Posted On May 31, 2025

Cow Snuggles

Paul Herndon 5 comments

Have you ever heard of cow snuggles?

This morning, during the review of the herd and grass, I found Jade, a bred heifer, resting under the trees while her fellows were out eating, so I visited her to give her scratches.

Jade is sort of a loner heifer. She is in the general vicinity of her herd, but tends to do her own thing, and is more people-focused than cow-focused.

By “bred heifer”, that means she is a female cow who has never had a calf, but she is pregnant and due to have a calf around December 24.

Jade’s birthdate is 08/29/2023. So, when she has her first calf, she will be just about 28 months old. She was 18.36 months old when she got pregnant, which was a third artificial insemination attempt. Heifers in our herd typically get pregnant within the first two attempts, although 3 is not uncommon. We’ve been averaging around 10 heifers per year getting bred in the last two years, and of the average 10, only about 1 goes longer than 3 attempts.

Final photo in this post is breakfast. The grass shown is a mix of orchard grass and about 4 or 5 other grasses, plus broadleaf “weeds” and legumes. Our cows right now are on a 100 percent grazing diet. They are eating no hay right now. Our pastures are a mix of multiple types of greenery. We do not run mono cultures and we do not do tillage. When an area needs a little work, we run cows on it, maybe smooth it out a bit with a packer harrow, and then use a no till drill to add back plants that might be diminishing such as orchard grass and red clover, which are ours and our cows’ favorites.

Of course, we also get a lot of white clover, “foxtail”, which looks a bit like timothy grass and timothy seed heads but are in fact shorter seed heads, smooth brome, “quack” grass, timothy, and tall fescue.

We have about 100 acres of grazing ground, half of which is irrigated, and the other half will achieve irrigation within the next several years so that we can keep it green and grazed all the way thru October.

In addition to grazing, we have about 110 acres of acreage that is entirely dedicated to hay production with the potential for fall grazing after the last hay harvest of the year.

Manure from our barns is composted as solids and spread on all of this ground. Our barns are called pack bedding barns. This means we do not produce liquid manure or “slurry”, but rather solid. When it is fully composted, it looks a bit like potting soil and has no smell.

We never use synthetic fertilizers or herbicides on our fields. In fact, we wouldn’t think of it, despite having weed issues from time to time.

Jade
More Jade

5 thoughts on “Cow Snuggles”

  • Michele S Frazier

    I love hearing how your dairy is doing. I appreciate the healthy farming practices you use. I am an old (81) lady with a small farm in Eagle Point, Oregon. I have kept my 15 acres free of chemicals for over 45 years. I haven’t had the money, equipment, or help to keep it up, but I do know it isn’t poisoned with chemicals.
    I am going o forward to you the email letter I receive from Peony Farms in Canada.
    Craig is of like mind & raises healthy beef.
    I had Jerseys when I was raising a family.
    Michele

    • Thanks for sharing. The “packer harrow” I mentioned in my post accomplishes the “light” tillage that Craig talks about in his email to you. This light tillage can in fact be necessary to break up a hard top layer on the soil if cows were on it at exactly the wrong time – usually because the weather just wasn”t cooperative, etc.

  • Hi Michele
    In regenerative ag circles, the question of whether to till or not to till can bring out the fight in farmers.
    When we converted from traditional to regenerative farming, we were in the no-till camp.
    Excessive tilling destroys the beneficial bacteria, fungus, and even the worms our forage counts on to bring the nutrients out of the soil, into the plants, into the cattle, and onto your plate.
    Our rich soil is our most valuable asset. Bare tilled soil is at risk of erosion from wind and water.
    So, we didn’t do it.
    But last year, we ran into a problem.
    Some of our fields weren’t producing as much forage as they should. Some seeds just weren’t getting the moisture or nutrients they needed to take off.
    That’s when we realized compaction was holding us back. Cattle hooves on wet soil packed the soil down too tightly in some areas.
    So this spring, we made a change. We added some low-till tools to our arsenal.
    We brought in a vertical tillage tool, not to turn over the soil, but to fracture it. The discs on the attachment chops the top layer of soil and in the process it forms small cracks down into the compacted soil.
    These cracks allow moisture to move up and down through the soil. The cracks allow roots to grow deeper and more resilient. But, because we aren’t tilling the soil bare, we aren’t risking erosion.
    We’re already seeing better germination and root development which means we’ll have better forage. And better forage means healthier cattle.
    Healthier cattle means beef that’s more nutrient-dense, full of flavor, and naturally tender without needing shortcuts.
    We farm this way because we know it matters on the plate.
    Good news! We’ve been selling out of beef faster than ever, but we worked with our butcher to get more processing slots. Preorder to get your next beef bundle here.
    We have deliveries coming up for:
    Calgary: June 3
    Edmonton area: June 17
    Red Deer: Weekly
    This is what some of the compacted areas looked like later last year. Tiny spindly plants with very little roots.

