing the ability of the showman having nothing to do with how good the cattle themselves are.

Junior shows contain many different components to the show including:

• Showmanship- the junior showman competes against the other showman to see who presents their cattle the best.  They are judged on how well they can handle their cattle, how well they set their cattle up, and how well they present themselves and the cattle.  A showman needs to be well groomed also.  The biggest job of the showman is to best present the calf to catch the judges attention.  If a showman doesn't do a good job of showing the calf, the judge may overlook just how great the animal really is, which could cost the showman and the calf a chance for the championship!
• Grooming- There are competitions in which the showman has to groom their calf.  The showman are judged on which animal looks the best.  No calf should have any bedding on them, dirt, or mud.  They should all be washed up and squeaky clean.  The calves should be clipped and shaved properly, hiding the bad points and highlighting the strong points of the animal.  An animal with a thick hair coat is the best for grooming because you can easily work with the hair to shape it and hide weaknesses.
• Marketing - This blog is an example of a senior marketing project for the Summer Synergy Livestock Show.  In the past I have had to make business plans, marketing strategic plans, present ideas for new products, create various products and ideas, and work in groups to market random items.  This all helps the youth get involved, learn a variety of skills and work on their innovation!
• Quizzes- many shows have quizzes about livestock and agriculture that competitors have to take for points toward the aggregate (overall winner).  
• Judging - At summer shows all the juniors have to judge everything from dairy and beef cattle, to crops, grains and heavy horses.  Upon judging a class, the competitor has to orally give his or her reasons to a judge.  The judge marks the comments based on quality of the comments, as well as how close the competitor was to judging the class the same as the overall judge. 
• Art- Sometimes shows have art components such as photography, painting, drawing and various other categories where competitors can show off their other talents in a way that relates to the agriculture industry of course. 

The Summer Synergy Show is a show which combines Beef, Dairy, Sheep and Heavy horse shows as a way of "synergizing" agriculture and the youth involved.  

Shows are a great way to meet people and work at goals, as well as set up future ties in the agricultural industry.  The other showman competing against you at a show are someday going to be the other farmers and ranchers working with you in this great industry.  Youth Shows give young ranchers a head start on networking and setting up good markets for themselves!

What qualities does a judge look for in the champion?


When you step foot in a show ring, you want to be able to pick out which animal will perform the best out of the show ring.  The main goal for any farmer is to raise beef cattle that are productive and can bring him high quality beef.  As a young rancher, I need to be able to go to the pasture and judge the cattle, so that I can easily pick out the more superior cows.  No one wants a sickly, poor producing cow in their herd.  Learning how to judge beef cattle helps farmers improve their herds and make them the best they can!

Before the cattle come into the show ring, the judge sets him or herself up in the middle of the ring, this gives him a good spot to view the animals as they enter.  When the cattle enter the ring, their showman lead them around the outside of the ring in a clockwise fashion.

Having the cattle circle the ring once before they stop allows the judge to see how well each animal carries themself as they walk.  As a farmer, we want cattle that are going to be able to move freely over the pasture in order to stay healthy.  They need to be able to walk good and have good feet so that they can support themselves and a calf.

The first thing the judge does is inspect the group as a whole.  Usually there are one or two animals that really stand out to the judge as being at the top or the bottom of the class (the best or the not so best).

After one circle of the ring, the animals line up head to tail down one side of the show ring.  The showmen now set up their calves feet! 

As a showman, it is important to properly set up a calves feet when they have stopped.  As a showman it is your job to make the calf look its best in the show ring.  You want to highlight the good, and try and hide the bad.  

Harvie Ranching Ms Nylon 102U and Ricochet heifer calf

As you can see in the picture above, Jill and Cole have the cow and calf set up slightly different from one another.  This is because not every animal is the same, so as a showman you have to know how your particular animal looks the best and work with them.  Jill has the calf's left back foot slightly forward; Cole on the other hand has the cow's left back foot forward, as well as her right back foot slightly farther back.

Colorado State University did a great job explaining everything from halter breaking to showmanship here, they also have really good pictures, so check it out! 

The judge is looking for natural muscling of the animal over the loins, shoulder, rump and round.  This is how they judge the beef quality without actually seeing the meat!  When judging steers, the judge is looking for cattle that are finished.  Cattle that are heavy enough, without having excessive fat.  They are also looking for a "good spring of rib", or a voluminous rib cage, deep and wide, in which the animal can have extra intake.  

The cattle should have a straight topline, meaning their back should look nice and straight and from their back to their belly you should be able to imagine two horizontal lines making a rectangle.  

