Ranchers in middle of calving season prepare for record low temperatures

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - It’s another year, and another round of cold weather during calving season.

“I enjoy the calving process and I don’t mind a little trouble here and there,” Sumner County farmer Tim Turek said.

“We tried. We used to calve in March. I don’t know if people back in the old days, it used to rain in March. It would get really muddy. Water running around is probably worse than the snow.”

For Turek, the calving season starts around this time of year. And when he sees extreme cold in the forecast, he takes extra precautions to keep his newborn cattle safe.

“Right now, I’m gathering up little square bales to bed the barns,” Turek said. “The baby calves that are born maybe have a couple of hours before we’ll have to get to them. That’ll be the challenge. We try to keep the bedding out and keep them out of the wind as best we can.”

Turek said the key is to keep calves warm and with their mothers.

“We have sleds that we will put them in, and hopefully, the mom will follow us to the barn, and we’ll put them in there,” Turek said. “If you keep them out of the wind and they are dry and they get to nurse in the first hour or so -- if they nurse, they’re golden.”

As for now, Turek said he’ll take one cold winter day at a time.

“I’ve seen it get so bad to where you just have to go in and wait for it to clear out before you can check on them again,” Turek said. “It’ll be a rough few days. But we’re kind of used to it. It usually happens once a season.”