tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68602522337885752292024-03-19T01:24:03.016-07:00Round Rock Farmdcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-71506538750711503702010-04-27T03:11:00.001-07:002010-04-27T03:31:43.903-07:00New Calves<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWWtBJJ9SNI-EMOlJlLIN8v0Fmj3jiOtb-AryyhnyK5xhfa1ps_8smbh1PaPk_ZOAO67i3TLVKbx_SHI5tH2BZjqel7_1WTpbLBk1c9rx4y_OlmaC_Ncx4W-R4PdgJh4gKfFy32WpUGxz/s1600/%236+new+calf+2010.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWWtBJJ9SNI-EMOlJlLIN8v0Fmj3jiOtb-AryyhnyK5xhfa1ps_8smbh1PaPk_ZOAO67i3TLVKbx_SHI5tH2BZjqel7_1WTpbLBk1c9rx4y_OlmaC_Ncx4W-R4PdgJh4gKfFy32WpUGxz/s320/%236+new+calf+2010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464762902045099634" /></a><br />We started having our first calves of the season this week. Our youngest heifer, #6 had her first calf. The beauty of our cattle is that they are such good mothers. We have little problems with them taking care of their calves or having problems calving. In talking with my neighbor, his 80 cows have already lost 6 calves due to complications and poor mothering. With our small herd we cannot afford such losses. We are expecting 12 more calves this summer and hope for no problems.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-41473978193841463892010-03-20T04:02:00.000-07:002010-03-20T04:19:37.040-07:00The Social NetworkThe wife and I went to a seminar last week that was sponsored by the MN Dept. of Ag. The seminar was a focus on internet marketing. The topics covered included; web advertising, web site organization and placement and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Obviously for those that follow us you already know that we are on the web. Not only are we on the web, but the wife, Chris, does a great job of keeping everyone up to date on what is happening. She is always posting new information along with new pictures and our blog. We were amazed to find that a small percentage of web sites are NEVER updated after they are posted. We appreciated the fact that the seminar was geared to the small family farm such as ours. We were amazed at the ingenuity of some people. One of the most popular growing concepts is the CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture. The concept is that as a community member you buy a share into a larger garden that is cared for and managed by the farmer and you as a comsumer help support the farm by buying a "share." The share allows allows you to join in the harvest of vegetables that are available throughout the year. You get a delivery of whatever is ripe that week. You get the benefit of the fresh and healthy vegetable choices without having to even get your fingers dirty. <br /><br />We practice a similar program here, except our shares are the 100% grass fed beef shares that our customers buy from us. Oh, by the way, check out our new Facebook page, go to Facebook and look up Roundrockfarm.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-53179730601256347512010-03-20T03:54:00.000-07:002010-03-20T04:01:56.728-07:00New opportunitiesNext week shall be an exciting week. We sell our product at the local food cooperative, <a href="http://www.crowwingfoodco-op.com/"></a> . The Crow Wing Food Cooperative is moving. After over 30 years in the same location they have secured a new space. What a great opportunity for us to reach out to more community members. Teh new space will nearly double their current space. Other advantages will be a new parking area and a location on a corner at a set of stop lights. No more busting traffic to make it there. The old location was located about 6 feet from a major highway. This made entry and exits interesting. With the traffic whizzing by were quite careful to not step too fast out of the door. Also, you had to make sure that your kids were kept close. <br /><br />They will be moving in this next Friday and will need all of the help that they can get. Volunteers are needed and appreciated. Call the Coop today (218) 828-4600dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-44396078671230068572010-03-07T17:10:00.000-08:002010-03-07T17:23:45.800-08:00Truth in advertising...We have always weighed out the cost of raising 100% grass fed beef versus grain fed beef. The cost to raise grass fed is more expensive for you have to have the right stock that will finish properly on a grass fed diet and the time involved. if we choose to raise "grain" animals, we could have finished stock in 14 months. Being that we raise true 100% grass fed beef it takes us 24 months. Nearly twice as long to get the same size animal. Why? Because grain, mainly corn and soybeans, makes cows fat quite quickly. In return, the meat from grain fed cattle will make you fat quite quickly as well. Being that we have to feed them for 10 months longer we have higher input costs that unfortunately relates to higher costs at the store. Locally we have been working with a number of retail outlets