With my work of art, I investigate shapes to visualize the interaction between human and animal. For that I also visit animals and their caretakers. It was very informative to observe daily business on this livestock farm to be able to form my own image.
To understand my own origins, I need animals
I drew Peikko when he was 2 weeks old. On beef cattle farms the calves stay with their own mothers for 6-8 months and suckle milk from the cow. They live in herds and little calves learn important social and grazing skills from their mothers and other herd members.
After 8 months Peikko moved together with 18 other bulls from his own herd to the bull-station farm where he will stay with 240 other young bulls.
Hopefully he will be selected as a breeding bulll this coming spring. Then he can return to the pastures, and he will be a father in his own herd.
I always draw existing animals and my works are based on current events. This work is about the complexity of live-stock farming.
As long as meat is eaten, there are animals to take good care of.
Johanna is born and raised on a cattle farm. Together with her family they take care of their herd of hereford cows on organic grassland farm in Finland.They have a holistic view on farm management, aiming to create and maintain a rich wildlife in the nature. Grazing cattle has an important role in this. Cattle together with well managed pastures can store carbon in the soil and feed a wholesome ecosystem of microbes, bugs, insects, birds, pollinators, fungus, worms etc.
Besides farming,, Johanna works together with other farms, projects with farmers and agricultural companies. She teaches and writes articles about rotational grazing and cattle handling. When she has the opportunity to travel, Johanna enjoys visiting farms in other countries. Exchanging ideas and sharing experience is inspiring and a way to broaden ones knowledge.
Beef cattle farming in different parts of the world has different challenges and advantages depending on the environment. Some are shared though everywhere. One of the agricultural problems around the world is that the young people are not willing to take on farming careers. Food is produced by fewer people and fewer farms.
Not long time ago, people used to have relatives or friends who had a farm, and in consequence they have lost their touch to the real life farming. This leads into a situation where there’s less and less connections to the farming world for consumers.
For those who are interested, you can follow Johanna’s daily life on this farm on Instagram
Photography:
Johanna Jahkola
Hong-kie Tan
Siniellenphotograpy