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Photos from the Ranch This Week…

Here’s Annie, warming up a calf in the ranch bunkhouse this week. Many of you know that we don’t calve in the winter…our cows will calve in May and June when the weather is nice and warm! This calf was a “surprise” from a heifer (young female cow) we purchased from a friend last spring. She must have gotten in with a bull shortly before we purchased her, and as a result she unexpectedly dropped this calf last week! Most experienced mama cows will take care of a calf even in cold weather, but this heifer had never had a calf before. She calved and then left him laying alone and wet in the snow. We found him out there a few hours later.

We got the heifer into the barn where we have a milking stall, but by that time the calf was too weak and cold to try and nurse. So we milked some of the heifer’s milk into a bottle and Annie took the calf into the bunkhouse to warm up with blankets and heaters. About an hour later he was feeling perky enough to nurse from the bottle. With some nutrients in his stomach, we brought him back to the barn to get him started nursing from his real mom. We knew that the sooner we could get him nursing from her, the better our chances of getting the cow to “accept” him as her calf and take care of him without our help. Once we’d helped him nurse enough to get a full stomach, we left them together in the warm barn overnight. By the next morning, his mom had accepted him and decided she’d like to take care of her calf after all. Because he got such a rough start, it took one more round of helping him nurse before he was strong enough to do it on his own. Now he’s doing well, and we’re glad to have a happy ending!

Here’s the mama cow herd, along with many of their babies that were born last spring. These calves are now big and healthy and old enough to wean, but we’ve left them with their moms instead. Weaning often causes stress and makes calves vulnerable to sickness. Leaving them with their moms means we have to feed a bit more hay to the mamas (since they are still producing some milk for their calves, they need to eat more). But it’s financially worth it for us because the calves are healthier and fatter. Photo by Melanie!

Here’s one 8-month-old calf that is thriving (photo by Melanie)! She’s got a healthy fat covering to insulate her against the cold and a thick fur coat. One thing to note about this calf: she’s red, with white markings on her face. This is because she came out of a black Angus mother that was bred to a Hereford bull (Herefords are red and white-faced). For years, the beef industry has prioritized the black Angus breed due to the marketing of “certified Angus beef” (certified Angus is marketed as a superior product, but it actually guarantees nothing in terms of eating experience, marbling, flavor, or tenderness). This over-selection of one breed has resulted in less genetic diversity within cattle in the US. Genetic homogeneity eventually leads to problems and disorders, and it’s why we’ve introduced Hereford bulls into our herd to create an Angus-Hereford cross. These crossed calves have “hybrid vigor” and often outperform straight black Angus calves in terms of growth and health. The resulting beef tastes no different and is no different in tenderness. It’s simply another part of what we do that is something we learned from nature. Nature, where it is not constrained, is not homogenous. “Diversity” is the name of the game in our plants and soils here at Alderspring because it results in more resilient systems and healthier cattle. The same rule applies to our cattle genetics.

Here, Annie is saddling her 3-year-old filly Bitsy for the 4th time (photo by Melanie). Once Bitsy had a chance to trot around and feel that the saddle was on her back, Annie got on and rode her for the second time. Bitsy did great and didn’t get at all worried about Annie in the saddle. She’ll be ready to herd cows up on the range this summer and seems like she’ll be a great little mare!

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This is a story Glenn wrote around last year this time. He was unable to write a story this week because he is off at a conference in Pennsylvania, exchanging ideas with other farmers and ranchers working to regenerate their land.

Dear Friends

Sometimes I am grateful to be clad in the cover of steel and safety glass. And to be racing along at 55 MPH. Because if I was simply a human on two legs in the deep winter white as we drove through in a sort of snowplow carved tunnel, I am almost certain the fiercest herbivore would have me dead.

Not to be eaten, mind you. Herbivore would simply want to deal with the nuisance of a human encroaching on their habitat.

Last week, after a full day of skiing fresh powder up along the Montana line (a much-needed break from the ranch!), we were making our way back on US highway 93 in the gathering darkness. 93 is our highway of sorts. Our lives intersect with it often, in our land of few roads in the central Idaho mountains. Most of the country around us is a de-facto wilderness of jumbled peaks and canyons; it is completely un-peopled and is only made accessible and passable by the rivers and creeks that intersect it….

Continue reading below!

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And that’s it for this week!

Thanks again for partnering in what we do!

Glenn, Caryl, cowgirls and cowboys at Alderspring.

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We’ve been crafting our pastured protein here in Idaho’s Rocky Mountains for nearly 30 years and delivering it direct to our partners for nearly as long. This is wild wellness, delivered from our ranch to your door.

Your partnership with alderspring directly supports our mission to improve soil health, wildlife habitat, and animal and human wellness through regenerative ranching practices.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished with your help & support in just the last 12 years!