The judge also needs to recognize that not every breed has the same characteristics, so they need to take into account how well that animal does in their breed category! 

The judge also needs to know what to look for when judging a bull, a cow, a steer and a heifer.  These animals cannot be judged using the same guidelines.  For example, on a bull or a bull calf the judge needs to take into consideration the testicle development, scrotum size and attachment.  On a heifer or a cow, they judge needs to look at udder development, teet placement, calf size, and femininity.  

There is a great deal more to do with judging a beef animal and I would love to get more detailed in it in a later blog post, so stay tuned! For today however, I must move on! 

How do you get a cow ready for the show?

Preparing a show cattle takes days and days of work.  Instead of listing it all out for you I found a couple of videos that are awesome and informative and can give you the inside perspective of showing cattle! Enjoy!

The Apicreativemedia Channel on Youtube does an awesome job breaking down the entire showing process!   From feeding, washing and clipping, right to the show ring, they have covered it in two short videos! Check them out below!

Thanks again for following and reading! Stay tuned, much more to come!
Now it is time for me to head outside and get my own show cattle ready! Off to wash and clip some calves!

Sam

Five Nations Beef Alliance - Young Rancher's Video

Remember when I told you I had the opportunity of a lifetime this past year, having the chance to be part of the FIve Nation's Beef Alliance Young Rancher's Program? Well, our video is finished!

For those who don't know, in January I took part in the Five Nations Beef Alliance Young Rancher's Program in Denver, Colorado. I got to meet with people from all over the world, young ranchers just like myself.  I also had the opportunity to listen to and chat with highly respected cattlemen in the cattle industry.  I listened to speeches and had round table discussions, and through these discussions realized that even though we live in completely different countries, as young ranchers we all face the same trials and tribulations.  I feel that this is a huge step forward as a world industry.  By realizing that we are all the same, some excelling in different areas, I hope that the future generation can join forces and collaborate to help one another, share ideas and work together to feed our world.  I heard a saying over and over again during my time in the Cattlemen's Young Leaders Program and I truly feel this sums up the beef industry - We love the animals, we love the land, and we love feeding the world.  That is why we choose farming as a way of live.  It isn't always rewarding, but it is what we are, it defines us, it is a passion.

So now that you have heard me ramble, check out the video, it tells our story!  

Learn more - FIve Nations Beef Alliance

Young Ranchers with Dr. Temple Grandin - Denver, Colorado

Young Ranchers

This year I had the privelage to take part in the the Canadian Cattlemen's Association's Cattlemen's Young Leaders Program.

Through this program I was paired with my mentor, Jordan Buba of Lewis Farms, one of the largest Purebred cattle operations in this area.  Through the various trips to Lewis Farms I had the opportunity to learn just how Lewis Farms operates.  Jordan was very helpful and always had advice or information about the cattle industry and how they work on their farm.  Growing up on a commercial cow/calf operation I never really had the opportunity to learn just what it takes to own purebreds and I really wanted to get involved.

Jordan and I in the calving barn at Lewis Farms

Jordan was helpful in teaching me about EPDs on bulls, how they keep their calving records, what they feed their cattle in their feedlot, how they choose which bulls to keep and she went over some of the good genetics that they have in their herd.  This all motivated me and made me want to get involved and find out just what owning purebreds is all about.  On December 11, 2010, I headed to the SanDan Charolais Purebred sale with my father and grandfather.  I was determined to purchase my first ever purebred heifer.  And this is exactly what I did.

We spent an hour or so walking through the pens where all of the sale animals were kept.  I liked a lot of the calves, but none of them were really what I was looking for.  We headed into the barn where there were a couple of pairs located and I found just what I wanted.

Tyra SDC 73X (read my "All Things Agriculture" on traceability if you want to know what the numbers mean!) caught my eye right away.  A smaller heifer in the bunch she caught my attention.  Her mother was also in the sale, a young Freedom cow, she was doing a great job on her February heifer calf.  That's what we want in a cow/calf operation, we need cows that are going to be able to raise good sized calves, without taking too much out of themselves, because it is from these calves that we make our profits.  Obviously, I knew that now that I was getting into the purebred side of the cattle industry, I wouldn't only be selling commercial fall calves to the auction mart, I would instead have to market my purebreds and try to sell them to farmers to add to their own herds.

Tyra - 10 months old!

