Not ordering any meat? Nationwide shipping at flat $9 or free! See how here.
📦 Weekly home delivery of our regenerative meats! Order today!
Burger Night is open! Join us on the farm Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun! Learn more 🍔❤

FAQ: How to do the cattle stay warm outside in the winter?

posted on

February 9, 2022

Last week we mentioned a price freeze and despite our "udderly" balmy weather today I thought it was a good time to answer an FAQ:

---->>> How do the cattle stay warm when we don't have a barn for them to go into every day??

Beef cows are a warm-blooded mammal like us and have an internal temp of 101°F they are trying to maintain.

In the cold they maintain that body temp with a layer of fat, thicker skin, thicker hair and through eating.

How through eating??

Unlike us a cow's stomach has 4 compartments specially designed to squeeze out every drop of nutrition from plants that would otherwise go straight through and eventually starve a single-compartment stomached animal like us.

Note that fermentation is the cow's super power which we take advantage of through our regenerative agriculture systems - leave the grain for the others!

The food fermenting in the rumen (the first compartment of a cow's stomach) releases gas, aka microbe farts, which keeps the cow warm. 🔥 So if she wants to warm up, she just needs to eat more!

The ideal temperature range for a cow is 25 - 65°F. Between these two temps she's basically living her best life and eating as she sees fit.

🥶 However, if the temp goes below about 20°F, then she just needs to eat more hay (dried grass) to crank up her internal furnace, aka create more microbe farts. So she doesn't even notice she's getting cold until it's below 20°F outside!

Andy wishes I worked this way - now that we have the wood stove in the house, anything below 68°F for me and I'm shivering....despite my caloric intake & farts. 😂

But if we have a cold winter that means more hay is going through her to warm her from the inside out. Have you ever bought hay? It's expensive. So when it gets cold just imagine us starting little individual campfires for all the cattle by burning money. Goodbye money. 💸💸💸

🥵 On the opposite end, if it gets above 68°F they can start to feel heat stress and then they will eat less to turn the temp down which is bad news for putting on fat - it's hard to gain weight on grass if you can't eat because it's making you hot.

Bottom line: cattle are usually pretty comfortable in Wisconsin (suck it California!) and when they aren't we spend a lot of money on heating and cooling to keep them in their happy place....we're like amazing sacrificial landlords for a 100 tiny houses.

Eating our food won't necessarily warm you up physically (although figuratively your heart will be filled with warmth for all the good you are doing 💚) but with our home delivery you can at least stay cozy inside and let us bring the good stuff to you!

Yes! Deliver Good Food to my warm house!

Wishing you health, happiness and warmth!

Steph

More from the blog

Burger Night Week 12 (of 23)

