Welcome to the Big Trails Natural Beef blog. Check here for a weekly blog that describes how and why we raise all natural, grass fed, grass finished beef in Wyoming. We'll cover events and ideas important to producing grass-fed beef. For a daily account of ranch life, head over to Red Dirt in My Soul.
This week I wanted to get into the sale of cattle using a video auction. Big Trails Beef has the benefit of meeting the final consumer face-to-face and having a relatively set price for our beef. The price does not jump up or down depending on what the futures boards are doing and what the trade climate is a the moment. However, most people are dependent on buyers who watch these things day to day.
Read MoreToday I was afforded a little time to go up and check on the Big Trails Beef herd. They were taken up the mountain a couple of weeks ago and have been grazing and enjoying mountain life, mostly on their own, since.
Read MoreI had a request for a day following Jekyll. It's difficult to describe what a typical day looks like in Jekyll's life. I have a hard time describing that for myself, but Jekyll has even less of an idea of what is going to happen each day.
Read MoreRanching is a family business. At least it is around here….
Read MoreIt has been another busy one! Gathering the badlands, branding, and a tornado somewhere between my house and my brother's kept us busy.
Read MoreThis week, has been a big week. Brandon has been getting you all informed on the AI program and how it all works and this week we put all of that information to use.
Read MoreThe last two weeks we have talked about AIing heifers and I want to stick with the heifers for another week because they are the only group of cows that aren't out there eating spring grass yet.
Read MoreLast week I told you that we were going to talk about the process of AI and I will. Sorry if it seems kind of brief, but I am a little worn our from the days events. The process of AI is fairly straightforward so it shouldn't take long.
Read MoreI want to delve into a big topic starting this week and I will expand on the actual process next week. I know that some of you may not be used to talking about reproductive biology so openly, but try to keep in mind that I have grown up talking about the science of breeding. I get uncomfortable when humans come up and my mouth is suddenly wired shut. When it's cows, it's just another day on the ranch.
Read MoreIt's a change of pace at the Greet Ranch. We've gone from calving (except for a few stragglers) to moving cows out to spring pasture and now we are in full farming mode.
Read MoreSpring has officially sprung here on the ranch. We are loving the warmer weather for several reasons this week…
Read MoreWarm weather has brought some green grass! And with green grass comes events of spring....
Read MoreI thought it would be a good opportunity to touch on why we run Black Angus cattle. Before I get to that I want to let you get a quick update on Will. Will is still in the corral with his mother and still walks on his knuckles.
Read MoreSalt is vital to humans and cows alike. Cattle need an average of three to four ounces of salt per day. It is essential for biological processes. Every aspect of cattle performance is impacted if they are deficient in salt: growth, reproduction, and even carcass quality.
Read MoreThe weather has been nicer lately, but today brought snow again. It wasn't much, but it was wet and sticky. Tonight is supposed to bring more, with NOAA forecasting 3-5 inches of snow. Today also brought many more calves. The cows are calving rapidly now and keeping us busy. The big news of the day came from my brother: the last heifer has calved!
Read MoreThe last week has brought a lot of new baby calves and warmer weather so calving has been going better. It also brought a certain calf that will be the focus of this week's post. It has many more challenges than a normal calf, but the good news is that it has been handling them quite well.
Read MoreCalves, calves, muck, calves, snow, cows, water, ice, calves, mud, manure, calves. There. Now you are all caught up on the past week. To keep from boring you with week after week of calving, I thought I would share a story from a few years ago.
Read MoreEverybody has different processes that they go through based on what they think works better for them. The main reasons for these activities are calf health and identification. But first, I want to give a little update on the last week.
Read MoreIt's here... It's all here at once. Calving, snow, and cold have all decided to come at the same time!
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