Eden Valley Guest Ranch.

Mama Cows at Eden Valley, near Oroville, in Okanogan Highlands of Washington USA

We have what is referred to as a cow/calf operation and raise almost all of our own mama cows at Dry Gulch Farms in Eden Valley near Oroville, Washington.  Our cattle are natural, grass fed beef and all they know is living here in freedom with fresh water and great feed.  We practice a heterosis program and mostly use a cross of Angus and Hereford.  Beef cows generally have their first baby when they are just over two years old.

The Okanogan Highlands is famous in the cattle world for its superior summer grass.  Our mama cows learn from their elders to follow the 4-wheeler or pickup with hay when it is time to go to a new pasture.  The human yells, "Come Boss".  Someone rides a horse or walks on foot behind them to push the stragglers up with the main herd.  We try never to make the cows go faster than a walk, so usually our cow chases are not very exciting and we like that and so do the cows.  Our Border Collie loves helping to move cattle, but she has to follow the mosey rules too.

Winter in the Okanogan Highlands generally ranges from minus twenty degrees Fahrenheit to in the mid twenties and lasts a least five months.  During that time, we feed hay strung out in a huge line in our resting wheat field.  That way the nutrients from the cows are put directly back into the soil.

Cows are usually productive and cost effective until age 12 or 13.  Some have been known to live into their 20's, however, that is rare.  Our cows average 1000 to 1200 pounds depending upon genetics.

Our calves are born in March and April.  When calves are a few weeks old, the cows have a system where one or two cows will stay with five or ten calves while the other mamas go eat or drink.  The cows all seem to take turns being babysitters.  As the calves get older, they eat more and more hay or grass.  A calf just a few days old will start eating a little hay.