At last, the time had come — we bought our cows! It wasn’t easy, though. The breed we had our hearts set on — Aubrac — is barely available for sale. In general, you could say that there simply aren’t enough cows here. In France, there’s no need to downsize livestock; it’s already happening before your eyes. Farmers are quitting everywhere, mostly because they’re reaching retirement age. In the past few years alone, the national cattle herd has shrunk by a million!
That’s a real shame — how will the landscape be preserved? In my view, it’s mainly through grazing livestock. Land where no animals graze quickly becomes overgrown, mostly with towering blackberry bushes. And let me tell you, the brambles here are a whole different story: the branches are much thicker and tougher than the ones we’re used to in the Netherlands!
Still, if they produce berries… that could be quite nice!
Back to the cows: three of them are still due to calve, which should happen this summer. They also need to be tested for TB, and for that the vet needs to come. He’ll probably castrate the two bull calves as well. That’ll be a rough day, but a necessary evil — otherwise they can’t stay in the herd. Bulls can be dangerous!
That’s why we’re already training the cows to stand calmly at the feed barrier, so the vet can do a proper TB check, and we can manage the castration without trouble from the adult cows.
It’s helpful for us too — we work with the cows twice a day, and it’s good that they learn to move quietly between the pasture and the barn. That way, they also get used to us.
Have a lovely day,
Marjolein