I had made up my mind, I wanted Tyra.  So the three of us headed to the show ring as the sale started.  SanDan decided to start the sale off with Tyra and her mother.  Great.  Now I'll never get her.  I am a Bachelor of Science Student at Grant MacEwan University, and with six years left of school, I don't exactly have all the money in the world to spend.  I wanted a heifer for under 2000, and I didn't think that the heifer starting out the sale would be the one.  I was right, she sold for more than 2000 so I had to let her go.
We watched as the rest of the calves went through the ring.  There were a bunch of great animals, but none of them really grabbed my attention like Tyra had.

The last bid was made, the last animal sold, and I still didn't have a heifer.  My dad and I decided to go talk to the owner of SanDan.  We had bought bulls off of her before, so they knew eachother fairly well.  We asked her if they had anymore heifers that they would be willing to part with out in the pasture.  She asked what we wanted a heifer for, and I said I had wanted a good one to show for the Junior shows the upcoming summer.

With a smile, she said "I have just the heifer for you".  She left us waiting impatiently as she made her way through the crowd.  She stood speaking to two gentlemen for a couple of minutes before waving us over.
"These gentlemen purchased a heifer calf and are willing to sell it to you so that you can show her".  Awesome! I was excstatic, and they hadn't even told me what heifer it was they had purchased.
"We bought the first heifer calf in the ring" one of them said as he flipped the sale catelouge to the picture of Tyra.  "I think she is better suited with you though".
I was shocked! Somehow I had managed to get the heifer I originally wanted, without even asking for her!  And better yet, the men I was buying her from through in a few straws of semen! We wrote a cheque for $2500, a little over my budget but I wasn't ready to turn down my second chance at the heifer I wanted.

So I came home that night with my first ever purebred! I have the CYL program and Jordan to thank for it all, for sparking my interest in the purebred industry and helping me to learn all about just what I would be getting myself into!

Tyra will be in her first show at the Summer Synergy show in Olds, Alberta mid July! I can't wait!

Through the CYL program, I also had the chance to take part in the Five Nations Beef Alliance Young Ranchers Program, in Denver, Colorado in January.  What an amazing experience!  I was presented with information and perspectives of agriculture from young ranchers like myself from Mexico, the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Australlia.  Each one of these Young Ranchers had their own story to tell.  We were able to compare issues facing the agricultural industry across nations, talking about biosecurity, traceability, trade, weather issues, consumers and much much more.  It was so awesome to be able to hear from other young ranchers, and to be able to work together to discuss what we could do to fix some of the issues each one of us were facing.  We had the opportunity to take part on tours and sit in during conferences.  I learned more and retained more information in one week than I had my entire second year of University.  I guess that tells you a lot about just where my passions lie.
The video below was made while we were at the National Western Stock Show in Denver!

The video below was made with the 2010 young ranchers.  Stay tuned as in a month or so a Young Ranchers video starring me will be released!

Vacation Destination

I am sure all of you know someone, or maybe you are that someone, who has a home away from home.  Maybe it is a beach house that your family goes to for the summer, a hunting cabin up North, or a condo in the States where you spend the winter.  Regardless of who it is that you know, you get the point.

I know of a few couples who spend their winter in their RV, travelling the States.  Just like the geese, these couples fly South for the winter.  Seems pretty reasonable and straight forward, and I am sure all of you knew this.  But what some of you may not have known is this: on our farm our cows have a winter home too!


Yes, you read right!  Every year when the snow comes, my family starts preparing our North pasture just behind our barn for our cattle! This is the one time of the year when all of the cows are together in the same pasture, no bulls allowed!

In the summer, this winter home is seeded to crops.  Since I can remember, the cow's winter home has served as a grain crop, a canola crop, and this year a hay field! Lucky for us, having our cows out there for part of the winter means we have the best, natural soil enhancer!

So, why do we move our cows??

On our farm, our cows usually begin calving (having babies) around the beginning of March.  This means that by the end of February my dad has to start checking the cows every few hours make sure none of them have problems while trying to calve.  As you all know, tempratures in this province can be fairly drastic, so we don't want a cow to have a wet little baby outside in the freezing cold temperatures for too long, we want to make sure we are there shortly after the babies birth to bring it into the cozy barn, or to help the mother calve if need be.

So at the end of February we move all of our calves to a maternity pasture, nice and close to the barn! This is their vacation home

Just a few of the cows out on swath grazing a month or so before they got moved to the maternity pasture!

One of our biggest concerns during calving season is keeping those babies healthy!

On really cold nights if a calf isn't brought into the barn and warmed up on time bad things can happen...

The mama cow on the left froze her ears off when she was a baby! Notice how they are smaller than the cow on the right.

