Category ArchiveBeef Cattle
Beef Cattle saboranch on 08 Nov 2009
Rotokawa Devon Bull calves-2009
Sabo Rotokawa Devon bull calf, born may 2009
Beef Cattle &Dairy Cattle &Uncategorized saboranch on 24 May 2009
Calves and their Friends
Since our dairy calves spend at least half of each day away from their mothers so WE get some of the milk, we make sure that each calf is raised with a companion. Here, friends Devon steer calf Adam and Jersey heifer calf Ladine share a nap and a snuggle on a warm spring morning. (Sabo Ladine is an A1/A2 calf, sired by Beledene Dukes Landy)
Beef Cattle &Dairy Cattle saboranch on 09 Nov 2008
Managing Our Cattle
Our cattle are 100% grassfed, and also consume apple cider vinegar, kelp meal, and a cultured yeast , free choice, for greater health. We use fencing and management of our livestock to keep our watercourses clean and our land welcoming to wildlife.
Our Devon beef cattle herd is a mixture bred from our North Devon bull and Red Angus cows. We continue to select over time for gourmet, tender, flavorful 100% grassfed beef. We use no hormones or backgrounded antibiotics, and have no feedlots of any kind.
Our calves are born in the spring on green grass, in May and June, and are not weaned until they are at least 9 months old. North Devon cattle, in particular the Rotokawa Devon herd that sired our bull, are well known for tender, gourmet 100% grassfed beef.
Our Jersey influence herd of cattle is also 100% grassfed, grazing out in the fields all summer, and supplemented in the winter months with the most nutritious hay we can grow. Our breeding program seeks out the most adapted genetics for 100% grassfed Jerseys, slowly building a top quality herd for creamy milk and tender gourmet meat.
We milk our cows only once a day, and calves live with their mothers at least part time until they are 4 months old, then nurse once daily until they are at least 9 months old. Each Jersey cow, depending on her conformation, is given at least 2 months rest from lactation before she calves again, allowing her to dedicate her energies to the healthiest calf possible.
For more information about our grassfed beef, see the Guidelines and Philosophies page.
Beef Cattle saboranch on 24 Sep 2008
First Devon Calf
Our first Rotokawa Devon heifer calf, born on Mother’s Day. 2008.
Beef Cattle saboranch on 24 Sep 2008
Red Cows at Sunset
Red Cows at sunset with the mountains behind: This view across our front hayfield shows a typical winter snow and the spectacular Tobacco Root mountain range that is our backyard. Our ranch sits at 5200′, with about 16-18″ of annual precipitation.
Warm summer days (80-100 deg F) and cool nights, (usually in the 40′s) lead to high omega 3 and CLA (conjugated linoleum acid) levels in our grasses and hay crop. Our soils, freshly eroded from the mountains, are high in minerals that create sweet, intensely flavored 100% Grassfed meat from our beef animals.
These 26 Red Angus heifers are the beginning of our 100% Grassfed Beef herd. We implanted 14 full blood Rotokawa™ Devon embryos in these heifers in August last year, following up with our full blood Devon bull, “Sabo’s Abel”. We eagerly awaited the birth of our full blood and half blood Devon calves in May and June 2008. These girls are a wonderfully plump, easy keeping, gentle bunch of cows.