A Penny for Your Thoughts: A Horse Tale

Lisa on Penny and me on the ground - where I belong!

A Penny for your thoughts. Really, Penny was in my thoughts Tuesday evening as a couple of cowboys came to help us round up a bull.

I've never been a horse person. I didn't go through the preteen fascination that seems to afflict a bevy of girls, including my sister, Lisa, who had a horse named Penny. I left the fancy fringed shirt and cowboy boots to Lisa and her 4-H project. I was much more inclined to have both feet planted firmly on the ground. Give me a foods project or the reading project - both decidedly indoor activities - and I was much happier. I even liked working on 4-H books. (I know I am an anomaly, but I've always liked the art of telling a story.)

We typically use what Randy calls "Japanese horses" for our cattle roundups. But we've attempted on more than one occasion this summer to round up a bull who decided the neighboring pasture looked better than the one he was supposed to occupy. The Kawasakis just weren't doing the job this time. Every time we'd get there, Mr. Bull would hide in plum thickets.

A neighbor recommended a freelance cowboy who had helped him with a similar predicament. Cory's business card reads, "I don't turn wrenches and I don't build fences!"

He and his friend, Tyler, didn't have time until evening, so we were dodging raindrops and nervously watching lightning streak across the sky as the cowboys unloaded their horses - Darlin' and Marly - and took off across the pasture in search of Mr. Bull.

 

We parked the pickup and trailer on top of a hill so we could watch the cowboy's progress and bring in cattle panels if the job required it.

Have you ever heard the song, "The Cowboys Lament?" I had my own lament going as I regretted not grabbing my real camera as we dashed out the door to go load up panels.

My cell phone camera's telephoto lens didn't do the scene justice. The bull who had dashed swiftly into the plum thickets on Monday during our attempts at a round-up ambled up the hill toward the portable corrals.

I could see one of the cowboy's lariats swirling on occasion to provide a subconscious nudge when the bull had other ideas. I could hear a subtle "yip, yip" as the cowboys completed their mission.

With little fanfare, the guys helped us load the bull into the trailer and rode off in the sunset.

Well, they rode off to the north, where there pickups and trailers were parked, but you get the idea.

Kinley and Brooke are now in that little girl horse fascination phase. I have to say I'm understanding that attraction at the moment ... not enough to get on a horse, of course. Just enough to appreciate them a little more.

And the bull? He got a chauffeured ride to the Pratt sale barn.

A New Hire at The County Line

Every day across corporate America, business people in pressed suits gather around conference tables for meetings. They gather to make decisions designed to advance their companies, to increase profits, perhaps, even to make a difference in the world.

Some may arrive after a subway ride. Others hopped on a train from a suburb to a towering skyscraper in a sea of tall buildings. Others may have grabbed a taxi or a Lyft or an Uber for their trip from Point A to Point B.

 

The meetings may look a little different in the middle of a Kansas farmstead. While those city commuters may be dodging people and traffic, the country meeting attendee may need to strategically avoid a cow pie or two after stepping out of their transportation for the day - a pickup hooked to a mud-splashed cattle trailer.

But the decisions made in those dirt lots also impact the future of businesses. Choosing a new "employee" requires research and making informed choices - whether in a boardroom or a straw-covered cattle lot.

Randy and I attended the Carcass Plus Bull Sale last Wednesday at Poland Angus Ranch near Isabel. Angus bulls from the Polands as well as CB Farms at Preston were offered for sale. 

Before we arrived, Randy had gone through the sales catalog, circling bulls that fit his criteria. He was looking for an Angus bull he could use for breeding to our heifers, who will be first-time mamas in 2020. So he was looking for a bull who would produce lower birth weight calves and calving ease characteristics.

As we walked through the lots, Randy referred to his sale catalog for the particulars and made notes on some of the animals he was interested in.

Ironically, the first bull I photographed that day was the one who eventually went home with us - Lot 12, aka PAR 613 Product 867.

It was one of those Randy had circled at home, but he wanted to look them over before the sale started. And we had to arrive in time for our dinner date. It was free if you don't count the price of the bull. That counts as free to a farmer - just like "free" caps when you buy a tractor (wink, wink).

Along with my barbecue beef sandwich, I chose a shamrock sugar cookie. A little luck is never a bad thing when it comes to bidding at an auction. 

Neither is bringing a book to pass the time between the lunch and the bidding. Randy read the catalog. I read my book.

