Planning, failure and why it is ok

Plans are a great thing, as long as you are comfortable that those plans are subject to change and that a planned life is rarely a reality life. Yes my calves are still not weaned, well at least the bulk of them are not weaned as planned but I am ok with that. In reality the moderation of the temperature extremes and some much needed moisture to some parched earth will make it that much better next week as calves are weaned. 

I really should have kept a closer look at mileage this past week as I put many miles in without leaving the great state of Washington.I am pretty confident that I put in over 1000 miles as I spent my days doing what I do this week. On Monday Jack and I along with another guy named Jake headed to Elma,Washington to sort and wean calves. The plan to go over and make the 250 mile one way trip was planned but the rainy weather forecast for western Washington was not. We got lucky that day as we were able to gather cows and calves horseback, separate cows from calves, send cows back to the pasture and load calves just seconds before a massive downpour of rain greeted us. I made it home shortly after dark and Chris and Dakota helped me unload bawling calves in the corrals at home. 

Tuesday was my last meeting as the Washington Cattleman's Association President to conduct a meeting at our headquarters in Ellensburg Washington. Over the last 2 years I have really enjoyed these meetings surrounded by great people that all have not only a passion for this industry but also know what it is like to deliver a calf in less that perfect circumstances. These meetings, relationships and debate will always hold a special place in my memories.

Wednesday as I should have been building fence around a corn stalk field was instead spent BBQing Tritip for 1300 team members from Tyson Fresh Meats in Wallula Washington in appreciation for all the hard work they do to make sure our beef products make it from our ranches to the dinner plates of not only Washington residents, not only residents of the USA, but also to dinner plates of consumers all around the world. 

Thursday again I should have been building fence but I spent most of my day documenting potato harvest here on the ranch. I was once a part of this industry but now am only involved as a landlord. It is a huge part of agriculture in this state and I will share my perspective of this industry and how it now manifests itself on this ranch in pictures and video in a future blog post. The Easterday family has been a wonderful partner and great supporter of our community and watching their efficient and focused potato growing on my land has been stunning. They are an excellent tenant and partner and I am glad to call them friends. I also watched online a local livestock auction market  right here at home with the wondrous spectacle of the internet Thursday. I rounded out the day watching and enjoying Dakota and the rest of the Connell Eagle ladies volleyball team continue their undefeated league season as they beat the Kiona Benton lady bears in 3 sets. Here is a short video of potato harvest which I will explain in a later post. 

Friday was spent weighing in, vaccinating and working bulls for our Washington Cattleman's Association bull test and sale. I spent the day with wonderful and dedicated people, some of the best bull genetics available in our state and honestly anytime you can spend the day working bovines you are truly blessed in my humble cowman opinion. Tonight I spent the evening with my beautiful bride watching my home town Eagles get shellacked in their homecoming football game, but the whole evening wasn't wasted as we enjoyed the last half from a local tavern listening to some classic country and classic rock on the jukebox. Today was "crazy purple and gold spirit day" and as Dakota left for school this morning she did a tremendous job of representing the sophomore class at CHS. 

Yes, I still have fence to build, calves and cows to wean and this week did not go completely according to plan, but I am a very lucky man, in a very special industry and I  am proud to be part of it!

Remember all pics can be viewed in full size by clicking on them. Today's Cowman YouTube music selection comes from the VanZant brothers as they sing "Help Somebody if you can" which really captures the values my grandparents on both sides of my family instilled in me.  "If you wanna hear God laugh tell him your plans." Take a listen!

Kickstart my Heart for weaning time

Although I do not get to this blog as often as I would like to, when I do it is like seeing an old friend that you have not had a chance to BS with in awhile....exciting! I have found that the more I open myself to social media including Facebook and Twitter there are some positives and negatives to my blog. The positives are much more traffic and new contacts when I do make a blog post, negative in that as you gain "friends" and "followers" you become more interactive that in turn gives you less time for blog posts. In the end I am still just really amazed at what the internet and social media offers us in terms of access to information and entertainment.

