Welcome to the Ranch!

My family is so enjoying the recent season change.  I know that most people don’t think that we have four seasons in Texas, but all things are relative.  The seasons are more subtle here than in the more northern regions.

The dog days of summer are over!  The temperature is so lovely.  There is a coolness to the air, which is borne on a constant light breeze.  There seems to be a collective sigh of relief from human and animal alike as the intense heat of summer has dissipated.

We have opened most of our windows to allow fresh air to circulate throughout our home.  Not only does this decrease our electricity bill, but the cool night air helps me sleep well.  The coyotes howl and yap.  The occasional owl hoots.  And, I sink deeper under my covers.

The kids spend most of their time outside to play in the sunshine.  Whether they are riding horses or jumping on a trampoline, they are enjoying the change in the weather, too.

We finished planting our fall garden, which is my favorite garden of the year.  We enjoy fresh greens, lettuce, and spinach well into the winter as well as cabbage and broccoli.  We planted leeks and onions too.  I love getting my hands dirty this time of year while the sun is not scorching your skin.

The deer are moving about in the coolness of the morning and evening.  Bucks strut about with their new antlers crowning their heads.  Just yesterday, we saw 2 bucks and 3 does crossing the pasture.  At the same time, we heard another buck snorting in the brush.

The horses seem more playful as they graze the green pastures.  Today several went for a full-body swim in the lake.  As they climbed out of the water, their coats glistened in the sun.

Like I said before, this is such a good time for both animals and humans.  It is one of my favorite times of the year.  Autumn ties with spring in my opinion.  However, I love the different qualities unique to each season, which is why I want to share a poem with you by Charles Dickens.

Merry Autumn Days

‘Tis pleasant on a fine spring morn
To see the buds expand,
‘Tis pleasant in the summer time
To see the fruitful land;
‘Tis pleasant on a winter’s night
To sit around the blaze,
But what are joys like these, my boys,
To merry autumn days!

We hail the merry Autumn days,
When leaves are turning red;
Because they’re far more beautiful
Than anyone has said,
We hail the merry harvest time,
The gayest of the year;
The time of rich and bounteous crops,
Rejoicing and good cheer.

I know that the economy is not good, and we cannot yet see the end in sight.  Families everywhere in our country are tightening up their belts and looking for ways to spend their hard-earned money more wisely.  At some point, we have to balance the health benefits of organic produce and grass fed meats with the higher cost of each.

I watched Michael Pollan being interviewed on NBC Nightly News.  It was filmed on June 24.  Michael Pollan has made the documentary, “Food Inc.”  He has also written many books on the subject of making healthier food choices.  You can read more about it on an article that I wrote also called, “Food Inc.”

In this interview, Mr. Pollan is specifically speaking about the whether or not buying organic is worth the higher cost.  He gives great advice as to on what produce we should spend our money.  Some produce is not worth spending the money on organic because we peel it before consumption.

The reason that I am showing the interview on “Welcome to the Ranch” is because Mr. Pollan spends a good time discussing organic beef versus grass fed beef.  He talks about the health benefits and the environmental benefits.  Most importantly for this article, he talks about the most economical way to enjoy grass fed beef.  I feel it is an interview worthy of your time.

If you would like either a 1/4, 1/2, or whole order of grass fed beef, please let me know.  Like I wrote last week, we are currently sold out, but have started a waiting list.  We already have many families waiting for our grass fed beef to be harvested.  Now is the time to get your name on the list, too.  To read more about the waiting list and what I need from you to be on it, read last week’s article, “A Waiting List.”

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Cross Creek Cattle Company has currently sold out of grass fed beef.  We will not be able to fill orders for some time now.  It is unfortunate because I field so many interested calls and emails on an almost daily basis.

We have begun a waiting list.  To be on the waiting list, I need your name, phone number, mailing address, and email address.  You are under no obligation to purchase beef in the future.  We are taking no deposits.  However, you will be notified first when more grass fed beef is available.  It is like you have the first right of refusal.

On the business end, it is better to have more demand than supply, but we also want to be able to make our customers happy.  Some ranches faced with this problem might run out to the local auction barn and purchase animals to place on their pastures.  They will honestly raise the animals on grass for the remainder of their days.

We have decided not to go this route.  We could not assure our customers that the animals have never received antibiotics, growth hormones, steroids, or grain.  We would not know the history of the animal prior to our ownership.  Quality assurance is very important to us as a family and as a business.  We want to provide your family with the best grass-fed beef we possibly can.

Therefore, we will have to wait until our next crop of grass-fed beef is ready to be harvested.  It will be many months before we will even consider it.  We hope that you understand and apologize for any inconvenience that might cause you and your family.

I encourage anyone interested in purchasing grass fed beef from Cross Creek Cattle Company in the future to sign up on our waiting list.  Simply email your information to me at lndehaven@aol.com.  I will also answer any of your questions concerning our ranch and its grass fed beef.  We hope that we can provide your family with healthy, flavorful grass fed beef in the future.

