In case it looks like the spring roundup was just lying around in the flowers with a camera, let me assure you that there are few places on my body that do not hurt. Our gauchos, Miguel and Gabriel have me by 20 years from the git-go and I did my best to keep up with them (sissy yanqui is the one wearing gloves.)500 bovines of all description later...we were finished. From 600 kilo bulls to newborns that still showed traces of their umbilicals, they all passed thru our loving care...and under the demanding gaze of she who acts like she invented animal bienestar, Mrs. Yanqui Mike.
7 comments:
I am so proud of you mi vida...
Hallo Mike,
I must say we have a few things in common.I also live on a small farm in South Africa.Also have some cattle, though not 500 head.I would give my..e you know what to own 500.The other thing.. I farm flowers so there's another commonality,the love of flowers.I'm jealous man,looking at your live there.It looks so peacefull and pleasant. Nice blog by the way.
Pieter
Me again Mike,
Your darling wife's picture. There is someting to say for a woman that can dress like that occasionally.I am impressed.
Pieter
Pieter,
Thanks for the comment! My darling estanciera certainly does look good in those "biberals" (bib overalls, en ingles!) Hee hee! They are from Victoria Secret! I bought them for her years ago when we were dating...and she had not yet become the cattlewoman that she is today.
Very much a city-girl urban professional at the time, she was shocked to find those "biberals" among some cute little summer dresses. Bib overalls are virtually unknown in Argentina.
Tell me more about your operation in South Africa!
Do you have problems with "paja voladora"(serrated tussock/panicum pilcomayense or sometimes known as berg´s panicgrass)?
We would like to eliminate it without the use of the usual poisons (glphosato). I've heard that it is common in South Africa and Australia.
I'm so glad that you love flowers, too! We visit the estancia almost every 3 weeks...and there is generally always something surprising. Of course, now with Spring arriving it's crazy and beautiful...and you are right, it's really rather peaceful if you can forget for a moment all the demands.
Hi Mike,
Because we are in different time zones -when I'm awake you are asleep and vice-versa I will respond as soon as is possible.We call a bib-overall a "Dungaree"
I am fortunate not to have the grass problem as the area where I live is so called "bushveld" with lots of thorn trees.The grass cover is in general quite acidic and we have to make hay in winter.As for glyphosphate to erradicate anyting - its not preferable but sometimes there is nothing else to do.Some farmers here use mechanical means to eradicate invader species.It is however a slow and tedious process.Basically desighned to disrupt the growth-cycle and destroy the seed stores of the invader in the soil and replace it with a suitable species that can out-grow the invader.
I farm with Celosia and Gerbera flowers and commercial cattle part-time. By day I lecture at a University and construct dental prosthesis.The cattle is a young and new venture.I am busy with an upgrading program to full-blood Romagnola. By the way - what were you injecting your cattle for?
Pieter
Piet!
Romagnolas look cool! I can tell by looking at them that you live in a much warmer place than we do.
It's much cooler here. No snow but it dips below freezing fairly often in the middle of winter. All of our cows are Aberdeen Angus although my wife is goofing around with some Hereford cross-breeds.
I don't know what the hell I'm doing ...in English! I knew nothing about cattle before I came to Argentina 3 years ago. That means that all of the terms that I use are in Spanish, a great many of them I don't know the English translation.
Let's see...in that photo I was vaccinating cows against conjunctivitis and a venereal disease called IBR in Spanish.
Miguel was pumping 10ml shots of a vitamin/mineral mixture...and Gabriel was vaccinating against "carbunclo" which I just googled and found out that it means ANTHRAX!!! Shit! I didn't know that until now!
The bulls got the same except that their vitamins contained selenium.
My wife has also instituted a program of copper and various salts injections that have produced demonstrable results in the fertility rate and the ability of the "girls" to extract maximum nutrition from the grass. The copper also makes their fur shiny and VERY black...almost blue. Some old-timers in the area have mentioned that they can't remember seeing a more beautiful herd. We had a 100% pregnancy rate earlier this year (truly unbelievable...only our veterinarian believes us because he verified each one personally.) The cows are so well nourished now that we've had problems with overly large birth weights!
The herd is entirily grass-fed...except that we feed our 8 toros some sort of super grain suppliment just before the spring mating season.
The little calves that we castrated got a shot of 5ml of an antibiotic just in case. Probably overkill as we have only found one case of infection over the past 3 years. I would like to discontinue that.
By law we are required to vaccinate against aftosa, or hoof-and-mouth disease, although our part of Argentina has not reported a case in decades. We also shoot them with an anti-parasitico somewhere in their lifetime with us.
That's about it, I think. Of course, we don't shoot them all the time. 3 or 4 times a year they all get a piece of the program.
Hallo Mike,
Can't fault you on what you are doing or on your choice of breed.The Angus is the most prolific breed world wide and superb to say the least. Romagnolas come from Italy and has no problem with cold weather.In winter they grow long wooly hair that they lose in summer.They are very hardy and adaptable, have a natural tick resistance and do not graze selectively. In other words they are lawn mowers.And they have phenomenal growth rates and feed conversion rates. There meat quality as with Angus is superb.In my unscientific research on breeds I have come to the conclusion that Wagyu from wich Kobe beef derives,Angus,Romagnola,Pusterthaler,Piedmontese,Bonsmara and Hereford are the breeds with the best meat quality. The Genestar testing done by the Aussies more or less supports this.I also vaccinate my animals once a year against parasites, lumpy skin disease and brucellosis (IBR ?)We are however not allowed to vaccinate against foot and mouth or anthrax as this affects our status as either prefferential trader or not - for exports to Europe.In case of outbreaks all affected animals are destroyed and all non- affected animals in a certain radius is vaccinated.Forunately this has never happened in my area. These vaccinated animals may not be marketed outside of this area for a period of two years.
I also shoot them with a vitamin coctail twice a year in spring and fall.In summer they receive a phosphate lick which is always available.Included in this is a mineral supplement called p12 that contains copper and selenium and 10 other minerals.This mix is based on the mineral shortage in the soil of the area. In winter they receive a protein lick as supplement with p12 also included.They graze on natural pastures only but are fed hay in the evenings.I "kraal" my animals at night.That's putting them in a cattle pen to prevent theft.Have lost some bulls in the past.The thieves just cut a block of meat out of a live animals buttock and left it to bleed to death.The other time they cut the hindleg tendons to prevent the animal from running away and slaughterd it right there in the veld.I now have an alarm system at the cattle pens.
Its great talking cattle with you!
By the way I dont castrate my animals but use a testical clipper that only squashes the seed tubes closed.It is a lot quicker
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