Being at home for fall break was much needed, and I got to spend time with some of my favorite creatures on the planet! For this article, I’ve decided to introduce you to 5 of my best friends, my cows!
- Diamond
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Diamond is the daughter of my favorite cow Emerald who passed away in 2018. Diamond is a sweet girl. She is 6 years old and is what we call a retired show cow. I used to show Diamond as a calf and I even showed her this past year at my county fair, but she has some leg problems that cause her to have a limp, so I just let her live out her best life at home. She gets to mosey around and eat grass all day and sleep all night. Her favorite place to be pet is under her chin!
- JoJo
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JoJo, or as I call her, Joey, is not from my original herd of dairy cattle. JoJo’s mother, Bobbie Jo, was given to me by my Great Uncle Jay. He got her from a friend of his’ dairy farm and brought her to me. JoJo was born when Bobbie Jo was just 3 years old and she’s been with me ever since. When she was a calf, she got her leg broken and it didn’t heal properly. As an adult, she has a deformed leg, but that doesn’t stop her from marking her place in the herd. She’s as tough as they come, but easily one of the sweetest creatures I’ve ever met. She really loves to be scratched on top of the head!
- Bambi
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Bambi is my brother Kevin’s cow, but she has a heart of gold for everyone. She’s different from most of the cows in our herd because she is a Lineback. This can be seen by a large white line that runs down her back, which you can see in the header image of this article. Bambi is my brother’s favorite cow, and he loves to take her to dairy shows. The picture above is him and Bambi at our county fair this past summer. Bambi isn’t a big fan of being pet, but she sure does love getting extra food as a treat!
- Katydid
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Katydid belongs to my brother Brian. She is a sweet cow, but she can be very headstrong. If she wants to go somewhere, she’s going there and there is little you can do to stop her. I used Katydid during my photoshoot for my Miss Agriculture USA photos last year, and she’s very photogenic! Katydid is also not from our original herd. Her mother was purchased at a cattle auction and Katydid was born shortly after she arrived at our farm. She likes to be pet in the middle of her forehead and on the side of her body, but she doesn’t really like to be pet anywhere else!
- Sweet Tea
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Sweet Tea, or Tea for short, is one my older cows. She is 7 years old, but her mother Sweetie, who is 16 years old, is still with us! Tea is a rambunctious cow for her age and doesn’t put up with very much. She is headstrong, but still very sweet. I showed her this past summer at the county fair along with Diamond and she placed third in her class, which isn’t bad given that my only competition was my brothers. She doesn’t like to be pet anywhere and will give you a good headbutt to let you know it!
As you can see, my cows each have unique personalities and are all very well cared for. Each one has a name, receives special treatment based off of their personalities, and each is accounted for every single day. These girls are the livelihood of my family. They keep us together, keep us humble, and help us think about more than ourselves. Anyone with a pet would agree with me on that!