Doubling the Herd

“You can make a small fortune in farming - provided you start with a large one.”
- Unknown

If you know me well, you know that I have a particular distaste for inspirational quotes. While I seek inspiration from reading the likes of Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver, or Robyn Wall Kimmerer, I appreciate a writer who can keep it real. So when I saw the above quote, I had to share it.

Starting a farming operation requires a LOT of investment and patience. Vegetable farmers need to purchase seeds, greenhouse materials, and soil amendments months before they have a product to sell. Livestock farmers incur the costs of raising animals sometimes years before making their first sale. I have been told at multiple farming workshops that most beginning farmers don’t make a profit until their third year of operation.

This explains my interesting situation this spring — I am doubling the size of my herd, counting on a future base of customers I haven’t met yet, without having made my first sale or even butchered my first group of 8 beeves. The work of raising beef takes patience and a bit of gambling. That being said, I am lucky to have some startup infrastructure and family land already at my fingertips. I do not take this access to land for granted. It’s one of the privileges for which I am most grateful.

One month I ago, five little lowline angus calves jumped out of the trailer and onto the farm. I bought these calves from the same farm where I purchased my first set of eight calves a year ago. This means that my older cows and my new cows are all half siblings (same dad) and some may even be full siblings. The calves spent three weeks in a separate pasture to ensure they didn’t bring any diseases with them. Last weekend, they joined the big boys. At first, the older cows chased them around and I’ve since seen them head butting the little ones, establishing their pecking order. But for the most part, they happily graze together. It’s been cool to see their size difference and realize just how much my original eight have grown in one year.

To add to the fun, I decided to purchase three more calves of a different breed. One of the nice things about getting stocker calves instead of breeding my own is that I’m not committed to one breed. As a beginning farmer, I want to experience different breeds and learn about their temperament, size, grass genetics and behavior. The trick is finding calves that come from good grass operations, meaning they have the genetics to “finish” on grass only. Finishing is the final stage of an animal’s life when they put on the most fat. This is when the tasty marbling in a good steak occurs. Most conventional farms have cattle on grass for much of their lives, but move them to a feedlot in the final months to finish on grain. Grass-only operations, however, develop their herd genetics so they can put on that same marbled fat from grass alone. Given my intentions to remain grass-only, it’s really important for me to find calves that have good “grass genetics.” But many graziers want to hold on to their calves for their own birth-to-butcher operations and they rarely have extra to sell.

So I was lucky to find a farmer near me, as recommended by one of my mentors, who has been doing management intensive grazing since he was a child in the 70s (before it was really a thing!) The three calves I got from him are a cross between Red Angus and Gelbvieh. I’m curious to see how these full-sized animals do compared to my smaller-framed lowline angus. I’m also hoping they are better able to tolerate heat due to their lighter coats. These three are a year old and much more skittish than my others. Already I’m learning a lot from comparing the breeds.

The running joke around here is that I’m collecting gingers — in the form of these new calves, chickens, a pup, and my baby niece. See for yourself.

MoSo Jewelry

There are 15 pairs of earrings available in the MoSo Jewelry shop. Treat your Mama nice this Sunday with some handmade jewelry. And keep your eyes peeled for an update! I’m working on some more coasters and bone earrings coming soon.

Interested in purchasing beef?

My first batch of beef will be available in January 2022. I’ll be selling this beef in bulk, meaning quarters, halves and whole cows. If you live in Athens or Columbus (or you’re willing to drive to me) and you’re interested in purchasing beef, please email me.

Given my limited amount of beef and the reach of this newsletter (hey Minnesota fam), I’ll be reaching out individually to customers versus writing about it here. First come, first served! So clear out your freezer and shoot me an email.

What I’m reading…

The Planter of Modern Life by Stephen Heyman | “How a leading writer of the Lost Generation (Louis Bromfield) became America’s most famous farmer and inspired the organic food movement.”

The Wild Fox of Yemen by Threa Almontaser | “Almontaser’s debut (poetry) collection is a wonderfully crafted portrait of Muslim womanhood and the country and people of Yemen.”

What I’m listening to…

Check out my Spring Spotify playlist for some feel good tunes.