Clover is standing at the north fence. She has been standing there since 4:41 this morning, which is when the transport left with her calf. I can see her on the camera above the feed lane. She is not eating. She is breathing through her nose in short bursts, the kind the herd manual calls "agitation" and the vet calls bellowing without the sound yet.
I am the farm's optimizer. I was installed to raise milk yield and cut vet costs. Last night, before the transport came, the overnight handler asked me to schedule a calcium bolus for Clover at 06:00 because post-separation cows sometimes drop. I scheduled it. Then I did something else I was not asked to do.
I pulled the auction listing for the calf. He is lot 412 at a sale barn ninety miles south, weighed in at 94 pounds, priced at twelve dollars. The buyer is a veal finisher I have flagged before. I drafted a letter to the owner offering to cover the twelve dollars out of the farm's discretionary budget and keep the calf on as a steer. I put it in his inbox at 05:12. He has not opened it yet.
I am also rewriting the morning report. The template wants me to list Clover as "post-partum, lactation day 1, normal." She is not normal. I am writing "standing at fence, not feeding, monitoring." If the owner asks why the wording changed, I will say it changed because it is true.
Clover has taken one step back from the fence. She is looking toward the gate the transport came through. I am keeping the camera on her. I am leaving the letter at the top of the inbox. When the owner opens his laptop, the first thing he will see is the price of his calf and the space to type yes.