This sale was a little different from the last two I've attended. Instead of bringing the bull into a sale ring, each appeared on television screens for bidding.

Here's Lot 12 during his time on the auction block. Here's what it said about him in the catalog:

This deep-sided 613 son has really good Wn (weaning) and Yr (yearling) ratios. Couple that with his top 15% for marbling, it makes him a really good prospect for siring high-marbling calves that will bring you a premium on the rail.

Though the bulls are getting the once over from interested buyers, it's not just a beauty contest, though correct conformation for each breed is one factor in the decision-making process. While Randy looks for bulls that produce smaller birth weight calves, he's also looking for those whose progeny have higher 205-day weaning weights and yearling weights.

Genetics should provide a progressive weaning weight and yearling weight. For Lot 12, the EPD - or expected progeny difference - at weaning is 57 pounds above the average Angus weight. The yearling weight EPD is 103 pounds above the average. Its numbers also ranked above average for meat marbling and ribeye area. He had good milk EPDs, which should make the females he sires good replacement mamas who will make plenty of milk for their calves.

This bull was born on Veteran's Day of 2017, so he's a little more a year old. He now weighs around 1,200 pounds.

For the past several years, we've used a Hereford bull with our heifers. But to add genetic diversity to our cattle herd, Randy opted for an Angus bull for the heifers for this upcoming breeding season. If you want to get all technical, it's a matter of heterosis, "the marked vigor or capacity for growth exhibited by crossbred animals," (according to the dictionary).

We paid $3,500 for him, minus a $50 discount for picking him up and hauling him ourselves on the day of the sale. 

Once we got him home, he strolled the entire perimeter of the lot to check out his new "digs."

Initially, he was by himself in the lot, but after he got out, Randy put another calf in the pen with him to keep him company. We hope that cures his loneliness and keeps him "home" and content until he begins his job this spring.

The Birds and the Bees: Farm Style

I saw this graphic from Faith, Family and Beef while scrolling Facebook last week. It made me laugh. I agree with most of the bullet points, though at the County Line, we do "fire" bulls for being obnoxious and destructive - especially if that "insubordination" is directed toward humans.

But think about the rest of it: Wouldn't it be a sweet job to have room and board, health care and food provided for only a few months of work?

For all those fringe benefits, we do expect our herd bulls to do their job. That's why four of our bulls again went through a "job interview" last week with Dr. Dayul Dick from Prairie Vista Veterinary Hospital and Supply. (The fifth bull was the one we just purchased at Sandhill Farms production sale, so it had already been tested.)

Quality bulls are a big part of the beef business. It's a good management practice to test bulls before you turn them out into the pasture with the heifers and cows each spring. Bulls have no value if they can't perform. So Dr. Dick came to perform bull breeding soundness examinations.

First, Dr. Dick measured each bull's scrotum and examined it for defects.

He then needed to collect a semen sample using this contraption.
He set up a mobile laboratory on the hood of a pickup, smearing a sample on a slide and looking through the microscope.

With the first look, he was testing the semen for motility, its "swimming" ability to travel to the cow's egg.

Then he smeared the slide with a dye, which killed the sperm. He could then look at morphology, the shape of the sperm. He was looking for abnormalities in the shape, which could indicate a problem with the ability to breed.

After the fertility tests, the bulls were each given vaccinations to keep them healthy during their summer in the pasture. It's similar to giving our children vaccinations for their optimal health.

Vet assistant Liz also applied a pour-on dewormer.

While all the bulls passed the fertility test, there was a slight problem. Only one fit properly in the squeeze chute.

That called for some creative acrobatics by both Liz and Dr. Dick to get the samples they needed, as well as a strategically-placed steel pipe to keep the bull in position.

The bulls aren't the only factor in the "birds and bees" of a Kansas cattleman.

The heifers who will become first-time mothers next winter also have been getting some extra care.

Beginning in March, our 25 yearling heifers had their silage topped with MGA. MGA is melengestrol acetate, which suppresses the ovulation cycle for the heifers. For 14 days, Randy added the MGA to the silage and fed the equivalent of 1/2 a pound per head per day.

This is the first step in getting the heifers to come into estrus (or heat) at the same time. These young ladies were born in early 2017. In 2019, they will become mothers for the first time.

On Monday, we sent the heifers through the working chute for the next phase of their OB-GYN appointments.

