Chugging along
Host: Mystery Park
Written by – Tess Camm, Owner, Mystery Park.
While mustering, drafting, weighing, and all hands-on activities are vital operations on a cattle property, this only occupies a portion of a grazier’s to-do list. Livestock waters, supplements, and fences (just to name a few) all require diligent maintenance.
As Murphy’s law would have it, things only go askew when you turn your attention to another task for a couple of days. Long story short, there were a few fencing and water repairs to be done after our week full of mustering.
Water – the lifeblood of agriculture.
We are currently fully stocked at Mystery Park so as the weather heats up and surface water becomes less readily available, the pressure on our water system increases.
As summer sets in, surface water dries up and cattle are reliant on troughs for water.
A broken timer on one pump means it now requires manual starting three times a day, once at breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Hopefully the replacement part is in today’s mail . . .
Rob McArthur takes a moment with the cattle as he starts the pump for the day.
While shifting cattle to their next paddock in the rotation, we noticed a few fencing repairs were required. With independent minds, occasionally the bovine rebels try to shift themselves before the mob is moved to the next paddock. Pray tell, in what other industry does the subject of your job have a mind of its own? Smiling helps with the frustration!
Am I smiling or just gritting my teeth . . . ?
We like to handle our cattle on horseback wherever possible, so after lunch I returned in the ute to move their lick troughs to the new paddock. Nothing like a half tonne dry lick deliver to make you feel popular among the cattle! I was their new favourite person.
It’s first in, best dressed at the lick trough.
Today we are spoiled and knock off early – just in time to enjoy fresh baked scrolls! Time to sit back and be grateful for what we have, and put what we don’t have into perspective . . .
It’s also first in, best dressed at the smoko table!