Special deliveries Spring calving season a rite of passage at Edie Creek Angus ranch
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2024 (852 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NEAR ANOLA — Calving season is a harbinger of spring at the Edie Creek Angus ranch, where 220 cows and heifers mosey about in a pasture dedicated to the mothers-to-be.
New calves scamper across the field, hind legs kicking playfully and tails swinging. In the distance, stands of budding aspen glow almost neon green in the early morning sun.
Third-generation ranchers Jonathan and Stefan Bouw head the operation, raising grass-fed cattle built to thrive on the Manitoba prairie.
Since switching from winter to spring calving in 2015 (and by breeding for animals that give birth more easily and mother well), their calving season is less intense. Twice a day, they drive an older-model Jeep Cherokee or a quad vehicle around the pasture to check on the herd, stopping to weigh, tag and provide a vitamin and mineral shot to any new additions.
That doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing — as with any ranch, there’s always the unexpected. This spring, they’ve already had almost as many sets of twins as they had all last year, which means Stefan’s son, eight-year-old Micah, has a new responsibility. Since one cow didn’t have an adequate milk supply for both of her twins, Micah bottle-feeds a calf (now christened Bryce) three times a day.
Just like his dad, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, Micah is now taking care of cattle on a parcel of land where the family first put down roots nearly 65 years ago.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