One reason I am here today is because today was a really great day. I had made plans that this week was going to be focused on securing winter feed and making weaning and marketing decisions for the spring calving cows. The week had not gone badly by any means, but it was not having a whole lot of things fall in to the "tangible" category. Now cattlemen are some of the most independent homo sapiens on the planet. We could work together for the benefit of all parties but then our egos would miss out on that satisfaction that comes from going it alone. As I have spent the last 23 months as the President of the Washington Cattlemens Association I have both admired and cursed this condition numerous times.

Today I got a call from a friend and former employee about some corn stalks he wanted to graze off. This was as timely as could be and I traveled down to Eltopia to check it out. What I found really made me smile. 102 acres of corn stalks that had been harvested at high moisture. This was exactly what I had been looking for and will be a great place to send "dry" cows after they have been weaned from their calves.

 I could not believe my good fortune as last year I had things like this lined up and then for a variety of reasons( high spud rent mostly) things fell apart and I ended up feeding more hay than I wanted to during October and November of 2011. Weaning conditions have improved if not perfected this week. I really hate to wean calves when there are 40 plus degree temperature changes and even more so when conditions are dusty and dry. If you want to make a weaned calf sick just give him or her some dust to breathe and some wide temperature swings no matter what your vaccination program is.

Next week we will wean calves but do it much differently than we did just a few years ago. We used to bring the cows and calves into the corrals, let the mommas back into the grass and put the calves "on feed" in a dry dusty lot. Now days we will bring them in, let the calves back out onto the grass they have grown up on and are used to eating and keep the cows in the corral. The cows will cry for their kids for a few nights especially in the evening as their udders get full. The calves will make a few trips to the fence line daily each day looking for milk but will get over the separation long before the mothers do. This method of visual and nose to nose contact without ability to nurse has greatly reduced our incidence of calves with respiratory issues and weight loss from stress.

After 4-6 days the cows will be hauled away to graze cornstalks. This crop aftermath will provide "dry" cows with plenty of nutrition as they enter their last term of pregnancy.If managed correctly dry cows will even gain a bit of weight and body condition leading up to calving time. Sure there will be some costs involved with fencing and transport but these cows will graze for around 50 cents a day compared to close to $3 a day if they were fed exclusively hay. Weather can be a factor but considering that here in the desert of eastern Washington we rarely get much snow and especially snow that stays around for very long it works out well. Cows will amazingly find the grain first, then the husks, then the leaves and lastly will eat the cobs and stalks. I try and estimate how many acres are needed for 2-3 weeks of grazing and then give the cows a new section of pasture. This way they always have some access to enough grain and husks to meet their nutritional needs. I have some older cows that actually can walk 100's of feet and then find a corn nugget like the one left behind shown in the picture. The grain has much more nutritional value than the husks or leaves. When the cows are down to cobs and stalks it is time to move to a new section.

It is always bittersweet at weaning time as you watch the separation of mothers and children.On the negative side you get to see just how strong a mother bovines love is for her offspring. The plus side is you get to see the fruits of another year of working your ass off to keep these kids alive. There is also the joy of knowing that many of the heifer calves will eventually become mothers in their own right and the steer calves will eventually leave, be fed out and provide wholesome, nutritious and safe protein for hungry humans all around the globe! Here is an example of the amazing growth these calves see in the few months they are here on the ranch. Here is cow #1054w with her newborn bull calf 2154W weighing about 70 pounds in early February 2012, and with her well raised steer calf weighing about 550 pounds in late August 2012. When you spend your days watching the wonder of Mother Nature as I do you have a innate respect and appreciation for life and the circle of life! Remember all pictures can be viewed in larger size by clicking on them!

Today's Youtube Cowman music selection is Motley Crue singing "Kickstart my Heart" I know this kind of music is not embraced by all my cowman friends but as a rocker kid from the 80's this never fails to put me in the same great mood that I am in tonight! Just try and not shake your booty!
 

Food stamps and frustration

I really do not like to use this blog as a political forum or as something that is controversial but go to both of these links and then tell me that government, taxpayer spending, and the direction of this country makes sense to you.

