farm calendars

Detailed record keeping and organization is vital to our Shorthorn cattle farm...

On our farm, we keep in depth records on our cows and calves. Farm calendars help us remain organized and track important dates we need to make note. Through this, we are able to better our farm management.

I use a few calendars each for different purposes...
..  A smaller monthly calendar is just for the cow herds. It notes... when cows calve during spring and fall calving (the calendar is included in our kit during calving season), when we vaccinate the herds of cows, calves, and bulls with our health program in the summer, the date bulls are turned out with the cow herds for breeding season, when embryos are implanted in recipient cows, when calves are weaned, if a feeder calf is sick and needs treatment, and  when we vaccinate and pregnancy check cows in the winter.

..  A small wall calendar will hang in the corn crib feed room. It will track when corn is rolled as feed for calves, when we take delivery of pelleted protein, feed additives and mineral, and when antibiotics are used in feed if it is needed.  

..  A large desk calendar sits on my desk of the farm office. This calendar is the my main calendar.  In addition to tracking the cattle herds, and feed records, we note weather conditions, when we cut and bale hay, along with the amount of hay harvested, and is also my personal calendar.

I found a few cute calendars at Target. [ I absolutely love Target! ] It is always nice when calendars are super cute. So, I am ready for 2018 on the farm!

the farm office

the farm office is the heart of the cattle farm...

  

On our Shorthorn cattle farm, it is very important to have a nice office that is purposeful and well organized. I love to be and need to be organized. Since I often work long hours at times throughout the year in my farm office, I also want a space I love. If I have an office I adore and enjoy working in, I will be much more productive. And, I do love working in my office! I think it's pretty cute...  

 

functional  +  funky

 

black saddle chair
black painted captain chair

laptop & wireless printer

iPad

telephone

desk calendar

sea grass basket [ calendar, patterned binder, portfolios, and Vigortone manual ]

b&w print magazine holder [ natural paper file folders labeled with a black Sharpie ]

clear lamp with burlap shade

2 barn board shelves

clock

sea grass basket [ black binders and a clipboard for cattle records ]
clear + turquoise tote [ calving records ]

black tray [ additional cattle records ]
purple sticky notes

patterned notepads
mini clipboard + notepad

binder clips in an antique Atlas jar

Sharpies [ in my favorite colors...lilac, purple, turquoise, magenta, orange & lime ]

In three desk drawers...
drawer #1    paperclips, business cards, notepads, rubber stamps, and ink

drawer #2    3 hole punch, pens, scissors, washi tape, and string

drawer #3    printer paper, printer ink, file folders, and legal pads

Rustic...the style I have always loved. My favorite colors to use in decorating are black and brown. Then, I add pops of color throughout... purple, yellow, or turquoise. The wall of my office is painted black. And, I absolutely LOVE it! It coordinates well with the two barn board shelves above the desk! The black wall creates a warm and cozy space for my farm office.

A clear lamp with a burlap shade sits on my desk. It adds a warm light as I work. A desk calendar with ultra-fine Sharpies keep track of everything important on the farm. A sea grass basket and b&w print magazine holder are in close reach of working at my desk... while being organized and cute. The wall clock hangs just above the desk. It can easily be seen to help keep me on task.

Onto the backs of black buttons, I glued tacks. The tacks were then pressed into the baskets. So simple and cute! They add an adorable touch to the sea grass baskets. One of these sea grass baskets holds black binders of cattle records. This basket allows quick access to records off a barn board shelf while looking rustic chic.
 

 

I had two extra wood chairs and decided to paint them black. They were sanded for a rustic look. It is perfect for an extra seating at the side of my desk!

 

To add a little of my style to my office

. soy candle

. wax warmer [ linen scented ]

. edition of Feeds and Feeding textbook

. turquoise antique Ball jars - Grandma Stevens

. antique feed scale - Grandpa Stevens
. primitive sheep figurine

. farm photos
. rope knot [ purchased @ Bishop Hill ]
 

feeds and feeding - one of my favorites

 

rope knot from bishop hill

Hanging above my desk is this cute rope knot from Bishop Hill! I love it in my office!

