Shoulder Deep

As many of you know, most of our calves are bred through artificial insemination. But my brother-in-law also tries his hand at embryo transferring as well.  That's when a cow is bred and the embryos are harvested, cleaned, and frozen. We could send cows to a business in Iowa called Transova to do it for us, put the embryos in a recipient cow and ship them back, but that process is EXPENSIVE. We've done it before and got my love X40, but for a farm the size of ours it really isn't cost effective. 

So, last week my brother-in -law was attempting to put one of the embryos he harvested last year into a cow. Don't worry, she got a healthy dose of Lidocaine. I was told it would be a good time if I wanted to experience being shoulder deep in...well, you know where. So I gloved up, and I did it!  It was weird. There are several photos where I'm making interesting faces but those won't be posted. It was strange but it was interesting. I think I'd do it again. 

Friday morning the ENTIRE herd got out of their pens and mixed up. It took us over 2 hours to resort and get everything put back. They broke fences.  The pooped in the yard.  They fought. But worst of all, the destroyed my napping spot.

They're lucky I love them!

Still Learning

I was reminded this weekend that I'm still learning. One of the things that bugs my husband the most about my working on the farm is that I get attached to the cows. I can't help it. It's like tempting me with McDonald's Coke and peanut butter cups...irresistible. I tend to make pets out of them and forget that we're a business with limited acres and limited funding. Unfortunately, sometimes, cows have to be sold. While I know it's necessary in my head, I don't think selling my loves is something I'll ever learn to accept without a tear or two.  

Such was the case this weekend. Two of our cows and their calves went to auction. One of the cows was one I was attached to. The city girl in me found it very difficult, even though I knew she was going to another farm rather than...well, you know.  I was not looking forward to the auction Friday night. I said I wouldn't go. There might have been tears. I vowed to never set foot on the farm again.  But in the end, I sucked it up and went. I said goodbye to my cow and was thankful both the cows went to the same farm with one of the babies. The other calf is going to a farm where she'll show on the Jr. Angus tour so she'll be treated like a princess. All's well that ends well. 

On a happier note, I learned how to prep a cow for Artificial Insimination patching. Basically I just got to cut some fur. About 3/4 of our calves are born via Artificial Insimination. When we start the process, we put a patch on their tail heads, and when they come into heat, we are alerted on the office computer. 12 hours later, the cow is bred.  This process is a bit tedious, and while I've been present for at least 90% of the breeding a for the past 6 or 7 years, my role is mostly shuffling cows. My brother-in-law gets the honors of being almost shoulder deep in a cow hind-end.  There has been talk, however, of my learning how to A.I.  I'll post pics if I give this a try.  For now I'm good just knowing how the process works!  

I'll leave you with a photo of my show heifer love, Sweet T. She got to wear her pretty halter for the first time. She didn't seem too happy :)