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The Midwest Cattleman · October 22, 2020 · P4
matic-flood event happening It was just too painful.
near his chair. It had plenty all over the state. We had our From time to time throughout
of pages for notes and a calen- own problems. Calves came the rest of that decade, my
dar– the year in it was 1965. early. Many of them – even dad would come across that
My dad was twenty-eight. many cows didn’t survive. old calving book – probably
In the fall of ‘64, Ken Car- He wrote it all down. by accident. I’m certain he
michael took a small herd I learned first-hand and didn’t go looking for it. Read-
of Angus cows, along with a up-close that spring what a ing those notes took him back
horse and his saddle, from ‘retained placenta’ was all to that spring, I guess. It had
Clayton, New Mexico by train about. I remember the proce- been a tremendous loss and
to Winifred, Montana. I have dure – I remember the smell. when he opened ‘that book’ he
written about that trip and The buttons or cotyledons in re-lived it all – all over again
his end-of-the-line cattle the placenta don’t release, – day by day – line by line. He
drive. I’m reminded of how so as my dad would reach could be found with it from
proud he was of those cows in and ‘unbuttoned’ them on time to time – even years later
The Calving Book every time I see an old brass cow after cow. It was my job with his head in his hands –
Technology is about to Angus registration tag. They to keep a constant pressure sobbing. My dad was ‘tough
over-take us again. Just take were all bred to calve in the pulling and roll up the pla- as nails’ but there was some-
a photo of that new calf with spring. centa on a stick of wood. Re- thing about that book that he
your cell phone and enter There wasn’t much grass member… I was six. could never get over. It was
some info and you’re on the going into winter that year, While we all slept in the a record. It was a journal – a
cutting-edge. Then with and hay was hard to find. warm, my dad was the only hand-written record of pain
new cattle ‘facial recognition’ Those ‘southern’ cows went veterinarian. He rarely slept. and loss. One evening, he had
software, that animal can be into winter in fair condition, Very few calves lived past a had all of the spring of ‘65 he
identified with a camera and but they were not acclimated. day or two old that spring. could handle. The book went
computer most anywhere. That winter turned out to be Cow by cow he recorded it all into the fire and we never saw
That also means that data – one of the worst anyone had – line by line. Years later, I it again.
the information you entered - ever seen. All the snow that remember seeing the blue ink I think if he was here and I
can follow and be matched up fell that winter and spring on the faded, indexed pages. could ask him about it today
with that calf, or with a bar- brought on a 500-year flood. It was his first calving expe- he would say... “It was time to
code, even a part of his car- Cattle raised in ‘the breaks’ rience in the north country. move on... on to happier days!”
cass, anywhere it goes. So, at in central Montana are not He was left-handed – I would KwC
the bunk, at the gate, at the as likely to eat pine needles, still recognize that handwrit-
sale or even on the packing but these cattle having been ing anywhere.
plant floor there is the poten- raised farther south must
tial to know everything there have eaten quite a lot of
is to know about that animal. them. Cattle are more likely
Information management to eat the pine needles during
has come a long way since my storms with increased snow,
dad recorded his calving in- wind, cold, changes in feed,
formation. That’s a big jump or hunger. The winter of ‘64-
from his old calving books. ’65 was full of all of that and
Over the years, I’m sure that more. Pine needles are full
he used more than one, but of turpentine and cows that
there was one book that, try eat them get ‘turpentine poi-
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ing season. This book was a and generally require exten-
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I remember seeing it back cow account. It was cold and
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