Irrigation, Improvements, and Sale Calf Prep
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This week consisted of continued maintenance and chores while contributing to some long-term goals. Each morning, after moving irrigation pipe, I would clean the Airbnb’s for the next guests. On Tuesday, I handled the fall sale calves again and desensitized them using a blower. Wednesday we worked on the future barn living space again, installing outlets and putting in flooring. Thursday and Friday we fixed up an old swamp cooler and installed it in the cool room in the show barn.
The theme of this week for me was preparation. An important part of ranching is thinking ahead. We focused on fixing the swamp cooler this week because of the heat wave coming next week. Weather is one condition that a rancher needs to watch out for. Another important thing to prepare for is the fall sale. Though the sale isn’t until September, the calves need to be worked with consistently now so they are calm and ready later. If you keep putting off tasks that don’t have an immediate deadline, it will land you in trouble later.
As we worked with the fall calves, some were very tame, but a couple were frantic. I wondered how much a bad temperament is ingrained, and how much can be trained out of a calf. Will the wilder calves always tend that way, or can they grow out of it?
All the irrigation work so far this summer has made me consider implementing it in the future. Even a little water can go a long way and make a pasture immensely more productive. Though irrigating takes a lot of work, the results may make it worth considering in my future.
Submitted by: Anna Steinle
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
