Winter

It is difficult to remember as we go through a more traditional winter complete with snow and cold that a mere six months ago we were working pretty hard trying to keep pastured cattle alive in the heat and get sows to breed in that same heat, in August, when they are physiologically not very inclined toward pregnancy anyhow. The cold snaps here at Pastures mean extra hay set out for the cattle and the half frozen fingers that go with trying to get the twine off those bales to a seemingly endless need for extra bedding in the hog quarters. We are approaching another turn in the seasons now as we get into February. The winter has shown us weaknesses in our winter operations just as the heat did for summer a few months ago. The challenge is to set things up so that the livestock is comfortable in a wide range of temperatures and conditions without requiring a great amount of heroic effort on our part. That is part of what farm management really is, and for those of us in alternative agriculture, we must find our own way since we have left behind the turnkey systems that conventional agriculture offers. Jim