By Rhiannon Campbell
As a Wisconsinite I have always been surrounded by farms and farming. Although I’ve never so much as stepped foot on a farm. The only contact I have had with farming has been from a car window as I pass the farms by. I have never stepped in manure or felt the squish of it under the sole of my shoe. All I know of Manure is the smell of it. Being born and raised in Wisconsin the smell of manure is a sign of spring for me. When the snow is almost all melted and the only snow left are the piles of black stuff at the side of the road, and it’s just warm enough that when you’re driving with your window down you can faintly smell that smell of Manure in the air. I usually hate that smell, but for the first month or so that that smell lingers I just don’t mind it as much.
Spring is also the time when you can see the animals out in the fields and while it’s fascinating to see all the animals my favorite animal has always been the cow. Cow is after all one of the symbols of Wisconsin. My fascination with the animal runs deeper though. Cows are mean so much to me because they seem to produce all of the things I love. Dairy products, which anyone from Wisconsin should know, are the only food group that matters. They also produce Hamburgers and steaks, which beyond being two of my favorite foods, remind me of summer and cooking out. Yes, cows in my opinion are the most delicious of animals.
I’ve always held a high regard for cows but still have not had the chance to see a cow in more than a pacing glance as the car zooms by. So my goal since I’ve started on this project has been not to only see a cow in person, but to pet a cow. Some might say this seems like a silly goal, but for me this goal has been important and had always been in the back of my mind.
I can now proudly say that I have stepped foot on a farm. However I have not gotten to pet a cow, instead I got to pet a Bison, and getting to pet a Bison might just have been better. I was nervous to ask farmer Greg to pet a cow, but when I asked he was more than happy to let me pet one of his animals. He told me that his cows were too mean to allow me to pet them but that he had a Bison less than a year old that I could pet. Walking up to the pen that the Bison was housed in and seeing him for the first time I was excited because I was finally going to be able to cross this goal off my list. Greg introduced me to the Bison and told me his name was Thor. He was named so because his mother had been struck by lightning and killed when Thor was only two weeks old. Because none of the other Bison were willing to adopt Thor they had to build him a pen and take care of him themselves.
After a little prodding Thor got up off of his hay bed and came over to the fence of his pen and allowed me to pet him. Thor was very even tempered and seemed happy to have some attention on him. Greg explained that Thor was so even tempered because of the amount of contact he’s had with humans, Greg stated that Thor would most likely not go back to the herd because they would not accept him. When first coming up to me Thor sniffed my hand, just like any house animal when you go to pet them for the first time. Then he licked me and nudged my hand with his wet nose. When I placed my hand on Thor’s head, I felt his coarse fur that was hard to get my fingers through. I swear though if he were a cat Thor would have purred at the attention that I gave him.
When I asked farmer Greg what his plans were for Thor he stated that he wasn’t sure yet. He said although he had no problem killing Thor when he was big enough that his family might take issue with it because they were already attached to Thor. He then told me about how he had a 300 lb steer who had to be bottle fed by his daughter-in-law and she became so attached to him that he was not allowed to kill the steer named yo-yo. He said that he would like to slaughter Yo-yo as it was costing more money to take care of him then they could afford and that if they kept Thor alive it would cause the same situation.
Farmer Greg then told me he wanted to take me over to meet Yo-yo the steer. I begrudgingly said goodbye to Thor and followed Greg over to the other side of the farm. Yo-yo was much bigger than I expected and Greg said that was nothing compared to when he was standing. Yo-yo was housed in the pen with the horses and next to the horses he was as big as a house. Farmer Greg hopped in the pen with them and tried to get Yo-yo to stand so I could pet him but Yo-yo would not budge. Greg explained that Yo-yo had become too comfortable with humans and was no longer afraid of them so it was very hard to get him to do what he wanted him to. After trying for about 5 minutes to get Yo-yo to stand up Greg gave up and climbed back over the fence.