The baby could lose it's ears! When the little wet ears are left out in the cold for too long, they can freeze the tips off and leave the baby looking like this one!  The calf is still just as good as any other calf, they just tend to look like little goats!

Or the babies could get sick.  For sick babies we usually put them under one of our heat lamps, in a special little room just big enough for the babies.

And worst case scenario, a baby could die.

So we make sure that we are always out in the field, checking the cows every couple of hours.  My dad and grandpa are really good at being able to tell a couple hours before when a cow is going to calve.
Usually the cow will:

• head off to a secluded area of the pasture by herself.  A few years ago my dad got lazy and didn't close the gate when going on hi bihourly check.  This is usually not an issue, none of the cows ever think to leave their winter home.  As an exception to this rule, my cow decided she wanted to go back to her summer home to give birth.  So she snuck out of the pasture and headed across the highway where we keep one of our groups during the summer.  Luckily for my dad, he could easily see her tracks in the fresh snow and found her in no time at all.  Luckily for me, the highway wasn't busy that night! Needless to say, my dad never leaves a gate open anymore, unless our Border Collie, Lady, is around to watch over it.  
• the cows udder will have gone through a noticeable change in the week before they are about to calve. The udder begins to "spring" meaning, it tightens up with milk in preparation for the baby. 
• The cow will have a water bag, a whitish sac filled with fluid that will break when the calf begins to tell. If the bag has broken, there is usually a string of it hanging down, and there will likely be wet parts on the cows legs!  
• Be hunched up in her back,  with her tail up, or pointed straight outwards, looking like she is pushing.
• Eventually, in most cases, the cow will lie down on her side and push the baby out.  When the baby finally does come out, the cow immediately starts tending to her young, and within a few hours the baby will be standing up, taking it's first drink of colostrum - a special, nutrient rich milk that helps to give the babies antibodies that they need. On our farm we milk some of our better milk producing cows so that we have some extra colostrum to give a baby calf if need be.  We store this in our freezer in icecream pails.  I can remember a few years ago, a friend going to grab our ice cream for dessert, opening the pail and saying "I think this ice cream may be bad, it looks pretty yellow".  Thankfully for her she didn't take a taste test, I don't think colostrum tastes very good!

After the cows have their calves, they get moved from the big calving pen, to a smaller pen where their mama's get put on a higher cut of hay (higher quality) and some grain for a few days while they adjust to their new babies.  This also alows us to keep a close watch on the new babies in case anyone isn't eating properly, or gets sick.  It is in these small pens that the babies begin to socialize with one another! Watch my little twins as they chase one another around! (sorry for the bad quality, I always snap pictures and videos from my phone when the babies are doing something cute, I don't always have my camera!)

  

After a few days in the new baby pen, the calves are moved out to their summer pasture.  Unfortunately by this time, there is still a great deal of snow on the ground so we have to feed them silage each day or spread out a bale of hay for them! 

In this picture, almost all of the snow is gone, but the grass just isn't  good enough yet so my dad still had to feed the cows a little bit! This picture was taken at the end of April!

Once enough of the cows have calved, we begin dividing them up by breed, and they get taken off to seperate pastures.  On our farm, all of the heifers get bred to a Red Angus bull, because they are known for their smaller sized calves, which means hopefully more ease when calving for their first time.  Our red cows usually go with a Charolais (white) bull, and the tans and whites go with our Red Angus or Simmental bulls.  We breed for tan or lighter colored calves, and with this method of breeding we usually get them!  We can't always sort the cattle like this though because you don't want a cow to be bred by her father! 

Here are a few of my dad's cows this afternoon, relaxing in the sunshine.  The red white faced cow lying down is my cow Sophie!

Isn't it amazing! The birds chirping in the background, the green grass, and the happy cows!

Today we let some of my grandpa's red cows change pastures.  With all of the rain the grass in the pastures is lush and amazing! The cows couldn't wait to cross the creek to get to their summer home!

My dad leading the way to check the creek as the cows follow on their way to their newest destination!

Dad walking back, the cows knew where they were going, and he didn't want to cross the creek on foot like them!

A few of the babies missed the memo and didn't follow the whole herd to the new pasture! Lucky for them, one of the mama's came back and got them! It was adorable seeing all six of the babies running after her!

Just like many summer homes, our cows summer home also overlooks a lake!

Who knew our farm was such a vacation destination!

The weather was beautiful today! I had a great day hanging out at my vacation destination with my grandpa and my dad!

Until next time!

Sam

All Things Agriculture - Traceability

Hey everybody!!

