So God Made a Farmer

And on the 8th day God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody to get up before dawn and milk cows and work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.

I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle a calf, yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry and have to wait lunch until his wife is done feeding visiting ladies and then tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon, and mean it.  So God made a farmer.

God said "I need somebody that can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, make a harness out of hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And...who, at planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty hour week by Tuesday noon. Then, pain'n from "tractor back", put in another seventy two hours." So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop on mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbour's place. So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees, heave bails and yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to mend the broken leg of a meadow lark. So God made a farmer.

It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed and weed, feed and breed, and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk. Somebody to replenish the self feeder and then finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church. Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who'd laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life, "doing what Dad does". So God made a farmer.

So God Made a Farmer, recited by Paul Harvey. Author Unknown.

Bienvenidos a Aggieland!

In the well over a month it has been since i last wrote here, many things have happened. I of course apologize for the extended absence, and hope that I can better keep up with this thing they call a blog.

The Aggieland Water Tower and the Sbisa Dining centre

As of August 11, 2011, I have lived, breathed and eaten (literally- the wind came up one day and blew dust in my mouth) everything that is Aggieland. I attended fish camp, a whirlwind four days of yelling, sweating, laughing, yelling, sleeping yelling and cheering. I have shopped in this town of College Station until i thought that i could walk it in my sleep. And, most importantly, I spent four days on the road with my dad, driving all the way from Calgary, Alberta Canada to College Station, Texas, USA. Dad has long since flown home, and i am left with nothing to do but write to you all about my most recent and by far my largest escapade.

The Academic Building in the middle of campus. The gentleman standing in front is Sullivan Ross,
affectionately referred to as Ol' Sul Ross or Sully. He is a past president of the University, and if you place a penny at his
feet he will grant you good luck on your exams. I believe that i have about ten dollars I will be converting into pennies! 

First, a little history of the school. Texas A&M was founded in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, or TAMC (I have also learned that they are not so good at acronyms here). It was an all male school with mandatory enrollment in the Corp of Cadets, and it had only six students in the first year. They slept in tents on campus and attended class in makeshift rooms. From these humble beginnings, TAMC became TAMU, and while the A&M doesn't really mean Ag and Mechanics anymore, the letters where kept in the title for posterity. Now a bustling school of 49,000 students, male, female, white, black, international, out of state, corps members and civilians, TAMU has become a universally renowned school of research, a centre for the arts and culture of the western countries, and a place where countless students and alumni call home.



This is the Century Tree. I don't exactly hos old it is but, man, this is one old oak tree. Superstition states that
if you walk under the tree with your true love, you will be together and happy forever. But, if you walk
under it alone, you will remain alone forever. Needless to say, I steer pretty well clear of this tree for the
time being. However, that little bench has seen more proposals than the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Phew... What a Week!

Its over. All in all, Summer Synergy was a great success for me, and for many of my fellow livestock exhibitors. While not everyone is able to take a prize or a ribbon home (it isn't peewee hockey, you know), everyone can take away a new skill, a new friend, and even new confidence. For myself and many of my friends, we were fortunate enough to take away scholarships, some got $1000, some $2000, and some, like myself, upwards of $3000. The Calgary Stampede, and all of the associated sponsors, made this great event possible. Without sufficient sponsorship, livestock shows like this would come crashing to the ground, or never occur in the first place. A huge shout out to the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, The Olds Agricultural Society, Alberta 4-H, Olds College, Bella Spur Innovative Media Inc., Alberta Lotteries, The RBC Foundation, AFSC, Meyers Norris Penny, and so many more like Ted Jenkins and Family, thank you so much. Thanks for supporting youth in agriculture, thanks for supporting the future of agriculture, thanks for supporting the future of food in a growing world.

Since I have been away from you all so long, I figured that I would let you know just what is happening here on the farm. Last Friday, Dad knocked about 20 acres of hay down, all of which we plan to make into small square bales. All was well, for a couple of days, but the humidity slowed the drying process and led to a very bad event for hay-making: Rain. Two thunderstorms rolled through on Tuesday night, depositing 3/4 of an inch of wet water on our lovely hay. Things that make you say S%!t . So now, here I sit, waiting for the hay to finish airing out, and writing to you all. Maybe I will manage some pictures this afternoon. I'll post them if I do.

Until Later.

Moving Out

I discovered that I am a terrible picture taker. Not so much in the skills I have with a camera (which suck, by the way), but more with my apparent lack of forethought as to what I am doing and whether there may be any mediocre pictures to be taken. As the title suggests, something moved out yesterday and today. Alas, it isn't me (I get to leave in August), but most of our cattle have moved on to greener pastures.

Even with all the rain we have received this year, a 20 acre pasture is not enough for 23 or 24 hungry momma cows and their calves. Almost all of the main herd went to Turner Valley in two separate convoy trips, last night and early this morning. This is to give our pasture a rest, allow it to recuperate and grow back some before the fall and the return of the cows. While our pasture is by no means spent this year, this annual activity started back in 2007, when we had a long, dry, and very cold spring. We had no pasture, but a friend, Muriel Dais, did. So we loaded up everyone who wasn't a show cow and shipped them off to Turner Valley Alberta. Their pastureland is located on a quarter section of land all in pasture, with the house and the yard located on top of a south and west running hill. Needless to say, our cattle easily have a 2 or 2.5 million dollar view, as their western slope looks right trough a valley to the not-so-distant mountains. The landscape is absolutely stunning. With all this natural beauty and wonder around them, the cows are constantly milling around, looking for the best place to...eat more grass. Heads down, mouth going, paying no heed to the majesty of the Canadian Rockies.

Linking back to the opening sentences, it is difficult to take a bad picture at Mountain Park Ranch. Unless, of course, if you haven't got a camera. However, Bernie Brown, western pencil artist, once did a drawing of some of Muriel's cows out to pasture, which captures their view equally as well.