to get our beef in the hands of the average consumer. Imagine our surprise when recentely we saw an add for "grass fed" beef for sale at a greatly reduced rate than what we could sell it for. The seller must have very low overhead or has not done the research into how much it actually costs to raise and maket their animals. So, it was time to do some research... What did I find? Someone with a creative marketing technique. It was a simple formula, buy animals from the local livestock sale barn at a reduced rate, put them on grass for a few months and what do you have? Grass fed beef? Yes, that is what they were touting, animals that had "eaten" grass were now considered grass fed. Keep in mind that these animals were purchased at a sale barn, a place where everyone's letovers and unwanted animals go. Where you have no idea what they have eaten, what they have been injected with and even what breed they are. <br /><br />Well, nothing we can do about it, expect to be true to our customers, present and future. We will NOT be cutting any corners, we simply want to provide the safest and purest organically raised meat possible. What more could you ask for? Maybe seconds!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-7535235022875419062010-02-23T01:15:00.000-08:002010-02-23T01:39:41.508-08:00New DayI had lunch yesterday with our butcher. We were discussing expanding our marketing through his retail location. What a great lunch, I asked him questions that he never thought of and he asked me questions that I never thought of. So often when you are in the middle of something you have trouble seeing what is outside. This was apparent yesterday. We talked about such things as where is our market going, what do the people want and where do we want to take this? <br /><br />We agreed on most points, except what do people want. With our market focusing on a healthy alternative to commercially raised corn fed beef his market has been customers who are more concerned about the lowest price possible. This is regardless of how it was raised. Where we spend all of our time researching how to grow the best tasting beef possible <strong>without</strong> feeding our cattle unhealthy grains, growth hormones, steroids or anti-biotics his customers for the most part aren't interested in our just don't know about the dangers of grain fed beef. We go as far as to replace corn syrup in our value added meat products with brown sugar to be as natural and organic as possible. When it comes to "cheap" beef, we just cannot compete with chemical laden corn fed beef. Where it takes them 14 months to raise a 1300 lb steer, the best we can do at this time is 1000 lbs after 24 months. Just as your are seeing in the youth today, corn and corn by-products put on the fat FAST! <br /><br />With high unemployment and people having to watch every nickle one can understand where he is coming from. We look at the long term health risks of eating a diet of grain fed beef that is high in Omega 6 fatty acids. <br /><br />We will continue our quest to provide not only the best quality healthy beef alternative, but the education of our customers current and future.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-54599230058640890792010-02-09T10:07:00.000-08:002010-02-09T10:53:26.821-08:00the CrustNew snow last night made feeding this morning pretty difficult. As part of our sustainable farming practice we try to let the cattle "fertilize" for us. By feeding them out in the pasture the wasted hay and manure are left out in the pasture. This saves us the trouble of having to spread it ourselves. With the new snow and some blowing and drifting the snow has a pretty good crust on it. It was hard enough this morning to carry my 180 lbs. All was going well until I backed in the fence with the loader, not a smart move. With one busted wire and one severely stretched I began my 300 yard search through the dark at 5 am. Fortunately after walking ALL the way to the end the wire wasn't broke, the plastic quick connect had thankfully come on done. All it took was a good tug and it was back up in the air and working again. I hope those cows appreciate they work they can cause! With the new grass their "fertilizer" produces, let's hope they appreciate it this summer!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-40293227623773147212010-02-04T18:35:00.000-08:002010-02-04T18:41:46.511-08:00Old ways become newGot a call the other day from a friend who was looking to buy some bulk corn. I had to explain to them that we do not buy any corn. "What, you don't buy corn for your livestock?" "No, we don't anymore, all of our beef is 100% grass fed. We do have some gravity bulk bins on the place, but we really don't have much use for them anymore. They were looking to purchase some corn in bulk to save on costs to feed their deer. I told them that they are welcome to use it, for we really don't have much use for it anymore. Since we are now a 100% grass fed we don't have much use for a gravity box to store corn in. Yes, our cows would get much fatter faster by feeding them corn, but "fat fast" is not our goal. Our goal is to provide sustainable food products for local families and by feeding corn, we are not adhering true to our beliefs. So please be patient, this is why it takes us 24 months to raise a steer and not 14, but it is so worth the wait!