Child Labour

So, the US government is poised to make a monumental mistake. The Obama Administration is pushing a bill through Congress that will make child labour on family farms illegal. Individuals under 18 years of age could not work for recompense in places like grain elevators, auction markets, livestock exchanges, feed yards, grain silos, grain bins, etc. First off, the level of government intrusion here is massive. It is my own opinion that the government has no authority over what children can or cannot do for their families in regard to rural lifestyles. This bill passes all boundaries of privacy for rural, hard working Americans, and goes to the level of telling an Auction Mart operator his son or daughter cannot work pens or clerk a sale until they are a legal age.

Rosie Templeton, of The Absolutely Agriculture Blog,
 doing work that may become illegal in the USA.
http://www.realagriculture.com/2011/06/does-4-h
-desensitize-kids-to-killing-a-4-h-alumnis-response/

This is a prime example of how urban, modern politicians simply do not understand the lives of rural constituents. It makes it very obvious that the American governmental machine is forgetting its rural routes, forgetting the demographic that provides nourishment to the people of the nation. A bill such as this was never even dreamed of in decades past, when the farming family was a picture of success. Farming is not a two-person endeavour. It is simply not possible to make money with only spouses participating, so children are put to work when they reach an age that is deemed appropriate by their parents. Most rural kids start to help when they are around 12 or 13, respectable ages for an education in work ethic, business practices, and the workings of a farm or ranch.
The next part of the rebound from this bill is the kids themselves. Many rural kids have started to tell the government that this bill is ludicrous at best. They claim that the education they received from their parents often was more practical and useful than what they learned in school. The emphasis placed on work ethic is what has allowed kids like myself to get where we are: in colleges and universities across the continent, learning every occupation under the sun. Our farm education, from working for Mom and Dad, is absolutely irreplaceable. But that seems to be exactly what the US Obama Administration seeks to do.  

Calvin and Hobbes on Eating

I felt that this was a relevant comic to yesterday's article:

Tell "The Times" Why it's Ethical to Eat Meat!

The New York Times, a renowned news source all over the world, is asking for submissions. The question they have posed is a difficult one. One that I have never considered. One that I feel I have the answer to, but have no way of communicating my feelings logically. "Why is it ethical to eat meat?" It's a doozy of a question, that's for sure. The arguments against eating meat based on ethics are incredibly strong, and, I must admit, make certain amounts of logical sense. But there must be some reason why we eat meat. Something way down tells us that the activity is OK, and I have never questioned my moral integrity after tucking in to a beautiful New York or Tenderloin. Why? I don't know. It isn't taste, which does keep me coming back, it isn't the need for meat, though I do have cravings here in University. Why don't we feel the same remorse for the animals we consume as we feel for the people we may kill in wars? It is definitely a troubling question, very troubling and difficult to answer. If you think you have it, I encourage you to submit it to The Times for evaluation. I know I will if I have my epiphany by the deadline. It appears that the Pro-Meat arguments are only just beginning, after at least three decades of pro-vegetarian hounding.  So, I ask you all to please comment with your thoughts, and visit the link to read the article from The Times. Tell Us Why It's Ethical To Eat Meat

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/magazine/tell-us-why-its-ethical-to-eat-meat-a-contest.html?_r=2

The End of the Whirlwind

I can't believe it's been nearly three weeks since I blogged about the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the International Livestock Congress. I guess time flies when you are having the time of your life! These last ten days have been a whirlwind. I want to recap with you all the events of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Beginning with Wednesday, March 7th, those five days are as follows:

The best interns came from A&M, of course...

Early Wednesday morning headed into Houston, only to arrive bang on at rush hour. Poor planning and no forethought aside, rush hour turns Houston's 610 beltloop freeway into a never ending parking lot. No joke, ladies and gents, it took nigh on 2 hours to go the 14 miles I needed to traverse before I got to my exit. And there was no sign of the reason for the delay. None. That’s a pain right there. Anyway, after I extracted Christine (Dad named my truck) and myself from the freeway fray, I unerringly found my way both to my downtown Houston Hotel accommodations AND to Reliant Centre, where the HLSR was under full swing. I say unerringly, but I had some help from Nuvi (I named my GPS). She yelled and hollered and barked orders for the entire trip, but she and I made it all the way, together. So I arrive at the rodeo grounds, find the Superintendent’s office, and meet my fellow interns. There were six of us altogether, four from Texas A&M and two from that other school: Texas Tech. We eyed each other warily for a bit but essentially each school found the other to have sent reputable individuals, so it was quickly down to work. The first thing we did was check the entries for errors or grounds for disqualifications. Sounds like a not bad job, easy, quick, right? Nope. Wrong. While there were six of us interns, there were 2000 heifer entries. That’s a whole damn bunch of little names, little tattoos and little birthdates on a spreadsheet being compared and contrasted with names, tattoos and birthdates on each entry's registration paper. I had a headache and sore eyes when I finally turned the last page of the Simbrah papers and declared myself finished. It only could go up from here, I thought. I was wrong.

They sent us back to the hotel around five pm on Wednesday afternoon, to freshen up, nap and eat. We were given an address before we left and we were told to be there at ten pm Wednesday night to begin the staging of trailers for unloading. Dutifully, we arrived at the given coordinates to find an astonishing sight. Trailers lined up 20 deep and six or seven rows across, in a wide open gravel parking lot in the middle of nowhere. One of the superintendents took three of us interns, one of which was me, gave us a green card and an orange card, both of which needed to be written on by us, and instructed us to visit each truck, in order, and give them a green and orange card. This didn't sound so daunting at first. We started at around ten pm, six or seven rows of approximately 20 trailers was around a hundred and forty vehicles, divided by three was 46.6 trailers each. Nothing, really. Again, I was wrong. Those trailers were only the first bunch, and were soon followed by hundreds more. Each needed two cards, and by now we had lost the young lady we were working with, so it was only two interns. We did get some moderate help from a group of volunteers, but until they figured out the pattern they more of a hindrance than a help. Finally, the last trailer pulled out at around three pm Thursday. That means that the other intern and I had walked for seventeen hours, and I had been wide awake for almost 36 hours. My feet had been reduced to bloody stumps, there were holes in the bottoms of my shoes, and I was covered, head to toe, in a fine talcum of gravel dust. It was awesome.

If I remember correctly, we finally were allowed to sleep at about 8 Thursday night, and by god, sleep we did. It was an early morning though, up at 5:30 to get to the grounds through traffic by seven. Friday started the shows proper, and I started the day in the office dealing with all manner of problems and concerns from the FFA, 4-H leaders, and Parents of the juniors. I never once talked to an irate or upset Junior member. Considering that there was around 2000 of them, that’s pretty damn impressive. And the parents just need to calm down. It'll all be OK! Typically the kids knew what was going on and how to deal with problems better than I did. I couldn't take much more of being some east Texas Mother's emotional punching bag, so I jumped on the chance to escape into the showring. The first show I was a ringman for was the American Registered breed show, or the All Other Breeds with Brahman Influence. Lots of odd looking cattle in that show, good in their own right, but weird looking to me. Next was the largest show, the Beefmasters. 47 entries in the first class was a lot of cattle to keep moving and organized. Over Saturday and Sunday, I ringed six more breed shows and the Supreme Champion show. I walked all over both rings, which were covered in bright green shavings. These shavings dyed everything The bottoms of my boots, the cuffs of my pants, the corners of my eyes, and other more unpleasant places like the insides of my ears and nose... I was a leprechaun from the inside out.

In short, however, it was a fantastic five days, I made awesome contacts, had a lot of fun, and saw some pretty fantastic cattle. Would I do it again? Most certainly!

International Livestock Congress 2012-CALGARY!!

www.ilccalgary.com/

The International Livestock Congress is coming to Calgary, Alberta in August 2012. The best part is, it's being held less than five miles from my home, at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Southeast Calgary. The better part is, they are awarding 20 bursaries to  young, aspiring beef producers and agricultural product and service employees and leaders.

So.

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/ansc/news-events/archived
-news/international-livestock-congress-calgary-2010

I will be applying for this fantastic opportunity, and you should too. I do love a good competition. The bursary offers an all expenses paid trip to Calgary for three days, a room in the Deerfoot Inn, and three days of conferences, round table discussion, networking, and education on all things about and around Beef. If I know Canadian cattlemen, there will be plenty of beef on a bun, roast beef dinners, hamburgers, and steaks, too. I do not know what exactly the key note speakers, discussions and sessions will cover, but I can tell you that it will be beef, it will be informative, and it will be fun. If you qualify for a bursary, it could even be completely free!

That all being said, I am vibrating with excitement for this fantastic opportunity. If you would like some more information about the ILC, you can visit their website, where you find dates, applications, and more. Their Itinerary is pending, and expected soon. The URL is.

http://www.ilccalgary.com/default.htm

On another, equally as exciting note, I am geared up and tense with excitement at the prospect of Interning at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo next week. Starting on March 7th, I will be at Reliant Park, helping to run the Junior Beef Heifer Show. The HLSR hires around a hundred interns every year, sourcing most of them from the greatest university in the state, and therefore the greatest in the country, and THEREFORE  the greatest in the world, Texas A&M University. That doesn't downplay my Canadian-ness, though so don't worry. They also source around a dozen from that other university in Lubbock, Texas Tech University. This year I believe there are some kids from a community college somewhere in Texas, but I can't remember. While the majority of us are working livestock shows, interning with veterinarians, and doing drug testing on class winners, there are also some media interns working with press, covering the events that take place.

Champion Limousin Heifer 2009
http://www.lawrencefamilylimousin.com/winners.html

Champion Junior Steer 2011. Sold for $350,000, shown by Koby Long
http://showmaxxcattle.com/champions.html

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the worlds largest fair event. According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, the 2011 edition of the HLSR recorded 2,262,834 visitors over the three week event. Considering that the population of the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area is roughly 4 million, that means that approximately half of the city turns out for the show. That is a lot of animal agriculture exposure. The HLSR attracts music's biggest stars, and George Strait (Go Figure), Garth Brooks, ZZ Top, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, KISS, and so many others have graced the stage after the rodeo each night. HLSR started in 1932, and was aimed at promoting the Gulf Coast area as a cattle market. 4 Million cattle lived in the area, but around 90% of production was shipped to the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard for slaughter and processing. The gimmick worked, though, because just 4 years later 50% of local production was marketed in Houston, then a city of 200,000. Incidentally, and not unsurprisingly, Texas A&M (Then The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas or TAMC [we aren't good with acronyms here]) had the Grand Champion Market Steer, which brought around $500 at sale. That pales in comparison to the 2011 Junior Champion Steer price, which was a staggering $350,000 for Koby Long, the 17-year-old junior who raised the steer.

HLSR has grown immensely over the decades, and I am proud to be able to contribute in it's 80th Anniversary edition. for more information, visit www.rodeohouston.com.  



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.