Letter to the Editor:

This time of the year there’s a lack of sleep for everyone at my house. Yes, daylight saving’s time is one factor, but March through May is ‘calving season’ on our farm when our mama cows are due to have their babies. And as a cattle farmer that means getting up, putting on a jacket and mud boots to venture out to the barn a few times throughout the night.

Unfortunately, like human babies we can’t predict exactly when they will get here. That means that every two hours or so, we check on the cows to see if anyone is in labor. In most cases, cows have their calves on their own and both are healthy and happy, but when they do need some assistance, we want to be there to help where needed. After the calf is born, they are usually standing up within a half-hour and start nursing on their own, but if not we also help them get started there too.

Some days we may be in the barn until 11 p.m. cleaning out stalls, weighing and identifying calves to keep track of their health, bedding the barn, filling water buckets, hauling feed, and monitoring new mamas and their babies. Add getting out of bed for calving checks every two hours, and it can be exhausting. Things don’t always go as planned, but we try the best to make sure that our cows are healthy and happy. There’s nothing more rewarding than welcoming a new calf to the farm even if it’s through tired eyes.

Lisa Kubik

Traer