Calving 101: Before Calving

On a Cow/Calf farm the most important product—the only product—is our calf. Contrary to a dairy farm, where milk is the product and the calf a necessary by-product, birthing and raising a healthy calf is what we work for all year. Whether that calf will be sold for breeding stock or food, we breed, feed, and care for our momma cow every day to try to ensure she can successfully birth and raise a healthy offspring. The loss of a calf is devastating--emotionally as well as economically.

Even though birth usually happens quickly and all needs to go just about right for a successful calving, it takes a years' worth of preparation before that day for momma to help her new baby enter the world as healthy as possible with the best chance of survival. Even though Shat Acres is the oldest registered fold of Highland Cattle in the US, and has birthed and raised over one thousand calves, we are still learning. During our fifty-eight years with our beloved Highlands, we have developed a list of "to-do's" to do to help us prepare for successful calving. We don't accomplish everything with every cow, but we try.

Even with our best plans and efforts, we are not successful in saving every calf. On those (thankfully not very often) days when we lose a calf, we shake our heads, shed some tears, thank momma cow for her hard work, tell her it is not her fault, and remind ourselves that not all farm days are good days.