Wolves in Washington State, millions of dollars being spent http://www.king5.com/news/environment/With-wolves-return-state-caught-between-ranchers-wildlife-groups-168222836.html 

Record number of people in this country on food stamps and lacking basic food security http://www.cnbc.com/id/48898378

"Roaneo" is at the Columbia Basin Junior Livestock show and is content and ready for the next four fair days. Tonight a large community of agriculture people came together to get animals weighed and entered, served a great meal to both exhibitors and parents, and people wonder why I am proud to be part of a community that understands what it means to live a simple life, supports economic freedom,and supports our youth and the future of this great nation.

Today's picture is "Precious" with her first calf. Her life story is coming in a later blog post.




Where did common sense go? Ok, so I am not near as angry in life as this Cowman Youtube music selection might convey, nor am I as sick of everyone portrayed in  my good friend Tim Wilsons song and video. But, in general this sums up why I don't have a television connection, and am always on the edge of just leaving the bigger world and retreating to my own simple life.Remember this song and video was from 2007, so some of the ideas are a bit dated, it in no way means I am in love with today's political scene! *Language warning on the video* if you don't like a bit of profanity when it fits the situation, do not click on the Youtube video!

Dori the adorable and Yes ma'am

Tomorrow we head in for the second of 3 fairs in a four week span. Dakota is taking a blue roan steer named "Roaneo" that I am not particularly proud of. He is not a bad steer but he really needs 30 more days and 120 pounds of finish on him. He was an April 2011 calf so we knew he would have to be pushed and we just didn't get him pushed hard enough. As I cussed this fact a bit today as I looked at Roaneo from every angle I had a little mental chat with Dad. He reminded me that sometimes you just have to go with the flow and especially where females are concerned, be it bovine or human you are best off to just swallow hard and say "yes ma'am.

Dad and I would argue about the attributes and deficiencies of just about any bovine especially show steers and mother cows. Now as I try and balance Dakotas decisions with my experience I often run up against a whole new issue. Dakota not only looks for a winner, she expects a steer to be "cute" and have some personality and/or special color traits. She likes a calf with a little "bling" to them. Now make no mistake, Roaneo is a blingy calf with his blue roan color and from the day he was born she was pretty set on making him see a show ring. In the end it is her choice and she makes some good points about doing some things just for fun and as a tribute to our ranch history. Yes ma'am.

She reminds me that sometimes these decisions work out really well and tonight's blog post about a yellow Brahma cross cow that earned her way into the cowherd is a prime example. We had an old Brahma cross cow for years that was affectionately known as "Rabbit ears". A blog post about her and her final calf before she passed from natural causes here on the ranch are here http://thedailycowman.blogspot.com/2010/02/can-you-ear-me-now.html   

Rabbit ears had her last calf in February 2010 and was named "Dori" by Dakota as a shortened name for "adorable". Here Dori (tag #0203Y) is with her mother at 16 hours of age. She was a spindly legged clone of her mother and although she was "adorable" I doubted her future as a momma cow in our herd and told Dakota my opinion. As Dori grew up  though she started to show a bit more of her Daddies Black Angus body type and when it came time to select replacement heifers she made the cut with a great deal of lobbying from Dakota.Yes ma'am.

Dori spent the spring of 2011 with her replacement herd mates being romanced by two Black Angus bulls. In October of 2011 Dori was confirmed pregnant with a spring calf by my left arm which made me smile especially given the fact that her momma Rabbit ears had passed on and her legacy would continue on here at this ranch I love so much. 

This past February I was impatiently waiting to pick up Dakota at the bus stop after school to go check calving cows before dark. I did not let on what I had already learned earlier on that clear cold day. Dori had delivered unassisted her first child. A gray bull calf #2203y. As we drove to a secluded corner of the corn field the cows were grazing Dori stood over her new calf that she had expertly stashed on the wind protected side of a sagebrush plant. Dakota shrieked with joy and as she often says many times in a calving season, "That is the cutest baby EVER!" Yes ma'am. I can't find any pics of Dori with her calf as a newborn but last week I caught her with her now 6 plus month old steer calf by her side and as you can see sometimes a little "bling" goes a long way.Remember all pics can be seen full size by clicking on them. See you all at the Columbia Basin Junior Livestock show this week!

