The Bovine Bunch

Looking out upon the fields of the high lands or viewing our photographs, you may recognize some of its many four hooved residents. After moving to the farm with dreams of raising cattle and hogs, our thoughts slowly became a reality. First came the fences, then came the cows.  Looking for a hearty and well manner breed that was just a touch unique, Texas Longhorns became our first choice.  Not only are they well mannered and generally docile, but their meat is also lean and rich, with a unique grass fed taste.  

Many of the bovine beauties you see here were brought to the farm on April 10th, 2015, our original herd of 13 cows. 3 cow-calf pairs (mother and child pair), 3 heifers (females who have never calved), 3 steers (castrated male), and 1 bull.  All of these ladies and gentlemen displayed their individual personalities and received names to fit, unless their previous given name fit them too well to change.  September and Blankie kept their names, while Peppermint was up-named Peppermint Patty, and the others were provided with names for the first time.  Names like Fawn Knutson and Jewel, both inspired by our love of movies and TV (Big Lebowski and Deadwood).  Led by their fearless leader of biblical proportions, Moses, typically called Mose (The Office), the originals wandered the fields, waiting for their herd to expand. 

Three cows from their former farm joined the crew that fall before the first snowfall. Brandi and Bowie with their oddly formed horns, and Custer (in the main picture  above) – one of the handsomest young men you’ll encounter.  For their first several months, these three kept to themselves, but soon integrated themselves with the rest of the herd.

Simmental females, a Swedish breed that known for their large hearty builds, Bird and Bey, short for Jailbird and Beyonce, were next to join the herd to continue to diversify our breeding stock.  These are two of our most interesting cows, but more to come on them in a future post. 

Eight of the cows in our herd have been born on this farm, the first thing their bodies touched was our land, their hooves digging into our soil as they stood on unsteady legs for the first time. Hope, Boone, Mary Todd, Sunshine, Starlight, Annie, Rorschach (Rory/Splotchface), and Boomer are our Frechette Farms babies; breathing in the East Central Minnesota air with their newborn lungs. 

These incredible and majestic animals weren't necessarily what brought us to this land, but they are absolutely one of the pieces that are hearts are tied to, and 27 of the things that are keeping us here.