Tough spring for calving
By Betsy Ryan
Farmer Staff Writer
The beginning of Spring has been a nightmare for local ranchers. As calving season started, weather vacillated between severe cold and wind, snow and brief warm days that turned the snow into mud.
“One day it’s negative temps with wind and the next day calves are being born in slop because of melting snow,” said Calli Thorne, a rancher near Tobacco Gardens.
With severe weather lasting later into the year than normal, ranchers who planned to start their calving operations at the end of March saw those plans disrupted.
“The cold temperatures and snow have held on so much longer than we expected,” says Beau Wisness who ranches near Keene. “It kind of hit us right during the heart of calving. We normally have plenty of sunny days this time of year but Mother Nature just keeps bringing another punch.”
One of the problems with snow this late in the season is that cows have a hard time finding a dry spot to deliver their calves, putting the calves in danger of freezing to death. It requires extra vigilance on the part of ranchers to be there to get cold calves warmed up.
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