MN Agriculture: Melissa Burrow, Riverside Cattle

Day 30 of my “30 Days of MN Agriculture” is Melissa Burrow of Riverside Cattle Farm. Melissa is from Houston, MN and also raises cattle. Houston, MN is located in the extreme southeastern part of the state. That area of the state if very hilly. Melissa also loves the idea that her kids are being raised on the farm where they are taught the values of agriculture.

Social Media Sites:

Facebook: Riverside Farms

Blog: Riverside Cattle

Tell me a little about your farm and/or business?

“We are nestled in the hills of SE MN where we raise dairy beef as well as a cow/calf operation.”

How long have you farmed or been in business?

“I have farmed full-time for a little over a year now, but have helped on the family farm since young.”

Tell me a little about what you grown/raise/produce or service provided.

“We currently raise Holstein bull calves from birth to 250 lb. We custom raise for one producer who takes them after 250 lb, and the remaining are retained in our feedlot or are sold to other feedlots. We are starting to grow our cow/calf operation to have a small herd of Shorthorn and Angus. We intend to sell some purebred genetics for showing and keep some commercial cows to raise colored beef for the feedlot too.”

Where do you sell or provide services to? Who is your end consumer?

“We currently sell our cattle to other producers who raise until finish. We also sell a small number of beef right off the farm to customers.”

What makes your farm/business unique or special? What are you proud of?

“We raise our bull calves with auto feeders. This gives our calves the ability to eat up to 8 liters of milk a day. This allows them to be healthy, grow faster, and be social like cattle are meant to be.”

What do you love most about farming/business?

“I love having the flexibility, since we use the auto feeders we don’t have to do feedings at set times once they are eating well on feeders. This allows more time to do things with kids or tackle other projects. I also love being able to have my kids involved and allowing them to experience this lifestyle.”

What is one thing you wish consumers knew about what you do or your farm/business?

“We love our animals. We want to give them the best care we can day to day. We feed them the best feeds we can. There are times they still get sick, and our calves don’t feel good because their stomach is upset, have an infection or they have a fever. When this happens we do use antibiotics to help them fight the ailment. We make sure we document the treatment and work along with our vet to develop health programs to minimize treatments. These calves are just like babies, they need extra TLC when they are under the weather, and sometimes need medical attention. I wouldn’t deny my children antibiotics if they needed it, so I would not treat my calves any different.”

What makes Minnesota the place to farm/grow/raise/produce/service?

“I love the area we are in. It is very diverse in agriculture. The river bottoms are very good for crops, the hills are ideal for grazing livestock, growing apples and grapes. We also are close to Mississippi and other rivers, so we have great access for fishing, hunting, etc.”

Read the other people featured in my “30 Days of MN Ag. ”

There are others that are also participating in the 30 Days of Blogging Challenge. Feel free to check these out: