Truesdail Farms: A year in the life of an Erie County cattle farm

A newborn Angus calf is cleaned by its mother after being born at Truesdail Farms in Venango Township on April 7, 2019. The calf weighed about 95 pounds at birth. The Truesdails expected 43 calves in the spring of 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

From left: Brian Truesdail, 49; Brad Truesdail, 37; Merle Truesdail, 77 and Aaron Truesdail, 42, are shown on their farm in Venango Township on April 7, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail, 37, at left, and his brother Aaron Truesdail, 42, at right, tag and clean a newborn Angus calf at their Venango Township farm on April 7, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 77, feeds grain to some of his yearling Angus steers at his farm in Venango Township on April 16, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 77, at left, and his grandson Levi Truesdail, 6, walk toward a pen of Angus cows at their farm, Truesdail Farms, in Venango Township on Jan. 30, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 77, at left, and his son Aaron Truesdail, 42, discuss how to get their cattle fed at their farm in Venango Township on Jan. 30, 2019. At the time, the temperature was minus five degrees in the Wattsburg area. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

The Truesdails use four-wheelers for many farm tasks. They stopped using horse about 10 years ago. They are shown here working together to guide a calf toward their barn during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. From left are: Jenna, 9; her father Aaron, 42; and Aaron’s brothers Brian, 49; and Brad, 37. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cheryl Truesdail, 71, at left, and her husband Merle Truesdail, 77, discuss their Angus herd at their Venango Township farm on April 7, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

From left: Merle Truesdail (far left), 77, watches as Levi Truesdail, 7; Gregory Johnson, 9; Reagan Johnson, 10 and Jenna Truesdail (obscured, at bus door), 9, board their school bus at the Truesdail farm in Venango Township on April 16, 2019. Levi and Jenna are Merle Truesdail's grandchildren. The Johnsons are tenants at a rental home on Truesdail's property. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cheryl Truesdail, 71, keeps track of all the data on each cow and calf as they are processed during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail's boots are covered in mud and cow feces during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail, 37, at left, rests for a moment during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. In the background, his brother Brian Truesdail, 49, plays with their nephew Levi Truesdail, 7. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cali Truesdail, 12, concentrates while loading a syringe of vaccine during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail, 37, carries an unwilling heifer calf into the barn during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brothers Brad Truesdail, 37, at left, and Brian Truesdail, 49, wait for the next cow to move through the chute during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Levi Truesdail, 7, foreground, and his father Aaron Truesdail, 42, at right, push a calf out of a chute during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Aaron Truesdail, 42, feeds vitamins to a heifer calf during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

From left: Cali Truesdail, 12; her grandfather Merle Truesdail, 77; and her sister Jenna Truesdail, 9, prepare for a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail, 37, pushes a cow into a chute during a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Members of the Truesdail family drive four-wheelers west on Fuller Road back to their home following a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Jenna Truesdail, 9, waits on a four-wheeler to ride home following a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Janyl Truesdail, 42, at right, and other family members guide cows and calves across Fuller Road to a pasture following a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Janyl Truesdail, 42, and her daughter Cali, 12, plant a vegetable garden at their home in Venango Township on May 27, 2019. In the background, at left, is their dog, Lexi. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

The Truesdail family sets out a single-strand electric fence wire in a pasture on their Venango Township farm on June 16, 2019. From left are: Levi Truesdail, 7; Cali Truesdail, 12; Jenna Truesdail, 9; and their grandfather Merle Truesdail, 77. They periodically move the fenced pasture areas for their herd of Angus cattle. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail feeds hay to some of his cows in his barn at his Venango Township farm on June 12, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cows and calves graze on the Truesdail farm in Venango Township on May 27, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Aaron Truesdail, 42, at left, and his father Merle Truesdail, 77, at right, figure out how to adjust the operational width of a new hay rake at their Angus cattle farm in Venango Township on June 27, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail uses a four-wheeler to drive cows back to a pasture following a day of castration and vaccination of the entire herd at their Venango Township farm on May 19, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Aaron Truesdail, 42, operates a hay baling machine from a tractor at his family's Angus cattle farm in Venango Township on June 27, 2019. On this day, Truesdail and his father, Merle Truesdail, baled 19 58" diameter, 1,000-pound rolls of hay from about four acres of land. The hay will be used as feed for their cattle over the coming winter months. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 77, is shown at his family's Angus cattle farm in Venango Township on June 27, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

A 58" diameter, 1,000-pound bale of hay is released from the back of a baling machine operated by Aaron Truesdail, 42, at his family's Angus cattle farm in Venango Township on June 27, 2019. On this day, Truesdail and his father, Merle Truesdail, baled 19 rolls of hay from about four acres of land. The hay will be used as feed for their cattle over the coming winter months. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cali Truesdail, 12, on four-wheeler, listens as her grandfather Merle Truesdail, 78, at right, explains how the family will use the ATVs to move a herd of Angus cows on their farm in Venango Township on July 23, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, at top right, guides a herd of Angus cows and calves into a new pasture at his Venango Township farm on July 23, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

