It is often that you will catch me on the phone or in a conversation with my dad. Our conversations are not like many others. Most talk about school, the future, or sports even. Not for me. When my dad and I talk, we talk about cattle.
My dad is the smartest man I know. He has taught me everything I need to know about cattle. When it comes to thinking about what I'm going to do with my life, my dad has all the answers. He's been doing this cattle with me ever since we started thirteen years ago, but he has all the "ins" with everyone in the cattle industry. He knows all the little perks about raising calves and what calves to choose from. He knows what is best to feed them and at what times it is best to feed them certain hings. My dad is a genius to me.
Ever since I can remember, I've been out there helping my dad on the farm. Whether it be holding a light, bringing him water, or handing him a wrench, I've been there right by him learning anything and everything I can about what it takes to run a farm or fix this thing or do that thing. Without my dad, I wouldn't know what to do when the waterer or the tractor breaks. Without him, I wouldn't have had such a passion for showing and raising cattle.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Ethics
https://www.msu.edu/~bbclub/index.htm
As being a member of the MSU Block and Bridle Club, I have stumbled upon what their ethics might be. On the home page for the group, I found this:
"The B&B Club at MSU strives to provide members an opportunity to promote agriculture and forge new relationships through multiple livestock, social and community service events."
I think that this is a very ethical statement in that it states the words "opportunity and relationship". The club clearly sees that being involved and having the chance to be involved in as many things as possible in order to broaden ones horizon is crucial to learning and a helpful tool in life. They also seek to make relationships between others that have the same interests which is something that I take very seriously.
In comparison to my own beliefs, I agree completely with taking up opportunities and being given the chance to enhance ones knowledge and experience with something that they are passionate about. I also believe that some of the best relationships and friendships that I have made have been within the showing aspect of my life. Some friendships are the best with those that have the same interests as you.
Throughout college, I am trying to find things that will help me when I start my career as a cattle jock. Becoming part of this club will be very helpful since I will have more experience with people, planning, and my knowledge will increase about livestock. I also am taking many Animal Science classes which not only enhance my knowledge of the animals, but what I know about what is happening in agricultural current events. I also am taking many Agribusiness classes which will help me manage my farm. Besides school, I am continuing to show throughout the country and am using my position as a National Junior Hereford Association Director to extend my knowledge about agriculture and the industry.
As being a member of the MSU Block and Bridle Club, I have stumbled upon what their ethics might be. On the home page for the group, I found this:
"The B&B Club at MSU strives to provide members an opportunity to promote agriculture and forge new relationships through multiple livestock, social and community service events."
I think that this is a very ethical statement in that it states the words "opportunity and relationship". The club clearly sees that being involved and having the chance to be involved in as many things as possible in order to broaden ones horizon is crucial to learning and a helpful tool in life. They also seek to make relationships between others that have the same interests which is something that I take very seriously.
In comparison to my own beliefs, I agree completely with taking up opportunities and being given the chance to enhance ones knowledge and experience with something that they are passionate about. I also believe that some of the best relationships and friendships that I have made have been within the showing aspect of my life. Some friendships are the best with those that have the same interests as you.
Throughout college, I am trying to find things that will help me when I start my career as a cattle jock. Becoming part of this club will be very helpful since I will have more experience with people, planning, and my knowledge will increase about livestock. I also am taking many Animal Science classes which not only enhance my knowledge of the animals, but what I know about what is happening in agricultural current events. I also am taking many Agribusiness classes which will help me manage my farm. Besides school, I am continuing to show throughout the country and am using my position as a National Junior Hereford Association Director to extend my knowledge about agriculture and the industry.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Block and Bridle
https://www.msu.edu/~bbclub/index.htm
"The B&B Club at MSU strives to provide members an opportunity to promote agriculture and forge new relationships through multiple livestock, social and community service events."
I like this goal a lot. Being a farmer and a livestock showman, I believe that building relationships with other involved in showing livestock is a great thing to strive to do. I have many friends that I show cattle with and frankly, my best friends show cattle.
Their objectives go as follows:
-To promote a higher scholastic standard among students.-To promote agriculture, emphasizing all areas of animal science.-To bring a closer relationship among all individuals.-To provide a social organization for students of Michigan State University who share a common interest in livestock.
I also cant agree with these more. I desire to teach and promote livestock to all ages and to become friends with many more people who have the same interests that I do.