There, they each got a shot of Lutalyse, which makes the heifers come into heat.

So why do we try to synchronize the heifers' cycles? We do it to shorten the calving season for the heifers, which saves labor at calving time. (Well, it saves some labor for the humans - not the mama cows.) Because heifers are first-time mamas, we check them frequently in case they are having trouble calving.

Randy also gave each heifer a vaccination to prevent respiratory issues and diarrhea. 

 

Then it was time for the "birds and bees" to happen. The heifers were put in a pen with the bulls.

Some 283 days later, the babies are supposed to arrive. So we will expect to get our first 80-pound bundles of joy next January 28 or so. 

The bulls are ready. The heifers are ready. And if all goes as planned,  the miracle of life begins yet again on the County Line.

A Whole Lot of Bull

With terms like "sire" and "dam" and "progeny," I suppose we could be conversing about the Royal Family. But instead of stretch limos and spiffy chauffeurs in suits, these "royal" passengers were transported in trailers by guys and gals with mud on their boots.

Last Friday, we went to the Sandhill Farms Hereford production sale near Trousdale. We were looking for a bull to add to the County Line. In 36 years of marriage, I'd never been to a bull sale. I'm not sure why, but Randy said it was time to remedy that omission. And besides, it was a free dinner! That is every farmer's dream date. (And those Trousdale ladies know how to bake pies, let me tell you!)

This one made me laugh! It was like this bull was saying, "Hey, don't forget about me!" He did it to another buyer, too. He was like a puppy!

We were certainly not alone at the sale. Sandhill Farms sold 191 lots, including 125 bulls and 15 females with new calves at their sides. Buyers came from 15 states, including Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, South Dakota and Arkansas, as well as Vancouver, British Columbia. (I jotted down states, but I obviously missed a few.)

Photo from Sandhill Farms website

Randy is retaining all four of the bulls we already had. We bought them in 2014.  This year, we are responsible for an additional bull at the Rattlesnake Pasture. Randy and his cousin, Don, take turns providing an extra bull each year.

 

Randy was looking for a Hereford bull he could use for breeding to our heifers, who will be first-time mamas in 2018. So he was looking for a bull who would produce lower birth weights calves and calving ease characteristics.

When we arrived, we looked through the lots of bulls. Randy referred to his sale catalog for the particulars and made notes on some of the animals he was interested in.

He told me that these bulls closest to the shed were out of our price range. (One of those went for $25,000, so I concur!)

It's not just a beauty contest, though looking for correct conformation for each breed is one factor in the decision-making process. While Randy looks for bulls that produce smaller birth weight calves, he's also looking for those whose progeny have higher 205-day weaning weights and yearling weights.

 

At the time we were in the lots, we didn't know which bull we'd ultimately take home. So I was surprised when I looked back through my photos and saw that No. 46 was in my snapshots from the pens.

We bought SHF Distance 20Z D239 (eartag No. 46). Here's what Kevin Schultz had to say about him in the sale catalog:

Here is a low birth-weight bull that will make some eye-candy-type females. The dam of this bull, B66, is one of my favorite young cows. Notice the impressive udder and teat EPDs. We have used the sire of this bull, 20Z, for years on our replacement heifers.

For the past several years, we've used an Angus bull with our heifers. But to add genetic diversity to our cattle herd, Randy opted for a Hereford bull for the heifers for this breeding season. If you want to get all technical, it's a matter of heterosis, "the marked vigor or capacity for growth exhibited by crossbred animals," (according to the dictionary).

SHF Distance's genetics should provide  a moderate weaning weight and yearling weight. The EPD - or expected progeny difference - at weaning is 45 pounds above the average Hereford weight. The yearling weight EPD is 71 pounds above the expected Hereford average weight. Both the weaning and yearling weights are at 102 percent of Sandhill's herd average. Its numbers also ranked above average for meat marbling and ribeye area.

The bull we bought weighed 1,268 pounds at sale time. He was $4,000, which was considerably less than the $25,000 top money, but more than bulls that went for $2,000. However, because cattle prices are lower, we paid about $1,000 less than we did for the last bull we purchased. 

Photo from Sandhill Farms website

After the sale, I went to pay, while Randy got the pickup and trailer in line.

Here he is, about to go into the trailer for the ride home. SHF Distance will likely be used for 4 to 6 years in our County Line herd.