The next generations review…

..the next generation.

It was front and center for this year’s crop of yearling-plus heifers. Not quite ready to breed and that’s the problem. Breed now and calve in the fall with the attendant problems plus rebreeding difficulty?

Or wait until they’re ready which could mean calving in the equally difficult winter months.

Church on the right voted to go ahead and he’s the one who gets up in the dark and will have to deal with the problem either way.

Grandpa on the left voted to wait but of course he’s in Assisted Living where he can do nothing but express an opinion. Curt and Carolyn in the middle were the swing votes and they said wait.
In the final analysis the old folks chickened out…and left the vote an “advisory opinion”…with Church to do as he thinks best. New generations have to learn.

Grandpa finally decided for himself that an older cow is better able to handle the stress—-physically and psychologically—than a younger animal. And the extra calves got added on at the end and for the life of that cow she was more trouble-free.

But it’s a funny thing about cows…they’ll try their best to do what you ask of them.

David