Today's Cowman Youtube music selection is a feel good song by Matt Mason that has a timeline an outlaw like me can really relate to. He sings "Good year for the Outlaw"  Hillbilly rock and roll at its best, just listen to the guitars, turn it UP, yeah turn it WAY up!

Wedding anniversaries, and the right attitude

Here I am making another late night blog post. My family and I, along with many good friends tonight attended a party and 50th wedding anniversary for some icons of the community. Thank you to the Moore family for all their hard work in making tonight a great party honoring your mother and father on their 50th wedding anniversary.

As I grew up Dick and Melette were people in the community that I was very proud to know. Mellete was always a strong supporter of my efforts at showing cattle despite the fact that she had two lovely daughters that were one year younger and one year older than I was. As the mother of a teenage daughter during my teen years this was not a small feat. Dick spent many years serving on our local fairboard and although I once tossed him a case of beer over the fairgrounds fence as a high schooler he was able to command respect and attention without ratting me out to my parents. Thank you to both of them for their efforts at raising me properly and their continued support through adulthood! I now watch my own daughter compete against their grandkids showing cattle and often smile as I see this circle of life continue.

Summer is coming to a close and that is always a difficult time for me from an attitude standpoint. Shorter daylight hours, knowing cows will soon need to be fed supplemental feed, and the potential for cold and snow can be depressing to even those with a good grasp on life. The last few days as I have contemplated the end of summer it is easy to see all the goals and plans for another year that I have failed at. About the time I am thinking things are not very good I just take stock of the rest of my fellow cattlemen across the country and realize life is pretty damn great at the current time here in the Pacific Northwest. Earlier this week I came across a broken irrigation riser that made me cuss. As I looked to the heavens and asked Dad why things like this always happen to me he spoke to me with some sage advice. Would you rather be in other parts of the country where they are suffering from extreme drought? How many guys in other parts of the country would give anything just to have access to some irrigation water? Humbling and reality, nothing better to bring a man back to what matters in life!

 How many people across the country would love to have old cows standing in grass like this raising calves? Yeah, It quickly makes a guy thankful!

It is not that everyday life cannot make your life interesting at times. The other night as Dakota washed up her steer in preparation for clipping for this weeks fair, she lost water pressure. I was pretty sure that the issue was the stockwater well had blown a hose. As I removed the lid from the stockwater well I was faced with a discarded snakeskin that gave me a bit of a jolt! I have yet to meet the snake that left this behind but I am alright with that.

Many people would find this life I lead as monotonous and boring. For me I am thankful that I am able to make a simple living chasing cows, chasing life and living a dream. Being able to live with and witness the power and beauty of Mother Nature suits me just fine. Luckily I had many people in my life like my parents and the Moore's that looked out for me and my future.

Today's Cowman Youtube music selection is Sawyer Brown singing, "I'll take the Dirt Road" which eloquently describes the joy of living the life I lead.

Pepperoni, fair wives and 3rd rock from the sun

Hey, good news readers, two posts in the same month! Once you get out of the hospital from your strokes please let me know! Tonight's blog post is going to be a bit all over the board because that is just the kind of day it has been. My thoughts and actions today really fit well with the term "scattered".

