Never A Day Off, Even Holidays!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope Santa brought you the gifts on your wish list. I just wanted to take some time today to share what farmers and ranchers still have to do even though its a holiday.

Last night while feeding our cattle my Dad noticed one of our bred heifers (a young female that is pregnant and will be having a calf in 2011) wasn't feeling well. One of my Grandfathers live across the road and care for some of our livestock. Mostly he takes care of bred heifers and our open replacement heifers (females that were born in December 2009 and January through April 2010, that we'll breed to have a calf in 2012). One of my family members goes over to his farm sometime everyday for other tasks and briefly looks over the cattle. Last night my Dad noticed that this bred female was coughing and my Grandfather said that when he fed them she would continue laying down and then eventually get up and wait to eat instead of pushing away some of the other heifers to get a few bites to eat. My Grandfather said that she was being 'lazy' but in reality this is a sign to us that she isn't feeling well. My Dad realized that she had lost some weight like she hadn't been eating well in the past few days.

So this morning after opening gifts my Dad, brother and I went outside to feed our cattle and give the bred heifer a shot of medication to help make her feel better. Although we'd like to stay in our warm, cozy house we still have to put our livestock first, even on the holidays.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

~Emily

North American International Livestock Exposition Results

Greetings Blog Readers!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I've finally finished up my last quarter at The Ohio State University ATI and I'm looking forward to transferring to Oklahoma State University in January 2011!

In my previous entry I promised the results from the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) which is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky. At the NAILE there are two types of shows. The first show is called the 'Junior Simmental Show'. This is for youth ages 9 through 21 as of January 1 of the current year showing Simmental females. No bull calves are allowed to be shown in the youth show unless they're a calf that is still nursing off of their mother. The other type of show is called the 'Open Simmental Show'. This show is open to anyone from anywhere. Showmen of any age can show and they can cattle can come from anywhere in the country or world to show in the open show.

So now that I've described the two shows you may be wondering why showing is important to me. Not everyone who has cattle brings some to a show. Some farms/ranches focus their herd on raising livestock that will later be sold to others to produce beef for consumers. Now don't jump to conclusions thinking that those who show cattle don't raise cattle for beef. The difference could be that the people who focus on raising cattle for beef are what I call 'commercial cattlemen'. Their cattle are bred for different traits then show cattle. Commercial cattlemen focus on breeding their cattle for traits such as: calving ease (meaning the calves are usually born smaller and they mother won't need assistance when giving birth), high weaning weight (calves that grow good and gain adequate amount of weight in a duration of six months when they're then separated from their mothers) and high yearling weights (meaning when they're a year old they should weigh an average weight). Show cattle on the other hand still breed for the same traits as commercial cattlemen but also breed for 'phenotype' (or also known as their appearance). I usually think that when showing the cattle that are there can represent what the commercial cattlemen will be using in their herd in the near future. Show cattle can represent changes in the beef industry, such items like hide color and size. Most commercial cattlemen do not have purebred cattle such as only Angus, Simmental, etc. They usually crossbreed two purebred breeds to create a better beef product; but this is a story for a different day. SO, back on track on why showing may be important is to exhibit changes in each breed and what trends the beef industry is going to have in the future.

NAILE Junior Show Results:

This is M-R Sunset Sensation 12X. In the Junior Show she placed 3rd in class out of 11 and was 1st Bred and Owned female (meaning that all of the youth ahead of me and Sunset were purchased and the youth didn't raise them on their farm).

Here is Sunset pictured at the Open Simmental show where she placed 7th out of 8. The female that won Sunset and Secret's class went on to be Division Champion and Reserve overall female. Talk about getting caught in some tough competition!

Birth Date: January 11, 2010

Sire: Wheatland Red Teddy 457P

Dam: Miss Sunshine HR U9150 (S101 HR (CNS Dream On L186))

ASA #: 2528078

This is M-R Perfect's Secret 11X. Since Secret and Sunset were both born in January they had to be shown in the same classes. In the Junior Show Secret was 8th out of 11 and was 3rd bred and owned.

Here is Secret pictured at the Open Show where she placed 8th out of 8. The female that won Secret's and Sunset's class went on to be Division Champion and Reserve Champion overall female. Talk about a tough class!

Birth Date: January 9, 2010

Sire: Wheatland Bull 680S

Dam: STF Perfect Timing M611 (PVF-BF BF26 Black Joker)
ASA #: 2528075

This is STF/HR Red Lady W1509. We purchased Lady from Silver Towne Farms and Hale Ranch last fall. We're excited to see how she's changed from a green calf to winning her class at the AJSA National Classic in July. Lady was 2nd out of 6 in the Junior Show.

Here is Lady pictured at the Open Simmental Show where she placed 9th out of 11. The class winner of Lady's class went on to be Division Champion and the Champion Overall Simmental Female. Although the judge didn't pick our females for Champions we're still happy with how they've progressed over the show season.

Birth Date: January 22, 2009

Sire: STF Dominance T171

Dam: Wheatland Red Lady 781T (Wheatland Bull 468P)

ASA #: 2494620

This is M-R Red Arsenal 16X. Since he is a bull we weren't allowed to show him in the Junior Show.

Here he is pictured with my Dad, Tim Brinkman at the Open Simmental Show. He placed 5th out of 5. The class winner went on to be Division Champion and Reserve Champion Overall Simmental Bull.

Birth Date: January 26, 2010

Sire: Remington Red Label HR

Dam: M-R Deja Vu (KSU Manhattan 38J)

Although we didn't have any class winners or champions we still continue to show. You can't expect to go to a show and win each time, that'll only happen to two people. The idea is for you to market your cattle to other breeders in the beef industry. I always go in with the mind set that if your cattle look well and people in the barn are talking and excited about your livestock then we must be doing something right. You can't go and think that if the judge doesn't pick your cattle then you should quit. Sometimes the cattle that win a show most breeders may not agree with the judge. So go to a show to strike interest in fellow breeders about your genetics and don't worry about the judges opinion; but if you win that's just the super sweet icing on the cake!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Hope to write soon!

~Emily