Preparing for the Mountain

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Some major points that I have learned this past week came from the preparation of installing water lines up in a mountain pasture. It takes a lot of money and planning to water on a mountain; you must develop a spring head and ensure that water will flow properly. Then, what I was asked to do was dig a mile or so trench to lay 1 1/4 inch pipe all the way down the mountain to a basin. Through that I learned about where to set a galvanized tank in which it should be farthest away from mineral to enable a cow to be active.

What I would like to challenge from this week is understanding the criteria for healthy calves. Throughout the week I learned about log keeping – which cow was breed to which bull, and when they should be expected to calve. Up on the mountain, as we prepped for the waterline project, we came up on a thirty-five and a “half” head of cows. The ranch manager was pleasantly happy to see a small calf that was around two to three weeks old running around, and very healthy. That was thanks to the constant moving to drink water and grazing.

Some questions I have from this week would be: what determined where we place water tanks for a pasture, as well as, why would there be so many in the same pasture near one another? All these have stemmed from watching and understanding how to prepare for such a large project and it has been in the making for the past month or so.

What I learned from this past week is how to plan and execute such a large project that greatly impacts the well-being of a heard on a mountain pasture. With that, I will take that newfound knowledge and proceed to use it when I look for cows where they could be hanging in the hot heat of mid-summer looking to stay hydrated and cool off during the day.

Submitted by: Cody Long
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team