    Same spot this year with a vertical tillage pass right before seeding. Lots of happy healthy little plants with beautiful deep roots.

    Many times during seeding we had the vertical tillage tool and the seeder running in the field at the same time. One of the most important things about doing vertical tillage (or any other type of soil disturbance) is that we are putting seeds into the ground right away afterwards. This gives the soil microbes a new food source, it restructures the soil with roots and the new growing plants capture any carbon or nutrients released from the soil disturbance.
    On the left is before the vertical tillage and the right is after. Though there is some bare soil, there is still some old stems left after the vertical tillage and the soil is mostly in larger clumps which both help to prevent erosion. In a conventional tillage situation the soil would be tilled until it is fine and powdery without stems for protection.

    This is what the tool looks like. The discs are wavy and run in a straight line. They are also mounted on large springs so that they make a chopping action which fractures the soil. Discs with concave blades or cultivators with small shovels are other tillage options that do more soil disturbance.

    Product highlight: Vitals blend

    Last week we mentioned our vitals blend that is 90% ground beef and 10% ground organ meats (6% heart, 3% liver, 1% kidney)…but 100% healthy, delicious Piedmontese beef.

    Organ meats are not as popular in today’s diet, but our ancestors and indigenous nations include them as an important part of their diet. In fact, organ meats are among the most prized parts of the animals they hunt.

    Our vitals blend gives you all the benefits of eating the way we used to without having to go on the hunt yourself.

    The vitals blend is available as an add-on to any orders through our online store. It is also available for individual purchase at Healthfitters in Lacombe or at any Amaranth Whole Foods locations (under their Piedmontese Primal Blend label).

    Vital Blend Taco-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
    Ingredients:
    2 large sweet potatoes
    1 lb Peony Farms Vital Blend
    1 tsp cumin
    1/2 tsp smoked paprika
    1/2 tsp chili powder
    1/4 cup diced onion
    Salt and pepper to taste
    Avocado, cilantro, and sour cream (optional)
    Instructions:
    Bake sweet potatoes at 400°F for 45–50 min or until soft.
    Cook onion until translucent, add vital blend, brown.
    Add spices, cook 3 more min.
    Slice sweet potatoes open, stuff with beef mixture.
    Top with avocado, cilantro, and sour cream.
    Last chance for the June 7 Farm tour!

    Come say “hi” to the cows, dig in the soil, see what we talk about in the newsletter in person and enjoy some delicious beef.
    Grab tickets for an unforgettable event for you and your family here.
    This weekend is the last weekend to get tickets for the June 7 tour.
    June 7 Tour and meal
    July 12 Tour and taste testing experience
    August 23 Tour and meal
    Farm tour guests get an unobstructed, hayride tour of our pastures and facilities.
    Everything starts with soil and forage.
    People love seeing the cattle get let into their next section of grazing. The cattle are so excited.
    Calving Update: 154 babies born so far.
    The oldest calves and their moms took a truck ride up to our Breton pastures today.
    Your ‘deep roots’ Farmer,
    Craig Cameron BSc.
    at Peony Farms

    Did you enjoy this newsletter?
    We would be grateful if you helped us share our message of regenerative agriculture, food production & nutrient density.
    Forward this email on to a friend who would be interested.

    To make sure you keep getting these emails, please add craig@peonyfarms.com to your address book or allow list. Want out of the loop? Unsubscribe.

    RR3, Lacombe, Alberta T4L2N3
    The pictures did not copy, but I sure Craig would send you a news letter.

  • Great post, Paul. Thank you for this.

    So to “compost” their manure you just put it in a holding area and wait for it to dry out and then reapply? Or do you add things to it, mix it up, and then reapply?

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