Frantic Cow and Frantic Farmer

This grainy photo is the only physical evidence that in 2009, one of my cows decided to run on Route 106 in Loudon.

The big, shaggy Highland cow darted across Route 106 as I watched, stunned, on the roadside. Truck brakes screeched as the 16-wheeler slowed just enough for the cow to reach the roadside. It was 2009, and this was the second time within moments that the cow had darted across the busy highway.

Miles Smith Farm is a mile up Beck Road, a dirt road that connects to Route 106, a major two-lane highway. That year, we had put most of our cattle in a remote pasture in Springfield, N.H. On that day, they were coming home in three separate trailer loads. One cow, whom I would later name “Miss 106,” had arrived home in one load, and her young calf was to follow in a later load.

I thought Miss 106 would wait in the pasture with other cows until her calf arrived. But when she realized her calf was not in the pasture, she jumped the fence to search for it. We’ve had other cows escape, but they always stayed close to the farm and the other cows. Not Miss 106. She ran out toward Route 106.

When I got to the highway, she was darting back and forth, dashing in front of speeding cars and trucks. A driver snapped a picture as Miss 106 trotted down the centerline ahead of the woman’s car.

As I watched this scene unfold, I was frantic. If a car or truck smashed into the cow, I’d lose a cow, a calf would lose its mother and worse, motorists might get injured. The stock trailer containing her calf would not arrive at the farm for hours. I tried to lure Miss 106 with a bucket of grain, but she was uninterested. She kept crisscrossing the highway, looking for her baby.

Cattle will only follow a calm, assertive leader. They don’t respect a leader who is emotional and confused. Would you? I was frantic. The cow was out of control and couldn’t think straight.

You can be (happy, sad, angry, loving, thoughtful) if you choose to be. Pick any word. Stuff happens. You stub your toe; a child graduates; a cow runs loose on the highway. These are events. Once the event has occurred or is happening, you can only control your reaction. My anger at the cow wasn’t helping; I had to choose other thoughts.

Casting aside my anger permitted me to come up with another idea. I left the crime scene to bring back another cow to lure Miss 106 home. But by the time I returned with the cow, Miss 106 had already found her way back to the farm, and Plan B was unneeded.

An hour later, her calf arrived, and the two were reunited. No one was hurt, and I learned a powerful mental trick, which has come in handy many times since.
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Carole is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., where she raises beef and shares the joys of her Farm with kids and adults. She can be reached at carole@soulecoaching.com.