SideXSide Action - March 2008 - (Page 50) On the Farm are placed within for better pasture utilization and rotation. It takes more time and there are more supplies involved in the maintenance than ever before. Just some of the maintenance duties include maintaining fences, building new fences, developing water sources for all livestock, keeping the designated livestock in the designated pasture, and, of course, keeping gates shut that are left open. The summer pasture is usually about 2550 miles out, which makes turns the work into a trail ride and an adventure. The Yamaha Rhino aids in all of these duties. The hauling capacity is much greater than an ATV and that makes the process much safer. They carry all sorts of supplies: posts, post drivers, buckets of water, and medical equipment for sick or injured animals. The Rhino allows them to get to their allotments with food and supplies much easier. The fiftypound blocks of salt and fifty-pound bags of minerals to put in the mineral feeders easily fit into the bed with no issues with weight restrictions. The hardest part of being a cattle farmer is seeing an animal in desperation. From being sick or injured to calving, cows need attention as any other animal would. The Rhino comes in especially handy when they need to pull a cow upright that was upside down in a depression or when they are assisting in calf delivery. If the cow is having particular problems, they may even bring the cow to the barn for more help. After the calves are born, they deliver bottles of formula to feed the babies in the barn or out in the pasture. Charles and Sallie wait as the cows are heading there way for feeding time. I didn’t know Cows could run, but once they had sight of the feeder, it was amazing to see how fast they moved. Charlene feeding the cows cake. 50 SIDE X SIDE ACTION MAGAZINE 36 www.sidexsideaction.com The day that we joined Charles and Sallie we headed out to part of their acreage where the cattle had just been brought back from the summer pasture. The Rhino pulled the cake feeder with a few bags of cake in it. I didn’t think cows actually ran, until I saw a group of cows sprint at us as the cake feeder made its noises shaking behind the Rhino. Dane and I each got to feed the cows a few cakes (no, not with frosting), and it was then that we realized that happy cows weren’t only from California! Yamaha Rhino’s keep the cows happy in South Dakota, too.
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