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-58630003797671020042010-01-28T02:20:00.000-08:002010-01-28T02:36:16.111-08:00Trouble with #6I am at a loss. We utilize an electric fence on our home place to keep the livestock in. It will give you a pretty good jolt if you happen to touch it, believe me I know. Now here is the trouble, I have one cow who seems to be completely immune to the fence. There is one section where she simply walks through. That would not be be bad enough except now she thinks that she is now at the buffet table. She drifts from the round bales to the small square bales that I have in the hay shed. She must know who irritated I get for she has gotten to be sneaky about it. She waits until I am done with morning chores and then decides that dinner is served. The dogs do a great job of keeping her in, if they realize that she is out. She has gotten good enough that she is able to dupe them most of the time as well. I should not be surprised for she has been this way even when she was young. The first spring when she became old enough to realize that the grass is greener on the other side she was always out. Even when I turned the fence on and she zapped herself three times she still has not learned, or she has become immune to it. The snow on the ground acts as a great insulator and obviously she has learned this. Spring will be here soon and the snow will be gone and let's hope that keeps her in.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-29228365868903050392010-01-21T19:19:00.000-08:002010-01-21T19:30:22.298-08:00A community learnsAttended the screening of the movie "Food Fight" last night. It was sponsored by our local food cooperative. We had about 131 people attend the event. After the showing of the film we were lucky enough to be invited to speak on a panel of local growers/producers. The movie/documentary focused on how our food in this country has changed so much over the past 60 years. It was the advent of WWII that lead to the biggest changes. The military wanted to find ways to fatten up their troops as quickly as possible. Traditional foods and traditional eating were not getting them fat enough, hence the invention of processed foods. By taking commodities such as corn and soybeans and turning them into calorie packed foods the troops quickly gained the weight the military was looking for. Translate this into today and now we have an epidemic obesity problem. <br /><br />Our part in this is helping to provide a safe and healthy product for families in the community. A recent article in Men's Health outlines how and why grass fed beef is so much healthier for you. http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/healthier_foods/Shrink_Your_Belly_Fat.php<br />The link is attached. <br /><br />It was such a great feeling knowing that we are not only providing people with a better food alternative, but have become better stewards of the land. We will keep you posted on the next upcoming screening. <a href="http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/healthier_foods/Shrink_Your_Belly_Fat.php"></a>dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-82809512243725871872010-01-02T05:21:00.000-08:002010-01-02T05:34:32.914-08:00Grass vs. CornIt was great 2009. We served more customers this year than last and we are starting to build our repeat customer base. I always try to make sure everyone gets a sample before they order. Grass fed beef is not for everyone. Unlike corn fed beef the grass fed beef will not be as fatty and mushy. It always amazes me how people equate "mushy" with tenderness. Tenderness comes from fine texturing not from meat that has no body and is "mushy." Also, grass fed beef will have a distinict flavor. How the animal is cared for, what is was fed and how it was slaughtered will really show. Because you are eating meat that is not laden with fat the flavor of the meat will not be masked by the fat. The fat tends to hide and insulate any sins that occur during the raising and harvesting process. Being shipped in trucks half way around the country and then being brought to a slaughter house that harvests thousands of animals per day causes a great amount of stress that would show up more in the meat if it were not for the fat that surrounds it. What happens to all of that fat once it hits your plate? You trim it off and throw it away, more waste that you are paying for. Grass fed beef has little waste both on the plate and in the pan. With no waste and great nutritional value you are truly getting a higher value product.