Team work happens in many forms and has many opportunities on the farm.

Most recently, I went to the barn with my daughter for her to feed her heifers. She was immediately alarmed that her heifer had her head stuck in a gate. I sent her to get her dad from the shop. When he arrived, we assessed the situation and started to try to free her. My husband’s demeanor is so calm when working with the animals. This, in turn, helps the animals remain calm. The kids have learned this over the years and overall keep themselves in a cool manner when working with the animals. It just makes the whole situation go better. The heifer was so gentle considering the situation she had gotten herself into. We tried to back her up and put her back through. She really didn’t fight us, but she didn’t go back either. My husband poured baby oil all over her neck to help her slip back through. No luck. When it finally came down to it, the gate section had to be cut. She was easily freed from her predicament. My younger son had come out to help as well and helped assess her after she was free. No injuries. She seemed totally fine. After a few minutes, she and her pen mate were at the feed bunk lightly “moo”-ing to be fed. She seemed unfazed by the whole situation.

When talking to our daughter later, we talked about how the heifer responded to us. She is used to us being around. We are in the barn everyday. She gets fed by our daughter everyday. She gets her head rubbed and talked to by us frequently. We were not strangers. She as used to being handled. This may have made all the difference in this adventure. The demeanor of all of us likely lead to a positive outcome.

Working together once again on the farm. The four of us who were home worked together to get the heifer taken care of. This was another example of problem solving. We spent an hour together in the barn. We worked together for the common good.