I realize as I type this post that it is going to be wildly controversial - I'm okay with that - these conversations need to be had and I have a different perspective than most because of how I was raised and the path my career has taken. My "day job" is being a Supervisor …
When the Smoke Clears
The smell of burnt hair, mama cows bawling, cowboy sideline roping commentary and top block cooked on an oak pit - TIS THE SEASON! Summer brings shipping, Fall brings calving, Winter brings breeding and Spring brings BRANDING! I hear myself tell people all the time, "Well it is about to slow down," or, " Things …
Yellowstone Started the Conversation
I always find it funny when I start a conversation at my day job with a sentence such as, "So this weekend we pulled a monster calf and the cow made it without a hitch but afterward she tried to kill me." The faces of the people in my office always remind me that not …
When The Rain Returns
Yes - that is a rubber boot - stuck in a dry mound of what used to be mud. That boot (and the mate) were sucked from my father's feet last year while he tried to clear a culvert during a very wet storm. He had to hobble back to his pick up in muddy …
The Mind of Meatless
As cattle producers, parents of livestock showmen and meat consumers we have all been approached at one point or another by a member of an animal extremist group. These vegan extremist groups are constantly pushing for political policy changes as well as trying to change the public's mindset on meat consumption and the production of …
Tie Rail Talk
Don't Squat With Your Spurs On Drink Upstream of the Herd Always Leave a Gate the Way You Found It You can hear the talk coming from the group before you're even over there. The general musings of the ranchers, farmers and rural folks might be some of the wisest and funniest things I have …
The Business of Bulls
We feed them for nine months and use them for three months every year. They make us crazy getting out, fighting and getting in to trouble. No, I'm not talking about teenage boys but they think just about the same - it is our breeding bulls. To make it even crazier, we can only use …
What’s This Bull About?
The Commercial vs Registered Debate Every cattle producer has a different ruler that they measure their bulls against. Seedstock producers want big names in the parentage, strong EPD numbers and breed setting phenotype. Commercial cattle focus on gain potential of the calves, will a bull produce quality replacement females and if the phenotype will survive …