My experience with farmer Greg and his animals was a very rewarding one. That short amount of time spent so close to those animals is something I will always remember and take with me. Not many people I know can say that they’ve gotten the chance to pet a Bison or stood 5 feet from a 300 lb cow. For just a minute the thought crossed my mind “maybe I could be a farmer” but being a farmer is more than petting the animals and being awed by them. Being a farmer is a lot of hard work and as much as I love the animals I don’t think that work is for me. Someday though I hope I get to go back and see Thor again, maybe when he’s a little bit bigger.
Spring is also the time when you can see the animals out in the fields and while it’s fascinating to see all the animals my favorite animal has always been the cow. Cow is after all one of the symbols of Wisconsin. My fascination with the animal runs deeper though. Cows are mean so much to me because they seem to produce all of the things I love. Dairy products, which anyone from Wisconsin should know, are the only food group that matters. They also produce Hamburgers and steaks, which beyond being two of my favorite foods, remind me of summer and cooking out. Yes, cows in my opinion are the most delicious of animals.
I’ve always held a high regard for cows but still have not had the chance to see a cow in more than a pacing glance as the car zooms by. So my goal since I’ve started on this project has been not to only see a cow in person, but to pet a cow. Some might say this seems like a silly goal, but for me this goal has been important and had always been in the back of my mind.
I can now proudly say that I have stepped foot on a farm. However I have not gotten to pet a cow, instead I got to pet a Bison, and getting to pet a Bison might just have been better. I was nervous to ask farmer Greg to pet a cow, but when I asked he was more than happy to let me pet one of his animals. He told me that his cows were too mean to allow me to pet them but that he had a Bison less than a year old that I could pet. Walking up to the pen that the Bison was housed in and seeing him for the first time I was excited because I was finally going to be able to cross this goal off my list. Greg introduced me to the Bison and told me his name was Thor. He was named so because his mother had been struck by lightning and killed when Thor was only two weeks old. Because none of the other Bison were willing to adopt Thor they had to build him a pen and take care of him themselves.
After a little prodding Thor got up off of his hay bed and came over to the fence of his pen and allowed me to pet him. Thor was very even tempered and seemed happy to have some attention on him. Greg explained that Thor was so even tempered because of the amount of contact he’s had with humans, Greg stated that Thor would most likely not go back to the herd because they would not accept him. When first coming up to me Thor sniffed my hand, just like any house animal when you go to pet them for the first time. Then he licked me and nudged my hand with his wet nose. When I placed my hand on Thor’s head, I felt his coarse fur that was hard to get my fingers through. I swear though if he were a cat Thor would have purred at the attention that I gave him.
When I asked farmer Greg what his plans were for Thor he stated that he wasn’t sure yet. He said although he had no problem killing Thor when he was big enough that his family might take issue with it because they were already attached to Thor. He then told me about how he had a 300 lb steer who had to be bottle fed by his daughter-in-law and she became so attached to him that he was not allowed to kill the steer named yo-yo. He said that he would like to slaughter Yo-yo as it was costing more money to take care of him then they could afford and that if they kept Thor alive it would cause the same situation.
Farmer Greg then told me he wanted to take me over to meet Yo-yo the steer. I begrudgingly said goodbye to Thor and followed Greg over to the other side of the farm. Yo-yo was much bigger than I expected and Greg said that was nothing compared to when he was standing. Yo-yo was housed in the pen with the horses and next to the horses he was as big as a house. Farmer Greg hopped in the pen with them and tried to get Yo-yo to stand so I could pet him but Yo-yo would not budge. Greg explained that Yo-yo had become too comfortable with humans and was no longer afraid of them so it was very hard to get him to do what he wanted him to. After trying for about 5 minutes to get Yo-yo to stand up Greg gave up and climbed back over the fence.
My experience with farmer Greg and his animals was a very rewarding one. That short amount of time spent so close to those animals is something I will always remember and take with me. Not many people I know can say that they’ve gotten the chance to pet a Bison or stood 5 feet from a 300 lb cow. For just a minute the thought crossed my mind “maybe I could be a farmer” but being a farmer is more than petting the animals and being awed by them. Being a farmer is a lot of hard work and as much as I love the animals I don’t think that work is for me. Someday though I hope I get to go back and see Thor again, maybe when he’s a little bit bigger.