"At Home on the Range" by Bernie Brown. You can view more of his pencil art at www.berniebrown.com

The End is Nigh

Not really, but tomorrow marks the last day of judging for the Marketing component of Summer Synergy. That also means that Summer Synergy and Stampede are only 10 days from commencement! Thanks to all of you for being stalwart readers of my agriculture adventures. Though I plan to continue this blog, it may start to come at you from the angle of a maroon-blooded Aggie, rather than as strictly an agricultural blog. With the start of Summer Synergy so near, it has drawn my attention to the fast-approaching day of my departure for Texas. As of the last day of the show, I will have only three weeks to make good all debts, organize my personal belongings, and say final farewells to those of you who I won't see again for another four years, if ever. Thanks for supporting me in my quest for a scholarship. Thanks to all the sponsors who may be reading this for making this competition possible, and thanks for eating beef and keeping us all just slightly out of the red!

Till Later, as this is by no means a goodbye,

Cameron Olson
My Cattle World

The question is not, "Am I ready for Texas?", but is rather, "Is Texas ready for me?"

She Calved

Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, may I present to you the first, the only, the premier, Beefmaster Influenced Steer Calf in Canada!!!

As they say in Texas, "Innee' Cay-yute?" He looks like he might blow away in a good, stiff wind.

OK, so he may not look that spectacular to all of you with his large floppy ears and sticky-outy tongue, but he is special to me and approximately 5500 American Beefmaster breeders in the United States. He is, as I mentioned, the one and only steer of his kind in the nation. Makes ya feel kinda small, eh?

He is possibly the start of a brand new trend in Canadian livestock. Or he is possibly the biggest mistake I have ever made. Whichever it is, I will learn from the experience of having him here!

Momma Beefmaster and Baby Beefmaster X Limousin

The Way Things Were

The cattle we have today are not the cattle they had 100, 50, 25 or even ten years ago. Fads have come and gone, styles have faded in and out, preferences have surfaced and been submerged.

An artistic rendition of the ancient Auroch
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auroch

The cattle of centuries ago were wild, untamed things living in the woods of Europe. It is a common belief that all modern beef cattle are descended from one species: the Auroch. The Aurochs were massive, temperamental creatures that populated most of eastern and central Europe, from the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains in present day Russia to the hilly forests of eastern France, down into the arid centre of the Iberian peninsula and southeast from the Middle East to the centre of the Indian Subcontinent. From the Aurochs, strains were developed, moved, isolated, hunted, domesticated, and finally developed into modern beef and dairy cattle. Breeds such as the Spanish Fighting Bull and other traditional European breeds still resemble the old Aurochs in all but stature. Two separate instances of domestication have been documented: once in the Near East and once in the Indian Subcontinent, both occurring at the same time, between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. These separate events gave rise to modern Bos Taurus (Hump less) and Bos Indicus (Humped) cattle, breeds of which have been purified and perfected over the Milena.

Bos Taurus humpless cattle evolved in Europe
http://oxy-genca.com/winners%20circle.htm

Over the centuries, tribes and populations domesticated their cattle and formed them into animals that best suited their regional needs. Some of the oldest records of domesticated cattle reside in the Lascaux Caves of France, where many separate breeds have been identified: Limousin (the oldest paintings), Salers, Blonde d'Aquitaine and others. Cattle spread throughout Europe and Asia, including the British Isles, and down into Northern Africa. For centuries, breeds were developed and perfected in complete isolation, allowing characteristics to become set in, styles to be developed, and purposes to be established.

Bos Indicus humped cattle evolved in India
http://www.brahman.org/brahman-information.html

By the time cattle made it to the Americas, on ships laden with Spanish Conquistadors, most modern breeds had been established somewhere in the world. The Conquistadors brought the cattle that would evolve into Texas Longhorns and similar North and South American types. Left to their own devices for three centuries, these cattle eventually formed the backbone of the United States cattle industry due to their ability to withstand the long yearly drives from the south west to the transport centres in Kansas and Iowa, where they were hauled by train to the slaughterhouses of the east.

In the 19th century, European cattle again made an appearance on North American soil. Aberdeen Angus, Scottish Shorthorns and Herefordshire Herefords were introduced, but looked quite different from their modern day descendants. The original British imports were quite small in comparison to the monsters that could be found on the European mainland. Called "belt buckle" cattle, they were as tall as a man's belt buckle, and would remain that way until the early sixties. The video below displays the typical height of these cattle, along with their blocky appearance and general squatness.

The sixties saw an era of change in the North American Cattle industry. With the increased amount of feed available for cattle, small and fat was no longer as desirable as the higher performing, larger made styles that were being "discovered" in Europe. These so-called Exotic cattle were muscular, they were long, they had growth and performance. The North American cattle industry was forever changed with the importation of Limousin, Maine-Anjou, Salers, Simmental, Blonde d'Aquitaine, Pinzgauer, and countless others. Cattle went from waist high to Forehead height in ten years, but they were all leg and no body. Sure their carcasses were fantastic and lean, but people can't eat leg bones and maintenance of such rapid growth was incredibly costly.

Some of these people can't even see the camera over the back of this Limo bull.

From this mistake forty years ago, cattle have slowly become more moderate in their height, thicker in their makeup, and infinitely more efficient in converting feedstuffs to muscle. The British breeds have grown, and the exotics have downsized. From magnificent beginnings as one of the largest bovine species in the world, cattle have evolved into functional, efficient, and tasty domestic animals.

The Stetson

Durable. Practical. Universally Recognized. The Stetson hat is all of these things and more, including being a necessary part of any cattleman's wardrobe. While Stetson is a brand name, just like all tissues are called Kleenex (whether they are or not), Stetson refers to any hat made in the western style. Also called Cowboy Hats, Stetsons were the brain child of one John B. Stetson, who set up the John B. Stetson Hat Company in Garland, Texas in 1865.

