"Cows," he said.
"I would like to raise cows. At least two, so I can say I have 'cattle.'"
My husband has had many dreams over the years. Some I've shot down right away, some I entertain for a bit, and others I support all the way. The cow dream, as crazy as it sounded back in 2019, is one I decided to hop on board with all the way.
Neither of us had livestock care experience, and admittedly, my initial support for the idea was probably based on nostalgic childhood memories of my grandparents' small cattle farm. But choosing to farm was very out of character for me. After all, I grew up in a family of grain farmers and had sworn for years I would never marry a farmer (guys, it's just a whole lot of work.) Now I was going to be married to a livestock farmer (aka every more work!) That felt counter-intuitive to my life plan, but I felt the hobby farm life was the right direction for a growing list of reasons.
We live in a rural area with many old farmhouses and barns. I envisioned we would live on a property like that, providing the perfect backdrop to his hobby cattleman vision. However, our forever home, which was purchased a few months after the cattle dream emerged, was built in 2006 in the middle of a cornfield. Everything on our six acres was man-made within the past two decades. Charming barns and livestock quarters were not included in those plans.
So, how were we going to make this cattle dream happen?
First, we needed to figure out where the cows would even go.
A large portion of our land goes unmowed. We affectionately call it "the pasture," mostly to let ourselves off the hook for mowing it. However, the yard is still massive. Now, don't misunderstand - I greatly enjoy mowing. But after a few years of mowing grass over and over again that really serves no purpose, my vision for utilizing our land has shifted.
Boundary lines were drawn and revised many times. Eventually, a game plan for a little over 2 acres of pasture was devised.
Next, the cattle needed to be contained.
Grant researched all sorts of fencing options. Let me tell you something - fences are expensive!! We are always determined to find the balance between thrift and quality in every project - even cow fences.
A fence of wooden posts and electrified wire was chosen. We bartered for some of the materials and purchased the rest. Now... we just had to build it...
Then, there was the matter of how to shelter the cows.
One pole barn adorned our property, primarily serving as Grant's woodshop. We use one corner for our chicken brooder, but the space is insufficient for the cattle vision. The initial solution was to build a lean-to onto the existing barn. It would provide enough shelter for the cows and offer some storage for their necessities.
But then... an even crazier idea arose.
Our friends purchased some farmland about a half mile from our house (aka next door in county terms), which included an old house and pole barn. Right before Grant went to work on purchasing lean-to supplies, a by-chance conversation revealed they planned to tear the house and barn down. In all his thriftiness, Grant offered to take the barn off their hands. They agreed!
It seemed too good to be true. An essentially free barn?!?! This would house not only our cows but also our chickens and the barn cats our daughter had been so desperate to get. A completely separate animal barn would open up many possibilities.
Sure, the barn is old and has some rough spots, but as an animal barn, it would work wonderfully! We just... had to move it...
Cow Day 2024
Cue rounding up all the men we could muster for one big Saturday of barn moving and fence building! For 12 hours, over 20 people helped us bring our crazy vision to life! While one team tore down the barn, another began the fence process by driving and tying corner fence posts.
I cannot thank these people enough. Without their help this vision would have quite literally taken years on our own, or simply not happened at all.
Piecing It Together
The pieces of a pole barn lay in our yard for a few weeks. Grant had dug and poured the cement pillars for the foundation (along with some help), but putting a puzzle of a building together was going to take forever. That's when JL Construction Services came to the rescue! As much as we're all about DIY, having a professional framing crew put together random pieces of a structure was one of our smarter moves. They wisely insisted on adding some components that brought the old structure up to current safety standards. Again, a project that could have taken us a year or more on our own was completed in a few weeks.
Our animals had a shelter!
Closing It In
Now, about that fence. Cow Day gave us a great start, but Grant and I were responsible for the rest of the task. For the next four months, we worked on it bit by bit. It was frustrating, but it was also satisfying. And it was exactly the type of challenge we loved taking on together.
Our animals had a barrier!
Side Note: Somewhere in there, we acquired pigs... which were sold to a breeder, and then two different pigs found their way here. It's a whole story!
We also got some feisty guardians for the animal barn with equally terrifying names. Meet Pepper and Sugar.
A new chicken brooder was also built in the new animal barn, giving more space and functionality (also a covering to protect from the barn guardians).
Let There Be Cattle!
Finally, the day came for the cows' arrival. After a full summer of no mowing, our pasture grass had reached out-of-control heights, and I was eager to have something in there to manage the visual chaos.
Shout out to Stouffer's Stock Farm, a local farm where we purchased two Jersey steers, which our son quickly named Spaghetti and Meatballs.
We'll use a rotational grazing system to utilize our pasture efficiently and improve the soil. The chickens and pigs will also help with those efforts.
Guys, we did it. With a massive amount of help and ridiculous determination, we made our little cattle farm dreams come true. Now, I hope we can figure it out from here!
I'd like to end by dedicating this photo of me spraying out cow poop to every guy I would not date because I "did not want to marry a farmer."