SPRINGTIME IS CALVING TIME ON FERRARI FARM NEAR DAYTON

By LORI BERGLUND

DAYTON

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Nothing says springtime on the farm like a newborn calf.

At the Troy and Lori Ferrari farm near Dayton, there’s more than a hundred ways to say spring as calving season brings abundant new life to the neighborhood.

Growing up in the Stratford and Pilot Mound area, Troy Ferrari says working with a cow/calf operation became second nature to him.

“It gets in your blood,” Ferrari said. “I was born into it. My dad had cows. I was raised with them.”

Located upland from the confluence of the Boone and

Des Moines rivers, the Ferrari farm is an ideal area to blend traditional crop rotation with a cow/calf operation. Fertile soils link seamlessly with both pasture and timber, making good use of the land.

“We live in an area where there is good pasture, and to utilize those pastures, cows work the best,” Ferrari said.

The cow/calf area of the farm sprawls through open pasture, timber, trees and creeks. Corn and soybeans dominate the rest of the farm, along with suitable areas for hay to keep the cows fed and happy.

Long before he turns a wheel in the field each new year, Ferrari is busy in the barns with calving season starting in earnest in February. Heifers — the most time-consuming — go first, while the cows — more independent when it comes to calving — usually calve in the pasture once spring arrives.

“This year we will have 65 first-calf heifers and 70 cows,” Ferrari said. “We try to keep about the same number over the years, but we’ve been doing more heifers in the last few years because I had sold some cows and it was time.”

While in the past he has kept bulls, and has done his own artificial insemination (AI), he has more recently been purchasing a number of bred heifers.

“We used to AI all of our own heifers, sometimes 50 to 150, but I’ve kind of given that up because of the time

See FERRARI, Page 3C

News photo by Lori

FRESH FEED draws a crowd (above) in the outdoor lot as Troy Ferrari and son Rylie look over part of the herd on their farm near Dayton. This year, Troy Ferrari plans to have 65 first-calf heifers and 70 cows.