 

 

 

My favorite farm photo is a b&w print of my dad as a little boy bottle feeding his lamb. It is so cute! I will always cherish it. The framed photo goes well with the antique scale of my grandpa Stevens.

capture life

capture life...perfect for this agriculture photographer! I found this adorable wood sign at Barn Owl Primitives! It is on a barn board shelf beside a antique turquoise Ball jar.

my favorite mug from magnolia market

 I adore this mug! It was a from my visit to Magnolia Market in Waco, TX! 

2017 calving data

It is calculated. Our calving data for 2017...

In our purebred Shorthorn cattle herd, detailed records are extremely important to us in our management. During calving season, we track information through our unique record keeping we have developed over the years.

 

We had a 98.5% calving rate for 2017. Of our calves, 56% were bulls and 44% were heifers.

We calculate calving ease to determine the percentage of calves born unassisted (on their own without our help). This calving season, 79.1% of calves were born without assistance and 20.9% of calves were assisted in birth. We monitor our cows very closely and assist cows or heifers in calving when needed. This is especially so with heifers calving for the first time. We want them to concentrate on their newborn calf. So, the percentage of assisted births are normally higher for us because we want to increase our odds of success. As cows and heifers are in process of calving, we watch for progress. If a half hour has passed after the water bag has broken and there has not been much progress, we assist the cow or heifer in calving. We do not want her or her calf to be stressed. A lack of progress may indicate a possible issue...multiple births, or malposition (breech, backwards, upside down).     

Calves are vaccinated, tagged, and weighed at birth. The average weight of calves born at farm G (2 - 4 year old cows) was 82 pounds. And, the average weight of calves born at farm M (5 - 10 year old cows) was 96 pounds. 

During the calving season, we feed hay to our cows in the afternoon. We feed our expecting cows around 4:00 pm to increase the odds of calving during the day. If cows have calving issues, we will already be awake. We have used this feeding method for more than 30 years. And, it has proven to work well for us. In 2017, 91% of calves were born during the day and 9% of calves were born at night.    

Along with this data, individual records are kept for each calf born on our farms. We are able to track each calf throughout its life. The 2017 calving data is printed on colored paper and stored in a binder for reference. And, we often refer to it.
 

 

tagging box

Our calf tagging box is prepped to tag the 2017 calves!

 

The tagging box holds supplies for tagging our bull and heifer calves. It keeps our tags and buttons, tagger, pencil, and tag markers all together.

 

Bull calves will get an orange numbered tag. And, heifers will get a yellow numbered tag. With a tag marker, the numbered tag of the cow and bull are written on each calf tag. As calves are born, a list is kept to make tagging easier.    

 

2017 calves

 

calving records prepared for 2016

Calving is soon arriving!



calving records

We start calving the first week of March. So, I have started organizing. This week, I have taken time to prepare records for calving season. One very important part of our purebred Shorthorn herd is records. And with calving season, it is extremely important to have detailed records. Over the 70+ years of raising purebred cattle, we have developed a thorough record keeping system. Through our records, we are able to track each calf throughout its life.

 

Our record keeping system for calving includes:

. one copy of our herd pregnancy records as a due date reference kept in the calving binder
 

. spiraled notecard calving book that we use to track the birth details of each calf . we include; cow number, date and time of birth, sex of calf, coloring, type of birth, weight of calf, calf identification, and sire . the calving book is kept in the calf vaccination kit and is written in when we weigh and vaccinate a calf at birth
 

. record sheet for each calf that is printed and kept in the calving binder . this sheet is similar to the calving book . it includes: cow number, tattoo, color, due date, sire, farm, date and time calved, paper tag, sex, weight, color, type of birth, numbered tag, vaccinations, date vaccinated, other comments (issues nursing, cow temperament, presentation of birth), and any other treatments given. the record sheet is saved as an Excel document and printed . a different colored paper is used for the calf record sheet each calving season
 