The Truesdail Angus cattle farm in Venango Township is shown on June 27, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brian Truesdail uses a mower powered by a tractor to cut hay at his family's Angus cattle farm in Venango Township on June 27, 2019. The hay will be used as feed for their cattle over the coming winter months. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

After a long day of cutting and baling hay for their herd of Angus beef cattle, Cheryl Truesdail, 71, at left, and Merle Truesdail, 78, at right, like to sit on their front-yard swing and look out at their farm in Venango Township. They are shown here on July 18, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

A herd of Angus cows and calves head to their watering troughs after being moved to a new pasture at the Truesdail farm in Venango Township on July 23, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brian Truesdail, 50, helps remove about a dozen roasted chickens from a spit at the picnic grounds on the Truesdail family farm in Venango Township on Aug. 10, 2019. The family holds a neighborhood picnic once every summer. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Aaron Truesdail, 42, talks with friends at the picnic grounds on the Truesdail family farm in Venango Township on Aug. 10, 2019. The family holds a neighborhood picnic once every summer. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Janyl Truesdail, at left, and Aaron Truesdail, center, both 42, say goodbye to their children at their home on Aug. 14, 2019 in Venango Township. In Janyl's arms is Levi, 6. Hugging Aaron is Jenna, 9. Not pictured is Cali, 12. The kids stayed home and Janyl and Aaron took the family RV for a vacation to Ohio. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Waiting for the school bus on the first day of school are, from left: Merle Truesdail, 78; his granddaughter Jenna Truesdail, 9; neighbor Gregory Johnson, 9; and Levi Truesdail, 7. They are shown Aug. 27, 2019 at the Truesdail family farm in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Jenna Truesdail, 9, at left, talks with her grandfather Merle Truesdail, 78, at right, before board a school bus for the first day of school. They are shown Aug. 27, 2019 at Merle Truesdailís home in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, takes a phone call in his barn, near his bullpens, after spreading lime and calcium on a pasture, Aug. 20, 2019, of his Venango Township Angus cattle farm. The minerals are used to fertilize the pastures for stronger regrowth. The process is a dirty affair, covering Merle in dust. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, spreads lime and calcium on a pasture, Aug. 20, 2019, of his Venango Township Angus cattle farm. The minerals are used to fertilize the pastures for stronger regrowth. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 77, at left, and Cheryl Truesdail, 71, at right, both of Venango Township, walk down the midway at the 135th annual Erie County Fair, held at the Wattsburg-Erie County Fairgrounds in Venango Township on Aug. 29, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Levi Truesdail, 7, at left, and his father Aaron Truesdail, 42, at right, both of Venango Township, wait for the start of the Bull Ride Mania rodeo Aug. 29, 2019 at the 135th annual Erie County Fair at the Wattsburg-Erie County Fairgrounds in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Jenna Truesdail, 9, says goodbye to her uncle's horse, a gelding named Red, on Aug. 27, 2019 at their family farm in Venango Township. Jenna was heading off to the first day of school. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Levi Truesdail, 7, of Venango Township, holds on tight during the sheep riding event during the Bull Ride Mania rodeo at the 135th annual Erie County Fair, held at the Wattsburg-Erie County Fairgrounds in Venango Township on Aug. 29, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail, 38, of Venango Township, rides in the bronco riding event of the Bull Ride Mania rodeo at the 135th annual Erie County Fair, held at the Wattsburg-Erie County Fairgrounds in Venango Township on Aug. 29, 2019. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Sitting in his office at his home in Venango Township on Sept. 1, 2019, Merle Truesdail enters information into CattleMax, an online cattle management database used by Truesdail, 78, to keep track of changes to his herd of about 90 Angus beef cattle. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Brad Truesdail, 38, stays out of the way as a herd of Angus cows and calves move into a barn at the Truesdail family farm on Sept. 1, 2019. On this day, the family weaned about 40 calves from their mothers. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

A herd of about 50 cows and their calves runs across Fuller Road in Venango Township on Sept. 1, 2019. The Angus cattle were being moved into a barn at the Truesdail family farm so the calves could be weaned from their mothers. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Levi Truesdail, 7, at left, and his sister Cali Truesdail, 12, at right, jump a fence in a barn while weaning about 40 Angus calves from their mothers, Sept. 1, 2019, at the Truesdail family farm in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

From left: Janyl Truesdail, 43; and her daughter Jenna, 10; and her husband Aaron Truesdail, 42, take a break, Sept. 21, 2019, while the family works together to cut some standing deadwood near their property in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cheryl Truesdail, 71, at left, gives husband Merle Truesdail, 78, a haircut in the kitchen of their Venango Township home on Sept. 1, 2019. Cheryl Truesdail was once a licensed hair stylist and still trims the hair of a few family members and friends. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

The Truesdail family is shown Sept. 8, 2019 at the home of Merle and Cheryl Truesdail in Venango Township. Seated from left are: Brad Truesdail, 38; Jenna Truesdail, 10; Merle Truesdail, 78; Levi Truesdail, 7; Cheryl Truesdail, 71; Mia Truesdail, 4; Cali Truesdail, 12; and Joe Anderson, 29. Standing, from left, are: Aaron Truesdail, 42; Janyl Truesdail, 43; Shannon Truesdail, 38; Brian Truesdail; 50; and Erica Truesdail, 30.

