Happy Spring!! What a great time of year; the geese are flying north, the robins are out and the snow is disappearing. For us at the farm it’s a busy and exciting time; calving. We currently have 2 heifer calves on the ground running around, with 4 more cows due anytime. It’s always fun to see what colors we get, with the Highlands having the wild color gene you never know.
We finalized the shipment of Koal’s straws to begin their journey to Nicolas Ibanez’s farm in Santiago, Chile.
We had our North Central Highland Cattle Assoc. annual meeting in February in Minneapolis, MN. It’s always nice to go and see folks that I sometimes only see on this weekend. One of those couples are Harris & Donna Viker of Marsh Creek Highlands (www.marshcreekhighlands.com). They have had Highlands since 1988 and are one of the most respected breeders in the business. Sadly, they had decided that it was time to disperse their herd and Donna approached me about the possibility of buying their last 2 heifers as she knew they would have a good home. To say that I was honored with that comment is an understatement. So the deal was made to bring Lena and Jeanette home. In the process of making arrangements, Donna also sold her last 3 cows (ranging in age from 14-16 years old) to a breeder in eastern WI. With some planning we all decided that it would be in the best interest of the older cows to load them once and take them to their new home, as they were due to calve soon. We found a break in the weather that would work for all parties involved and I left here to go to Mahnomen, MN (75 miles northeast of Fargo, ND) to the Viker’s farm. I had such a nice visit that evening and so enjoyed Donna’s stories, hearing the love and pride in her voice of her beloved animals. The next morning, we had the paperwork all in order and it was time for Donna to say good-bye. Considering the cattle had never been off the farm; the way they had been raised made the loading very easy. I arrived in eastern WI about 9:30 pm that evening with everyone traveling very well. After a nice morning of walking the pastures and seeing their animals; it was time to leave WI and head back for Magnet, NE. After 1550 miles in 3 days, I arrived home that evening about 11 pm. By now, Jeanette and Lena were seasoned travelers and were happy to be in their new home.
I have been blessed with many happy memories since I have had this great breed, with this one being right at the top.
Our travel plans for the year are coming together, so please check out the events page, with the MN Jr Spring Classic in Austin, MN being the first. It’s all about the kids and their cattle. This will be the first year that the Highlands will have their own division at this event and we are so excited! I hope to see you at one of the events this year.