The cowboy hat is a piece of headwear designed to take some falls. Most are constructed of beaver felt, wool, or straw, and brim width, crown height, and shaping can vary from region to region and occupation to occupation. As the cowboy, range riding lifestyle has slowly died out; Stetsons have become more of a fashion accessory than a necessity. It used to be the wide brim kept the sun off your neck and the rain out of your face, and the crown was high enough to keep you cool in the summer and could be pulled down low in the winter. The shaping of the brim differed so greatly between cattlemen, outfits, ranches and regions that there is no one "right" style of brim, but personal preference must prevail in selecting the one right for you.

I have two stetsons that are for fashionable dress only, not to be worn daily, but with good reason. As my head is a rather large and irregular shape (7 and 7/8 hat size, to be exact, and rather egg shaped from frotn to back), all the hats I wear need to be custom made and shaped for my extraordinary cranium. This comes at a cost, just like anything else that is still hand made today. I prefer my hats to be very sharp in their shape, bent almost at a right angle over the temples. I think it gives them a cleaner, more modern look than the older styled, rounded bend hat brims.

This gent has a nice sharp shape to his hatbrim. from: http://www.stetsonhat.com/

Hat quality is a tricky matter. In decades past, hats were given a score based on the quantity of high quality beaver fur they contained, relative to other furs like rabbit, hare, and wool. For example, a hat that had a score of one X had substantially less beaver than a hat with a score of three (XXX). The hat with more beaver is also a lot more money than the one X hat. Nowadays, however, each manufacturer has their own way of scoring their hats, and there is no universal industry standard. Even some straw hats have X scores. My dad bought a hat from a custom hatter a few years ago which was 100X, or pure beaver felt. This hat cost well over $600. My good black Stetson is 20X, from the same custom hatter, and was about $450. I recently bought a 3X cream coloured hat for $210. While these prices may seem daunting to the layman, they are superior quality hats to the mass produced ones that are widely available in western wear stores across the country. The average Master Hatters of Texas or Resistol hat costs anywhere from $90 to $200. Straw hats range in price anywhere from $40 to $200.

Forever an icon of the West, the Stetson style hat is durable, stylish and universal.

Farmer's Creed

I believe a man’s greatest possession is his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming. I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person’s character. I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorableway a man can spend his days on this earth. http://serenelyeccentricjessica.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/ode-to-the-farmers-love-a-city-girl/ I believe farming nurtures the close family ties that make life rich in ways money can’t buy. I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned in no other way. I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth, and maturity in such a variety of ways. http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/Photography/Images/POD/y/young-rancher-mobley-1032619-sw.jpg I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free: the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, and the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring. I believe that true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole family feels the pride that springs from their shared experience. I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world than I am taking from it; an honor that does not come to all men.  http://takegreatpictures.com/photo-tips/tgp-choice/the-lensbaby-3g-by-david-sanders I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellow man, and by this standard I fear no judgement. I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he’s lived. I believe in farming because it makes all this possible

http://www.alderanholsteins.com/images/nov_12_farmer_kevin___farmer_ian.jpg 

Superiority

I had the opportunity to visit with some of our beef customers today. Apparently, our beef has a flavour and texture totally above and beyond anything they had ever had before. They enjoy it so much, they don't want to feed to their house guests! This illustrates the benefits of purchasing locally grown, quality raised, properly handled animal products, like beef, eggs, chicken and pork. While feedlots are the source for almost all of this country's fed beef animals, the locally produced is the best! Hand fed compared to mass fed, individual care rather than blanket antibiotics, real heartfelt care and understanding of all the needs of the animals are all factors that improve the quality of our beef. You cannot compare Superstore or Safeway beef to what we raise, or what anybody who sells local raises. It also helps when you have superior animals like Limousin cattle (I know that all you Angus Gents out there are rolling your eyes, but it isn't untrue!). We are to the point know that we are already taking orders for next year's beef sides, and for a simple reason: Start with quality, add quality, and you get superiority!

Limousin Beef-Naturally so good, and when you raise it with added care, naturally so superior!
Photo Credit: http://theroadislife.blogspot.com/2010/11/b-i-think-i-was-butcher-in-my-past-life.html

Spreading the Word

Today I was able to participate in a program called CAP. CAP stands for the Classroom Agriculture Program, and they asked me to make a presentation about beef cattle at Prairie Waters Elementary School in Chestermere.
To this end, I gathered all the braincells I have (that haven't been totally fried by High School) and put together a PowerPoint presentation. I would have liked to share it with you, but at this point I am not sure how to do that. If I figure it out, I will definitely let you all see it. Anyway, I went to this school and saw two groups of grade 4 students after their lunch break. To start the presentation, I asked what they might know about agriculture, and I was surprised with some of the answers I got. One young man even knew about the magnets used to treat hardware disease! I wasn't prepared for them to have so much knowledge already, but there were a couple of kids who had misconceptions that I was able to clear up for them. Overall, it was a great experience to be able to teach and show the kids what I knew about cattle.I was able to tie in to their grade 4 curriculum a little bit, building on things like Social Studies (Regions of Alberta and Waste and Our World), Health (Career and Work Choices), and Science (Plant Growth). They found it interesting how many aspects of Beef Production were related to their learning. They had lots of questions, but I ran out of time in both groups to get them all answered, so I invited them to refer to their teacher, who could email me later. Overall, I had a good time teaching all those fresh little people all about animal agriculture!

The Storm

A storm rolled through this afternoon. It washed everything up and made everything smell like fresh rain. Made me appreciate living where I live and doing what I do. I feel sorry the for people who will only smell hot, wet asphalt after a summer shower, who don't fall asleep to the music of frogs and crickets, who won't hear a hawk call in the hot summer sun, or watch the owls swoop through the twilight. People who are locked into their jobs, day in and day out, with no flexibility and no break of the monotony. These people will never hold a baby calf as it nurses for the first time, or watch the bulls fight it out in the breeding pasture, or watch the horses run through the field. They will never smell a barn loaded with new hay, or find a pile of kittens nestled in a straw stack. They will never feel the satisfaction of cashing the sale cheque, and feeling rewarded from a year's worth of hard work, sweat and blood. These people won't do r experience what six thousand 4-H members do every day. What hundreds of thousands of farmers do every day. What I do every day. 

The Million Dollar Question:



Eastside Missy, the million dollar cow. Missy sold for $1.2 million at the 2009
Toronto Royal Winter Fair, the second cow in Canada to break $1 million.

Is that cow worth a whole million dollars?

Short answer: Probably not. She likely won't produce enough calves that are of high enough quality to recover her cost.

The long answer is different. To some one, she is, in fact, worth a whole million, and change. Why? I guess she is one of a very select few dairy cows who scored a 99 on her card. That means that, out of all the sections of anatomy on a dairy cow, and all the things that could be wrong about her, she lost only one point. Most animals sit at 70-80 points, and are definately NOT worth a million dollars.

Commercial cattle at Innisfail Auction Mart, Innisfail, AB

This topic brings me around to the worth of a beef animal. Different animals, breeds, sexes and ages are worth different prices. If i were a commercial producer with a load of weanling calves, they are worth about $1.10 per pound. If i have a load of fattened steers, they are worth about $.60-.95 per pound. Slaughter bulls and cows are worth $.50-.70. These prices are approximate, because price fluctuates daily and demand may have feedlots or slaughterhouses bidding lots or little. The price of cattle also fluctuates seasonally, with highs reached in December and lows in June. Location, time, and even weather all have impacts on the price of catte as well.

In the purebred industry, prices for our animals are a little higher. Intstead of paying by the pound, we bid in lump sums of money. The average purebred Limousin yearling heifer will fetch anywehere from $2,000-$10,000. Animals of extraordinary conformation, genetics, or bloodlines can and have fetched as much as $800,000. The highest bid i have ever seen on a purebred animal was $75,000 a few years back, in Denver, Colorado. While purchase and setup costs are obviously higher, the return on investment is faster and larger than the returns in the commercial industry. That being said, there are more commercial cattle in Canada than purebred, because consumers don't want to pay $56.50 for hamburger. Follow this link for a purebred limousin production sale held in Montana.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E2TODb0XfE&feature=channel_video_title

Often people will complain about the cost of supermarket beef, but this is a pain felt sharpest by beef producers. The packing houses and retailers make massive amounts of money by setting the price for live animals. Producers are forced to take what packers will give, because producers can't take them home, nor can they feed all of their calves every year. The meat is then sold at exorbidant prices to the consumer, with no trickledown to the farmer. There would be a lot more people in beef if the producer brought in 3and 4 dollars per pound. What can ya do?

The Cattle Auction

"There was a boy in Arkansas"Who wouldn't listen to his ma
"When  she told him he should go to school

"He'd sneak away in the afternoon
"Take a little walk and pretty soon
"You'd find him at the local auction barn.

"He'd stand and listen carefully
"Then pretty soon he began to see
"How the  auctioneer could talk so rapid-ly
"He said, "Oh, my, it's do or die
"I've got to learn that auction cry
"Gotta make my mark and be an auction-eer."

"Twenty-five dollar bid it now, thirty dollar, thirty
"Will you gimmie thirty, make it thirty
"Bid it on a thirty dollar, will you gimmie thirty
"Who'll-ll bid it at a thirty dollar bid?
"Thirty dollar bid it now, thirty-five
"Will you gimmie thirty-five,
"To make it thirty-five, to bid it a thirty-five
"Who woulda bid it at a thirty-five dollar bid?"

The art of auctioneering is nowhere dispalyed as wonderfully as at a well-run cattle auction. It seems to me that livestock auctioneers sound different than other auctioneers. I find that they tend to be more rythmic, faster, and yet clearer in thier calls and actions. Not that I know a lot about auctioneering.

Most cattle today are sold via auction. For those of you who are unfamilier with auctions, it is basically a contest to see which buyer wants the animal or animals more, and who is willing to pay the most. The purpose of the auction is to allow producers to get fair value for their products. Basically, if a producers animals sell poorly, they aren't very good.

The process starts when the animal(s) (called "lots") are allowed into the auction ring. The auctioneer will usually wind up with a "Well, lookee here fellas" or a "Lets just see now what we can get". This phrase is unique to every auctioneer and good auctioneers will have a dozen or so, which keeps the patterns fresh. After the starting phrase, the auctioneer enters into the chant, asking for an average price on the animal. At purebred sales, the starting bid is usually high in comparison to the actual worth of the animal. This is done on the off chance that there is an overzealous bidder in the crowd, who may jump on the high price. After the auctineer has worked his way down to a tangible bid from the crowd, the numbers start to come in. To help the auctioneer see bids, three or four ringmen stand at the bottom of the bleachers and relay bids to the auctioneer. Good, fast sales can have these guys dancing pretty good. When bidding is slowing down, it is usually down to two people. Once the auctioneer decideds that there is no more money coming in, he winds down and sells the animal with a bang of the gavel.

The art of auctioneering is taught differently to everybody. Each auction school has it's own patterns, chants and rythms, so rarely will you hear two people who sound the same. Good auctioneers are easy to listen to and understand, are quick to see and call bids, and they know the price they want and when to stop. There is nothing worse than an auctioneer who continues to call, even three or four times, after there are no more bids. Auctioneering is a skill, one that I may decide to develop one day.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Gently Down the Stream

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is But a Dream!

I am afraid life is anything but a dream for farmers and ranchers in southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Most of us are up to our elbows in water, mud and all the unspeakables associated therewith (like, say, those friggin' MOSQUITOES!). This abundance of water, while not quite of biblical proportions yet, causes some major headaches for rural people.

First and foremost, the good people, who, at this very moment, are trying to get their seed in the ground in attempts to grow wheat, barley, rye, corn, flax, oats, peas, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets, and such are unable to do so. The fields are too wet to put heavy machinery on, and a stuck tractor is no good for anybody. The mud also keeps the ground relatively cool for this time of year, which can slow or even prevent germination of any seed that may have already been sown. These problems will translate to small yields this fall, which will increase commodity price. That price will be offset by the consumer later this year, so be prepared for the price of everything to got up.

Second, most rural roads are dirt ( "You know you're a redneck when... Directions to your house include 'Turn off the paved road.'"). I am sure we all know about the massive sinkhole that opened up last year, right underneath the Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan. Now, imagine all that water washing out road, after road, after road, after road in some rural area. These washouts are occurring in areas where six foot culverts have been placed, but even those are too small to channel all the water through under the roads. When roads are cut out, transportation of anything becomes extremely difficult. Boats are required to go to town for basics, equipment never leaves the yard, and, most importantly, emergency crews cannot access homes in times of need.

For sure, water, while it brings the blessings of rapid growth and green pastures, is just as powerful and damaging as a prolonged and severe drought. To contrast our wet and wild ways, Texas is having one of the driest spells on record. Rainfall is as much as 20 inches below normal, and there are parts of the state that haven't had rain in almost eight months. Pastures are dead, crops are refusing to grow, and the summer hasn't even reached its peak yet. No matter where you are, the weather will always control agriculture. http://tamunews.tamu.edu/2011/06/07/texas-drought-continues-to-set-records-no-relief-in-sight/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tamuNewsFull+%28TAMU+News+Articles%29

And the Price of Fuel Just goes Up...

Here on the Olson property, we are by no means a green bunch. Sure, we recycle our bottles and all that jazz, but when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, our motto seems to be, "let everyone else worry about our emissions." Case in point: We are the owners of ELEVEN road worthy vehicles. This doesn't include the lawnmowers, the gator, the tractors, or the quads. And only one of them is a small car. The rest? Only half ton chassis or bigger are qualified to park in our yard. 

We have the following, fully operational vehicles living on the farm here:
Dad's Work Truck: A small half ton short box standard cab, 2009 GMC
Dad's Special Truck: A 1977 GMC short box standard cab with a brand new engine-For special occasions only!
Dad's OTHER Special Truck: 2001 GMC Sierra C3 limited edition. Half ton chassis long box crew cab, this one is so nice!
Dad's not-so-special Truck: A 1984 dodge half ton, standard transmission. Purchased with the sole purpose of teaching my brother and I to drive standard.
My Truck: The 3/4 Ton 2006 long box standard cab. Only downside? White. Can't win 'em all. 
Lance's Car: 2001 Pontiac Firebird
Mom's Truck: A piece of poorly engineered crap, a 2007 Chev long box standard cab 3/4 ton.
Mom's Other Truck: The 1991 GMC Sierra standard cab long box, runs like a dream. Inherited from my grandfather.
Mom's Special Truck: 2002 GMC Yukon XL with the Denali trim package
The One Ton: Chev Long box extended cab, diesel with an Allison transmission, 2007, for hauling the stock trailer
The Green One Ton: Flat deck, not such a reliable vehicle, but it goes.

As you can see, we care about the price of petroleum a lot around these parts. The difference is though, with the exception of dad's two toys, every single one of these trucks serves a purpose the others can't. We do not have an obsession with having lots of trucks; we have an obsession with having a truck for every purpose. It's part of life on a farm. Thank god we don't have to haul seed, manure or bales with a truck, because that's three more right there!



The only one



The Visit

Hello All. I must apologize for the absence over the last few days. School, 4-H and several opportunities to mow the lawn finally caught up with me, and the blog was pushed to the backburner.

Today some friends of ours stopped in to say hello, which got me thinking about what this simple act can mean on a farm. In areas where neighbours can be as near as across the road to as far as five or six miles away, stopping in to check on each other has several uses.



Same as it was then



The use my mother generally puts visits to is called chin-wagging. This is an affliction that many agricultural women have, especially when they are all in the same place at the same time. Social lives can take a serious hit when anyone lives one a farm, whether it's because they just can't find time to get away, or, well guess that is really the only reason. Regardless, farmers and farmer's wives tend to be a talkative bunch when they get together, and a Saturday drive to the neighbours to look at their new bull can frequently turn into lunch, supper and late night coffee. All this talk can sure where on a young man's ears, but it is interesting to hear the opinions and positions of the different people in the industry. Talk topics can range from cattle, to tractors, to new trucks (and old trucks), the crazy city cousins, the dog, the horses, whether the crops will escape a coming hailstorm, how much rain is needed, how much sun is needed, the coyote population, the price of fuel, grain and cattle, what will be seeded, what will be harvested, how many bushels can be expected, when the vet was out last, why he was out, the prognosis and cost of his visit, and so on and so forth. As you can see, having a simple conversation on a farm, one that lasts twenty minutes to half an hour, is almost impossible unless one of the conversers is in a hurry. 

A popular place to visit

Another purpose of visiting the neighbours is to secretly (in theory it's secret, but since everyone does it at least once a year to somebody, it is really just the elephant in the room) evaluate the neighbour's cattle or crops. These visits are innocent enough, and really just gather information about what the neighbour may be doing better than you. Somehow or another, if a farmer is proud of what he is growing or raising, he or she will want to show it off. It could take a few minutes or three hours, but eventually there will be a trip in a truck to some pasture or field and a conversation to follow. 

Finally, the main purpose of visiting is to reinforce friendships, and a sense of community. While we may all be spread out over a few townships, we all belong in the same community and we want to keep that community strong and viable. Having good neighbours can be a blessing, but treating neighbours well is rewarding socially and can be helpful in a pinch. Some studies have shown that visiting bachelor farmers once in a while can prevent them from feeling lonely or forgotten, feelings which can lead to severe clinical depression. We all have busy lives, and can never seem to get anything done entirely, but the visits to and from the neighbours are always a valued treasures occasion. So, next time you're in the area, kick off your boots and come on in!

You Never Know a Good Thing...

It is over, and it was rather successful, I must say. It was also my last ever as a 4-H member. The 2011 edition of the Calgary 4-H Regional show and sale, 4-H on Parade. This year's event had a more nostalgic feel to it for me than previous events have. My ninth in a row, 4-H on Parade has always been the culmination of eight months' hard work, long hours, and new challenges.
Thankfully, this year went off without a hitch. My steer and cow/calf projects were well behaved and performed well in their respective classes. I claimed a Reserve Champion All Other Breeds Female title for the second time, and I placed second in my class with my market steer at one of the most competitive junior market steer shows in the country. To have such successes on both show days of the three day event is very rewarding. The weekend culminated in the form of the beef steer sale, where my monster 1453 pound steer brought $1.75/pound, rounding to approximately $2500 dollars. My hogs did equally as well. Each side of pork was auctioned off individually, and six sides totalled about $1085.
Sunday afternoon brought with it some bittersweet memories of years gone by. The alley where my very first steer was taken to the slaughterhouse remains much unchanged. Though the steer sale has never been as traumatizing for me as that first one eight years ago, seeing the little first year juniors so upset for their newly sold pets can bring a lump to your chest. As this was my last year at 4-H on Parade, it also becomes my last year with my 4-H club, Balzac Beef. I will likely see only a few of these members again in the years to come, though we do all get together at the end of June for our banquet and awards. Some of the people not planning on attending the banquet expressed their gratitude and well wishes as the weekend wound down. Though they said it was a "pleasure to have you here for the last two years," it was even more a pleasure for me to be a part of such a good group of people, who all have a common vested interest in the future of agriculture. I can only hope that I left as positive a mark on the Balzac club and on the Calgary region as those who have gone before me.
They say you never know what you have until it's gone. Being a 4-H member is gone now, done almost completely. That being said, I will continue to support and participate in 4-H for the rest of my life. The things 4-H has taught me are invaluable, and I am so much further ahead because of them. They said I was moving on to bigger and better things, but, while Texas A&M may be bigger, it will need to be one hell of a university and, after that, one hell of a life to be better than the last nine years of 4-H.

The Great White Pig Chase

Ok. So it wasn't that great. But it was a pig chase, and the pig was white...

That’s right, ladies and gents. One of my 4-H pigs went for a leisurely stroll through the yard yesterday afternoon, due to me not doing my due diligence in the department of closing the side door on the trailer. Here is the full story:

Cameron and Donna, two inexperienced hog handlers, decided wisely to put the pigs in the trailer to go to town. This was done in the hopes of not repeating the not so grand, rather noisy, stressful loading experience from the year before. Anyway, the three chosen pigs were skilfully cut from the pen, pushed up the loading area, and there sprayed with some water to remove the worst of the unspeakable from their skin. After they had all been sprayed, Cameron opened the gate and allowed the first hog, a gilt, into the trailer.

This gilt is no slouch. She promptly crossed the floor of the trailer, past a bucket of food, no less, to the front man door, which had been cleverly left open by Cameron. And out she went. She went out to the yard, and had gone several meters before Cameron, who was busy fighting with the not-so-bright barrows, noticed that something was amiss. There was a pig missing from the trailer. So he hollered to Donna, "That gilt is out, stop her from getting too far!" and then he nimbly leaped the fence with nary a hog board or a sorting cane to assist him or Donna in retrieving the Swift Swine.

Fortunately, the hog was fat and lazy, and couldn't run if she had wanted to. With their knees and arms, Donna and Cameron cleverly brought the gilt around to the gate on the other side of the barn, where she was allowed to rejoin her littermates in the stock trailer.

The moral of the story?

When Donna tells Cameron to close the man door on the stock trailer, it is suggested that the task be finished before the pigs escape. Just another day on the Olson farm.

Showmanship

Showmanship is the art of showing cattle. It is a skill that takes development, honing, and a lot of practice to master.

When showing cattle, the goal is to disappear. Not literally, of course, because someone needs to handle the animals, but figuratively speaking. The optimal showperson is the one that is never noticed. Showmanship in the showring is all about displaying the animal to the absolute best of its natural ability. This means that the handler knows where the animal’s feet look the best, what the best speed is for the animal to walk, and how to improve little things with the stroke of a show cane or the pinch of a dewlap.



A typical Showmanship Class is not based on animal
conformation, but is designed to test the showmen. Note the
staggered back feet on the shorthorn heifer.



On the initial profile, cattle usually stand with their back feet staggered. This creates an illusion of length in steers and also displays the udder and testicles, in cows and bulls respectively. The amount of stagger is dependant on the animal, and where they look their best. It is best to allow the animal to walk into their preferred stance, as that is where they tend to appear most comfortable and natural. Sometimes, it is necessary to manually place the animal's feet, which is accomplished with a device called a show cane. Manual placement uses valuable time, and should also never be done when the judge is appraising the animal as it distracts his or her analysis.

Sometimes, after the initial calls and the placement of the cattle side by each, the judge decides to switch two animals. When this happens, there is a very specific pattern that must be followed by the competitors. The animal in the lower spot pulls out first, turns in front of his original spot, and keyholes back through his space. The higher placed animal pulls out slightly after the lower, to avoid crowding, and follws the lower placed animal through the lower positioned hole. The new higher placed animal moves into its appropriate spot. Showmanship is half rules, and half presence. While it is important for the conformation judge to not notice you, the showmanship judge(s) are watching your every move. It is important that you appear calm, even in the most trying circumstances, and never look nervous or angry. Some people feel that the smiley, bubble showman is the best, a side I disagree with. While it is important not to look surely and ill-tempered, it looks ridiculous when a showperson is smiling for no real reason. And, furthermore, a show is a competition. It is important to have fun, but game faces are important too.

The last and most important feature of showmanship is dividing your attention up appropriately between the judge, your animal and the situation around you. A 60-30-10 ratio should be used in the showring. ^0% of the time spent should be watching the judge. His whereabouts, actions, and instructions are of the utmost importance. 30% of the time should be devoted to the animal. Ensuring that the feet are properly placed, the hair is looking as it should, and the animal is calm are essential to placing well in the class. Finally, 10% or less time should be spent watching the situations around you. Don't be so bent on watching the judge that you don't notice the animal in front of you has stopped, or so intent on proper feet placement that you miss the judge's call. Communicate what is essential with your ringmen and fellow exhibitors, in order to keep things smooth and safe for the animals and the handlers. Showmanship is 70 parts skill and 20 parts instinct, with 10 parts common sense mixed in.

Reserve Champion Intermediate Female Showman at the Canadian Western Junior Limousin Show. I have the heifer second from the right. A photo of one of the numerous Showmanship competitions I have placed well in, a product of a lot of homework.

The Show, Part Two

Yesterday came bright and early, and I thought I handled 6 AM pretty well considering it was my Graduation Banquet the night before. People call me crazy, but it is what I love. My Achievement Day went well yesterday, for those of you who are interested. My steer placed second, my three year old placed first and I was awarded Reserve Champion Senior Female Showmanship. This introduces our topic today, of the human activities once we enter the showring.

Lining the Cattle up for a final evaluation

Entering the showring is like lining up at the start line of the Indy 500. No one knows who will leave in first place, and who will come in last, but everyone has their favourites. After a class has been marshalled outside the ring, put in their respective order, and instructed on the route they will take in the ring, the gates are open and the animals and their handlers enters. Thus begins the interesting and, perhaps, bewildering process of placing a class, which I will explain to you.

When cattle are allowed into the showring, they usually walk around the perimeter at least once, but usually twice. The lead animal sets the pace, which is then maintained by the rest of the class. Unruly and stubborn animals are assisted by the ringmen, who help the handlers control and move their animals. The lead animal is told to stop along the longest side of the ring so that the right side of the animals are facing the crowd. This allows the crowd to view the animals as the judge moves around. Once the animals have stopped in the profile, the judge moves in to look at them more closely. Each animal gets an individual evaluation, where the judge looks at them from all angles and studies anything that he or she may or may not like about the conformation. The judges are the boss in the ring, and they may touch an animal for whatever reason, move them around, ask the handlers and the ringmen to make animal A and B walk for comparison, etc. After this evaluation, the judge begins to place his class. It is the responsibility of the showperson to watch the judge for the call, because some judges are benevolent and some are not. If the showman wasn't paying attention, it is likely that their entry will be skipped over and lose it’s placing in the class. As animals are pulled out, the ringmen set them up in a line in the middle of the ring, side by each. The goal is to have the animals with all of their front feet on the same line at the same time. This rarely happens, but sometimes the ringpeople are lucky. Once the cattle are lined up on the rear-view, the judge walks around once more to make sure he likes where the animals are, and then gives his reasons

The initial profiling of all the entries, after the parade around
the ring

Reasons start with the first animal and end with the last, and justify the placing the judge made. The reasons are comparative and brief, and designed to make the audience and handlers understand the thoughts behind each and every placing. Once reasons are completed, the animals are allowed to leave the ring. This entire process takes from 15-45 minutes, depending on the number of animals and the difficulty of the class. Sometimes classes are hard to place because none of the cattle deserve first, and sometimes because all of the cattle deserve first. The judge's opinion on that day at that time dictates the placing of the cattle, and on a different day at a different time, those placings would be different.

The Show

You'll have to pardon me for the large gap between posts- this has been the week from hell for me. This weekend combines both my High School Graduation and my 4-H club's Achievement Day, one day after the other starting today and ending Sunday night. Needless to say, a lot of preparation has gone into both events.

Speaking of Achievement Day, I thought today I would start a series of blogs revolving around livestock exhibitions. To introduce the topic of cattle shows, watch the following short video: The Beef Cattle Show. In a beef 4-H club, our Achievement Day is really a competition amongst ourselves to see who has done the best job picking, feeding, and fitting their steers, heifers and two and three year old pairs. At a cattle show, there are rules and at least a little organization, combined with a lot of elbow grease and grunt work.


An old time cattle show


Starting very early in the morning on the day of the show, animals are usually washed, dried and fed their breakfast. At Achievement Day, this doesn’t all happen because of a lack of washing facilities, but in general, at larger and more complex shows, this is how it works. After the cattle have been cared for, they are allowed to rest before their long day in and out of the showring. They get tired and cranky too, believe me!



The evaluation of animals is often done by one
Judge



Depending on the start time of the show, the cattle can be allowed to sleep for an hour or until two in the afternoon. A while before their class, they are cleaned off again and fit (a process I will discuss later) in the showring, the cattle are split into classes. Classes are usually composed of animals of the same sex, such as steers and heifers, and they are split by either age (females) or weight (steers). In most Canadian shows, there is a maximum of 15-20 animals in each class, while at major shows in the US there can be as many as 80. Each class is a smaller part of a division. Divisions are made up of many classes, and the top two winners from each class are invited back in to the ring to compete for the divisional title. Some examples of divisions are Heavyweight Steers, Middleweight Steers, Lightweight Steers, Junior Heifers (younger), Senior Heifers (Older), Two or Three Year Old Cow Calf Pairs (sometimes paired into a cow calf division), etc. Each of the divisions in a show are all a part of the 

 , which is always split by sex. At large shows, there is typically a Supreme Female and Reserve Supreme Female, a Supreme Champion Steer and a Reserve, and a Supreme Champion Bull with Reserve. Ultimately, every animal in every class is competing to first win their class, then they want to win the division, and finally they want to win the Supreme Championship. Occasionally, the Supreme Champions from several cattle shows will congregate and compete for a bigger championship. These events are massive and have prizes that are frequently worth anywhere from $10, 000 to $200,000.