The Truesdail family rides a four-wheeler from their garage to their main barn on Sept. 28, 2019 on their Venango Township Farm. From left are: Cali, 12; Levi, 7; and Aaron, 42.. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Aaron Truesdail, 42, loads 16 feeder calves onto a trailer at the Truesdail family farm in Venango Township on Oct. 5, 2019. The Angus calves, which are about six months old, were sold to a business in Mercer County that will finish the calves, or grow them until they are about a year and a half old, at which time they will be butchered. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle, 78, and Cheryl Truesdail, 71, attend church services, Oct. 6, 2019, at Lake Pleasant United Methodist Church in Venango Township. Merle has been a member of the church all his life. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, greets fellow parishioners, Oct. 6, 2019, at Lake Pleasant United Methodist Church, 11700 Lake Pleasant Rd. in Venango Township. Merle has been a member of the church all his life. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, center, looks over the marbling of several butchered sides of his Angus beef, Oct. 8, 2019, with Marty Boyd, owner of Boyd's Custom Processing, 9872 Williams Rd., in Greenfield Township. Boyd, 57, butchers all of the Truesdail's locally processed beef. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cali Truesdail, 12, walks toward a deer she killed while hunting, Oct. 24, 2019, with her father Aaron Truesdail (not pictured) on the family's property in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

From left: Aaron Truesdail, 42; his daughter Cali Truesdail, 12, and Aaron's brother Brian Truesdail, 50, talk over a 150-pound doe Cali shot on their Venango Township property on Oct. 24, 2019. It was Cali's third deer in four years of hunting. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cali Truesdail, 12, and her father Aaron Truesdail, 42, hunt on their family's property in Venango Township on Oct. 24, 2019. Within an hour of sitting below a grove of ash and cherry trees and surveying about 20 acres of the property, Cali killed a 150-pound doe, her third deer in four years of hunting. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cali Truesdail, 12, at left, completes afternoon chores in the Truesdail family barn in Venango Township on Oct. 17, 2019, while her brother Levi, 7, center, and sister Jenna, 10, at right, and their dog, Lexi, wait for her. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cheryl Truesdail, 71, at left, climbs down the steps of an early-morning eastbound Amtrak train in Erie on Oct. 27, 2019. Her husband Merle Truesdail, 78, waits at right. For about two weeks every fall, the couple, who live in Venango Township, visit friends who are cattle ranchers in Whitefish, Montana. They always take the train, because they won't fly. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, at left, takes a break while drawing blood from a cow in the barn at his family farm in Venango Township on Nov. 7, 2019. At left is his wife, Cheryl Truesdail, 71. Truesdail, with the help of two others, blood tested each of his 55 cows and first-calf heifers to determine pregnancy. Cows and heifers that are not pregnant will probably be sold, as they are too expensive to feed for an entire year when they will not produce income in the form of another calf. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, draws a vial of blood from the tail of a cow in the barn at his family farm in Venango Township on Nov. 7, 2019. Each year, Truesdail, with the help of two others, blood tested each of his 55 cows and first-calf heifers to determine pregnancy. Cows and heifers that are not pregnant will probably be sold, as they are too expensive to feed for an entire year when they will not produce income in the form of another calf. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Cali Truesdail, 13, prepares to blow out her birthday candles on a homemade cake, Nov. 23, 2019, at her home in Venango Township. In the background is her mother Janyl Truesdail, 43. At right is her sister Jenna Truesdail, 10. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, closes a barn door while doing afternoon chores, Dec. 13, 2019, at his Angus beef farm in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, changes the oil on his 75-horsepower tractor, Jan. 6, 2020, at his Angus cattle farm in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

From left: Jenna Truesdail, 10; her mother Janyl Truesdail, 43; and her brother Levi Truesdail, 7, tear through packages on Christmas morning, Dec. 25, 2019, at their home in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Merle Truesdail, 78, and his wife Cheryl Truesdail, 71, are shown, Jan. 24, 2020, at their cattle farm in Venango Township. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

The Truesdails celebrate Levi Truesdail's birthday two days early on Feb. 15, 2020 at their Venango Township home. From left are: Jenna, 10; Mia, 5; Cali, 13; Janyl, 43; and Levi, 7. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]