I really enjoyed going to the meeting today and have already signed up to be a part of the Block and Bridle Club. The people involved are very kind and friendly and are easy to talk to about livestock which is something that I love to do.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Cattle Sales
One of my favorite things about fall is the start of the cattle sale season. Once the summer is done, cattle sales are constantly being done. I receive sale catalog after sale catalog in the mail and spend hour after hour studying the calves that are being sold.
After being in my writing class at Michigan State, I have grown to analyze how people write in different situstions. When it comes to livestock sales and the catalogs, those that write them are really just stating a sales pitch. They use data and all sorts of cattle lingo to draw the reader or potential buyer into the information about the calf in the hopes that they might want to buy it. They are normally very informal with their writing and always short and sweet and to the point. People wanting to buy cattle only want the facts and do not want to read all the flowery things that can be put into a piece of literature.
Analyzing these catalogs and other newsletters regarding livestock sales has helped to realize how I will need to advertise my farm for sales. Short and sweet, but hitting the right points seems to be the way to go.
Friday, September 14, 2012
My Recent Farm Visit
This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit a hog farm. I was very impressed at how clean and organized they were there. It made me think about how I can make my farm a better place to be visited and managed. They do a lot of power washing and a bleaching to make sure that new hogs coming in will not be contaminated by particular diseases or bacteria that the previous hogs might have brought into that barn. It is something that I personally do not do on my farm and find it very intelligent for heath safety. They also have a specific painting system to tell what sows and gilts come into heat what days, what days they are bred, and what farrowing (birthing) barn they will have to be moved in to. It is brilliant. Such a simple and easy to follow system even for a visitor. It is something that I might start using on my cattle to tell when they come into heat and what days that I have bred them so that it is easier for me to tell from a distance and to watch for a heifer or a cow coming into heat. It was a fun experience and very informational and helpful for me and my farming.
My Mentor
After speaking with one of my role models, Bobby Goble, I learned a few things about what it means to be a real cattle jock. Bobby owns a cow/calf production just like myself, but his is about three times the size of mine. Their farm, Ridgeview Farms, is located only a few miles from mine and is one of the top Hereford productions in the state of Michigan.
Bobby told me a lot about management and how he promotes his farm. Management includes a lot of gathering of information, record keeping, and manual labor. He does the same things that I do on my farm. As far as promotion goes, Bobby does a fair amount of ads, newsletters, and catalog articles in order to help his farm. He typically uses a lot of numbers, weights, birth dates, EPD numbers, as well as names of dams and sires that are used at Ridgeview. His style is typically very formal and infromational. Nothing too clever, he just simply needs to get the information about the farm out there. People who are interested in farms and cattle normally are drawn to numbers and names of sires and dams.
Bobby really helped me to learn what I will need in order to be successful in promoting my own farm. It needs to be simple and full of information about my cattle and what is for sale. It does not really need a whole lot of flowery words and style to it. Plain, simple, and to the point will do someone wonders in the cattle industry, unlike what we have read in class. Articles that we have read in class tend to be very personal and have a moral to the story. For what Bobby writes, it is short and informational, not long and full of a flowery, specific, and special style that will keep the readers attention for a long time.
Bobby told me a lot about management and how he promotes his farm. Management includes a lot of gathering of information, record keeping, and manual labor. He does the same things that I do on my farm. As far as promotion goes, Bobby does a fair amount of ads, newsletters, and catalog articles in order to help his farm. He typically uses a lot of numbers, weights, birth dates, EPD numbers, as well as names of dams and sires that are used at Ridgeview. His style is typically very formal and infromational. Nothing too clever, he just simply needs to get the information about the farm out there. People who are interested in farms and cattle normally are drawn to numbers and names of sires and dams.
Bobby really helped me to learn what I will need in order to be successful in promoting my own farm. It needs to be simple and full of information about my cattle and what is for sale. It does not really need a whole lot of flowery words and style to it. Plain, simple, and to the point will do someone wonders in the cattle industry, unlike what we have read in class. Articles that we have read in class tend to be very personal and have a moral to the story. For what Bobby writes, it is short and informational, not long and full of a flowery, specific, and special style that will keep the readers attention for a long time.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
"May You Find All Your Ear Tags"
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/BeefTalk-May-you-find-all-your-ear-tags-168907146.html
In this news paper article, Ringwall uses a lot of catch phrases for those in the cattle business such as "comes off the cow" and "late-summer and fall roundups." as well as the title "May You FInd All Your Ear Tags". These draw in the reader and credit him as being very clever and witty with his words. The fact that he delivers this in a newspaper, a magazine, and on the web makes his article very accessible to everyone.