Hope all is well! I had a pretty bad incident at work the other day with burning hot gravy meeting the skin on my chest, and leaving me with some lovely second degree burns.  So between getting my burn dressed every morning at the hospital and appointments with plastic surgeons, I managed to get some down time to fill you in on "All Things Agriculture"!

I had a friend ask how we kept track of our cattle, and she was quite surprised when I told her that there were many ways, one of which included a tattoo for the cows!!  Way cool, I know!

So here is the deal.  Right above you will see an "All Things Agriculture" tab, click it.  It is in this tab that you will find out just how farmers keep track of our rough and rowdy cattle herds!

Once on that page, scroll down, like way down, you will see a heading that says "Topic 3 - Traceability", that's where you need to be!!

Check it out, you'll love it!!

Let me know if you have any questions, I am more than happy to answer them!

Sam

Meaty Matters

When I first heard about the show "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" I laughed.  I honestly couldn't believe that there were that many kids younger than me that knew more than me about so many different topics.  After watching the show a time or two, I was amazed by just how much information and knowledge some of those children have.  If you still don't believe the "smartness" of young children, I feel like this video will change your mind.  

As I was searching around youtube, I came across this video and I cannot begin to express how impressed I am with this young man.  He takes the phrase "young rancher" to the next level.  This young man shows a passion and an interest for what his family does, and when you hear it coming from a young boy, you know that the family is hard working and honest.  I cannot think of any other occupation where a child plays such a big role in their parent's work.  Farming is a family ordeal, and I think that this video pretty much sums that up beautifully.
If you are not from a farm, and you watch this video, I am sure that you will finish it, feeling like you have known all about farms your entire life.  He covers the life cycle of the cow, he talks about cleaning pens, feeding, he explains traceability! He covers everything!
Because the video is made in Scotland, there are a few things that differ from the Canadian industry, such as the traceability, the part where he is talking about the passports.  I will cover everything you need to know about traceability tomorrow in the "All Things Agriculture" page, I promise that once I am done with you, you may even want to wear your own eartag!

Sorry for the long delay in the posts, working two jobs and playing on a sports team, while living on a farm gets to be a bit of a challenge.  It is a busy time out on our farm as we try to quickly finish up our seeding.  Rain is a good thing out here on the farm, but only once we have all the crops planted do we really want it.  Because of the rain we were put slightly more behind schedule than we already were due to the late snow melt.  But we stay positive, and we appreciate all of the moisture we can get.  My father and grandpa have been putting in late nights, trying to get everything finished.

I look forward to coming home from work at night and being able to see all of my critters.  There is nothing I love more in the world than coming home to cuddle one of my dogs, or to sit on a fence and watch a couple of baby calves chase each other around and play fight while the sun goes down.  

I love it that the sun sets so late now, it gives me an opportunity to go out and check the cows when I get home from work at nine, and still be able to see them all!

SO, now that we have taken a look at that young Scottish boy's farm, here is a quick look at what was happening out at the Sperber Farms this evening!  I took a small tour of the heifer pen to see how the young ladies were all doing.

Lovely, calm evening

Reaching for an evening snack

My three yearling heifers.  Lily is a Simmental cross.  Her mama (Dam) is a tan Charolais Cross cow, and her daddy (Sire) is a big, red and white traditional Simmental bull. Tyra is a purebred Charolais, both of her parents are Charolais, white, just like her.  Lucy is a Red Angus cross.  Her mama is a big tan Charolais cross cow, and her father is a purebred Red Angus bull. 

So there you have it.  I didn't have a lot of time to snap pictures since the sun was already gone from the sky by the time I got home from work, but I hope that you like seeing what few pictures I do have!

Check back tomorrow to learn all about why we put eartags in our cows!

Thanks everyone!

Night night!

Sam

Beef and Dairy Go Head to Head

With six years of school left, I am working hard to make some money to save up this summer which has resulted in me getting two jobs, both at local golf courses.  Being a waitress gives me a great way to connect with many different people on a daily basis.  I often find conversations eventually leading to the fact that I live on a farm.

The other day, a girl asked me if we milked our cows, and I responded "no, we have beef cattle on our farm" assuming that would be enough of a response.  However, the girl just looked at me and said "So what is the difference from a milk cow to a beef cow, can't you use them all for everything?"

It seems so obvious to me why we would use certain types of cattle for milk and certain for beef, but I guess not being raised around farmers, and on a farm, I might not really have a reason to know.  

So I began to explain to her the difference between milking cows and beef cows. 

First of all there are two common divisions of cows, with many subdivisions.  In one corner we have the "beef" cows, the cows that we use for meat and human consumption.  In the other corner we have "milk" cows, the cows that are raised to make milk, cream and dairy products.