Our new hay barn.

Months ago I wrote an article, “A Dozer of a Day,” which told of our preparing for the site of the new hay barn.  I have been remiss in announcing the completion of the project.  We not only have a new hay barn on site, but it is filled with fresh hay for the up-coming winter.

With careful planning, the new hay barn at Cross Creek Cattle Company meets all of our needs.  The barn is huge!  It is has plenty of room for our hay.  We have filled it with round bales.  There is also room for our tractor implements.  The barn also has a covered area for our ranch truck and cattle trailer.  It is better for your equipment to be under cover.

In addition to plenty of room to keep our round bales of hay and ranch equipment, the construction of the barn was well-thought out.  It has vents at the top of the walls to let out the heat as it rises.  It is covered by three sides and has high gates on the fourth side, with which to deter any cow from trying to enter.  In other words, the barn is well-constructed and stout.  We are very happy with our hay barn.

In our horse barn, we have a feed/hay area, which is completely enclosed.  Square bales are stacked neatly and fill the whole room almost to the ceiling.  We are prepared for whatever winter throws at us this year.

A double stack of round bales.

Last year we had a very odd winter.  We had three snowfalls.  It froze almost every night for weeks.  We consider it a hard winter for our part of the United States.  This year we don’t know exactly what to expect.

However, there are signs in nature that you can observe.  First, check your animals’ coat.  Both our horses and cows are still slick.  They have not begun to grow a thick, winter coat.  Last year, we had never seen them get so hairy.  For this reason alone, we do not expect a very hard winter.

Obviously this is not a very scientific method at weather prediction, but how often are trained meteorologists actually correct?  Regardless of the winter that is coming, our livestock will have plenty of good hay to eat.  It is stored in covered barns and protected from the weather.

After all this extreme heat last month, I am personally welcoming a change in temperature.  Welcome autumn and come on winter!  We are ready for you.

This is not part of Cross Creek Cattle Company, but is an example of an over-grazed pasture. Notice the bare areas and absence of tall grass.

For retirees and young families alike, a common dream seems to be for city-dwellers to move out on acreage in the country.  They buy some land, buy some livestock, and enjoy living in the slow-paced rural environment.  Since we live relatively close to Houston, we are personally seeing a huge increase of ex-Houstonians move into our county.  However, some make a common mistake.  They over-graze their pastures.

Over-grazing your pasture is bad for your land and your livestock.  Without adequate grass on your soil, erosion can occur very easily with any rainfall.  A heavy rain and a subsequent flood can devastate your land.  Grass also resists wind erosion, too.

Livestock must have grass to thrive.  Without adequate grass, horses can get sand in their gut and make them sick.  Cows and other ruminants must have plenty of grass, too.  If there is not sufficient grass available, then you must feed hay.  The last thing you want to be doing is feeding hay to your cows in the summer.  Hay is expensive to buy and/or produce; therefore, you will feel the consequences of over-grazing in your pocketbook.

So how do you prevent over-grazing your pastures?  At Cross Creek Cattle Company, we rotate our pastures regularly.  We want our cattle to be on fresh, green grass daily.  We do not want them to lose their good condition simply because we let them crop the grass too low to the ground.

If the grass is left between 4-8″ long, the plant is able to recover more easily.  Under that point, the grass struggles to rebound.  Therefore, we allow our cattle to graze while we monitor the condition of the pasture grass.  We don’t like the grass getting under 6″.

Over-grazing can also occur if you have too many head on a certain amount of acreage.  There is no magic formula for figuring this out as it depends on where you live.  For example, a rancher in Southeast Texas can have more cattle on a less acreage than a West Texas rancher.  In the more arid areas of Texas a rancher has to have thousands of acres for the same amount of cattle elsewhere.

Let me show you some photographs.  These pictures were taken on the same day, September 2, 2010.  The photographs below are of the front pasture on Cross Creek Cattle Company.  Compare the condition of the pasture and grass to the picture at the top of this article, which is of a place down the road less than a mile away.  Therefore, we have received essentially the same amount of rainfall and the same high summer temperatures.  The differences lie in pasture rotation and the amount of livestock on the land.  We have much more livestock on our land.

In the photographs of Cross Creek Cattle Company, our entire herd of cattle and then our nine horses had been grazing for days.  On the other property, a couple of head of cattle and a few horses have been grazing in the same pasture all summer long.  You are just going to have to take my word on it.

One view of the front pasture. Beyond the fence and lake is a second pasture. You can see for yourself the length and condition of our grass.

The same pasture under the trees.

Another angle of the same pasture. There are no bare spots even though the grass has been baking in the sun day after day.

If you are new to ranching or have been doing this for generations like us, we all want what is best for our land, our cattle, and ourselves.  Monitoring the condition of your pasture is an easy place to start to protect all three.  Even with relatively few acres of land, you can implement an effective pasture rotation program.