Buffalo cows graze in pastures at Black Leg Ranch.
Angus beef cow/calves graze in the grasses at the ranch in past years
HAZELTON, N.D. – The heavier weight cows at Black Leg Ranch are out winter grazing, which not only keeps them healthy as they move throughout the grazing areas, but their movement also fertilizes the soil by spreading manure.
“We ended up sorting out a bunch of cows and we’re keeping them on some better feed. We kicked the remaining fat cows back out onto the fields so that they could either be fed there or graze when they want to,” said Jayce Doan, who ranches with his wife, Kassy.
Due to the unrelenting cold weather in December, the other heifers and cows, while still out on winter pastures close to home, will remain on some higher-quality feedstuffs.
“The brutal temperatures and snow set our cows back a little, so we’re trying to get them back to where we want them by still supplementing them with higher-quality feeds,” Jayce said.
Fortunately, the Doans aren’t having to go through bales so quickly in January thanks to milder conditions.
“We aren’t having to feed quite so many hay bales as we were when it was 40 degrees below zero,” he said.
In January, the Doans try to keep the cows in fields closer to home.
“We have winter watering spots close to home and if a blizzard is forecasted, we can run the cows into the corral or easily get them behind a windbreak,” he said. “Our fields close to the yard also have a lot of tree protection so that if the wind blows, the cows can hunker down behind them when they want to.”
Jayce has run into machinery issues while feeding the animals on the ranch. It can get frustrating, especially when repairs can’t be fixed in the shop on the ranch.
“Our feed wagon’s spout busted off, so my dad and brother have been trying to fix that, and I’ve discovered a few more problems with some of our tractors that are beyond my mechanical expertise. I have had to send two more tractors to town,” he said.
While temperatures have climbed into the double-digits above zero since the end of December, they have not been above freezing, which means there is still snow piled in drifts around the ranch.
“The temperatures haven’t been so ungodly bitter, but they haven’t really warmed up enough to melt anything yet,” Jayce said.
He has projects lined up that couldn’t be accomplished in the late fall due to the continual snowfall and bitter wind chills.
With the improved conditions this month, Jayce is planning to wean the buffalo calves, which is different than weaning beef calves.
“When we wean beef calves, we crowd an alley and the cows peel off really easy, and can go relatively fast. When weaning the buffalo calves, we can’t really hem them into a tight space or they will start trying to jump, tearing each other apart with their horns, and getting all around aggravated,” he said.
Another big project planned with the nicer temperatures is working on some of the permanent corrals, which have been getting over-run by the large snowdrifts and haven’t able to keep the cattle in. Jayce is planning on using some temporary fencing until the snow melts.
“I’m planning on doing some corral work and moving around some free-standing panels,” he said. “We’ve had so much snow that some of the permanent corral panels have been dwarfed by the snowbanks. Rather than risk wrecking panels by pushing a bunch of snow, it will be quite a bit easier to set up makeshift fences,” he said.
Jayce explained more about Black Leg Ranch Meats, which is Jayce and Kassy’s business on the ranch. They sell 100 percent grass-fed and grass-finished beef and buffalo that were born and raised on the ranch.
“Anything that wasn’t strictly fed grass forages throughout its life can’t be sold under that label. We are also source-verified selling solely animals that were born on our ranch. We know exactly what those animals ate every single day of their life,” he said.
It is a unique niche market that the couple works hard to develop. They have a presence in some grocery stores, as well as some restaurants. They also sell online at blacklegranch.com. While they sell different cuts of beef and buffalo, ground beef and buffalo and jerky sticks are the most popular items.
They go to vendor shows and set up displays where they can meet customers and sell direct, but with Kassy nearing the end of her pregnancy, they need to wait to do more shows.
“Since Kassy is now at 30 weeks pregnant, she’s having to slow down a little from the meats side of things, but demand is still high. Kassy is starting to get miserable and having to sleep on a recliner because she is so uncomfortable,” Jayce said. “At the ranch, we’ve just basically been feeding animals every day and getting ready for the twins to arrive. They will be here before we know it.”
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Buffalo cows graze in pastures at Black Leg Ranch.
Angus beef cow/calves graze in the grasses at the ranch in past years
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Some cows back in the fields for winter grazing at Black Leg Ranch – AgUpdate
