For Mason Curnes, getting back onto the farm was always the plan.
“As a kid, all I ever wanted to do was farm,” he said.
Curnes grew up on a farm south of Osceola and attended Clarke Community Schools. Active in 4-H and FFA, he showed hogs more often than cattle, winning rate-of-gain every year except for one year when his sister beat him. He helped on the family farm, but after high school went to work in Des Moines with his brother-in-law doing dirt work. During that time he’d come back to the farm to lend a hand when needed, but with his father, grandfather and great-uncle all farming full time, there wasn’t the need to add another full-time person to the operation.
After nearly a decade working elsewhere and his grandfather and great-uncle slowing down - in their 80s they are still on the farm every day- it was time for Curnes to come home.
“It kind of made sense for me to come back and pick up some of the work,” Curnes said.
Into his third year back on the Curnes Farm full time and first year on the Clarke County Cattlemen’s Association, Curnes works in conjunction with his relatives to farm about 125 head of black Angus cattle on the family farm south of Osceola. While black Angus are a popular breed right now - according to AgDaily, there are over 330,000 registered black Angus in the United States - Curnes said part of the choice comes in liking the way the cows mother the calves.
“They’re really docile and they seem to be good moms. They’re just good to be around,” he said.
The Curnes herd has been a closed herd for years, meaning no new cattle are brought in. Instead, each year they look at their stock of calves, pick the calmest heifers to keep to add back into the mothering herd. The number of heifers kept varies from year to year, with the goal to gain a few more each year.
“The gentlest ones are the ones that come out of good mothers. We always try to go through them and really pick what we like and disposition wise,” Curnes said of choosing which heifers to keep. “It’s cool to tag them as a calf and watch them raise their own calves.”
The Curnes’ cow herd ranges from yearlings to young teens with most kept to around the 10-year mark. Presently in the throes of calving-season, Curnes said this year’s group has been exceptionally good mothers, which comes from having been able to watch their own mothers and them as calves.
“It works out good, keeps them real gentle. They’re used to us, they were born with us,” Curnes said. “It’s just nice to be able to watch them from the day they’re born and kind of handpick which ones you like.”
Known for their maternal instincts and docility, many of the Curnes Angus are quite friendly, happy to accept food from hands and allow scratches behind the ear. While good for working with them and being around them, Curnes laughed that one downside is they don’t like to be driven anywhere, but they can be led. Speaking to one cow in particular who was eager for ear scratches, Curnes said,
“From the time that she was a month old, she’d just come right up to you and she’s gentle as heck. Her mom’s a great cow and she’s going to make a great cow too.”
In addition to a cow-calf operation, Curnes and his family raise row crops - corn and beans - and alfalfa, and grind their own cattle feed. With planting season on the horizon, Curnes said they’re waiting on the ground to dry up a little bit more so they can get into the fields. Drier grounds means the cows will also soon be turned into fresh, green grass, a welcome relief to the humans and bovine alike.
With many years to come, Curnes is just getting started back in the place he loves.
“I’ve always loved cattle and I’m happy I get to be around them every day,” Curnes said. “I’m definitely glad to be back farming, that’s for sure.”