Welcome to the Ranch!

Rain, glorious rain!  It started raining last night and I believe I heard it still raining early into the morning.  At about 8 o’clock this morning it began again.  We are so excited here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.

It is the perfect rain, too.  It is not accompanied with a storm system.  We were not under a tornado watch.  We did not lose our electricity due to high winds.  We were not kept awake with thunder and lightning.  It is a steady rain.

Not only is this rain steady, but it is a soaking rain.  The water is doing exactly what we need it to do; the water is seeping into the soil nourishing the roots of our plants and grass.  It is not running off our pastures into creeks that eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico.  It is not flooding our pastures and putting our herd in peril.  As I said before, we consider ourselves blessed with this perfect rain.

As you would expect rain plays an important role on a grass fed ranch.  Grass has to have sufficient rainfall to thrive.  I know that our cattle and grass fed operation did well despite a drought last summer, but two back to back droughts would have been tough to pull through without many problems, which is why this rain is absolutely glorious.

I have a more selfish need for the rain that goes beyond the pasture conditions.  I have a big, organic vegetable garden that badly needs the rain, too.  Despite my seemingly constant watering, the plants are turning yellow.  The soil is never muddy; the soil has been soaking up all the water.  For some reason, watering with a sprinkler is not as good as rain falling from the sky for your garden.

I don’t know the reason, but I have made this observation countless times.  The garden always seems refreshed after a rain like this, but not when I water it myself.  Maybe it has something to do with the rain bringing cooler temperatures and overcast skies.  Whereas when I water, the skies are clear and the sun is still baking the plants.  Evaporation of the water might be a key issue as well.  Regardless of the reason, I am celebrating the fact that my garden is being refreshed and soaked by rain.

We want the rain to stay, but obviously we don’t want it to rain forever.  That would be unhealthy for our grass fed operation and my garden.  We want the rain to continue treating us with its blessings throughout the summer.  We definitely don’t want to endure another drought.  This great rainfall is a good sign that we will not.

Summer is in full swing here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  The daily temperatures are hitting in the mid-90s and staying above 70 degrees during the night.  This is prime grass growing time.

With the new growth of our grass, the herd is on a strict pasture rotation now.  We are in the midst of our time-intensive pasture management.  It is time-intensive in that we check the pastures two times a day.  We are interested in the condition of the grass.  We also look for worn areas in our pastures.  We want to move the cattle before they erode any of our pasture land.

We make sure that the herd has access to plenty of good water. Cows drink surprisingly amounts of water in one sitting.  In this heat, full-grown cows drink about 25 gallons of water a day.  Times that by the head that you are raising and that comes to a high number of gallons necessary to support your cattle.

We use natural ponds as reliable sources of water.  We also utilize well water in one of our pastures.  In another, we pump water out of our largest watering hole into a large water trough using solar energy.  To read how my husband set that system up, read my article, “Watering Your Herd on a Dry Pasture.”

As long as the rain continues to fall, we will be sitting pretty on lush green fields.  I hope that we do not suffer from another drought.  Two consecutive years of drought would be devastating to Texas ranchers.  We did better than could be expected last year.  In fact, Cross Creek Cattle Company was blessed with fat cows and green grass.

While other ranchers in our area were feeding hay to their herds during the summer months, we did not.  I attribute it to many things.  First, we prayed specifically for fat cows and green grass.  To understand this statement better, read my article from Texas Homesteader called, “Pray More Effectively.“  Additionally, we adhere to strict pasture rotation.  These are the two things that we credit our success last year.  God-willing, we will be blessed with plenty of good rain, fat cows, and green grass this summer.

In a typical year, we try to not put out bales of hay until after the Thanksgiving holiday.  This is a personal goal of Cross Creek Cattle Company.  With good rain throughout the summer months, our pastures can supply grasses for our cattle until then.  Unfortunately this year we had drought conditions.  For months we had no rainfall.

We prayed for fat cows and green grass, and we were blessed accordingly.  Some of our less fortunate neighbors were having to put out hay during the summer.  It was incredible.  Just yesterday, I was driving in the northern part of our county.  I was amazed at how bad all the pastures looked.  They had their herds on completely bare and brown pastures.  You have no choice as a rancher, but to give hay in this situation.

As the grass season comes to an end and autumn is in full swing, we stop rotating our pastures.  Instead, we open all the interior gates and allow the cattle to forge for themselves.  They can find the best grasses on their own.  They have that innate ability.

Now as winter time approaches, we are preparing to put out hay a few weeks early.  My dad is disappointed, but considering the year we have had I think we are doing well.  In fact we are doing better than most in our area.  The way I look at it, we made it to November.

