September 01st, 2012

Thursday my (our) long awaited arrival finally showed up marking the beginning of an era of progress.  My first Artificially Inseminated (AI) calf was born.  He was sired by a Lowline Angus named Smoky Mountain Awesome.  I chose him as our sire for a few reasons.  He is a calving ease specialist.  All of the bulls I have chosen meet that requirement.  In my 5 years back on the farm I have pulled out more calves than I would like to speak of.  That trait is mandatory for any bull used in our breeding program.  Secondly, the breed itself is known for small body frames and early finishing.  They can marble on grass and have excellent maternal traits.  The last traits will be tested in the coming years, but the first trait has proven true.  A nice little bull was born overnight to a second calf heifer that I had a heck of a time pulling a calf out of last year.  This year no help was necessary and she is doing a great job caring for her calf.  This guy is the first of many lowline percentage animals we will have on our farm.  We are moving toward them as our herd grows.  A picture of the little guy will be up shortly.  The coming months should be exciting for us as the rest of our calf crop will be showing up.  we have 11 more cows due to calve.  They have all been through the AI program.  Most of them are carrying "smoky" babies, but a couple of our larger cows are carrying a red angus "Impressive".  I am very interested to see how his calves turn out as well.  We will keep you updated as our herd continues to grow!

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