I started the day early as I had a full schedule of tasks to complete, each with their own special emotional components. At daylight I loaded 2 older cull cows and 1 cull bull into the stock trailer. The cows were fairly nondescript, just older cows that were past their production prime that needed to be sent down the road. The bull was a bit of a different story. "Pepperoni" was purchased 3 years ago with a specific task in mind. The idea was to take a crossbred bull that was a bit smaller framed and had good fleshing ability, breed him to cows that were a bit too big and inefficient, to produce daughters that are the kind of females I like and want to keep. Sadly for Pepperoni his success at his task was the reason he needed to leave. You cannot have bulls around that will be breeding their own daughters for obvious reasons. For the most part I use only "purebred" bulls and Pepperoni was not a purebred. He was 5/8 Black Angus and 3/8 Shorthorn, a breed I wanted a bit of back in my herd without going too far. "Pepp" you will always be remembered as a favorite by all that knew you, and your daughters will long be a part of the future of this ranch. Here is Pepperoni earlier this month. He also did what he was expected to do, produce some productive, easy fleshing and efficient mothers like this young lady #9207Y nursing her second calf. He not only did he do this, he added blue roan color which has now been a favorite for 3 generations spanning my Dad, myself and Dakota. I know one cowhand up in heaven that will be glad to see you arrive and will put you to work breeding cows.

As I rambled up the highway this morning to deliver cattle I ruminated about last weeks fair and a few thoughts. I share my beef barn Superintendent duties with my "fair wife" Debby. We really work well together because I don't do well with paperwork and Debby doesn't do well with mornings so we cover each others weaknesses quite well. I call Debby my fair wife because we end up spending more time together than I do with my spouse that week. Debby shares in this view but prefers to call me "Debbys bitch" and several red solo cups sported this moniker as the fair week progressed.

Another reason I call Debby my "fair wife" is because of a story from years ago when we first shared duties as beef barn Superintendents. Each night during fair week as the rodeo ends, the VIP area closes and festivities generally end for the night Debby and I make a final check on the steers in our barn. We check to make sure halters and neckropes are tied, nobody has legs over ropes and in general that the steers are content and comfortable. This nightly exercise happens between midnight and 2 A.M. depending on the night. We usually have a few laughs like this year as we witnessed a steer consuming a red ribbon from his exhibitors display faster than we could stop the action. The last thing we do is turn out the lights in the barn. So the story now from our first year of sharing these duties.

One young lady exhibitor (the daughter of some good mutual friends) had assumed all week that Debby and I were married based on our work in the barn. When Friday night (the final night before steers leave) came around I had my "year round" bride Christine with me after the rodeo. I told Debby that I would handle the steer check and light shutdown that night in the barn. As Chris and I finished up the check and as I turned down the lights for the night I got a bit amorous, grabbed a fairly deep kiss, and a bit of a shallower "ass grab" on my wife. Unknown to me this young lady witnessed this exchange and promptly told her parents that Larry had been kissing some shorter lady with darker hair than his wife in the steer barn! Luckily her parents knew Debby and I were not married and saved this poor young lady years of therapy! LOL, The main focus of the week is kids having fun and learning and educating the public. I am very proud of "Larry's kids" in the steer barn as is Debby. I failed to take many pictures last week but here is one with a clean full barn of steers! 68 steers this year up from the low 20's just a few years ago! I always tell the kids in the steer barn that if they feel a bit better than their counterparts in the other bars it is because they ARE better than their counterparts in the other barns!

 So I delivered my auction items, unhooked my trailer and headed 40 miles north to the Washington State Beef commission meeting. What a great meeting and great people we have serving the beef industry in our state. Then it was back to Toppenish, picking up a trailer and a check and then 80 miles home. The day ended checking cows, irrigation water and working with Dakota and her two remaining steers Jerome and Roaneo. Roaneo, the pretty blue roan son of Pepperoni! Remember, all pics can be viewed in full size by clicking on them.

Today's Youtube music selection that encompasses today's scattered thoughts is Joe Diffie singing "Third Rock from the Sun".

Fair, and being as tough as Rambo

Here I am, back after a great and very fun week at the Benton Franklin County Fair and Rodeo. I ran into so many people that asked me why I wasn't getting to my blog on a more regular basis last week. I really appreciate the support and hopefully with the encouragement and support I received I can get back to posting a bit more regularly!