After an incredibly dry spring and summer, we are experiencing a very wet autumn.  It started raining, and it feels like it has not stopped.  As a rancher, I am not complaining.  We have to adjust to either drought or deluge.  Fortunately, nothing is flooding even after inches and inches of rainfall, which demonstrates how dry our land was.

Immediately following the first few inches of rain, the grass turned a deep and brilliant green color.  The pastures are beautiful.  Luckily through the drought, our pasture grasses did not dry up and die like many ranches in our area.  We count ourselves fortunate and thank God.  Our pastures fed the cattle, and will continue to feed them a little while longer.

Where the ground had cracked from extreme dryness, the soil is dark with moisture.  As the rain fell for days and days, the soil just soaked up the rain.  No rain even ran off.  The ground was like a huge sponge soaking up all the moisture it could get.  After even more rain, walking through the pastures at Cross Creek Cattle Company is like walking on supersaturated sponges.  “Squish, squish.”  The roads are also beginning to get muddy, but they are not impassable yet.

Now that the ground is saturated, the rain is beginning to run-off.  Our ponds and our lake are finally starting to fill up after lowering to worrisome levels.  I do not remember the water in the lake ever being that low before.  I am sure the fish are happier with more room to swim.  A good supply of fresh drinking water is critical for raising healthy cattle.

With rain, comes mosquitoes.  They are everywhere.  All the little eggs have hatched and the little mosquitoes are hungry for blood.  If you plan on spending any time out-of-doors, make sure you have something to repel the pests.

Despite the mosquitos, the rain has really freshened up the place.  It has washed away the dust from the county road that used to lay thick on the perimeter trees and bushes.  The pastures and trees alike are well-nourished.  The rain has also brought a coolness with it that broke the seemingly constant 100 degree streak we were having.  The air itself smells clean.  Because of the rain, it feels like there has been a rebirth of nature on the ranch.  We are seeing more wildlife out and about, even snakes.  Rain is good.  We are enjoying the fall season at Cross Creek Cattle Company.

Drought conditions have cracked the ground.

There are several phrases that a grassfed rancher does not want to hear.  Two main ones are extreme heat and drought.  We have just about endured the hottest and driest June and July that I can remember.  It was really hot and dry in May, too.  Almost everyday these past two months temperatures have soared  over 100 degrees.  The heat indexes are even higher.  This coupled with little precipitation is a two-edged sword.

So what does this mean for Cross Creek Cattle Company and their grassfed beef?  First and foremost, we pray.  We do not pray for rain, though.  I wrote an article called “Pray More Effectively” which explains why we pray specifically for fat cows and green grass.

We work very hard to ensure proper pasture rotation.  This is extremely important.  The roots of grass are about as long as the visible blades.  So if your grass is 12″ high, its roots reach about a foot in the ground.  Shallow roots are going to dry up in hot and dry conditions.  The grass will not be able to rebound as quickly when we get some rain.  Cattle can trample the short blades of grass and really tear up your pasture whereas the longer blades of grass are more resilient.  We do not allow the cattle to eat the grass down below 6″.  They are constantly being moved from one pasture to another.  We do this with temporary electric fencing and permanent barbed wire fencing.

A cow in the mineral feeder while others chew their cud in the shade.

We ensure that our cattle have supplemental minerals to help them maintain their health and body conditions.  At Cross Creek Cattle Company we use a mixture of kelp meal and salt.  We add some diatomaceous earth to act as a natural wormer.  This mixture is all-natural and allowed by the government for use on certified organic ranches.  Even though we have not sought organic certification, we use these products to ensure our beef is all-natural.  This mixture is self-limiting, meaning that the cattle take only what their body needs.  They cannot overdo the supplements.

We are surrounded by traditional ranchers.  Ones that feed out their cattle with grain.  Ones that do not adhere to strict pasture rotation.  Unfortunately, they are already feeding hay and putting out protein tubs.  These are measures usually employed during the winter.  It is also expensive.  Because their pastures are burnt and brown, they must rely on these products to get their cattle through the summer.

Photograph taken July 22nd.

With proper management, we have made it through June and July with fat cows and green grass.  We are in continual prayer as we know the “dog days of summer” are just around the corner.  Our herd is still looking good.  They are thriving when some cattle on area ranches are only surviving.  Regardless of weather, we are committed to raising grassfed beef.  We take our commitment seriously and are proactive in maintaining the health benefits of all-natural grassfed beef.  It is antibiotic-free, hormone-free, grain-free, and steroid-free.  Our cattle thrive on green grass, sunshine, and fresh air even during time of extreme heat and drought.

If you are interested in placing an order for our beef, go here.  Our website has information on the health benefits of grassfed beef as well as other relevant material.  Go green!  Go grassfed!