Cow Care in Severe MN Cold

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

At least it is warming up on Wednesday. The cows are looking great

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

@@larrykluckoutdoors8227 thanks. It’s up and down but good feed solves all ills.

[@pagrainfarmer]

While I do miss having cattle, dealing with them in the cold weather is something I don't miss. I give you and Dawn a lot of credit, as the winters seem brutal up there.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

You never get comfortable with it Charlie but at least there’s no mosquitoes 😉. Takes a lot of preparation for sure.

[@pagrainfarmer]

@@Rollinghillsfarmsmn 🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍👍

[@HumbleHaymakers]

Great video! I, for one, am ready for Spring… 👍

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Agreed, although it’s a long way off up here.

[@tractortalkwithgary1271]

Full watch guys!

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Thanks

[@raincoast9010]

It's nice to see that you warm up your tractors to protect the seals other components.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Thanks. I worry about damage in the cold.

[@brenterickson1695]

A couple of nice days and now we're back in the deep freeze again.....Sure nice to have a warm shop to work in....Thanks Dave, stay warm.

[@brycewiborg8095]

Good morning Brent. We have no snow pack, but expecting double digits below. I keep waiting for it to be a real winter.

[@brenterickson1695]

@brycewiborg8095 Morning Bryce....looks like about 5 days of this cold then it starts to improve. Stay warm.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Yeah, I couldn’t farm without it.

[@patrickbachman2184]

Morning Dave,coffee’s on…hope you’re staying warm and safe.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Here too. -19 this morning. Extra cup of coffee and hay in the barn for the cows.

[@Mark-yq6wt]

New subscriber here from central minnesota Retired from all the fun of feeding in sub zero weather Keep up the good work

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Thanks Mark. We retired too but the feeding continues😅, and I guess subzero is part of life for Rolling Hills Farm. Welcome.

[@pinesedgefarm1155]

It's cold one now again. Lots of shop projects here too.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

I’d go crazy without the shop…I’d probably start watching TV😅.

[@pinesedgefarm1155]

@Rollinghillsfarmsmn 🤣

[@raincoast9010]

Crisp and cold, no more mud for a while.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Not for three months 😅

[@raincoast9010]

@@Rollinghillsfarmsmn But cold noses! ha ha

[@tractortalkwithgary1271]

Good morning Dave and Dawn ☕️☕️☕️

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Morning Gary

[@brycewiborg8095]

Tomorrow through Tuesday are supposed to be double digits below. I'm jealous of your snow cover. We were high 30s yesterday. Almost no snow insulation left. All of the early predictions were wrong. Warm wet winter was the call. Thank you Dave.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

We fed bales yesterday so we don’t have to try to start a tractor for a few days.

[@woodsgremlin9995]

People have the misconception that feeding grain helps keep the animals warm when actually the digestion of fiber is what fuels the furnace. It's called heat increment.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

You are correct. The extra protein from the grain gives them a nutritional boost but the hay quality gives heat.

[@dawillieman9238]

We had a tip of your weather in Ireland lately too Dave. I had 10 inches of snow, lasted 8 days. All gone now and today, you wouldn't even need a coat on during the day. The snow we get is much wetter than what you were pushing. I see places that were ploughed, the snow went into big blocks of snow, looks like huge rocks were sitting at the side of the road. The snow you pushed looked lovely and fluffy. The children in Ireland had no school last week because of the snow and every child were building snowmen and trying to build igloos. Ireland, we don't do snow and the country just closes down and people stay at home. We're not used of getting so much snow, the last time we had this much was 2010.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

10 inches is amazing for a place that doesn’t really get snow! I bet the kids had a blast.

[@farawayfarm2520]

It's warming up Dave. 👍 Only 4 below now😂 Beats yesterday's -35

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

@@farawayfarm2520 Wearing me down a bit. Can’t get the shop above 50 degrees.

[@farawayfarm2520]

@Rollinghillsfarmsmn 18 below right now. I could use a warm up too.

[@doncc6080]

I see this week you will be -20 to -30 below. God bless all you far north farmers.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Thank you. -19 this morning but -38 with wind chill. We fed square bales to the cows in the barn.

[@tractortalkwithgary1271]

We are promised temperatures well below zero next week. Still no snow here.

[@brycewiborg8095]

We didn't want to miss out on that Gary. The early leave out trucks are in the shop.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

That’s depressing

[@piperdoug428]

Yup all give thanks to trouble free water troughs 🙏🏻 lol

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Amen

[@jonstevensmaplegrovefarms3754]

You know what's funny. It's 26 below. The sun is shining. We put bedding in the barn and hardly a cow will go in. They stand outside in that Sunshine and they're just fine A lot of Old-Timers would tell us we're costing too much money, we're feeding them cows too much. A lot of them Old-Timers would make them cows lick up that hay clean and if they lost a couple hundred lb over winter that was okay. I'm a big fan of we can waste a little feed if it keeps everybody chubby and happy and healthy. Like you said, give them some quality The wife and I dream of building the hoop Barn loafing shed that I always wanted for the dairy cows. Not so much that the cows need it. We could try to justify it by saying we'll save some feed. Will increase cow comfort a little bit. Maybe a little better performance out of the calves. Ultimately, it would be for the fact that the wife and I Are only getting older so let's struggle through our '50s. So when we get into our '60s and '70s we can have kind of a nice little. Very comfortable setup Stay warm!

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

I appreciate your comments and your channel which is full of great ideas and strategies. (We adopted your sun shade idea for our cattle yard). My dad kept his beef cows in a giant southern MN dairy barn on alfalfa square bales and I spent early teen years nursing sick, overheated animals and shoveling 💩 😅. He eventually closed the barn and set up wind breaks with pasture rotation. By the ‘70’s he was mob grazing and stockpiling late season grass to reduce hay costs for his grass-fed Shorthorns. When we moved here we were shocked to see thin cows on poor hay, swamp pasture and no shelter. Over 40 years Dawn and I have developed our own system suited for Northern Minnesota that could be scaled up if our kids wanted to make a good living. Maybe someday😊.

[@jonstevensmaplegrovefarms3754]

@Rollinghillsfarmsmn someday I'll have to get up there and do an interview with you ! I was at a beef meeting and there was a vet there and he was really hammering on pine and kanabec county. Too many guys were selling the good hay and feeding the bad hay. Cattle too thin and underweight, steers not vaccinated before bringing them to the cattle Barn, steers not checked to make sure both testicles were banded.... Lot of rough country. Hard old guys.

[@michiganhay7844]

Do your water hydrants of freeze up there?

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Never happened but the Ritchie fountain freezes occasionally.

[@e.a.bfarms]

The worst is yet to come. . .Stay warm!

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

You are correct. -19 right now but with -38 wind chill.

[@e.a.bfarms]

@Rollinghillsfarmsmn Tuesday am we are scheduled for -51 with wind chill. . . .