The "Beef" Category

In the "Beef" category, you can break the category into many different breeds!  With over 800 different breeds of cattle identified in the world, it is no wonder that there is confusion when talking about cattle!
Below are some of the most common breeds in North America!

Aberdeen Angus                      Beefalo                       Beefmaster                           Belted-galloway

Blonde d'aquitaine                 Brangus                       Charolais                            Dexter

English longhorn                   Galloway                       Gelbvieh                      Hereford

Highland                               Limousin                                          Lowline                               Murray grey

Maine Anjou                             Red Angus                                       Salers                                     Simmental     

Speckle Park                            Texas Longhorn                          Welsh Black                                       Zebu    

Other beef breeds: Africander, Aubrac, Barzona, Bazadaise, Belgian Blue, Belmont Red, Bonsmara, Boran, Braford, Brahman, Brahmousin, British White, Buelingo, Canchim, Caracu, Chianina, Composite, Corriente, Devon, Drakensberger, Droughtmaster, Gloucester, Hays Converter, Hybridmaster, Lincoln Red, Luing, Marchigiana, Minature Herefor, Mongolian, Nelore, Nguni, Parthenais, Piemontese, Pinzgauer, Red Poll, Retinta, Romangnola, Sanganer, Santa Cruz, Santa Gertrudis, Senepol, Shetland, Simbrah, South Devon, Square Meaters, Sussex, Tarentaise, Tuli, Wagyu, Watusi, Welsh Black, Whitebred Shorthorn

For links to the list above please go to  http://www.thebeefsite.com/breeds/beef

Beef cows are raised primarily for the purpose of meat for human consumption.  Females are kept on farms to produce calves, and often it is the male calves and lower performing female calves that are sent to be made into beef.

Beef cows are not usually used for milk and once their calves are weaned they dry up, usually only producing milk for 6-8 months out of the year, less than the ten months of the dairy cow.  If you wanted to milk a beef cow you could, however, they have generally smaller udders because they are not bred as much for udder structure and milk production as the dairy cows are.
On our farm we have to milk our cows sometimes when a calf is sick and can't eat on its own.  When this is the case, we do our milking by hand and then tube feed the baby calf to make sure that it is getting the right amount of nutrients to try and nurse it back to health.

Trying out some Beef milk, right from the cow!

The "Dairy" Side

In the "Dairy" category, there are 11 breeds that are most commonly found in North America, with approximately 40 common breeds across the world.  I wanted to know just what the breeds were like, so I did some research! Below I have included pictures of all of the common dairy cattle in North America, as well as a link.  This link will take you to a site which has pictures, news, information and history about each specific breed.  If you want to learn more about one of the breeds just click the name of the breed below the picture and it will take you to that breeds information!

 In Canada, the Holestein breed is the most common breed, with over 90% of dairy cattle being Holstein

Common to North America

            Holstein                                    Aryshire                                         Canadienne                                       Jersey                   

  

Dutch Belted                                  Kerry                                    Brown Swiss                                   Guernsey  

Milking Devon                Dairy Shorthorn                 Norwegian Red

Other breeds of Dairy cows: Busa, Estonian Red, Friesian, Girolando, Illawarra, Irish Moiled, Lineback, Meuse Rhine Issel, Montbéliarde, Normande, Randall, and Sahiwal

Typically, when one thinks of a dairy cow, we get the image of a skinny black and white cow, with a large udder and a well defined topline (spine), well this is what image comes to my mind at least!  In reality, there are actually a diversity of color and shape of dairy cows, all with the same quality of being able to produce large amounts of good quality milk.
Dairy cows are not usually used for meat because they are generally much skinnier than beef cows, lacking the muscling, fat and finish that you see on most beef cows.  A good beef cow is one that is well conditioned (quite fat), and a good dairy cow is usually one that is quite slender, not much fat on their body.
On the average North American Dairy farm, the cows are milked twice daily, with roughly 12 hours of rest time in between.  This means that Dairy farmers are getting up anywhere from 4-6 AM to milk the cows, so that they can finish them that night between 4 and 6! That's early! If the cows are not milked within the 12 hours, their udders often get too full and they can start to become uncomfortable for the cow.  If you stop milking a cow completely, she will dry up and will not produce milk anymore until she has another calf.  After having a calf, the cows are usually milked for 10 months before they are dried up and about to calve again.  The cows are always bred at different times so that they calve on different days all year round.
A good friend of mine has a dairy farm and her family always has baby calves running around.  They have their operation set up so that they are always milking roughy 200 cows, with about 30-40 dry cows that are about to calve.  This way they are always milking the same amount.  On their farm they artificially inseminate all of their cattle (meaning they don't use a bull to breed the cows, they inject the sperm on their own).  This allows them to choose what day the cows are bred and gives them an idea of the exact day that each cow will calve.  Lucky for me, they live close to our farm and were able to AI my little Charolais heifer for me this year, hopefully they used the right straw of semen and I won't be having a tiny Holstein showing up next spring!

