30/05/2026
This is where beef farming actually begins.
A calf arriving on the straw.
Most of the time our cows manage perfectly well on their own, but today this calf needed a bit of help. It was a big calf and one front leg was slightly back, which changes the mechanics of the birth.
A normal calf arrives like a diver — two front feet first with the nose tucked behind them. When one leg is back the shoulders don’t line up properly and the cow can push without much progress.
That’s when farmers step in.
First the leg was brought forward so the calf was lined up properly. Then the calving ropes went on above the fetlocks so we could apply steady traction in time with the cow’s contractions.
When it was still tight, the calving aid came out. Despite how it looks, it’s not about force. It’s about slow, controlled pressure at exactly the right moment.
Then comes that moment every stockman knows.
The shoulders come through.
There’s a rush of fluid.
And the calf slides onto the straw.
Within seconds the cow is up licking the calf hard with that rough tongue, drying it, stimulating it and getting it breathing properly.
And that moment also marks the start of something important.
This is what’s called a single suckler herd.
Unlike dairy farming, the milk from this cow isn’t collected for people. It’s entirely for the calf she has just given birth to.
The cow eats grass.
The grass becomes milk.
The calf grows.
One cow.
One calf.
And there’s a farmer there quietly in the background when nature needs a little help. Great Job Monty.