In this news paper article, Ringwall uses a lot of catch phrases for those in the cattle business such as "comes off the cow" and "late-summer and fall roundups." as well as the title "May You FInd All Your Ear Tags". These draw in the reader and credit him as being very clever and witty with his words. The fact that he delivers this in a newspaper, a magazine, and on the web makes his article very accessible to everyone.
http://www.steerplanet.com/bb/index.php?topic=41795.msg354044#msg354044
This blog simply comes out very personal and points out that the writer himself struggled with the idea of being barn blind. He is very honest and clear in his presentation. The writer also reflects on his past a lot. Delivery wise, it simply is on a blog that many people look at for help with little things in their herd. It is very accessible and credible.
http://www.animal-science.org/content/86/5/1223.short
This article is very scientific and a little hard to understand. But, that does make him very credible. Erickson is very straight forward and does have some very useful information about the topics. It is available not only online, which is very accessible, but also in the Animal Science Journal.
Monday, September 10, 2012
"More Vigor"
http://www.hereford.org/static/files/0812_MoreVigor.pdf
Stumbling upon this article in my favorite magazine/newspaper, I realized how much it spoke to me about my dream job. The newspaper article is solely about how a man and his brother started a partnership with another farm. Together, the two farms found ways to create outstanding genetics from two rival breeds, Angus and Hereford. When they started to use Hereford bulls, they noticed a higher performance in vigor, reproduction, and longevity. They were very impressed with their results.
As a formal and soon to be future Hereford breeder, this article spoke to me about how blessed I am to be using Hereford genetics. The way that Denton draws the audience, those within the cattle industry, into this article by her ways of crediting the farmers really made me confident in my choice of cattle. The way Denton uses facts, history, and top named farms gives her the credibility that is needed to keep cattle breeders such as myself interested in continuing to read.
Stumbling upon this article in my favorite magazine/newspaper, I realized how much it spoke to me about my dream job. The newspaper article is solely about how a man and his brother started a partnership with another farm. Together, the two farms found ways to create outstanding genetics from two rival breeds, Angus and Hereford. When they started to use Hereford bulls, they noticed a higher performance in vigor, reproduction, and longevity. They were very impressed with their results.
As a formal and soon to be future Hereford breeder, this article spoke to me about how blessed I am to be using Hereford genetics. The way that Denton draws the audience, those within the cattle industry, into this article by her ways of crediting the farmers really made me confident in my choice of cattle. The way Denton uses facts, history, and top named farms gives her the credibility that is needed to keep cattle breeders such as myself interested in continuing to read.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
What it Means to Be a Cattle Jock
A cattle jock. Most of you have no idea what that is. Well here is where you can find out what it means to live in my shoes.
What does it mean to show cattle?
Showing cattle can be best related to a
dog show. The cattle are shown with halters and walked around in a circle. They
are then set-up, which means that their feet are set a certain way using a show
stick, with their front feet square and their back feet staggered with the back
right foot more forward than the left (Phillips). The head is held rather high
and the belly scratched with the show stick. The cattle, steers in this market
example, are then judged by the quality of meat that has been produced and
mostly on their looks (Thomas). In breeding classes, the objective is to judge
on if the calf would be good at producing calves. Looks are also a factor but
for both instances, the structure of a claves bones and muscle are the key to
ones placing. Finally, there is showmanship with is where the quality of how
the showman shows the calf is judged (Thomas).
How does one come about showing cattle?
Most people start showing at the 4-H
level or at county fairs. Many youth only show one calf, a steer in most cases,
and then sell that steer at the county fair livestock auction (Phillips). But
others, like myself, show at a state, regional, and national level. This
involves a lot more preparation and work to be done.
What makes a good show calf?
Bone and muscle structure are the key
components to a good show calf. A deep bodied and muscular legged calf is good
quality (Phillips). Having a tame and well-marked calf can also help one to do
well. Also, working with a calves hair can really help in making a calf look
bigger and better than it might be (Thomas).
How does a show work?
There are market, breeding, and
showmanship classes (see first question). For market, the steers (castrated
bull) are divided into classes depending on their weights (Phillips). The
winners from each class are brought in for the final drive. Sometimes there are
semi-finals and then the final. For heifers, cow/calf pairs, and bulls, the
birthdate of the calf is how the classes are divided. As far as showing go,
showmen walk their calves in single file and set-up side by side in the front
of the ring (Thomas). They then walk around the ring in a single file line
ending up head to tail. The judge will place then first, second, third, etc. as
he/she thinks that they should be placed (Thomas).
What preparations are needed?
Working with the hair, taming the calf,
feeding them correctly, teaching them how to walk, washing, and blow-drying
them (Thomas).
