Brutal temps had ranchers scrambling
By Ashleigh Plemper
Farmer Staff Writer
As Gary and Kathy Skarda, who raise Black Angus cattle near Keene, spend their many days from dawn to dusk doing what they love, ranching, the recent temperature drop has reminded them once again that their job isn’t for the faint of heart.
“This year, our biggest challenge has been trying to keep the water going for the cattle because it’s so cold,” says Kathy Skarda, local ranch owner. “Our water has froze up quite a bit more than we thought.”
As the couple raises 325 head of cattle, Skarda says 45 of them are first-time cows that are calving.
“They’ll start calving a little earlier than the main herd,” says Skarda.
While Skarda says the couple pushed their calving season back a couple years ago, it’s so they wouldn’t be calving in the cold months of February and March.
“Our two-year-olds will start around March 20 and our big cow herd will start the first of April,” says Skarda.
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