Bringing Cows to the Farm
The rolling pastures of Maranatha Farms would look odd without cattle on them. The rolling Virginia landscape seems to invite animals of all kind to graze and be merry. It was not long after acquiring the property that Maranatha sought out to add a herd of Charolais cattle and a couple Wagyu. Our goal is to be a regenerative farm that uses managed grazing to move the cows around the property. Managed grazing is the practice of giving animals the exact amount of space that they need for a couple of days and then moving them to the next location. Typically, this is done by putting up a temporary electric fence around the calculated area that you want to set up.
When our 40 Charolais cows showed up to the property, we were faced with timid cows that didn’t want to follow us to the right areas. We first moved them to a large pasture in the middle of the property- a space that could easily house them for a month or so, but not the space we wanted to have them call home. After a month, and a showing of less grass, we moved the cows to a further pasture towards the back of the property. Now, we move them from pasture to pasture as we see they need more grass. We also have been working with them to get them more comfortable with us. Our team uses bright red feeder buckets that the cows now recognize and will follow. We do have a small portion of them that are still quite timid, but it is much easier than at the start.
If you are someone who enjoys beef, I hope you have had the pleasure of eating Wagyu at some point in your life. Wagyu steak, unlike angus, is a steak that is fatty and will quite literally melt in your mouth as you take your first bite (watch this video for more information). This is a cow that our farm really wanted to raise. When the wagyu arrived at our farm from Texas we were in awe. Unlike the Charolais, which are all white cows with standoffish personalities, these were solid black cows with personable qualities (especially if you have some treats on you). We purchased 5 female wagyu cows from Erichsen Black Dog Ranch and Cattle Company that we hope to Artificially Inseminate (AI) to create a small Wagyu herd. They call our front pasture home and meander softly, enjoying the fall days.
In addition to using AI for the wagyu cows, we are doing Embryo Transfer (ET) to put wagyu embryos into our Charolais cows. We sent two of our wagyu cows to a large animal vet, who flushed them for embryos. We will then inseminate those eggs with wagyu semen and then transfer the embryo into the Charolais cattle, they will then give birth to a wagyu cow. This will help grow our wagyu herd quickly, without needing to have 20 female wagyu cows. The semen that we are using for the insemination also comes from Erichsen Black Dog Ranch and Cattle Company - Steven Erichsen has been incredible to work with and has been helpful every step of the way. We are planning on inseminating our cows this winter to have spring calves. This means that we will be close to our goal herd size by the end of next year.
The newest, and cutest, additions to the farm are two Holstein dairy cows. They are only a couple of months old, so they have quite a bit of time before they are ready to produce milk, but it has been quite the adventure bottle feeding them and watching them grow. We hope to be able to produce small batches of ice-cream - a particular favorite treat for everyone on the farm.
Our newest construction on the farm is a barn from ClearSpan - the Beef Master Systems. We chose this barn set up because it could quickly be constructed, has a long life span, and has the capacity that we needed for our herd size. Our barn should be constructed by mid-December.
Our farm continues to grow and we get closer and closer to being able to provide our community with the best farm products possible. As Thanksgiving approaches, our farm could not be more thankful for the incredible experiences that we have had so far. Personally, this has been the first time that I have worked so closely with animals. I have spent most of my career around plants, even being a vegan for over four years, but working with the animals - feeding them, cleaning up after them, spending time with them, has given me a deeper appreciation for our food systems. One of my new favorite things to do on the farm is to scratch the backs of our pregnant pigs. They wiggle back and forth and then give you the sweetest smile as a thanks. I am thankful to be able to get to know these animals, to be able to give them the best life possible, and to respect each step of this process.
From our family to yours, we hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving.
Our Charolais cows in the field.
Our wagyu cows in the field.