How do sales work?
Cattle sales are done auction style.
One calf, a cow and a calf, or sometimes a pen of steers will be brought into a
sale ring. They auctioneer then will start the bid (Thomas). For selling cattle
as beef, the sale is a price per pound. But for selling calves for breeding or
showing use, the prices go by the dollar (typically in the $1,000 range).
Buyers have bidder numbers and will raise those if they want to bid on the
calf. Callers watch for them and point them out by a high pitch scream (Phillips).
Bidders will drop out at a price to high and eventually, there will be a winner
or the highest bidder.
What is a typical day like as a cattle
jock?
Tie-up, feed, wash, blow-dry, brush,
and put the calves in the cooler or under fans so that the hair will grow. This
is normally done both morning and night (Thomas). Other jobs include feeding
and processing (weighing, weaning calves, giving shots, ear tagging, worming,
and branding) the calves, and well as moving them to be in particular pastures (Phillips).
Making sure fences and waterers are working is also a daily task.
What does show day/week look like?
Wash the calves in the morning and
blow-dry them out, blowing and brushing the hair forward to try for the most
volume. Calves are then fed morning and night as well as watered regularly. The
calves are normally lying on bark or shavings with fans blowing on them (Thomas).
On show day, the same things are done, but roughly 10 classes before yours one
must fit the calf. This includes pulling the hair on the legs forward and up in
order to make the legs look more muscular and like the calf is carrying more
weight (Phillips). The tail head is also pulled up to make the calf look
squarer. Clipping and painting is done to try and correct flaws of the calf.
This technique is very difficult to prefect (Thomas).
What is the exact role of a cattle
jock?
To raise calves to sell or show. They
can help those who buy calves form them prepare at shows by washing, drying,
and fitting for them (Thomas).
How do you raise beef cattle?
Cattle must be born, weaned, processed,
possibly shown or sold, slaughtered, or used for breeding. Calves that are born
are weaned from their moms and used for showing, selling, breeding, or for
feeding out for slaughter (Thomas). When processed, shots, ear tags, tattoos,
brands, and worming medicine is given to calves, bulls, and cows. All animals
must be fed whether it is grass, hay, grain, creep feed, or any combination of
these (Phillips). They also must continue to check the cattle in case of any
medical issues. Cows will produce one calf a year and it will either be
naturally made or by artificial insemination or embryo transplant. Fences,
watering systems, and pastures must always be made, working, and available for
the farmer (Thomas).
Works Cited
Phillips,
C. J. C. Principles of Cattle Production. Wallingford, Oxon: CABI Pub.,
2001. Print.
Thomas,
Heather Smith. Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle. Pownal, VT:
Storey, 1998. Print.
About Me
For 13 years now I have been living on a beef cattle farm. The correct technical term is a cow/calf production, but I just like to call it my farm. My farm and my cattle are my life. I spend hours out in the barn every day working with my show calves getting them ready for shows. I am in the best moods and literally in my element when I'm with my cattle or in the show barn. I wouldn't trade showing beef cattle for anything.
My dream is to continue with my showing career and become what we call a cattle jock. I want to run my own farm, show, and prepare calves all over the country at national shows for the rest of my life. I love it and cant see myself being happy without my cattle.
As far as the rest of my life goes, I love sports, especially soccer, baseball, and hockey, love my friends, my family, and God. I have always tried to do my best in school. Math is my strongest subject and unfortunately, writing is my weak point. I've never been a fan of writing and if I could, I would love to never write another paper or essay in my life. But, I'm in college and have to take a writing class so I'm stuck here working on this blog. Most of my posts will probably be a little plain with very common words being used. For the most part, I will just throw my thoughts down on the paper just to get it done with. But I'm trying to do better. So here goes nothing. Blog 2012, here we go!
My dream is to continue with my showing career and become what we call a cattle jock. I want to run my own farm, show, and prepare calves all over the country at national shows for the rest of my life. I love it and cant see myself being happy without my cattle.
As far as the rest of my life goes, I love sports, especially soccer, baseball, and hockey, love my friends, my family, and God. I have always tried to do my best in school. Math is my strongest subject and unfortunately, writing is my weak point. I've never been a fan of writing and if I could, I would love to never write another paper or essay in my life. But, I'm in college and have to take a writing class so I'm stuck here working on this blog. Most of my posts will probably be a little plain with very common words being used. For the most part, I will just throw my thoughts down on the paper just to get it done with. But I'm trying to do better. So here goes nothing. Blog 2012, here we go!
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