We share our farm with an abundance of wildlife and we feel blessed to do so.  This includes whitetail deer, elk, Eastern wild turkey, beavers, ground hogs, red tail hawks, the occasional eagle, coyotes, fox, raccoon, etc.   We consider these animals a wonderful natural resource and we are passionate about their conservation.  The balance of co-habitation simply works.  With ourselves as stewards we see our role as managers of all the resources; the cattle, ourselves, and the wildlife.

Viewing and photographing these wild species is truly my greatest hobby and an endeavor that I just can’t seem to find enough time to explore.  Yet, it always seems that my greatest encounters with wildlife occur when I do not have a camera in hand.  One such encounter was yesterday.

While walking along one of my typical trails I came upon a group of elk.  They were out on the edge of the woods at the interface where the pasture meets woods.  A large bull elk was acting strangely.  He was walking imbalanced and stumbling.  My first though was that a poacher had snuck into the area and shot him.  Standing very still I stood and watched, unsure of what I could possibly do to help him if he had been shot.  As I watched he began turning from side to side trying to lick his back.  He then began to turn in circles like a small dog chasing his tail.  All of a sudden he ran and came to a quick stop like a quarter horse going through a reigning routine.  When he put on the brakes to stop both antlers fell off onto the ground on each side of his body.  I had been lucky enough to actually see an elk shed his antlers!  It was a remarkable sight. 

We are in the midst of what I call a pendulum swing.  Changes in the conscious of American consumers is swinging away from the desire for industrial cheap food and back towards basic real food like that produced on small-scale family farms where care, quality and pride go into the product.   The buying practices, moral considerations, health and safety issues and overall awareness of the environment are fueling this pendulum swing. These factors are causing an increase in interest in alternative production methods for fuels, natural and organic products and low carbon footprint livestock raising.

More and more consumers are regularly buying products that are considered good or less harmful for the environment.  According to the research from Mintel International Group conducted in December more than one-third of consumers surveyed said they “regularly” buy green products, compared to only 12% in August, 2006.  Those who responded that they “never” buy green products were cut in half, to 10 percent.

Consumers are voting for what exists in the world by how they choose to spend their dollars. 

Huge storms moved through our area dumping about 12 inches of rain in about a 30 hr period and leaving in their aftermath flooding.  Southern Missouri is feeling the beginning twinges of spring and we frankly expect the rain, and the occasional river or creek out of its bank.  It comes with the region.  Yet, what happened over the last couple of days goes beyond the normal.  We have experienced what some old timers are calling the flooding of the decade or even a quarter century.  Lives have been lost, homes destroyed or flooded and schools closed everywhere. 

We have always been proud to have our farm located on the Current River (actually 3 miles distant) it is one of Missouri’s Scenic Waterways and its crystal clear waters are truly a delight for fishing and sporting.  Yet when the region receives a deluge of this magnitude it sure causes heightened awareness of the fierce power of nature.  Beautiful streams become torrents of muddy, violent, raging water that push everything in its path downstream in crashing rage.  

We are all safe for which I am thankful and we slept in a warm dry house, some in the area were not so lucky.  Yet, we are not without our destruction.  Large amounts of fence are gone and some pastures this morning had cattle grazing in a lake.  Pastures beside creeks have lost calves, swept downstream.  It will take days to help the momma cows and calves match back up and determine the loss.

In the midst of a crisis it is always gives you pause when certain sights imprint an image on your mind.  While surveying the damage and wading knee deep water where about a half a mile of fence had been washed away I happened upon a calf.  The calf was curled up in that oh-so-sweet manner on top of a clump of debris.  I assume patiently waiting for momma to return.  It was the picture of peace.  Tranquility when all around you the world rages. 

There cannot be any prettier color in the world than green, to a grassfarmer that is!  As the dull colors of winter give way to the signs of spring we delight to see the event we call the “green up”.  When our range pastures start the turn to green we feel a new birth, a re-creation of a new growing year.

This early spring we have had lots of moisture.  In fact, we are wet.  My husband is a pilot and was flying in a couple of weeks ago and called to ask the condition of our grass strip.  I told him, “You better land elsewhere unless you have equipped the plane with pontoons since you have been gone.” 

Rain is one of those vital parts of growing good grass.  As a farmer, talking weather is not just a pastime it is part of your soul.  Our Missouri soil is partial to erosion and when saturated makes driving on pasture like driving on ice.  We forbid anyone from driving off the farm roads unless in an absolute emergency. 

Animal impact can change a field to mud in 12 hours.  Yet, when not left to further abuse and properly rested it also seems to go a long way to bringing out and restoring native grasses.  Managing for wet conditions is as important as managing for drought yet can be a tool to improve pasture if used correctly.