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By CAROLE SOULE

What happens when you put a harness on a Belted Galloway steer and drive him like a horse? Bliss. Pure bliss.Jerome and his brother Saturn are my Belted Galloway steers. With some coaxing and encouragement, each, in turn, figured out what I wanted and...

By CAROLE SOULE

What’s more fun than riding in a carriage pulled by a horse? How about a cart pulled by a Scottish Highland steer? Most people think horses are the only draft animals, but maybe they should think about it again. Something as insignificant as a...

By CAROLE SOULE

Two-month-old Scottish Highland steer Owen struggled against the lead rope. He pulled back, then leaped forward and followed with a flop. As he lay on the ground, his left eye peered balefully at me from between his shaggy bangs as if to say, “I don’t...

By CAROLE SOULE

After 22 years raising cattle, you’d think I’d be unaffected by June, the friendly cow who walks over looking for scratches, or Tazzy, the grumpy mini-pig, grunting for dinner. But despite the years, the critters still pull on my heartstrings. I melt...

By CAROLE SOULE

Yes, we’re selling our farm, Miles Smith Farm. In 1972, I married my first husband, who lived on this magical spot atop a hill. My second husband, Bruce Dawson, helped me transform the 1850s farmhouse, barn, and 27 acres into a working cattle farm...

By CAROLE SOULE

With retirement approaching, husband Bruce and I decided to scout a strange new land. We’d love to visit New Zealand, but Nova Scotia is closer, so we went there.We loaded up our dogs, Flora and Joy, and embarked on our adventure. Because the dogs...

By CAROLE SOULE

Cattle, unlike dogs, horses, and donkeys, have their own unique language. They are not people, and as much as we might wish otherwise, they communicate in their distinct ways. To truly connect with them, you need to learn their intriguing lingo.Have...

By CAROLE SOULE

Like many girls, I wanted a pony when I was growing up. That was long ago – in the ‘50s when the Sears catalog was the Internet marketplace of the day. When the 400-page catalog arrived, I would search for the page advertising a $200 pinto pony that,...

By CAROLE SOULE

Each of the 27 bovines on Miles Smith Farm has a job. Cows give birth; bulls are dads; and steers (castrated bulls) are meat (usually). I had been a vegetarian until I realized that what I hated was the cruelty of feed lots and the abuse of cattle.My...

By CAROLE SOULE

‘Look at that bull! He’s going to come over here and stab you with his horns!” The boy, about eight years old, was sharing his knowledge of horned cattle with his younger brother at the Deerfield Fair. It was early morning, and I was acclimating one...

By CAROLE SOULE

We have coyotes. We hear them at night, howling to advertise their presence to other packs, claiming their territory – the woods on Miles Smith Farm. I picture them, black eyes shimmering in the moonlight as they yowl and yip in a wave of sound....

By CAROLE SOULE

Yes, I’m a cow flipper, not to be confused with a cow tipper. If you’ve watched Chip and Joanna Gaines on TV or read “The Magnolia Story,” you know what a house flipper is. Well, that’s what I do, except with cows. Chip and Joanna work to improve...

By CAROLE SOULE

Pregnant Maybelle stood at the 500-pound hay bale, swinging her wide Highland horns at any 15 weaning calves who got too close to her feast. When we set out the calves’ grain, she hung back, but when we opened the gate, Maybelle moved in to clean up...

By CAROLE SOULE

The kids hooted as they pulled on lead ropes and dashed around the barnyard, each with a calf in tow. They didn’t need any encouragement to run in this competition; what child doesn’t want to race about with a calf? The calves were just as eager. It’s...

By CAROLE SOULE

At Miles Smith Farm, we have two kinds of cattle: Scottish Highlanders and Angus/Hereford cross-breeds. There are many differences between these breeds, but one is particularly striking. The Highlanders, both males, and females have enormous horns,...

By CAROLE SOULE

I was a vegetarian for five years, mostly because I didn’t want to support massive feed-lot operations which corral 150,000 cattle or more and can process 3,000 a day. I didn’t have any plan to save the planet from beef. But I did – and still do –...

By CAROLE SOULE

If a farmer wants to breed her cows, then at least one bull is required for “natural breeding.” We like our calves to be born in April and May when it’s warmish, and grass is growing, so breeding takes place nine months before then – in July and...

By CAROLE SOULE

‘How many cows do you have?” is a seemingly straightforward question that I get all the time. But I seldom know the answer because cattle are hard to count, and it keeps changing all the time.When I meet ranchers from Utah or Texas, they don’t...

By CAROLE SOULE

‘What type of cow is that?” asked Jane, a visitor to the farm, pointing to Belle.When I told her Belle is a Milking Short Horn, Jane asked, “And when do you start milking her?” Astonished by the question, I realized that maybe Jane didn’t know why...

By CAROLE SOULE

The day-old calf had vanished. Yesterday the black-and-white heifer had been up and walking, and her Scottish Highlander mom, Laverne, had been cooing and fussing over her. The next day the calf had disappeared. The strange thing was that Laverne did...

By CAROLE SOULE

The dandelions disappeared as my cattle munched their way across the pasture. They snatched up the yellow flowers, which they seemed to prefer over the tall, green grass. Within hours the dandelions had been all eaten up.Even though our cattle are...