. handwritten list of calves born located on a clipboard and includes a pen . the list includes : cow, date of birth, farm, sex of calf, calf weight, color, sire, paper tag, and numbered tag . this list is extremely useful for tagging calves with their numbered tag, and tracking total number of heifer and bull calves

. spreadsheet list of calves kept in the calving binder . this is the same as the handwritten list but is saved as an Excel document to be viewed on the laptop or tablet  
 

. container that holds paper tags with glue, and a Sharpie are kept in the vaccination kit . the temporary tag for calves will match the numbered tag of the cow

2015 Weaning

Our calving season is March through April, so we typically wean our calves in early September. We weaned calves from our two cow herds on September 23 and 24. The calves were loaded and hauled to the feedlot barn to be weighed, and vaccinated.

 

Calves from each of the two farms were sorted by heifers and steers and weighed. The heifer and steer calves from each farm averaged...

 

herd 1 (5+ year old cows)
heifer average    550

steer average    679
 

herd 2 (2-4 year old cows)
heifer average    472

steer average    563
 

Weaning weights were recorded from our scales. We were extremely pleased with the weaning weights of the calves! Weights were much heavier than last year. These weights told us that our management was excellent. Over the years, we have developed a great herd health program with our veterinarian. Our herd nutrition was on point. In addition to pasture and hay, we fed oatlage to out cattle herds. The calves had corn, oats, and cotton seed hulls available to them in creep feeders. And, our cattle always have a supply of salt and mineral to meet their needs. We are always improving or looking for ways to improve.  The weights from calves at each farm were then entered onto a spreadsheet. In 2006, I developed a spreadsheet to track weaning weights. It has been very beneficial in the management of our calves.  

 

records are extremely important to our management

 

After being weighed, calves received a series of shots: 2cc Bovi-Shield Gold, 2cc 20/20 Vision 7, 4cc of Vitamins ADE, and 8cc of BP48 (to prevent illness). No calves have been treated for illness since being weaned. That is always our goal.

 

Calves were fed a ration of oats, corn, cotton seed hulls, and hay when first weaned. Now, they are fed corn, soybean meal, Vitamins, and hay.

 

We have been very pleased with the gain. And, I have been starting to select replacement heifers to retain. 

 

Cattle records prepared for 2015





laptop and tablet sit at my desk in my farm office



Last fall, I purchased a Dell  laptop and tablet.  On my laptop, I recreated all of my spreadsheets used to keep records on our Shorthorn cattle herds...bulls, calving, calves, health program, replacement heifers, weaning weights, and pregnancy checking. All records are printed and kept in binders, as well. Our cattle records are always easily assessable.

 

 

Through One Drive, I am able to view all cattle records on both my laptop and tablet. If I have my tablet in the barn or out to the pasture, I can update or view cattle records at that moment. Pretty amazing!

 

This is my first tablet, so I am pretty excited to use it on the farm. This year, my plan is to purchase barn cameras to be used for calving season. I will be able to view the barn cameras anywhere from my laptop or tablet. So exciting! 

 

Technology in the Pasture



bringing technology to the pasture



I decided to purchase a Dell tablet for the farm. It arrived! So excited to use my new tablet on our farm and bring this technology to the pasture!

There are so many possibilities for using the tablet on our cattle farm! We will have quick access to our cattle records wherever we are. I have created documents for calving, replacement heifers, weaning, and pregnancy checking. These documents will be available to us in the pastures or barns at any time. I am elated! With the tablet, I will also be able to photograph or video our cattle. Being able to do so will be extremely useful.

In the near future, I plan on using barn cameras during calving season. And, I would love to view the barns from the tablet. It would be so amazing! This tablet provides us with so much potential, and I look forward to all of the possibilities!

