All the beef has been sold.  This is a good thing.  Unsold beef would have caused this PFO (Primary Farm Operator) to seriously reconsider raising any more.  The feedback is the icing on the cake:

“Best Beef EVER!!!!! The kids even said it made the vegetables taste better!!”

“The steaks are delicious.”

“The beef is very good.”

“Next year we want to buy a whole one.”

This is a tough business in many ways, yet it is remarkably satisfying in many more.  There is joy in raising animals in the best possible way, watching them thrive, being the creature God created them to be.  So much can be learned through quiet, keen observation of the animals.  A lot has to be ‘let go’ and left to the animals instinct. They know a lot.  Smart farmers would have added the new round of steers in with the old ones before they left the farm so the young could be taught by the older ones.  How would these new, young steers learn by themselves?

Being consistent and persistent goes a long way.  That means ‘calling them in’ in the same way, feeding at the same time of day, following the routine in the same way (feed, then hay, then fill the troughs), and feeding the various animals in the same order.  The order does not matter, it is doing it the same way every time that matters.

So, how have the new steers been in this little bit over a week here at Blue Rock Horses & Farm?  Before the week was over, they were patiently waiting for breakfast!

It is this time and attention devoted to them that ties us to them.  They are easy to tell apart for the observant, as they are all unique.  This is good animal husbandry.  A righteous man (or female PFO!) regards the life of his animal.  A good parallel is this:  When making biscuits it is said that ‘a tender hand makes a tender crumb.’  This is true in the cattle world as well.

This coming year is going to be good.