1,882 miles
Mar 28 – Saxon
Falls is a little ways off the road, but it is a beautiful waterfall, and wonderfully
symbolic. The falls are large and complicated. They are located on the Montreal River, which forms
part of the border between Wisconsin and Michigan, so the falls are technically
in both states.
In the
spring, meltwater gushes over 3 channels at this upper drop, and there are more
drops nearby. The lower drop is best
seen from the Michigan side, although it is more difficult to get to. In other seasons, much less water flows, but
it is still beautiful.
Saxon
Homestead Farm, a 5th-generation family partnership, has been
practicing spring seasonal calving and rotational grazing for decades. The
family’s methods are modeled after those used by New Zealand and Irish dairy
farmers. Saxon Farm Homestead
participates in the University of Wisconsin’s Discovery Farms Program to
promote improved farming practices. I’m
surprised to read this. I thought that
all farmers were now using artificial insemination to time their animal births
for spring.
The spring workload
at Saxon Homestead is intense, as approximately 125 cows and heifers calve each
month during March, April, and May. It
takes the whole team of family members to care for all those newborns!
Saxon
Falls: http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/saxon.shtml
Farmers use artificial insemination to improve their herds. They choose a bull with characteristics they wish to promote in their cattle. They learn of these characteristics from information the breeder has about the offspring the bull has produced. I am surprised at this farm's practice of birthing in the spring. Many farmers try to keep the same number of cows producing through the year by 'drying off' a portion of them at intervals. They then have a continuous income.
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