Environment

Warm Up The Barn When The Cows Come Home

WKAR Public Media | By Kevin Lavery

Published January 31, 2019 at 4:00 AM EST

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Snow drifts line the fields on the edge of the Michigan State University campus.

Kevin Lavery / WKAR/MSU

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Tristan Foster is a farm manager with the MSU Beef Cow & Calf Teaching and Research Center.

Kevin Lavery / WKAR-MSU

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About 30 cows at the MSU research center were expected to calve by late January.

Kevin Lavery / WKAR-MSU

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This calf was born approximately 10 minutes before this photo was taken.

Kevin Lavery / WKAR-MSU

The bone-chilling cold we’re feeling this week in Michigan isn’t just dangerous for us. Domesticated animals need to be sheltered from the weather too…and not just dogs and cats. WKAR’s Kevin Lavery ventured out in the subzero deep freeze to meet Tristan Foster, a farm manager with the Michigan State University Beef Cattle Teaching and Research Center. Foster explained what he does in the winter chill when the cows come home.