This week's news: in farming, like most things, predictable things happen unexpectedly. We don't know precisely when things will happen, but we know things will go wrong, eventually. This week, the unexpected predictable thing was where steers ain't s'posed to be:
Last Monday, we picked up the last group of cattle for this year from a well-regarded grass-based farm in NY and released them into their quarantine pasture. Being NYers and Yankees fans, these boys had been vet-checked at their home farm but need to be kept separate from our steers until the local animal inspector can make sure that they are healthy and not transporting any inappropriate sports merchandise. Its a formality, but you never know.
It turns out that these boys are a wilder bunch than the rest of the herd, a bit unmannerly and apparently unused to close contact with people. By 4 pm on Independence Day, four of them were out of the fence and running. We were able to herd them from the east side of Moose Hill Street back across the road and into the woods at the back of the main farm and the Mass Audubon sanctuary before they disapppeared.
Fortunately, they have settled down about and are returning to be near the other steers in the pasture, spending significant amounts of time in and near "Margaret's Meadow" an unfenced open area adjacent to the main pastures. We have provided a water trough outside the fence and once they are using it regularly, we will begin moving it further and further into an empty pasture near the other cattle until we are able to catch them inside and close the gate. We will also be building some fence behind them in the woods to limit their ability to move away from the farm.
I wish I could include a picture of them frolicking in the woods, but they don't hang around when they see the paparazzi. The best I can do is this picture of where they've been:
Look, fresh sign! Have a great week, everybody...
Jesse
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