This leads me to the story of “Mama Cow”  Mama is a 13 year old cow.  Technically she is “219″.  Yes, we say her number like its her name.  She is a grandaughter of Beau’s last show cow “53″.  53 even knew her name.  She would come when you yelled 53.  Keep all these things in mind, because “Mama Cow” needs a name.  Something other than 219.

  When 219 was a heifer, she got mastitis because she had so much milk.  This caused her front left quarter to go bad.  This year when Mama calved, she again had tons of milk.  So much milk had engorged her teats & the little heifer couldn’t latch.  So, we walked Mama & her calf into the barn.  Once wehad her in the chute, we realized that the calf had been sucking on only one teat, because Mama had SOOO much milk.

Mama cow was never halter broke as a calf, but you would never guess. I had Mama Cow in the barn most of the summer & milked her for our family. Yes, you read that right. I MILKED a beef cow for our family to drink the milk. Plus she raised a calf the entire time. Mama Cow is so calm & quiet that you would never guess she wasn’t halter broke. When it was time to milk, I would grab a bucket of hay, and yell “maaaaaammmmaaa”. She’d hear me and head to the gate. I’d walk her through the tub and into the chute. She’d get some alfalfa & I would get milk for the house.

Maine-Anjou cows were dual purpose in France and we are proving that they still can be!! Mama cow’s calf was weaned late this fall and is now going to be a show heifer for one of the girls this summer.

Ps, MamaCow will live forever on the ranch. She will live to be as old as she wants and will be buried in the back pasture when she goes.

By shopping locally, you first return all your money to the local community.  I’ve heard it said that the $1 you spend locally, circulates $7 in your local community.  Where if you spend it at Trader Joes or Whole Foods, all your money goes back to California.

Plus when you shop locally from real farmers & ranchers, you get great deals!!!  For example I get great greens each week for a steal of a price from BlueGateFarms at the Downtown Farmers Market.  On Thursday’s I get my bread from MyDailyBread and pick up other veggies that are fresh.  Last week I found Turnips, radishes & Strawberries!!  And I spent 12 dollars!!  For a whole grocery bag full of greens & veggies!!

When you shop the Farmers Markets, ask your farmer what is fresh!  You’ll get the best produce, and usually the best price of the season.  When you can, purchase extra produce to preserve!  We’re headed out to the Berry Patch this week to pick strawberries and make lots of Yummy Jam!!

Also, when you get to know your farmer or rancher, you can purchase in bulk.  Especially your meats!  By purchasing your beef and pork in bulk, you can save lots of money & always have meat in your freezer for the weeks your grocery budget needs a little squeezing!

Great places to find your local meats:

Ebersole Cattle Co – Beef (yep thats us & its a great time to reserve your half beef)

Crooked Gap Farm – Pork & Eggs

Foxhollow Farms – Chicken & Turkeys

Blue Gate Farms – Veggies at the farmers Market & a great CSA!  Try their Tapestry Salad Mix

Reicherts Dairy Air - Goat Cheeses!!  I love the Cranberry Pecan Chevre with our Beef Jerky

Remember to be frugal, but shop local!

Our previous website was hacked, so we had to go back & completely re-do our entire website.  So, I’ll keep filling this site back up with fun stories & recipes from the ranch.

Thanks for riding along!

Shanen & the crew @ the EbersoleCattleCo