[Kevin Cunningham]

hmmm I wonder why the links don’t so up?

[Kevin Cunningham]

My old boss swears that the best hay he put up was barley and pea hay for his cows. We usually do oat hay in this area but with the drought I am having to water the over wintered oats. Barley is more drought tolerant so I might try that this year for a quick spring hay. Times are desperate here on the coast.

[Kevin Cunningham]

This is the first year we plan on being “fertility independent” our oxen are a huge part of this equation. Our four acre market garden will be fed by our two oxen, one milk cow and heifer, plus goat barn bedding pack, and chicken brooder bedding. Not only that but most of our hay and straw came from the farm. We have had to buy both hay and straw this year because of the drought, but hope to put up more this year. The fertility is one of the ways I justify keeping oxen, because most of my farming is still tractor based but I do spend a good amount of time with the oxen training. Whenever my wife starts to question the oxen I show her the massive pile of compost behind the barn that was “free.” I would still like to produce more fertility because I don’t fertilize any of the pastures. We are working on the fertility there by rotationally grazing our sheep and some steers. I use a ground drive spreader pulled by my truck untill the oxen get big enough to pull it. I would like to add some sort of spray rig in the future, as Erika said the steers are great at that task.

[Kevin Cunningham]

The animals certainly pick up on the emotions of the teamster. Even when I think I am doing a good job of hiding or controlling my stress and anxiety about a certain task they seem to know that I am lying. This year we planted a half acre of potatoes, more than we have in the past, and more than we wanted to dig by hand. I made the goal to use the steers to dig them with our little potato plow. The crop was in, the need to harvest was urgent, my fear was high, and they knew that. We managed to do it but I went through a lot of problems with them in the process. Ultimately I hope that we came out on top even though the path was kinda ugly. They would stop and try and twist in the yoke, and at one point I realized that they were pulling at their maximum for their size and condition, but I still had to get the potatoes to market. So we planed it out, one, to two rows a day, plenty of reward when they made it to the end of a row without flipping out, and by the end of the field they were digging full rows without stoping and I managed to control, my fear. The whole process taught me a lot about expectations and abilities. Next year the potatoes won’t be so daunting.

[Kevin Cunningham]

I find that my team does better when I am doing productive training. I can and do drag rocks around the farm when they need some exercise but they seem to prefer doing some “work.” Most of my problems occur when they get bored. They are doing better about field work, circling with the harrow, but I still have some of that rushing at the end tendency. What they seem to really excel at is the varied pace and challenge of logging style work. They are the most attentive when I am pulling stones off the river bar or twitching limbs to the burn pile. And maybe the effect the accomplishment has on me rubs off on them. I am excited to see the boys get bigger so I can do more and more around the farm. Although that is part of my problem, I am impatient in training and what to jump straight to a handy team, which makes me push my team too far and then backslide in the training. Slowly I am learning this.

[Kevin Cunningham]

To be clear about my comment this is not something I have been doing for years. This is a change I am trying to make since this Monday.

[Kevin Cunningham]

Carl, I have taken to calling the “work” I do with the cattle “training sessions” in order to help shift the focus away from the accomplishment towards the training process it self. Because I struggle so much with my team, every time we go out I am now working on “training” rather than “working.” It has always been a part of my vocabulary to say I am going out to “work the boys” I am trying to make that shift because I can see how important that distinction is. The work is almost a byproduct of the training, and my boys need a lot more training.

[Kevin Cunningham]

My team is always rushing to be done with work. I don’t know if it is the same in your situation, but mine started rushing more at the “barn” side of the field. I have started to vary which side of the field I stop the day on. This is easier with a harrow, but it has helped a little with the rushing factor. That way they don’t know which direction they will be done with work.

[Kevin Cunningham]

I’ve been thinking about this one as well. I am thinking that some of the smaller Promata or Annies-all-in-one type equipment that can be pulled off center behind a single animal might be appropriate in these situations. The ox walks the path and the tool works off to the side in the permanent bed. Just an idea not being able to see the situations and really size it up. You might not be able to do the primary tillage at first but some secondary and cultivation work could be done this way. I would also tell them that training oxen has to be your passion to make it work. I think it is possible but they have to really want to work with the animals to make a go at it.

[Kevin Cunningham]

It is good to know that I am not just tech dumb and couldn’t find it on the page.

[Kevin Cunningham]

Well, it has been a little while since I vented all my steam out there. I still have a pair in the barn and not in the freezer, but I am learning a lot about my own and the steers limitations. I think a good amount of my learning is in my equipment. I know now that need to build better yokes and replace them sooner. I also know that I need to start bending bows, or maybe buying them. My steers are long past the stage where pvc is cutting it. I really wanted to start another pair this winter but my wife talked me out of it, since we are expecting a baby in October. What I am going to do this winter is get set up to build better tack, and committing to work the pair I have and learn what I can from them until I can start a new team. These boys are here to teach me some lessons that I need to learn before I can train a better team.

[Kevin Cunningham]

I can’t figure out how to send a private message, and it is a long shot for me but I am interested in more information. I am about as far away from Vermont as possible, but I am infatuated with the idea of raising milking devons. Maybe I ought to be the one devon breeder on the west coast right?

[Kevin Cunningham]

It is nice to hear that others have had similar problems with certain animals. One of the good things about having a hard pair for my first team is that it has accelerated my learning curve. I would not have looked at most of the problems with my training and with working the team if I hadn’t had such marvelous teachers. That is part of the reason I will hold on to them at least for the time being. I plan on making a another single yoke for Joseph, the off steer and trying and do more of the small farm jobs with him this winter. Oddly enough my team seems to do better when doing logging type work. Granted I have never really done any draft logging for real, but twitching logs and brush on the farm they seem to work well at. They get bored if I do too many circles with them. But varied terrain and loads seem to keep their interest and they forget about the food back in the barn.

[Kevin Cunningham]

Thanks for the response. I am pretty sure that this team is going to stick around, but it is not The Team. They are useful enough but I will be training another one, and another, and another until I find what I am looking for. I will keep these butt heads until the next in line can do some of the tasks that I do depend on them for around the farm. And I will probably try and work the off steer more as a single. Everything else I have tried hasn’t worked so for right now they earn their keep as manure producers. Thats some bull shit!

[Kevin Cunningham]

I finally made it work. I really want to support the organization as I have gained so much from my time here on the website. I encourage everybody to become paying members and make all this work. Many thanks to all of you who make this all possible.

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