There is no denying that the months of January and February gave us more winter than we have had around here in a while. So far March has not relented much either. But complaining about the weather does about as much good as worrying about it.

Our calving season started on February 21st on a 10 degree morning with 15 mph winds. The following two weeks of calving didn’t experience much improvement in the weather. We did have one calf that was lost due to the cold and snowy conditions. A heifer laid down against a gate and pushed the calf out under the gate to where she couldn’t reach it to lick it and get it up. We found the calf laying there on the frozen snow still alive. It went in the house to get warmed up, but ultimately didn’t make it.

The cows started calving a week after the heifers, although they have been slow to get going. We have also noticed that we have had almost entirely bull calves this year. Out of 34 calves, only 5 have been heifers. We did not use any sexed semen last year, just conventional semen for AI and then cleaned up with bulls.
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So far we have been calving for 15 days and we have 34 calves on the ground. This puts 41% of the calves born in 2 weeks. A lot of the cows are looking close so hopefully they keep dropping them at a steady pace. With any luck the weather will turn towards spring and these cows keep spitting out healthy calves. 

Farming is hard. It can be hard physically, mentally, and financially. It is important to have a strong support network of neighbors, friends, and family that you can lean on when you need it most. However, the farm wife may be the most critical component of any successful farming operation.

Women have long played an important role in agriculture. For centuries women have been tending to the land and harvesting it’s bounty. During World War II it was the women that stayed at home and tended to the farm while the men were away. Over the past 40 years the number of women led farms has tripled in the United States. Today, women make up approximately 40% of the global farming workforce, as reported by AgAmerica.

It is no surprise that women are thriving in the challenging career of agriculture. I have had the good fortune to work with many of these strong women here in Kentucky. Women like Amy White, Mary Bach, and Jill Settles. Women who are fierce, loyal, and passionate about their farms, their families, and their way of life. These women make up the backbone of our industry and agriculture is stronger because of it.

Isabella Cole serves in this role for Eden Shale Farm. She has put in countless hours helping Greg move cattle, deliver baling twine, and tending to sick calves. I believe it takes the nurturing ability of a mother to keep a newborn calf alive, and Isabella is as good as any to ever do it.

I have always been blessed to have been around strong, loving, Christian women. My grandparents ran a dairy operation for 50 years and my grandmother never missed a milking. She helped with all the farm work yet always had a large spread ready for us at suppertime in the house. Neither of those tasks are easy.

You see, I have respect for these hard working women of agriculture because I was raised by one. My mother, Pam, raised four boys with nothing more than strict discipline, a lot of love, and a big garden. We had everything but money, yet somehow never really missed it. Dad managed the tobacco and the cattle, but it was mom who managed our family. Today, I am thankful for my fierce, loyal, and passionate mother who instilled in me the rural values and lessons that have made me a better man.
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I know that Kentucky agriculture is stronger because of the women who carry our industry forward. This month March 8th is International Women’s Day, but those of us in agriculture have known for a long time that the women are the cornerstone of our country, and for that we say thank you.