I’m sure many of you have experienced the, well, Arctic temperatures this winter. Negative temps were the norm during parts of December and the wind blew extremely hard for several of those days making the wind chill ridiculously cold.
My father-in-law feeds cattle through the winter. They come off of grass, where they spend most of their lives, and spend a couple months gaining weight or “finishing” (last step before becoming delicious, nutritious beef!). Tyler isn’t involved full-time in the feeding operation, but he pitches in when his dad needs a hand. During the frigid temps in December, “helping” meant chopping ice on waterers.
While cattle are well adapted to the elements, they are like any other mammal and need a steady water source. So we make sure the ice is cleared off each day, the hose is still running in the manual tanks and the automatic waterers are in working order. Hydrated cows = happy cows.
Here’s to staying warm!
God Bless You & American Agriculture,
Liz
He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth. Psalm 104:14
The Farm Paparazzi 
Great post! Thank you! And thanks to Tyler and his dad for their hard work. My stomach and my freezer appreciate it!
Ah, thanks Mary!
Hi Liz, I was just wondering if your family ever looked into High-Efficiency Livestock Waterers? I work with a utility that provides cash incentives for these, but we haven’t had any ranchers take us up on them. Are they too cost prohibitive in the first place?
Hi David, Thanks for the question! I asked my husband and he said sometimes it’s difficult to get power to the waterers, and in the past they’ve proven unreliable. But, that’s just one guy’s experience. Thanks for checking out the blog!