CALF_News_August_September_2020

23 CALF News • August | September 2020 • www.calfnews.net many people trying to be helpful can create a whole lot of problems around stressed livestock. We must sustain ourselves One thing that I am sure is a constant among all brandings is good food. Most ranch wives I know are expected to work at the chute and also provide a good meal for the crew. This is a tricky chore to learn. Suffice it to say that those of us who have mastered chute work and meal prep simultaneously are pretty darn smug. Some things you will never see at my house: Styrofoam plates, plastic sporks, ready-to-eat goods originating fromWalmart and beans. Especially beans. What you’ll get most of the time is home-raised beef or lamb with plenty of potatoes and gravy, garden-raised veg- etables and pie. On a glass plate with real silverware. I am strongly surmising that’s approximately the fare at 90 percent of brandings around our area. My favorite noontime story involves a local who, during a sheep-shearing day, took his shear crew into the house to eat. After sitting down, they were each presented with a can of pork ‘n beans, a can opener and a spoon. I think they had to bring their own water. I hate to admit it, but I know these people. One of my annual rituals is asking a good neighbor what kind of pie he wants when he comes to our place to help. He answers the same every year,“I only like two kinds of pie, hot pie and cold pie.” Many scenarios Readying yearlings to go to grass is a piece of cake compared to handling pairs. It takes a smaller crew and goes faster, barring unforeseen wrecks. The big difference in techniques comes with calf brandings. The bigger and more remote ranches prefer to stay with the “rope and drag” method of restraining calves. We use an alley and calf cradle. Hot irons may be heated over a wood or propane fire; we use an electric iron. There are several effective methods of dehorning and castration used in our area. Location and herd size dictate an endless variety of methods in sorting, vaccinating, tagging and preparing for grass. This is a big country and we are diverse in the way we reach the same endpoint. Hot on the heels of cattle working/ branding is grass turnout, when correctly pairing out cows and calves becomes the most important job of the year. Life goes on Maintaining and repairing haying equipment follows, along with host- ing the appropriate sheep shearer for a couple days. My shear man is the guy who only likes two kinds of pie, a person LALLEMAND ANIMAL NUTRITION SPECIFIC FOR YOUR SUCCESS www.lallemandanimalnutrition.com LALLEMAND ANIMAL NUTRITION SPECIFIC FOR YOUR SUCCESS www.lallemandanimalnutrition.com ©2020.BiotalandSil-Allare registered trademarksofLallemandAnimalNutrition. Notallproductsareavailable inallmarketsnorareallclaimsallowed inall regions. Winning at nutrition requires a game plan Dairy cows are elite athletes, striving for peak performance every day. A winning and profitable nutrition game plan requires top quality silages. Protect and enhance your silages with the elite Biotal and Sil-All forage inoculants. LallemandForageInoculants.com/US Take control of your silage with Lallemand Animal Nutrition: TAKE CONTROL OF SILAGE QUALITY Fuel your cattle for optimal performance Your cattle are ready to put on the pounds, give them the fuel to do it. Your game plan needs to include palatable, profitable, fresh melling s lage that keeps your cattle running to the bunk. Protect and enhance your silages with Biotal and Sil-All forage inoculants. TAKE CONTROL OF SILAGE QUALITY ll CA Take control of your silage i l i l N triti : ALLEMAND ANIMAL NUTRITI I I F R YOUR SUC ESS ww.lallemandanimalnutrition.co ©2020.BiotalandSil-Allare registered trademarksofLallemandAnimalNutrition. Notallproductsareavailable inallmarketsnorareallclaimsallowed inall regions. who smooths out a lot of bumps by just being around. Sheep shearing has become a time to look forward to, after the heavy and stressful efforts of getting cattle out to grass. It’s safe to say that there are a lot of different ways to reach the same endpoint, but one thing is for certain; we all do one thing exactly the same way. When the last pair jumps out of the trailer or walks through the pasture gate and lands on green grass, we each heave a huge sigh of relief. 