The cows followed me from tree to tree as I knocked down apples. I kept my head down, afraid of a direct hit, as the apples plummeted down on me and the cows. The grass this year suffered from lack of rain. By the end of August there was little grass for our herd of cattle to eat. When the grass stopped growing due to the lack of rain, the apples picked up. Just as the grass was disappearing the apples ripened.
Adriana finds the perfect apple.
One of our remote pastures is an old apple orchard in Barnstead, NH. In past years these aging apple trees produced some apples for the cows eating pleasure. This year the apple crop was amazing. The apples were big, plump and abundant, bending tree branches under their weight. Daily we knocked apples from the upper reaches of the trees and daily the cattle would clean up the drops.
Apples are abundant this year.
Apples alone, though, cannot sustain cattle. They are ruminants and need roughage to help digest the apples so we bring them hay to supplement the apples. We bring a round bale (about one thousand pounds of hay) to the pasture every few days. Yes, we were still feeding hay but a lot less of it.
Cattle have a special technique to eat apples.
There is a danger with apples and cattle. Cattle can get upset stomachs if they eat too many apples too quickly. Fortunately cattle know just how to deal with indigestion. They gobble down sodium bicarbonate. Cattle don’t like to get sick and innately know when to hit the bicarbonate. Cattle can also get “drunk” eating too many apples all at once but if introduced gradually they are less likely to over eat. Just think about it. If you were starved for ice cream for months, then presented with gallons of it, would you gorge yourself? These cattle started with a few apples in August gradually building to the overabundance of apples in early October.
Apples for the cattle
Not only were the cattle fed by the apple drops, so were we. We brought bushels home for apple sauce, canning and just plain eating. This was definitely the year of the apple. And lets not forget all those busy bees who pollinated every single apple. I’m not sure what made this year so special for apples but let’s celebrate with this easy to make applesauce.
Why not make applesauce with local maple sryup? Local apples, local maple sryup, what could be better?
Why not make applesauce with local maple sryup? Local apples, local maple syrup, what could be better?
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 peeled apples cored and chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup maple sryup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation:10 minutes
In a saucepan, combine apples, water, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, or until apples are soft stirring frequently. Turn off heat, add cinnamon. Serve hot or cold.
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