December 2024
The last month has been very dry, and surprisingly we were also hit by a very sharp cold spell with lows in the mid-teens. After zero rain in October we had 1.4 inches of rain in November and none in December until this week. Our new Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue stands are up but very small and in need of rain. Fortunately the forecast is for another inch of rain today and moderate temperatures for the next 10-day period.
Last Saturday, December 7, was a big day for us. Brandon, Tina and I started extra early in the bitter cold doing all our chores because Dean Askew, our AI technician was coming to help us put CIDRs in the heifers. The chores started with giving grass to our first calf heifer group in the Front Field. This group is grazing on stockpiled Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue and they are in a fabulous 6.0 body condition (without any supplemental concentrate) and already cycling. Their AI (Artificial Insemination)-sired calves are outweighing calves in the main herd! We move the fence ahead daily and have about 60 days of high-quality non-toxic stockpiled grass left for them.
Next we went to the house to feed the cats, chickens, the two yearling bulls and the blind cow/misfit group. After loading feed for the finishers, getting a bale on the Hay-B-Gone behind our Suzuki Sidekick, and two bales on the big JD tractor we went to the back to finish up.
First stop was the Finisher group of 33 2-year old steers and heifers we are developing for delivery in January and February. These are in a large pasture getting 1% of body weight of Soyhulls/Corn Gluten Feed and free-choice hay using a bale-grazing approach.
Next a quick stop to feed a cow and calf in the pasture we use as a hospital pen and then on to the yearlings (86 steers and heifers) who were in need of hay. After putting those rolls out and checking that group we headed on back to the mature cow group that is grazing stockpiled KY31 Tall Fescue mixed with crabgrass, dallisgrass and other warm season grasses. This group of 80 cows with calves is really fun to move….I love to see large groups of calves running and playing with their tails up! We are flip-flopping reels for this group and giving them about 1 acre each day.
Finally, back to the house to meet Dean. We got our working supplies together while Tina went to get the kids (Brandon/”Cowboy” and Lainey) and once Dean was ready we headed back to the working pens.
The yearlings were still eating on the hay we had given earlier, so we had to work a bit to get them up. Brandon led them with a bucket of hay while Tina, Cowboy, Lainey and I took a reel and stretched it out behind them. Once we had them going they moved smoothly to the pen and with only a little bit of trouble they were in and we were ready to work.
It was a pleasure to have such a great crew, and it reminded me of being at those working pens with my parents and siblings. Cowboy (12 yrs) was working on his low-stress working skills with his dad, and Brandon was learning to put CIDRs in from Dean. Lainey (15 yrs) was running the headgate, I was giving Safeguard drench and Tina was keeping up with the records. We processed everything in two and a half hours and it was one of those really smooth cattle working experiences.
After cleaning up our supplies and saying good bye to Dean I loaded up my feed for the Pleasant Hills Farm group I take care of on my way home, while Tina and the kids built up the fire in the house. By 2:30 pm we were headed home after a simply great day! ‘
I took care of my last group and arrived at my house on Mayo Lake near Roxboro (12 miles southwest of Virgilina) and got ready to do some work in the crawl space under the house. I crawled way back under there and got started but at 4 pm I had a call from Brandon. That is very unusual as we usually text, so I was wondering what could be up. “The Triple Creek house is on fire and the fire department is on the way”! I came out from under that house in seconds and ran to tell Jeannette (my spouse), and then headed up the road to Virgilina.
When I arrived there were 4 fire trucks already on the scene and they had the fire under control, although the left half of the house was very badly burned. I walked around and took some photos as the darkness gathered. The fire had burned the yard down to the edge of the woods. I saw a hose there and later learned that Tina and Brandon had stopped the fire from getting into the woods while they were waiting for the fire department. This quick thinking probably saved all our other buildings and the big barn which really would have been a terrible loss.
There was a large crowd there including the entire families of many of the firefighters. Eventually 9 engines came from 4 volunteer fire departments in the area, and it turned out many of them had been in the Christmas parade in South Boston, so many had their families on board.
After the fire was out the fire fighters helped us get any important stuff out of the right side of the house before they put all the rest of their water on it. We were able to save important items like my Dad’s and Blake’s guitars, our guns and gun safe, and our cattle and business records. After that they drenched the whole scene and then packed up.
I arrived back home at 8 pm in shock at what had transpired. Jeannette had sent photos to all my sibs, and my friend and colleague April had posted photos on Facebook. As I looked at my phone I saw that I had dozens of texts and missed calls from extended family and friends wishing us well and wanting to find out if anyone was hurt.
On Sunday morning I gathered my wits and went to Virgilina to assess the damage. I was not sure how I would react so I went to the front field heifer group first by parking down on the highway and walking in to them before going up to the main farm. Tina and Brandon met me there and I suggested that we go around and “score” all our projects and enterprises on a 1 to 5 scale as we went through the day.
This first group was the heifers on Novel Fescue. They were synchronized, bred AI only, and produced 19 live calves from 26 heifers inseminated. Score at this location? 5 on the Heifer program, 5 on the Novel Fescue program.
Next up to the house. Probably a total loss. Tear down and rebuild. Looking around, the big barn is good and the other sheds and outbuildings were not damaged. Still, building infrastructure scores a 1 due to the loss of the house.
Next to the finishers. Dean also works with Firsthand Foods who buy our cattle, and he had told us our first two loads of 8 were scored mid to high choice and the remaining cattle are all nearing finish. We are getting paid well for these animals and will deliver 63 this year, 68 next year, and 70 the following. Tina still feels like we need to improve our uniformity and pointed out that I am not completely satisfied with how fat these animals get. Score 4.5 to leave room for improvement.
The yearling group represents both the beef program and the replacement heifers for next year, so they fit in with those other programs that are going so well.
Finally to the main herd. These cows are in working body condition of 4.5 to 5.5. Most of them are doing well on marginal pasture and will improve when we start feeding cottonseed in a few weeks. We had a lot of “slick hair trait” calves born this year as we saved one of our own bulls a few years ago that has that mutation. We initially got this from some Senepol cross cattle we bought one time, and now it is increasing in our herd. These calves really are interesting. I will write more about that in a future column. For now we still have progress to make here in the main herd so a score of 4.
Through our rounds we had been keeping our eyes open for wildlife. We didn’t see much that day probably because of the excitement of the fire, but we did see a large group of Killdeer, our resident turkey vultures, a red tail hawk and a great blue heron (we regularly see two…one named Frank and one named Fred). We ended up scored wildlife a 4 that day, knowing that on a typical day it would be a 5 with turkeys, deer and multiple species of hawks usually sighted. This winter we have been seeing a pair of Northern Harrier Hawks hunting mice in the stockpiled grass, and they are really fun to watch soar effortlessly 10 feet above the ground.
Finally, we arrived back at the tragic scene of the house, and I started to feel my blood pressure rise and the feeling of heartache started coming back. Then, I remembered why I wanted us to spend this day scoring everything. By my calculations things at the farm are very good with an average of 3.7 on a 1 to 5 scale.
This week we will be working with the insurance company and starting the discussion of how we will rebuild. I know my folks would be devastated if they were alive, but it warms my heart to think of the outpouring of help we received from the community. I know we will continue to get the support we need from family, friends and neighbors, and that we will build back for to support the dreams and to create fond memories for future generations.
~ Matt Poore, NC State
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal is a national organization focused on enhancing the appropriate adoption of novel endophyte tall fescue technology through education, incentives, self-regulation and promotion. For more resources or to learn more about the Alliance for Grassland Renewal, go to www.grasslandrenewal.org
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal 