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!