View From the Range           04/10 04:54

   Montana Family Keeps Calving Low Labor

   The Stark family embraces a low-intervention approach to calving season, 
assisting only when necessary while prioritizing cow independence.

Jennifer Carrico
DTN Senior Livestock Editor

   REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Calving season is one of the most important times 
during the year for the Stark family. While it can hold several challenges, 
having cows that are good mothers and have their babies on their own is 
important.

   The Stark Family owns S Bar K Cattle and Hay in Baker, Montana, 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.

   This segment of the series focuses on calving season on the eastern Montana 
ranch.

   LOW LABOR, HIGH STAKES

   "By the book, cows are due to start calving on March 15, but we generally 
have calves beginning March 1," said Shaylyn Stark. She and husband, Tristan, 
have their own set of cows and share help with his parents during calving 
season.

   "Tristan tags all the calves of ours and his parents, so during the busiest 
time, he could be tagging 30 calves in a day," she explained. "We want to keep 
it as low labor as we can."

   To the Starks, low labor means only assisting a cow if she is having 
difficulty, but weather can play a big part in assistance. If the weather 
includes extremely low temperatures and/or precipitation, cows may be brought 
into the corral or barn with a newborn calf to ensure it gets a good start.

   Shaylyn said a calf is typically only given a tag and may get a weigh-tape 
measurement to gather birth weights. A weigh tape is placed around the coronary 
band at the top of the front hoof to reveal the estimated weight of the calf. 
On unusually cold days, if a calf has had stress during delivery -- and calves 
of first-calf heifers -- may receive a vitamin paste to give them an extra 
boost.

   Cows are all calved on pastures, but large windbreaks are available for when 
the weather isn't favorable. The Starks will also bed the windbreak areas with 
straw for extra protection. During a blizzard in April 2022, the Starks lost 
several calves because of the terrible cold and snow, so they now have added 
calf shelters near the windbreaks for calves to get in out of the elements.

   EXTRA EYES ON FIRST-TIME MOTHERS

   The Starks bring first-calf heifers into smaller pastures of about 25 acres 
for calving so they can keep a closer eye on these mothers. "We want the 
heifers to have a good first-time calving experience, but we also want them to 
be independent and not depend on our help during calving," Shaylyn explained. 
"So, unless it's cold or there are several who have calved at the same time and 
are confused, we leave them out on pasture."

   This group is also checked through the night, where the cows are expected to 
calve on their own at night. She said they do want the heifers to be able to 
calve on their own but also want to avoid any catastrophes. The heifer group 
consists of Tristan and Shaylyn's heifers as well as Tristan's parents' 
heifers. By having them all together, they can share the human labor instead of 
splitting it into two different groups.

   "The pairs typically stay within their calving groups until branding time, 
which is when we will sort the first-calf heifer group by owners," she added. 
"Then our 2-year-olds will go out with the rest of the cows."

   NUTRITION, GENETICS AND PLANNING AHEAD

   To ensure the cows are in good condition for calving, the Starks feed them 
more prior to and through calving until they are sent to pasture. This would 
include the high-quality or alfalfa hay they baled the previous summer.

   Calves out of the first-calvers are sired by bulls selected for calving ease 
and growth and bred by artificial insemination. Calves out of the cows are 
sired by herd bulls. On occasion, they will find out a bull doesn't work as 
well on their cows as they had hoped and may cause more dystocia problems than 
they prefer. Most of the cows will get bred on their first cycle after the 
bulls are turned out. Calving season will wind up by the end of May. Any cows 
that were due later than that at pregnancy checking time were likely culled 
from the herd to keep their calving window smaller.

   "Calving season is certainly a stressful time, especially now with calves 
worth as much as they are. But we enjoy seeing new life and spending time 
together as a family on the ranch," Shaylyn concluded.

   **

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

   -- "Montana Family Shares View From the Range," 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/farm-life/article/2026/01/16/monta
na-family-shares-view-range

   -- "Montana Ranchers Weather Challenges to Preserve Ranch Heritage," 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/AG/news/farm-life/article/2026/02/13/monta
na-ranchers-weather-challenges

   -- "Montana Family Follows Winter Weather Care Routine," 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/farm-life/article/2026/03/13/monta
na-family-follows-winter-care

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

   Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal




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