{"id":9431,"date":"2024-01-14T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T06:00:16","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"From-the-farm-53617311\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=9431","title":{"rendered":"From the farm: I\u2019m bossy and I know it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"When<\/a>
When Geoff Forester took this picture of Bruce and me, he told us to look like we loved each other. Most of the time, we do, but sometimes, yelling on the farm can\u2019t be avoided. Here\u2019s why.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u2018Tell me what you just heard,\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as Kavi goes through the gate, close it,\u201d Matt replied. \u201cPut her in the front of the pen and shut her in.\u201d<\/p>\n

I smiled, gave him a quick nod, shook the grain bucket, and called the cattle. Seven pregnant cows ran toward the holding pen, and when Kavi was through the gate, Matt shut it and pushed her to the front of the pen. We needed to corral Kavi because her first pregnancy test was inconclusive, so the vet was coming that day to take blood for the second time.<\/p>\n

Not all cow-wrangling events go so smoothly. Most of my cattle are comfortable around people, but some would rather jump over gates than cooperate. Kavi sometimes jumps, so it was critical to get her in the front of the pen, where the gates are higher before she decided to take flight.<\/p>\n

Cows can jump, often better than horses. Mostly, they jump because they are frightened, but Crazy Daisy, a 2-year-old Scottish Highland cow, would jump fences and gates just for fun. Once out, she\u2019d wander the farm, waiting to be put back in with the other cows. It was like a game for her. There is more variety among cattle than you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n

Not all of my farm helpers know the oddities of cow behavior as I do. I watch cows like a mother watches a child. The cattle have quirks. Hungry Maybelle might injure little Peaches when hay is served. Sergeant Pepperoni might kick when someone walks behind her. Emma Rae might toss her head while her halter is being removed. These details need attention.<\/p>\n

So when I give instructions, the staff repeats them back to me, so I\u2019m sure they know the plan. That\u2019s how we get the job done and keep everyone safe.<\/p>\n

Once, a friendly calf named Owen attempted to escape through the open gate. Jean was in front of him and grabbed his horns to push him back, but Owen kept walking. At that point, I yelled at Jean to get out of his way. She scrambled back and closed the gate, blocking Owen. Jean was safe, Owen stopped moving, and I stopped yelling.<\/p>\n

Shouting is sometimes required to grab attention to keep people and animals safe. It\u2019s best to avoid dangerous situations, but with cattle, anything can happen. It\u2019s not just that cows are unpredictable; farm workers often don\u2019t watch the animals to anticipate behavior. That\u2019s when my strident vocal cords let out a yowl.<\/p>\n

When things calm down, training starts, but even with the best preparation, cows can change the plan.<\/p>\n

So this is what we do now when cattle need wrangling:<\/p>\n

\u25a0Discuss the objective \u2013 Get Kavi into the pen.<\/p>\n

\u25a0Assign roles \u2013 Say who closes the gate.<\/p>\n

\u25a0Review the plan \u2013 Everyone involved recites the plan.<\/p>\n

\u25a0When Plan A doesn\u2019t work, announce Emergency Plan B \u2013 Carole yells.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about how it goes; no one has been hurt so far. So, when you hear me shout, pay attention. I\u2019m bossy, and I know it, but there is usually a reason for my hollering.<\/p>\n

Cow Coach Carole: It\u2019s not a shouting wife, dishes in the sink, or dust on the floor that\u2019s the problem. It\u2019s how you think about those things that make the difference.<\/p>\n

Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm (milessmithfarm.com), where she raises and sells beef, pork, eggs, and other local products. She can be reached at carolesoule60@gmail.com. Carole also coaches humans, helping them achieve the impossible a little at a time.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Tell me what you just heard,\u201d I asked.\u201cAs soon as Kavi goes through the gate, close it,\u201d Matt replied. \u201cPut her in the front of the pen and shut her in.\u201dI smiled, gave him a quick nod, shook the grain bucket, and called the cattle. Seven pregnant…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":9432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,510],"tags":[505],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-9431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-life","category-opening","tag-paywall","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/42691034-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9433,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9431\/revisions\/9433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9431"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=9431"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=9431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}