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-12968870135907774882010-01-02T05:15:00.000-08:002010-01-02T05:21:47.005-08:00New Year and It is COLDThe holidays are over and we are settling in looking forward to spring. The weatherman predicated that it would be cold this morning and they were right. Woke up to -24F this am. Good thing I spent yesterday making sure we would be prepared for this. One of the automatic waterers was giving me trouble. The heater that was in it was not cutting it, it was only 125 watts. So, I replaced it with 250 watt heater. To act as a back up I also install 75 watt light bulbs in each waterer. It adds more heat and allows me to see that everything is working with one glance. Regardless, there will be some ice this morning. <br /><br />Going out now to check on everyone and feed my steers their daily ration of special grass. Good thing they are hairy!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-51139314647245793242009-12-19T19:15:00.000-08:002009-12-19T19:19:57.583-08:00Heat waveWow, what a change from last week, twenty one degrees and sunny. We sure had a blast last week with the below weather temperatures. When you look back 3 weeks ago and we had nearly 50 out and then last week we had -15 it sure gets tough to swallow. Now when it is 90 out this summer 21 will feel like then end of the world. Tomorrow I have got the get the fence fixed. The Southeast quarter is not working. Our new gate we installed needs to be crossed and the wiring hooked back up. Fortunately this fall we buried the wire, now all we have to do is hook it up. We have had one heifer calf who figured out that the fence is not working. She has since made the barn her home, roaming about freely. Good thing it is not summer for she would be busy mowing the bushes down. Won't it be a surprise tomorrow when that fence comes back on.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-90924370667001272542009-12-13T00:55:00.000-08:002009-12-13T01:01:39.327-08:00MousingBrought home 61 bales yesterday to get us through the winter. It is amazing when you start pulling apart the start that the ground underneath is still completely thawn. Imagine the surprise of those mice, all nice and snug in their beds and rudely awakened by us! My son Hunter was the first to see the mice, "look that mouse just crawled into that hole." Sure enough before we knew it that were dropping out everywhere. This continued even when we got home. Our oldest dog daisy was having a great time catching them and eating them. Disappointed, where was our cat? Maybe he is too well fed or too lazy! We were in a hurry yesterday so in front of the hay shed is one jumbled mess. Getting up early this morning to get it straightened out. Maybe Daisy will catch us a few more mice.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-55821839360450748992009-12-09T20:12:00.000-08:002009-12-09T20:18:28.716-08:00New CalfWow, it is really winter out now! It was 4 degrees yesterday and with the windshield we had 14 below. It won't seem cold in two months, but when it was 40 and 50 out two weeks ago it is tough to get used to. We had our last calf of the season on Monday. Our oldest cow, "old girl" had her calf. We try to calve in the spring and fall in order to have fresh beef available year round for our customers. She hung out there a little too long. Fortunately the calf was born before we got the snow this week. Once they hit the ground and dry off they can take most anything. What a cruel world. You are nice and warm in a pool of water at 101 degrees, sort of like a nice whirlpool bath, then you get dumped out into the snow at 4 degrees and now how to learn to walk within a matter of minutes! Amazing they can survive. We as humans, even as adults at times, can barely take care of ourselve. Here they are, 1 hr old and running around and taking care of themselves! A real testament to how hardy the Highlander Cattle are.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-69982980808932783552009-12-07T19:34:00.000-08:002009-12-07T19:40:44.172-08:00ArtistHad the inlaws over yesterday. As long as the Vikings are not playing they are usually over on Sunday's. Got the father in-law out there to help me tattoo a pure bred heifer calf. To tattoo a cow you take this mean looking pliers and insert the numbers and or letters into the unit. The ear is then cleaned out and a tattoo ink is applied. While trying to hold the calf down you grease up the ear real good with the ink and get ready with the pliers. The real trouble is that our association uses 6 letters and or numbers and my pliers only holds 5. This requires you to perform the procedure twice. Once you have the ear preped then you takes this mean and now pokey pliers and clamp down nice and hard on the ear. You do this all the while not trying to either tear the ear or poke through the ear. Once you make the holes you fill them up with ink and you should be good to go. That is easy to say! Try tattooing a squirming calf's 5 inch ear with 4 1/2 inches of tattoo. You have to be pretty good in your aim!