Aside from freezing water, General Assembly, and me getting sick, things are moving along nicely. Mary is starting to bag up a bit, as is Rosey. Fajita is home, and all the calves but one (somehow we missed her) have been moved. ( Fajita is kind of a pet cow. She is a low-line angus, mini-jersey cross, and as cute as a button. If you have a chance when you are here, you should meet her)

As I mentioned before, I have found a nice cow, Marge, a Canadienne (black jersey) http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/canadienne/index.htm Milking Shorthorn http://www.milkingshorthorn.com cross. She would make a good addition to our herd. I would like to be able to get all cows tested for A2, but will start with ones currently in milk, including mine. Once we get the results back we can come to a consensus on how to handle any that are positive for high A1.

I plan on only introducing A2 genetics into the herd in the future. I sent my breeding jersey to the butcher this week, and I have another jersey bull out on rental. I will be testing him before using him. The British White is A2 genetics, so I can always use him for breeding if need be.

We are having a problem getting the Dutch Belted bred. She has been exposed to 3 different proven bulls since last May. The vet gave me some specific guidelines to follow, and if she is not bred by April, he recommends culling her. I was very disappointed, as she is a heritage breed, but she has been in milk for 2 years and her production is very low now, and she is not bred. I can replace her with another Dutch Belted, at a slightly discounted price (due to her having problems breeding) but am not sure if that would be wise right now if we are looking at A2 genetics only I would like to have replacements tested, and have gotten no indication of the likelihood of A2 with Dutch Belted. If I do cull her, the financially wise thing to do would be to send her to the butcher as hamburger, and sell the burger to finance her replacement. Ideas? She is not so old as to be tough yet.