WILSALL - “We just try to do the best we can so we can raise a great product so we can sell it, but right now, it’s mainly just trying to keep them alive!” David Shockey said.
A late, harsh winter snowfall has led to problems during calving seasons for ranchers across the state.
“Mainly we’ve had a couple with pneumonia, just from getting cold and getting chilled,” Shockey said. “Trampling — mashing — because the cows are so close together, they all try to get in the windbreak at one time, then you get one cow that gets squished.”
David Shockey, who runs the family-owned Muddy Creek Ranch in Wilsall, notes that this calving season has been unlike any in the past.
“This year, March was one of our worst months,” Shockey said. “Usually, we try to calf the first week of March—that’s our big push!”
Shockey notes that the reason behind this is so they can take their calves through only one winter before they’re processed.
Shockey says that 50, sometimes 75% of the total cost for upkeep comes from winter maintenance.
“With the amount of snow out in the pasture, we just can’t get them out yet,” Shockey said. “We’ve lost a couple, and then the calves that are here, they just aren’t as healthy as they were last year.”
