REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Winter weather showed up later than normal in Alberta, Canada, and Austin Cross at Cross Cattle Company said calving season has been challenging because of the cold and snow.

The Cross Family owns Cross Cattle Company in Claresholm, Alberta, Canada, and are participating in DTN's View From the Range series, where DTN will follow a year at the ranch to give readers an inside look at how the ranch operates and cares for its animals.

"We have had more snow and cold this spring than we did all winter," Cross added. "Thankfully, we can see the weather building over the mountains and can move cows to an area with more cover if we need to."

They try to calve most of their cows in April and early May. Currently, the first-calf heifers are done calving, and cows are about half done. Mother Nature has been pushing them to the extreme this year.

The calving pastures not only have trees and taller grass, but some very rough terrain in places. Cross said they typically are on horseback all day checking pastures, but at times they will take a side-by-side to get calves to the warmer box in the barn faster. They prefer to leave the calves with their mothers, but in the extreme cold, they will take a calf to get warmed up and return it to its mother when the conditions improve.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

The Crosses don't calve in barns or corrals, "so, it's kind of survival of the fittest out here," he explained. "We expect the cows to have good mothering ability. That can sometimes make them very protective though."

Cross said the only calves they tag are those out of first-calf heifers since those mothers can get confused at times. Otherwise, they will just make sure the calf is doing well and leave the pairs alone.

The protectiveness does come in handy when a cow needs to guard its calf from predators such as coyotes or bears. "When bears come out from hibernation, they are extremely hungry and will find the easiest meal, which often times is a new calf," he said. They have both grizzly and black bears; the grizzlies are protected. As landowners they can take measures to get the black bears if those animals are killing livestock.

Wolves are not a problem on their ranch, but Cross said his family previously had a ranch where they ran yearlings and they would lose several to wolves. Cattle would often be lighter in weight after being there for 60 days than when they arrived, because they were trying to escape the predators.

"Wolves are the most destructive predator in our area," he said. "They can cut profits in half. They will eat cattle alive. We sold that ranch because we couldn't have those kinds of losses."

Cross said they will move pairs out of the calving pasture daily to keep that pasture clean of new calves. They are sure to check new pairs and pastures to be certain proper water is available, and there's grass for the cows.

"We live where we have to dormant-season graze for nine months usually. This year, we are green now, but sometimes we may not see green grass until June 1. We also have to be mindful of how the grass grows and provides for the next year," he added.

The Crosses check their cattle, but also the grass all year long, to make sure they aren't overgrazing and have plenty of feed to keep cows on pasture for the full year.

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Editor's Note: To see previous stories in this series, go to:

-- "Alberta's Cross Family Will Offer Canadian View From the Range for DTN," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "From Calgary Stampede Co-Founder to Modern Ranch: Inside Cross Cattle Company's 140-Year Angus Legacy," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Alberta Ranch Builds Herd to Thrive in Rugged Terrain," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

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