My Cow Quandary

I.

Love.

Cows.

I love watching them and I love taking pictures of them. I’ve even made a Christmas gift calendar featuring the cows.

What I don’t love is where they end up. That presents a huge problem for me because my husband and I have my brother in law's cows on our property.

This is how it works. You breed the females and keep the female calves. You sell the males when they reach a certain age. THAT is what kills me. You have not experienced hell until you hear a mama calling for her son after he has been taken away.

I know, I know. Raising cattle is a business, but I think I have come across a way to have cattle yet not have to sell them.

There is a cow and calf clinic today in Lampasas presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension offices of Burnet and Lampasas counties. The 15 dollar registration starts at  8:30 a.m. and presentations will run from 9 a.m. to noon at the Lampasas County Farm Bureau, 1793 N. U.S. Highway 281.

Dr. John Tomacek, an AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist in Thrall, will talk about different ways you can make money with your land besides selling cattle. Topics include:

• “Diversifying Ranch Income: Alternative wildlife enterprises”
• “Is it Right for Me? Developing a wildlife-watching business on your property”
• “What’s in a Lease? Considerations for setting hunting and wildlife watching lease terms.”

For more information, call the AgriLife Extension office in Lampasas County at 512-556-8271.

Looks like I just might be able to have a bunch of cows as yard art.:)