So what about the babies!

On a beef farm the calves are kept on their mama's until they are weaned at roughly 6-8 months.  This means that the babies rely on their mamas for milk for every meal.

In comparison, on a dairy farm, the calves do not spend their lives relying on their moms.  Dairy calves are taken away from their moms shortly after birth and rely on the farmer to feed them.  The farmers use the milk that they milk from the dairy cows, so the calves are still getting mother cow's milk, they are just not getting it directly from the cow herself.  Up to two or three months old the babies are kept in individual little houses where they are given special attention, personal milk and food.  When they are a bit older they are moved to group pens, where they are still given milk in troughs, just not individually anymore.

If you have questions on dairy cattle, check out this link, it has a bunch of questions with answers, from where the milk goes to the age of cows, all things that take place on a dairy farm are covered in these answers so check it out! I learned a great deal even though I knew a fair amount of knowledge about dairy farms!  Dairy Farm Questions Answered

References
http://www.thebeefsite.com/breeds/beef
http://www.thedairysite.com/breeds/dairy
http://139.78.104.1/breeds/cattle/

Have a great week everyone!!

Mommy Mayhem

Today is a day to celebrate mommys everywhere.  And that is exactly what I did.  I woke up early this morning so that I could write a nice card for my mom, just a small way of letting her know just how much she means to me.  I won't get onto a long explanation of just how fantastic my mother is, because it would take me a lifetime to explain it, and I have much to say in this blog.  All you need to know, is that I have the best mother in the world, as I am sure many of you would say about your own mothers.  My mother is amazing, she works so hard to give my family the best life ever, and she always tries her very hardest to help others out.  She's genuine and sweet.  I love my mama. 


Now onto the other mamas.


I woke up early this morning to head to the Ponoka Community Golf Course where I spent the morning serving numerous moms at the special Mother's Day Brunch.  It was so nice to see so many families out with their mothers, happy and thankful for what they do.  I think that is what should happen.  Quite often, especially in the case of my mom, mothers spend 364 days of the year putting their kids first and running around after their kids, today should be to honor them, even though I know they deserve so much more. 


When I finished my shift of serving tons of mommy's, I was greeted at home by both of my Grandma's, my aunt and her family, and my mom.  It was so awesome to be able to honor all the important moms in my life, all in the same place.  I love family time more than anything in this world.


But enough about my mommys, I have so many more for you to meet, and many more that we need to honor.


First come the cow mamas.  On our farm we have roughly 200 mommy cows that we calve out each year, starting in late February and usually going to the end of May. (Note: when I say "calve out" I mean we breed 200 cows so they then have their babies on the farm.  A cow giving birth is called calving, so when we talk about calving and our number of cows we say "calve out").  Today we had to honor 200 mommy cows as well.  When talking about cattle, the mother is called a cow, the father a bull, and the baby a calf.  But it doesn't stop there!!! Female and male calves have different names too!  A female calf is called a heifer, and this name stays with them until they have their first baby.  A male calf is born as a bull, however, you have probably often heard the term "steer".  A steer is a bull calf that has been castrated (aka lost his manly parts, or testicles).  If you want to know why we castrate calves check out the "All Things Agriculutre" tab tomorrow, and I will feature a story on why we do what we do, I can promise it will be nutty...  On our farm all of our male calves become steers, and I will explain why that is in the story so check it out!
Mommy cows usually spend most of their career making babies... well actually, that is their career.  The minute they stop making babies they usually get sent to the auction mart.  On our farm the cows usually spend roughly 9 months being pregnant, and they usually have their first calf when they are 24 months of age.  After calving the calves are most dependent on their moms from birth to about three months old, for beef cows that is.  Dairy calves are usually taken away from their mamas at a day or two old.  Poor babies.  We usually wean our calves (separate them from their moms) in eary October, when they are anywhere from 180 - 210 days old, 6-8 months.  By the time that the calves are weaned the mama cows are already bred again.  Mama cows usually get bred two to three months after they calve! 

So now that you know all about the cattle, and the mommy cows it is time to introduce you to more mommys on our farm!