I will warn you now that because it has been so long since I have been here this post will be somewhat long. I have been to a lot of fairs in my lifetime. Both as an exhibitor and now as a parent and co beef barn superintendent. I can honestly say that this last week was as great of a fair as I have ever had the pleasure to be part of. Dakota did about how we expected in her market class. A high blue ribbon but not a champion steer. Being in the commercial cow calf business, showing our own calves and competing against some really stellar competition with calves bred to be "club" calves has proven to be a daunting but fun and rewarding experience for both Dakota and I. As I pondered the week I had a few thoughts about the beef business, family, memories of Dad and my own show experiences, and generational similarities.

People outside the beef business often ask me how in the world can you raise animals that you know eventually will sell and be turned into beef. Believe me it is not exactly easy but the fact that we know these calves their whole life helps a bunch. Rambo was born on Valentines day in 2011 to a very small but very efficient and productive 5 year old cow # 6228B. Rambo was a beautiful bull calf with very pretty markings and Dakota hoped he would become "show worthy".

As Rambo grew up I became as convinced as Dakota that he should be given a shot. By the time he was weaned from his mother last November there was no doubt. Rambo was a very curious and naturally tame steer. We have never had a calf that was so easy to halter break and tame. He just seemed to go with the flow on anything we asked him to do. This is a big part of how I explain this to people, Rambo lived a very pampered and special life. He was washed and brushed regularly, wet down on hot days, fed the best feed and as far as the life of most steers go, he lived the high life. Plus he had the companionship of a young lady that is rapidly becoming a young woman and quite a cattlewoman. 

As we approached fair week this year we knew it would be a bit more difficult than years past to balance all the demands . Dakota was competing for a varsity volleyball spot with 3-4 hour practices each day as well as needing to show and care for her steer. I am very proud of the way she handled herself this week. Her personal responsibility level needed to be high and it was. She struggled a bit in fitting and showing because Rambo had gotten so tame, fat and lazy that he did not really want to stand still or do anything that involved something other than eating and sleeping. She gave it her best shot though and never gave up. The only thing she did wrong was shed some tears after the class because she was disappointed in how she placed. I know she is competitive like her father but the importance is in the effort and drive, no matter the final result. This was proven today as she found out she is going to be a varsity volleyball player for the Lady Eagles this fall. She also received a very handsome price for Rambo at the market stock sale on Friday that will go a long way towards her future education and participation in the beef business. Thank you so much to Tyson Fresh Meats and all of the bidders and purchasers in this years sale. Gus, your Mother and I are very proud of the way you handled yourself this week and your work ethic and focus was amazing!

Saturday night at the fair we load out the steers after midnight for their final destinations. I decided that this year Dakota was old enough to help with this task. She took the responsibility of leading Rambo on to the semi truck. Sure there were some tears shed and I gave her a big hug and reminded her what a great life she had provided for Rambo. I also reminded her that these tears were expected and understood and reminded her of a few moments that she has watched me struggle with losing a cow or calf. I also reminded her that two more steers waited at home that needed her attention and focus as they will head to different fairs over the next couple of weeks. Each of these steers have certain special memories in their lifetimes as well and the circle of life continues. Rambo's older sister had her first calf this past February and  like her mother is raising a beautiful first child that will likely be in our herd for as a replacement heifer for many years to come.

One thing that always made me mad and I had a hard time grasping in my own life was why Dad always made get my butt out of bed early the day immediately  following the fair to go work with him. This morning as I sat on a ice chest with a few left over beverages from the fair on the back porch and pulled on my boots to go deliver fair steers I watched the sunrise come up with Dads memory. I looked over at Dakota pulling on her own boots to go help me and I knew why. The circle of life continues; cows, family, passion, work, community, and toughness is what defines people in the cattle business and I am so very proud to be a part of it. More posts related to this years fair will be coming this week.

Today's pictures that can be viewed in full size by clicking on them are Rambo with his mother the day he was born, and Rambo's older sister raising he first calf.

Part of making it in the cattle business and a lesson my Dad taught me well is being tough. I think this Youtube song by Justin McBride is a bit of an obscure song that embodies today's blog post, my feelings and besides that, you have to appreciate a song with "puke green Cadillac" in the lyrics!