Elm Hallow Farms

05/13/2025

Just when we thought the calves couldn’t look any more stunning I took this pic of Caramel’s daughter, Meala, this morning and haven’t even edited it “no need to gild the lily” as they say.

04/22/2025

We had a day filled with amazing visitors. We were so busy chatting with everyone that I didn’t get a picture of everyone. Thanks to everyone who came to see the cows!

04/15/2025

We’ve had quite a few people ask about our hay trailer, so I figured it was time to share a little more about it.

Our biggest challenge when feeding is mud, for a variety of reasons. As our fold has grown, we’ve had to feed more, more often. Naturally, that made finding the right window and the right location to feed even more difficult. The trailer helps by allowing us to feed two bales at a time and move where they eat, so the cows aren’t standing in the same spot every time.

It doesn’t make sense for us to roll out bales, which would be ideal for spreading waste and minimizing hay buildup. So, the trailer gives us a good alternative. We move it every few days to spread out where they eat and reduce the amount of waste buildup in one area. We still use a tombstone round bale feeder as well, which the boys are currently using.

The trailer was built on running gear gifted to us by my dad. Thanks, Danny! Seth was able to construct most of it with wood we already had. If we had more flexibility with materials, the design might have been a little different.

The frame starts with two 12’ 6x6s running the length of the running gear and originally four 6’ 4x4s across, but those snapped almost immediately under the weight of two bales. He had to disassemble everything and rebuild it using four 6’ 4x6s. At the ends of those are 42” vertical 2x6s. Ideally, we would’ve bolted on a 4x4, but like I said—we worked with what we had. The angled 2x6s were placed at an angle that “just felt right.” Everything is tied together at the top with 2x6s.

One concern was whether the younger ones would be able to eat since they can’t reach the bales. The cows drop enough hay that there’s plenty on the ground for the littles. The calves especially love bedding in the hay under the trailer while their moms eat.

04/15/2025

04/14/2025

These two are not happy with me 😅

04/14/2025

Annye, Maida and Lola looking so beautiful 🤩

04/14/2025

It looks like Maida is jealous of Neyland

05/09/2023

12/27/2022

Baby Nelly