Dutch and Dixie - Our German Shepards
Dutch is our oldest dog on the farm and at 12 years old she has had two batches of puppies, Dixie being one of her babies.  Dutchie was a good mama, and she loved having babies so much that one spring she stole a couple of baby kittens from the barn and put them in her dog house to stay with her!  Dixie was also a mommy on our farm, and although her puppies were all given away, she was still a good mommy!  
A mother dog is called a bitch (not meaning to swear, unfortunate title really) and a father is called a dog.  The babies are called pups, and boy are they cute!
Dogs have a gestation of 9 weeks, approximately 63 days, and the pups rely on their mother the most during the first three weeks.  At 7-14 days their eyes open and they begin becoming more independent.  Puppies can be weaned from their mothers between 3 to 8 weeks after birth. 

The puppy is Tucker, he is Dixie's baby, and Dutch's grandson.  Dixie is the dark brown German Shepard lying on the grass, Dutch is the lighter German Shepard sitting up, and Lady is the Border Collie, the dog who thinks she is human.  The father is the neighbors dog, we would never say it to their face, but the puppies were an accident.

 The cool thing about mother dogs is that the same litter of puppies can have different fathers!  Female dogs are capable to conceive each time that they get mated!  Half of the litter can look like one dad and the other half the other dad!  Try explaining that one to the husband, hunny I swear some of the babies are yours!

These three puppies were out of the same litter, all belonging to Dixie.  This shows you that yes indeed puppies can have different dads and still be born in the same litter.  Zoe and Tucker were born with short tails, short hair, and Mia had long hair, and a long tail! Crazy!

And now for the kitties!
It seems as though every year our cats are the most active mommys around the farm.  The cats teach their babies all about being independent and fending for themselves, cats don't really need to rely on humans, domesticated or not.  A male cat is called a Tom cat, and a female a Queen.  The babies of course are kittens, and I can honestly say baby kitties are one of the cutest baby animals in the world!  Mother cats spend 63-65 days in gestation, and the babies are usually weaned by five weeks of age.  Just like puppies, the kittens are born with their eyes closed, and their eyes open between 5 and 8 days.  Kittens were the light of my life when I was little, "kitty" was my first real word!  I used to spend hours in our hayloft every minute I was home in the hayloft playing with the baby kitties and watching them attack one another and play all day and then curl up with the other kittens for a snooze.  A big bonus to living on the farm is being able to have baby kittens every year and then picking from the litters the two or three that I want to keep before we give them away to the neighborhood farms!

Ducks!
A male duck is called a Drake, a female is called a Duck, and the babies are called Ducklings.  A few years ago a wild duck made a small nest under a spruce tree in my grandma's yard.  If we ever went out there we could see her out there tending to her eggs.  Watching baby ducks follow their mama around is such a site to see!  The duck has to worry about so many little babies at once, and Jon and Kate thought they had it bad!  Just watch the video I posted in my blog a few days ago, and you can see the determination of the mother duck while she gathers up her babies that have been swept away in the wind!  

After a duck lays her eggs she usually spends about 23-28 days sitting on them before they hatch!And then the cute ducklings appear and can stay with their mother their entire life in the flock, but usually are done relying on their mother at 12 weeks.

Chickens!
A male chicken is called a rooster, and many people wake up with him.  A female is a hen, and a baby is a chick.  Chicks are often raised in incubators (a warm lamp used in place of a hen) and are raised away from their mothers when on farms.  Hens normally sit on their eggs for 20 -22 days.  If you have ever had the chance to hold a chick, or touched a chick, you will know that they are one of the softest baby animals ever!  Their little feathers are like silk, and they are cute little balls of fluff!

Pigs!
Piglets are the babies.  Another one of the cutest baby animals in the world... If you're sensing a trend, yes, I do believe that every baby animal is the cutest in the world.  It just depends which animal I am seeing at the time.  A mother pig is called a sow, and a father a boar.  Some animals stay cute as they age, I tend to feel that pigs are not one of those animals, they lose the cute.  A pig has a gestation period of 112-115 days and the babies can usually be weaned from 14 to 28 days old.  Mama pigs can have anywhere between 8 and 14 babies, imagine looking after that litter, that mama's house must be a pig sty... :)    

There are many more animals out there that I would love to talk about and inform you of, but I am just a little out of time and don't know how much more you can handle reading, so if you have a question I would love to check it out for you and write you a story about it!!


I hope you enjoyed the special "Mommy Mayhem" edition, now enjoy the rest of your day with your mommys!!


<3 Sam