Here is a picture of forages in one of our paddocks on one of our rented properties. This is 5 weeks of regrowth after the cows and calves were rotated off this paddock. This field was growing limited forage that was of marginal quality prior to our taking over management three years ago. We repaired the irrigation structure so that we could start irrigating the field and also put in electric fence so that we could implement a rotational grazing system. During the first winter, I fed hay that had red clover, white clover, and birdsfoot trefoil seed in it over a wide area of the field. All three of those legume species are pictured above. Birdsfoot trefoil is the plant with the yellow flower and is comparable to the clovers in nutrition and palatability for grazing purposes. Our ability to produce this quality of forage during the entire grazing season is a primary reason our yearlings can grow to a nice weight and finish at 18 months of age.
Here are some of our yearlings resting on a cool, overcast mid-June morning after filling up on some high quality forage. We are two months away from the start of our harvest season and the group is fattening up nicely. They will definitely be well finished by their harvest date and look to be the nicest set of yearlings we have ever raised.
This is one of our busiest times of the year here on the ranch as we have just finished first cutting hay harvest and are into the second week of artificial insemination (AI) season while keeping up with irrigation. Ferdinand is now turned in with our four late calving cows along with a few others that I chose not to AI. By the end of the month, all the cows and calves will be turned back together after I finish AI season and Ferdinand will have the job of breeding any cows that did not become pregnant during the first heat cycle. Last year I did not have a clean-up bull, so I'm relieved that Ferdinand will be on the job this year. Here are our yearlings on some lush forage. Things are really starting to pick up here at Martin Family Ranch. We are on our second cycle of irrigation and our hay fields are ready to harvest as soon as the weather cooperates. We have started to contact our recent beef customers about this year's beef harvest which begins in August and lasts through early November. It looks like we will have a few animals available for new customers and are now taking deposits from old and new customers alike. We did weigh our yearlings last month and the weights were right where we want them with many steers weighing in the 900 pound range. This should be the highest quality and most uniform bunch of grass-finished animals we've ever offered.
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