Working Ranch Magazine January/February 2025

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10 The morning started by feeding calves and we found the little calf doing a lot better. The herd bulls were running out of feed so we moved them over to our next alfalfa field to graze until the snow gets too deep. We made about 36 jars of tallow balm with the tallow I have been rendering this week. It takes four days to render down the tallow to reduce the smell. The kids and I helped my wife fill the jars and it was a good family day. We attended church and we enjoyed our Sunday with a walk outside to feed the calves. The kids were not excited to go to school the next day, after having a fun weekend at home. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11 I feel like a big part of my life is watching the weather channel. I learned that it was going to rain and snow on Tuesday, so I knew I had a busy day ahead to prepare. After feed ing calves grain and hay, I was able to spend the majority of the day scraping the corrals and hauling manure out to spread in the grain field. We try to utilize as much natural fertilizer as we can when we have the corrals full. I took a break and went to the kids’

Veteran’s Day assembly at the school, where they sang patriotic songs and honored many veterans in the com munity. I got the lawn at the house mowed one last time before winter and I felt pretty prepared that evening after a long day of prepping. The day ended feeding the calves grain and hay. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12 This morning, we woke up to a snowstorm again. You feel bad for complaining when we get moisture, but it does slow things down for us. We were able to feed the calves grain and hay and found everyone in good health this snowy morning. Along with the hay, we bedded the calves with some straw to help keep them dry and warm and to utilize the feed we have. It only ended up snowing a few inches, but that means great coyote hunting. We went out to check cows and look for coyotes. I try to keep the coyote population down so that when we are calving, we don’t have any problems with these predators. The rest of the day was spent changing the oil and putting a few new u-joints in the feed truck, to prepare it for when it’s time to feed cows in the field. Winter is on its way and I think we are ready!

how to take this suet (kidney fat) and render it down to make a tallow balm. This tallow balm is an amaz ing product as a moisturizer and can have many other uses. We have been adding essential oils, whipping the tallow balm, and jarring it up for sale. It’s been an exciting adventure, as we have sold over 200 jars of tallow balm! In the afternoon, I had to get the excavator running so we could clean out some ditches and then put the excavator away for the winter. The sun has been going down so fast, with daylight savings. The days are short. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9 This morning while feeding the calves, I found a calf that was a lit tle sick and I decided to treat it for pneumonia, due to the symptoms he was having. After checking the cows in the field, I headed up to the butcher shop to help Forrest kill a few beef and some pigs. The butcher shop consumed the rest of my day and the calves got fed a little later than usual. I took my beautiful wife out to eat for a little night out on the town. It’s hard to leave the ranch sometimes, even though we are only about 15 minutes from town. The break was nice!

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