Burger Night is open, rain or shineThursday & Friday 4pm-9pmSaturday noon-9pmSunday noon-7pm We are halfway through Week 12 of the Burger Night season!  And we are now also past the halfway point of the 2025 season. The weather appears to be relenting for this weekend! Looks like we're going to have no rain and 70s today and Sunday!  How marvelous. (Next weekend is looking rainy again.)  We've got another fantastic Burger of the Week. We haven't done this one since 2020 and we've revamped it significantly....most notably, we've added a little hat. :)  And, our oldest daughter Mady has been working at Chipotle for a few years now so if the crema and pico remind you of anything from there, that's probably why.  Cow in a Sombrero 2.0 🐄🌵 ✅ 100% grassfed beef patty ✅ Melty pepperjack cheese ✅ Cool, zesty cilantro-lime crema ✅ A scoop of our farm-made pico de gallo ✅ A generous slather of refried bean spread ✅ Crispy deep-fried corn tostada ✅ Topped with that golden toasted bun sombrero-style It’s crunchy, creamy, juicy, cheesy, and a little bit ridiculous (in the best way).  It's hard to get a picture with that big brim in the way.------------------------------------------------ Saturday, July 19th LIVE MUSIC from Jack Willems 5:30-8:30pm Meet Jack Willems: a young, high-energy country artist who's turning heads across Northern Wisconsin. With a love for hunting, fishing, and country tunes, Jack brings an outdoorsy, Midwest vibe to every show. His viral TikTok performance of “Wagon Wheel” (3.5M+ views!) launched him into the spotlight, and now he's hitting the live music circuit with a mission to entertain. Jack’s shows are full of fun, heart, and crowd sing-alongs, don’t miss your chance to catch this rising star live and help support his journey! Jack Willems: young, high-energy, and recently viral on TikTok. Think acoustic classics, country vibes, and tons of fun.------------------------------------------------ Sunday, July 20th 1/2 off kids meals all day (note that this deal will be ending soon because we're replacing it with something even better!).3 - 5:30pm: Free Xtreme Bingo for the folks over 21 (deluxe prizes pictured below) and free Kids Bingo for the folks under 21! ✨ Remember, you can't win if you don't play! ✨ FARM FUN! Saturday, July 26th Farm tour: Real Farming, Real Food, Real Talk Take a peek behind the Burger Night tables and see what really goes into raising honest, regenerative food. From pigs to pastures, you’ll get unfiltered access to the farm, the farmers and the animals, with a few opinions on our current food and “health” systems thrown in for good measure. Must be 18+ to ride.  Tickets here.   Sold out? More spots may open up as we get closer, stay tuned!  Sunday, July 27th Fungi Foray 🍄 As you've probably noticed, we're having another WET year and this is about PEAK season, so LOTS of shrooms are going to be found!  During our last wet year they found nearly 100 varieties in 2 hours, so this year will be another great one!  Tickets here. Don't wait to grab your tickets! We need time to arrange for additional instructors if the class gets too full for just Tavis to manage.  Wednesday, August 20th Wine dinner! 6 plates + 4 wines. Tickets will be posted soon! For now, save the date!  We have a group coming in for a farm tour and there are a few spots open on the wagon so we thought we'd open this up to the public - likely our only tour of 2025. Tickets. NEW: 18+ only please. Farm Store Updates New t-shirts are finally starting to roll in! You can grab your favorite one online too and we can ship these anywhere for a flat $9 (free for orders over $179)! Lots of our $99 Bundles of Month are packed and ready to go home with you and make cooking & eating even easier than pie (much easier, in fact).  Speaking of dessert, before you leave the farm be sure to grab yourself a sweet treat for the walk to parking lot. Here’s what we’re currently scooping up: 🍨 Vanilla 🍨 Raspberry Cheesecake 🍨 Cookies & Cream 🍨 Mocha Mud Pie 🍨 Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 🍨 Cherry Garden 🍨 Mackinac Island Fudge 🍧 Mango Sorbet (dairy-free!) Come grab a scoop (or a flight!) and make your summer just a little sweeter. 💛 Two new TF shirts printed locally in Mondovi!! Grab yours today! Sold out? We'll be doing re-prints often so check back!------------------------------------------------ Sorry for the delay in getting this one out - there were lots of new things to add (with more on the way!).  Love you lots! 💚 Steph ------------------------------------------------ No dogs, carry-ins or reservations (please let us know about groups though). $10 min on cards, ATM on-site. 📍 w93 Norden Rd, Mondovi, WI 54755 See the menus and learn more: togetherfarms.com/burger-night Don't take my word for it, check out the google reviews to see what others think, here's an example from Cindy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great first time experience at the Farm. Friendly, organized bingo day of fun.

Rainy Cow Chaos, Beer Can Chicken, and a Local FFA Superstar

From calf chaos during Burger Night to pasture-raised poultry raised by a local FFA student, this week’s farm update is full of real-life stories, good food, and summer magic. Don’t miss the featured Beer Can Chicken recipe made with Sami Risen’s Rise’n Shine chicken -available now in our July Bundle of the Month!

with customization by Grapevine Local Food Marketing