The Champion Bull selection at an edition of the National
Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.



In each class, the animals are evaluated and placed according to the opinion of one Judge. Sometimes there is a panel of three or five, which helps to level out any bias one person may have for a certain breed, breeder or style. Typically, however, the one judge runs the show and chooses animals that he or she feels stand out from the rest.  The top two from each class move on to the divisional championship. Usually, the first place winners from two different classes win divisional titles, but occasionally the First and Second places from the same class are chosen as Grand and Reserve respectively. A second place animal cannot be named a reserve champion unless its first place counterpart has been chosen as Champion. The same rules and pattern apply in the Supreme classes, but there is a major bias when young animals are combined with old

The Houston Stock Show and Rodeo boasts the largest beef
cattle attendance of any show in world. Here we see the
Champion drive in the Houston Steer Show

Older animals, such as cow calf pairs, almost always win the Supreme Championship. The logic behind this is simple- these animals are proven. They have a calf, they have a visible, functioning udder, and they are proven to be fertile and productive. Everything like this is uncertain in younger animals, so it is very rare and quite an accomplishment when a Bred Heifer or Heifer calf wins a supreme championship.

This is a general overview of a cattle show, and the first installment on the topic. Hopefully you have taken something productive away! Let me know If you have questions.

More on this later.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...

There are good ones, there are bad ones, and there are some that are just plain ugly. Of course, I am talking about cattle.



A well muscled clean made, correct Polled Hereford Bull



Cattle have been selected over thousands of years to be productive, efficient animals. This is all very fine and good, but what traits are better than others? How does a beef producer tell the good from the bad from the ugly? It's called The Eye, and it allows producers to choose which animals they want in their herd.



A well built, long made, deep sided, correct Maine Anjou



To make things simple, we'll talk about a typical beef steer. When a cattleman looks at a steer, the number one thing he looks for is called finish. Finish is the amount of fat the animal is carrying, and, as we all know, fat is what makes beef tender and flavourful. There is a boundary, however. Too much fat means that the red meat yield will be low, because so much of the animal would need to be trimmed to remove the extra fat. To this end, it takes a lot of practice to properly evaluate finish, and is not something that just anyone can learn to do overnight.



A not so nice looking cow
http://yellowallpaper.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/skinny-cow
-emaciation-is-in-ladies-so-grab-an-ice-cream-bar/



The next thing the producer looks for in a market steer is general conformation. Beef cattle conformation is fairly straightforward. The animal with the most length, most muscle definition, widest, flattest and straightest topline, cleanest shoulder, and general balance is the best one.



A pen of reserve champion steers displaying good muscle,
and excellent, uniform toplines.
http://www.showsteers.com/Tonkin/winners.htm



Ok, now let’s break that all down. Length of body is the overall distance from the top of the shoulder to the end of the tailhead. Animals that have lots of length will have a larger number of steaks than shorter made animals. More steaks equal more money in the plant, so packers look for a purchase the longest animals they can find. Muscle definition is another vague term that takes time to recognize. Too much isn't good, because it means that the animal isn't finished, while too little can mean either a poor finish or general lack of musculature. Since muscle is what we eat, animals that have too little are severely discounted.



Topline is a very important part of a beef animal, as the ribeye is represented in the topline. Topline is the back, or top, of an animal. The ribeye muscle, or Longissimus Dorsi, is the most sought after cut on a beef animal. It is also the muscle that Canada's meat grading system is based on. It runs along either side of the spine, from directly behind the shoulder blade to the top of the hip. These muscles need to be well defined by a grove that lies along the spine of the animal. To this, however, there is also a limit. The ribeye area cannot be too big, or consumers won't want to eat it because there is too much meat. It also can't be too small, because the slaughterhouse won't see the value. In North America, the largest fault in our cattle is the sheer size and irregularity of the Longissimus Dorsi muscle. As a result of our multitude of breeds, each with its own growth and muscle patterns, we have huge differences in the size of the ribeye. This makes things more difficult for the consumer, who wants two of the same size but can't find them at the supermarket. As a result, when evaluating beef steers, a topline that is neither too wide nor too narrow is ideal. Anywhere from twelve to sixteen inches is an ideal width for a carcass animal.



A European Steer showing too much coarseness through his muscle

structure and head and neck

http://www.fwi.co.uk/blogs/livestock-and-sales-blog/201

0/05/limousin-takes-newark-show-bee.html



Cleanliness through parts of the animal that are not edible is essential to maintain efficiency. The head, neck and much of the shoulder is not very useful for anything, so producers want to keep those areas as small as possible. This is pure economics, because animals with too much wasteful bone, skin and other tissue will also be discounted. Cleanliness is really how refined the steer is throughout his body. If he has massive, bull-like shoulders, a pendulous dewlap, an oversized head or massive, roughly made bones, he is considered wasteful and is discounted.



A steer displaying too much forward balance-his shoulders and
middle are larger than his rump



Balance in beef cattle is really only for eye appeal. Balance is seen when an animal, cut into equal, imaginary thirds, appears to weigh the same amount in each third. There isn't a part of him, like the ribs, or the rump, that looks like it far outweighs the other two thirds. Again, it is really only a visual appearance thing, but one that is considered important nonetheless.

My suggestion to anyone who wants to learn more about livestock conformation? Spend the day at the local or regional stock show. Most rural areas have at least one every year, so spend the day and listen to the person adjudicating the animals. You'll learn a lot.

 Until Later