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-20082019470955214842009-12-05T02:31:00.001-08:002009-12-05T02:45:51.981-08:00SightingsWow, what a busy couple of weeks. We were seen at two events in the lakes area. The first was the showing of the movie "food incorporated." The movie is a documentary of how the growing of food and the processing of food has changed so much in this country in this past century. It was SCARY to say the least. <br />www.foodincmovie.com<br />It was an amazing testimony of how we DON'T grow our beef. From the feed lot to the factory our animals NEVER experience those sort of conditions. We prefer to offer you safe food that is NOT factory fresh. Rather it is farm fresh. <br /><br />Our second event from these past weeks was serving hors samples at an annual fund raiser called "Taste of the Lakes". It is an annual event that raises money for Kinship Partners. A big brother, big sister mentoring program. www.kinshippartners.org<br />We handed out samples of ALL beef nitrate free wieners to the 350 or so gathered. The response was overwhelming. "This tastes so good and it is good for me?" "YES it is!" "Lower in fact and cholesterol than turkey or chicken." <br /><br />It was great letting people know that there are still people out there who can provide fresh and SAFE food for you and your family.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-73817839979882078142009-12-03T02:32:00.000-08:002009-12-03T02:43:34.397-08:00Hand fedWe penned up one of our cows on Sunday. She is our best looking cow, all burly and black with a nice set of horns. She is on her third calf with us. The first one died a few weeks after birth, not sure why. It was as if it was stunted and just woudl not eat. We speculated that she had been accidentally bred by a sibling before we got her. Her second calf came out fine but then also did not grow. We still have the calf and think it could pass for a miniture. She has since had her third calf. A nice black heifer calf. We had been worried about it's growth and thought that maybe it was not getting enough milk. So we penned the two of them up in order to supplement bottle feed the calf. This was no easy task for she is one fierce momma. Last year when I attempted to inspect her calf she came after me. It was not a very funny sight. I used the calf as a shield between she and I but as soon as that calf wiggled free she came right after me. I did my best judo defense as she backed me into a corner with horns a shaking and snot a flying out of her nose. All I could do was throw my feet up between she and I. The only thing behind me was the water tank which she quickly pushed me into and through and over. When it was all said and done I ended up about six feet further back then when it started! <br /><br />Well, we tried to feed the calf, with her trying to maime me the whole time. Luckiily for me we had an extra corral panel to protect me from her. For three days we tried force feeding the calf, the calf was having none of it. So much for it not getting enough milk. After a few chewed on fingers and most of the milk down my pant leg I am about ready to give up on the idea. Let's hope this one grows up otherwise we will have our start on a herd of mini's!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-68139011556303385342009-11-18T14:12:00.000-08:002009-11-18T14:33:25.513-08:00It is a ringer.Decided to haul a few bale rings out onto the field Monday. The one ring is really big, too big, 9 feet in diameter and hard to handle. I normally move it with the skidloader. I had just dropped a big round bale down and was carefully moving the bale ring into position. One last adjustment and we should be good... That was until the ring decided to drop backwards instead of forward. It dropped backwards completely encircling the loader. If we were playing horse shoes this would have been a ringer! How in the heck was I going to get this thing off of the loader? Not only had it encircled the loader it was wedged nice and tight against the tires. Maybe I should take it apart? A quick jaunt to the garage and I proceeded to take the thing apart. Of course, all of the bolts would not budge. What was next? Well, I was running out of daylight and decided that F it, I was going to get the adrenaline pumping and lift that thing off! After much effort and cussing, I did it! I had "freed" myself. Now not to do that again!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-2532868074443496962009-11-18T14:05:00.002-08:002009-11-18T14:12:35.701-08:00This is the end16 degrees this morning. I am hoping for some thawing weather this week. The ruts up in the mud by the barn are horrible. I think that if my children were to walk in them they couldn't see over the top. It is amazing how the ground freezing changes everything. What was once a deep puddle is now a small pond. We are going to try and move a fence this weekend, let's hope the weather holds. Pounding fence posts in the frozen ground is not real fun.