Just when you thought you've seen it all...

The farming experience is usually all fun and games here at S&K Farm, or at least a mixture of hard work and fun. The past 48 hours have been a little bit of a different story. At 4 PM on Thursday, Farmer K received a call that one of the herds (that's 83 head to be exact) were visiting on the neighbor's farm. Now that doesn't sound too bad...until you consider that particular neighbor doesn't have fencing between himself and the railroad, or really between himself and anything. To remedy the situation, Farmer K, Farmer S and Farmer K' sister and father descended upon the farm to save the day. The herd politely came when called and returned home...all 83. Just like that. So the humans worked on the fence and made sure the fence was up to par and headed home at dark.

Fast forward to Friday morning at 7:30 AM. Farmer S decided to do a drive-by the farm on his way to work at his office job. That drive-by prompted a phone call to Farmer K to say the big herd was out again...all 83 again. So Farmer K, Farmer S and Farmer K's sister and father descended upon the farm again. Let's not forget how wet the grass is at 7:30 AM...soaking. This time the herd wasn't as accommodating as before. After a couple of near stampedes and several attempts to group the herd up, all the cattle were eventually returned to their field. Fences were mended until 1:30 PM. At that time, all the cattle were settled down for the day and laying in the shade.

Fast forward less than 30 minutes...to the phone call from the neighbor that a cow had been missed when the herd was rounded up. After the 5 minute drive back to the farm, Farmer K determined no cow had been missed. Instead, 10 cows had pushed through the fence again. So Farmer K and her sister, plus Farmer S who left his day job again returned the cows to the correct field. At this point, exasperation was near so the entire herd was sent to the holding pen for the day. The remainder of the day was spent repairing the fence line...or so we thought.

Saturday was spent repairing the fence line, fortifying the line to hold the cows. Now you may wander why the herd suddenly had such horrid behavior. It's all because the grass is greener on the other side, literally. The neighbor's farm is a hayfield so the grass is all tender compared to the herd's pasture. In mid afternoon, Farmer S and Farmer K determined the fence was sufficiently fortified to let the herd out while we could keep tabs on them and continue to work the line. As soon as their pen was opened, the herd made a beeline for the fortified fence line, which withstood the test. For 3 hours the herd wondered up and down the line, bawling like the world was ending, nonstop. Eighty-three bawling cows and calves is a lot irritating noise. At about 5 PM, while working on the fence, Farmer K looked up and uttered an expletive - 20 cows were on the other side of the fence visiting the neighbor's hayfield again! So all the human's started scrambling. The latest hole in the fence was found and plugged while the escapees were rounded up. The entire herd was put back in the holding pen for the night...and that's where they were at 8 PM. Let's just hope they are there on Sunday morning.

If you want to place any bets, the plan for Sunday is to continue to work on the fence line but turn the cows into another field for a few days until they forget the sweet, succulent grass in the neighbor's field. Let us hope this works! If it doesn't, there will probably be a herd for sale cheap sometime soon!

Babies, babies and babies...a lesson on cattle calving seasons

Calving season is finally over with the arrival of this little fellar. We think he's kinda cute!

A little bit of education is in order for our readers...about calving season. A cow will cycle through her "heat" approximately every 3 weeks. After exposure to a bull, if she "takes" or "catches", her gestation period will last 9 months. Typically cow/calf producers like to expose the cows (i.e. let the bull do his thing) for a period of about 45-60 days. The purpose is so that all the calves are born within a fairly tight time frame, referred to as calving season. Producers like a short calving season so calves are all a similar size and weight when they reach selling age. A uniform group of calves will bring a higher price for the cow/calf producer at selling time. Here at S&K Farm our calving season has lasted a little longer than we'd like our first time through but we're just excited to say we've reached the end with only a few speed bumps! Now it's time to get these calves growing like weeds!

The Universal Truth About Farming...

...nothing goes according to plan.

This evening, Farmer S and Farmer K had planned to work on fences. The idea is to get the next field ready for one of the herds to move into. Seems like a reasonable plan for a Friday evening on the farm. That is...until the phone rang. Thank goodness for neighbors. One was kind enough to call and say "You have cows out on the railroad tracks!" Of course, upon hearing those words, Farmer S and Farmer K, both heading to the farm from different directions, proceeded post haste to the farm. Upon arrival, all appeared to be fine. Until...the steers were counted and two were missing. Using the ever present walkie talkies to communicate, Farmer S headed out on the 4-wheeler to find the miscreants, while Farmer K drove up and down the road looking in back yards, front yards and the railroad track. It is certain that all of the neighbors out mowing their yards were questioned about the runaway steers, and quite probably now think Farmer K is strange to say the least. Eventually the correct neighbor is questioned and the location of the missing steers is determined. Neighborhood boys, Farmer S and Farmer K descend upon the unsuspecting runaways - and spend the next two hours trying to get them back in the field. In the end, the two steers determined the best plan was to simply walk back down the railroad track and cross right back through the hole they had made in the fence. Not a mere 10 minutes later a train rolls through - but 10 minutes is all that was needed!