Preparing to Wean Calves

As of this afternoon, we are prepared to wean our 2014 calves. Much effort goes into the preparation of weaning our calves. The feeder calf barn and lot have been cleaned and sanitized for calves, and the barn has been bedded down with straw. We have the scale and records ready to weigh calves.

barn is ready for calves

So much work has been put into redoing the For-Most cattle chute we use for feeder calves. Many calves have been vaccinated in this chute. My dad welded a new floor. It looks great! In time, I hope to sandblast and repaint the chute.
 



for-most cattle chute

After speaking with our veterinarian, vaccinations were ordered. We vaccinate our calves according to our health program we have developed with Dr Baird. Calves will receive four shots...Bovi Shield Gold, 20/20 Vision 7, Vitamins ADE, and BP48.




shots administered according to our health program

 

Every year, we weigh calves at weaning. We sort and weigh the heifers, steers, and bull calves from each herd. In 2006, I created a spreadsheet to better track weaning weights of our calves. The spreadsheet lists average weights from the farms, and shots administered to the calves. Information we collect is extremely valuable! 

weaning records

We are weaning calves from the two cattle herds on Tuesday. I am extremely excited about these calves! There are many high quality heifers and steers this year. These calves have been so much fun to watch grow. It is a proud moment for a cattleman! 

We are continuously improving every year. We can proudly say that we have improved from the previous year. It is something we strive for as cattlemen. Each year we evaluate what we do and make changes as we see necessary.

Tattooing Heifers

a replacement heifer receives a tattoo

 

This afternoon, we tattooed 12 replacement heifers. Each yearling heifer received a unique tattoo using letters and numbers. A tattoo consists of four digits. The first digit of the tattoo is the birth year of the heifers... 2013 = 3. The second digit of the tattoo will be a letter...G or MJ. Heifers owned by my parents will have a G. Heifers owned by myself will have a MJ. The remaining digits are in numeric order. The tattoo of one of heifers [Red #9] is 3MJ2.

 

We use these tattoos for identification. Their tattoo will match registration paperwork for pedigrees with the American Shorthorn Association.

Tagging Calves

preparing to tag calves

After updating calving records, dad and I tagged calves last Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day! My kind of Sunday Funday :)

 

A list of calves born on the farms is used to prepare numbered ear tags for heifers and bulls. Heifers receive a yellow numbered tag, and bulls receive an orange numbered tag. Calves born on one farm are tagged in their left ear, and calves born on another farm are tagged in their right ear. On each tag, I write the cow and bull of the calf being tagged. 

We tag calves with a numbered ear tag for calf identification. Through tagging and maintaining cattle records, we are able to track a calf throughout its life.

Calving Records

Records are prepared for the 2014 calving season. On our farm, we raise purebred Shorthorn cattle. The records we keep and maintain are extremely important to the management of our cattle. We keep record of each calf that is born on our cattle farm. Through our records, we are able to track each calf throughout its life. When a calf is born, we note in our calving book: the date and time of birth, cow identification, coloring of and markings on the calf, birth weight, calving ease, the sire, and any other important information in regards to the calf. The daily calving book is kept with the calf vaccination kit. 



the calving book is important to our cattle herd records

At birth, each calf receives temporary identification that matches the numbered ear tag of the cow. A paper hip tag is used to match a calf with the cow until we tag the calf with a numbered ear tag.

 

a paper hip tag serves as temporary identification for a calf

A list is kept as calves are born. I maintain this list to prepare numbered ear tags for heifer calves and bull calves. The calving list notes: cow, farm, heifer or bull, sire, hip tag number, and numbered ear tag. Heifers receive a yellow numbered tag, and bulls receive an orange numbered tag. Calves born on one farm will be tagged in their left ear, and calves born on another farm will be tagged in their right ear.



records are important in a purebred cattle herd

 

In the calf vaccination kit, we also include a list from pregnancy checking cows. This list helps us determine when a cow will calve.



pregnancy checking list with due dates