Happy Cows Come from Southern Alberta

Of course, happy cows come from all over the world. Not just California, as the California Milk Ads would want you to believe. But today, after being moved out to summer pasture just a few days ago and grazing their new field, the cows of Southern Alberta seem to have it pretty good.

It's a gorgeous day today- I've been waiting to say that for a long time! The forecast is for rain next week again, so it was one of those get-out-and-get-things-done days. Here's a few things we did at XTC Herefords today:

Checking cows in the pasture. It's important to drive or ride through them often to check for any health concerns like foot rot or pink eye. As soon as a health issue is detected, the cow or calf is brought into the barn to be treated. Luckily, today everyone looked happy and healthy.

Week 1 on the summer pasture

The cows and calves were pretty content

Refilling the mineral tubs. Mineral is a very important part of an animal's diet, especially in a wet season like this. Why? When the grass is growing this fast, it often doesn't get all the nutrients it needs from the soil- especially magnesium. A magnesium deficiency is very serious in cattle, as it leads to a disease called Grass Tetany. The mineral that we give to our cattle at this time of year is the Right Now Emerald mineral from Cargill Animal Nutrition. Emerald is specifically concocted for spring on pasture when cows will be calving and breeding, and contains the minerals they would likely be deficient of. The blue tub you see below is covered with a rubber flap that cows can stick their noses under. The flap prevents it from getting rained on or spilled.

I'd say life is pretty good for these critters, wouldn't you?