Despite all the threats from Farmer K about how she was going to put the steers in the freezer and then in her belly, they were still friendly enough to come hang out at the fence. #51 (not an escapee) was even inquisitive enough tonight to lick Farmer S's and Farmer K's hands. He may not end up in the freezer after all. Nah, he'll make a tasty steak!

We'll see if tomorrow goes according to plan...don't hold your breath!

And Howie gets a friend

Howie the barn cat did not come through on his hunting skills. Instead, he seems to enjoy being House Cat Howie and hanging out in the barn office.

So, welcome Catra to S&K Farm!

After several days of living in the barn office, Catra has settled in quite nicely and is already leaving hunting trophies in the barn for Farmer S and Farmer K.

The Other Office

While Farmer S was at the other office...

...Farmer S was resting up from a summer cold at the S&K Farm homestead and was cheered up with a visit these guys!

Later in July, the last of the Kentucky herd was born.

Farmer S hangs out with the Church Hill cows

"Son... You better clean up your face before coming over here to eat"

Baby calf getting its ear licked and enjoying it.

Huh... Wonder who the Dad is?

"You look funny with them white socks"

Mr. 45 hanging out with the girls (and Farmer S).

July...hot and full of surprises

Farmer S and Farmer K spent the first week of July with members of the Sullivan and Johnson County Cattlemen's Associations touring ranches, feedlots and processing plants in Colorado. The experience was great all around. See all the pictures posted by Farmer S on our Facebook page. You'll also find links to interesting articles there as well. Go educate yourselves! July was declared Beef Month in Tennessee by Governor Haslam. Farmer S and Farmer K worked with the Sullivan County Young Farmers and Ranchers group to educate the general public about beef the Kingsport Farmer's Market. Did you know Tennessee is number 9 in producing cattle in the US? And cattle are the largest agricultural product produced in Tennessee.

And...Farmer S and Farmer K received a little surprise in mid-July. This little guy appeared in the Kentucky herd unexpectedly. His color markings suggest his father was not who it should have been. But, he's healthy and happy which is what counts!

June...life on the farm continues.

June was a busy month. The calves were worked for the first time. They received their first round of vaccinations and de-worming treatment. Those that did not have number or fly tags had their ears pierced.

Kendall and Kace came to visit the farm and supervise fence building.

Howie ventured outside of the barn office and became a true barn cat.

Farmer S lost to rain clouds 3 times in one day while building fences. And the best...the blackberry harvest began!

Introducing Howie!

May brought a new face to S&K Farm. Welcome to Howie the barn cat!

Howie started out a little shy as he wasn't sure about life outside the pound. He had spent practically his entire young life there. At first, he sought comfort in the dog/calf/cat cage while Farmer S and Farmer K waited on him to display his mouser skills.

He worked on his resume, showing off skills of hiding behind all available doors, toilets and fridges. His skill development was interrupted by periods of rabid purring and kneading the air.

In other news, the number of calves rose to 40 by June 1!

May is about more than calves...or is it?

During May, we had a few firsts at S&K Farm...

The first turkey nest found

The first field of hay was cut.

And we had our first white faced calf! The ladies in the Church Hill herd got us up to 6 calves while the Kentucky herd raised their numbers to 34 calves.

Then there was May...

May was a busy month at S&K Farm. Here are a few things that happened.

The calves became inquisitive and wanted to learn what the 4-wheeler was.

The first calf from the Church Hill herd was born.

Farmer S had a run in with a set of fence pliers and busted his nose one evening. The picture isn't pretty.

Then the calves learned how good mineral can taste!

April Happenings

Summer at S&K Farm has distracted Farmer S and Farmer K from posting duties here at the website. If you've been following us on Facebook, you've kept up, but just in case you haven't, here's a quick recap of April...

The Church Hill herd moved from Church Hill to the Bluff City farm. They settled in quite nicely and enjoyed the plentiful grass.

The calves learned to hang out while their mamas fight over the mineral feeder.

Cow #10 had a bull calf and was kind enough to pose for a picture.

And April wrapped up by someone learning what happens when you stand on the wrong side in a crowd!