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Kiril Sabo and Jules Feeney start a snow fort on a winter afternoon

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This is my first day on the Sabo Ranch and these are a few of my first impressions. Only some things are consistent. The cows and chickens need to be watched on a daily basis. The way in which the runts interact with the other animals effects the way the feeding is done. The overall rhythm of things is considerably consistent, every morning the cows and chickens are fed and checked on.

            The family is very much just a family with a significant amount of chores that need to be done. Kiril (age six) and Riley (age nine) help, play or work all the time. Riley seems to know everything there is to know about his ranch. Kiril is still learning the way things work from his brother. Both boys have their own set of things to do around the house. Every evening someone goes out to the chicken coup to collect the eggs.

The family could not have been more welcoming or better teachers. I look forward to more days of work and learning with this kind family.

This nice, full bodied bull calf is an example of the Rotokawa bulls Sabo Ranch will have for sale in winter 2010.  These bulls are Embryo Transplant calves from the Rotokawa Devon herd now living in Massachusetts.  933 is of moderate frame, gentle, 100% grassfed, and easy keeping, a great example of the Devon breed’s ability to thrive on sustainable, ranch grown forages.

Some of the Sabo yearlings exploring a beautiful table set in preparation for the new “Zone 4″ magazine photo shoot. “Cinnamon”, the horned Jersey steer, nearly pulled off the tablecloth (and everything else!), as he tried tasting this new addition to his pasture.

Jenny Sabo will be writing an column for this new magazine titled “You Are What You Eat”. The column will explore the connections between healthy soil, healthy foods, and human and livestock health, all in relation to growing food in USDA Zone 4 of the northern Rocky Mountain states.

Once we usurped the yearlings’ table, the Sabos (Kiril, Jenny, Mark and Riley) and several other families sat down for a real autumn feast, all produced here on the ranch (except the wheat).

Menu:

100% Grassfed Beef Chili

Lacto-Fermented crackers, from Cherilyn DeVries

“Goatzarella” Cheese, from Rae Orhai

Sauteed Kale and Chard Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

Challa Bread with fresh Raw Grassfed Butter

Lacto-Fermented Corn Relish

Fresh Creamy Grassfed Raw Milk

Photo: Steve Simpson

This slightly blurry photo, taken at dusk, shows a newly grazed, now resting area of pasture on the right, and a yet-ungrazed section on the left. We use these electic fence ribbons in much of our grazing management, allowing us to quickly graze, then rest, our pastures, allowing for maximum grass growth and pasture regeneration.

We only wanted to cows to graze the right hand portion, which they did over a two day period. This area is full of common tansy, a plant whose tea can cause abortions in humans.

However, it is also a natural cattle wormer, and high in calcium. Previous to this, the cows grazed sections of our hayfield (back portion of this photo), a mixture of grasses and clovers. Upon introduction to the “weedy” area here along the irrigation ditch, they consumed every tansy plant in sight.

Within several days, as they moved along the ditch, their tansy consumption was down to nearly nil. They had their fill, consumed the minerals and medicinals they needed, and passed back, free choice, to primarily grass consumption.