Happy to Graze
October 6th, 2014 · No Comments · Posted in farming
Our animals moved to the upper pasture for the third time this season and they couldn’t be happier. Emily, our Jersey heifer, was so excited she danced around the paddock, literally kicking up her heels.
Do cows experience joy? Apparently so.
August and September were very dry in our part of Upstate New York–the sixth driest September in 160 years of record keeping. Our pastures still appear to be in good shape. There’s a thick mat of foliage shading the soil. But the grass is getting shorter as the livestock graze it down and soon it will stop growing at all.
Hopefully we’ll have enough to see us into winter when the animals move to the permanent paddock. I’ve been saving or “stockpiling” the two acres of adjacent pasture for winter and early spring grazing. Otherwise, we’ll be feeding hay for five months.
Maybe that’s why the critters are so happy to be roaming those fields of green. They know what’s in store for them.
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