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-91210904274675107602009-11-18T14:05:00.001-08:002009-11-18T14:05:21.100-08:00dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-15850164568124885822009-11-09T14:42:00.000-08:002009-11-09T14:45:25.737-08:00Harvest DayTomorrow three more steers are going to be harvested. It has been a good fall. Even with the economy down people are still willing to take care of their health and support their local farmer. It is hard to believe it has already been two years since those steers were born. If we cheated and filled them full of steroids and growth hormones we could get it done in 14 months, but why? I don't want to eat a cow that is on roids, do you? That rare steak might go on a rage and take that knife after you. Not going there.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-68292462048202414712009-11-03T03:44:00.000-08:002009-11-03T03:55:13.286-08:00Harvest TimeWhat a great two weeks it has been, we harvested 7 steers. After 2 years of good grass and lots of water and minerals they were ready to go. We are not only excited for the return on our investment, but the fact that more families in our local area are getting the chance to experience truly wholesome food. Unlike "factory fresh" beef ours is not a culumination of 150 animals in a grinder. The burger you get is from ONE animal. With 25% of all livestock being lame before it is slaughtered, do you really know what you are eating? Add to this the nitrates that are pumped into the sausage and hot dogs that you and your kids eat and ick. It is just not right that they can keep meat un-refrigated on the store shelves for months. I guess if we all eat enough of it they will not have to use formaldahyde on me when I die.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-67636476447530411782009-10-23T14:34:00.000-07:002009-10-23T14:37:18.613-07:00FencingWell yesterday day was not much fun. Have I told you how much I dislike electric fences? We had 10 steers "escape" out of the pasture yesterday, why? The fence was not working. There is a short SOMEWHERE. When you have miles of fence somewhere could be ANYWHERE! Well, after walking around for an hour I found a few trouble spots, but not the main spot. More investigating again today. It is much easier to find a broken wire in the light, in the dark with a flashlight just does not cut it. Our next fences will be barbed wire, it ALWAYS work. Time to go home and look for more breaks.dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-78737136529782739292009-10-21T14:42:00.001-07:002009-10-21T14:49:49.134-07:00Life LessonWell the week started out great. Helper Ricky and I visited the SEP office for an update. They are the one's that help pay for Ricky's training. It is actually more training for me in dealing with young people that are on the verge of greatness or failure. It is a real brass tacks program that helps youth in the community with job training opportunities. He has been teetering on the edge of not such greatness. Lot's of half truths and a pretty negative attitude lately prompted me to set up the meeting. Ricky has aspirations of making it into the military, unfortunately you have to pass certain tests to make it and he hadn't to date. It was a combination of a lack of studying and a lack of discipline. I know how hard studying is by yourself. Thank goodness for Twyla, she suggested the Adult Basic Education center. They would help him pass his test and realize his goals. Well, he went the first day and hopefully again today. I can just hear it now.. Your in the Army now!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6860252233788575229.post-20664388989630781872009-10-14T12:11:00.000-07:002009-10-14T12:17:32.575-07:00HomecomingSunday was a busy day. We spent the morning rounding up the last of our cows to come home. Friend Jim Cole takes care of a few of our cows for the summer in Pillager. The always come back SO FAT! Testament to some personal care and plenty of good grass. Wife Chris and I got them loaded in record time, 40 minutes. Great, we are ahead of schedule. So, we stopped for some lunch at the cafe 3 miles down the road. Why does the trailer feel sort of weird behind us? Could it have something to do with smoke POURING out of the rear axle? Yep, looks as if our borrowed trailer needs a wheel bearing pack or actually some new bearings. Fortunately we caught it in time. The bearing got hot, but did not completely blow up. Jim was kind of enough to come back and help me out. A quick trip to the auto parts store, new bearings and fresh grease and we are back on the road. Chris, my mom Pat and the kids had rode along, fortunately they found comfort and the Vikings game at the local bar. They were so patient as Jim and I worked like a pit crew putting it back together. Fortunately no tires blew!dcberginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06537575002806561964noreply@blogger.com0