At Blue Ridge Farm, we calve later that most commercial operations, to reduce stress on the animals as well as calf losses in cold and snowy weather. Our calving season usually starts in April and runs through the end of May. This year, despite our best intentions to avoid awful weather, we had a blizzard almost every weekend in April! We prepare an end of the big barn as a calving area, put up fencing panels and fill the area with deep straw to keep mamas & babies warm.