Hay Fields Now Off Limits

We have finally made the rounds around all the fences that encompass all the hay fields. Between the flooding that hit us in December and the 2 herds of elk that don’t slow down for barriers of any kind, the fences were in need of a lot of help.

We have gone through rolls of barb wire, several hundred metal T-posts and cedar posts, lots of staples and pounds of wire clips. Several areas that are temporary fences until hay season is over, were re-strung with portable electric fence wire. These fences are moveable and open areas that cannot be used as hay fields because of terrain or trees.

As of Sunday, all hay fields have been closed to grazing from the cows. The grass in the fields will grow until late June when we will cut the grass and make into hay bales that will be the feed during the winter months.

The cows still have many areas from the hillside and around each of the fields for grazing. We will have to keep an eye on how they are doing with each area and move them from one spot to the next as they browse the grass. We have to be careful to pull them out of one area before they overgraze the grass. Overgrazing would lead to muddy ground and poor growing conditions for the grass. By rotating the herd through the different areas, the acreage will continue to produce feed.

As we move the herd from one area to the next, we are counting mothers and babies making sure that everyone is together as they are moved. One errant calf can cause a lot of hysteria when the mother realizes that she does not have her baby close by.