Junior Nationals Hang Over

Not a literal hang over but truly it has taken a little more than a week to recover from the eight day circus known as Junior Nationals.  It was our fourth trip to a Junior National and our one of choice is the combined Maine Anjou/Chi Junior National although there a variety to choose from.  Lucky for us it was our second adventure back to Grand Island, Nebraska and folks I could write a whole book about those facilities.  If you want to see a barn done right for cattle, the Nebraska State Fairgrounds Beef Barn is my pick!

Junior Nationals is our summer family trip and by time the week is over I am wondering if I need my head examined.  We get up every day around 6:30 am or earlier on some show days, and we rarely leave the barns before 9 pm.  The heat and other factors require us to spend pretty much all day in the barns with the few head we’ve taken.  So life revolves around the cattle and whatever kid activity is designated for that day.  In many ways, a way slower pace than most other days for us.  So we get plenty of QTT (quality time together) and enjoy the week with each other and other show families we've met along the way.

So why a working vacation for us?  The answer for me is three part.

#1  The learning opportunity-We tell the kids, how else do you learn from the best in the business but to go hang out and watch the best in the business.  Keith and I didn’t grow up showing cattle like this.  We started out behind the power curve.  All five of us learn something(s) that we did not know before we got there.  Each year we get a little more under our belt and each year I feel like we tackle something new that one of the “old pros” taught us.  My kids will know way more about this industry by the time they graduate high school then I do today, and that is awesome!  By then, I'll be in a lawn chair full-time watching them work, I hope.

#2  The Contests-Junior Nationals is about so much more than just showing the cattle.  The kids get the chance to participate i

n Showmanship, Quiz Bowl, Livestock Judging, Fitting Contests and many more contests that enhance their knowledge about our industry.  I can’t tell you how much they have learned but I learn each time I sit through a Quiz Bowl match or read over their Stockman’s Challenge test.

#3  The People-And I would say that this is by far my favorite reason for going to Junior Nationals.  Each year we meet at least two or three new families that enjoy ranching or showing cattle as much as we do.  We have met people from across the country and all over our state that make the annual trip hard to miss.  We hang out with other people from our state that we see at other shows but rarely have time to visit with.  We get to know other good kids and are amazed at how much they grow in knowledge and skill each year as we come back together.  We laugh together and lean on each other when we need too and I have another network of friends through out the country.

So highlights from this year included driving all night because of the heat, a blown tire on the stock trailer on I-35, the hubby leaving me for two days to fly out for a work ‘thing’, a heifer with a serious attitude and YES we’ll do it all over again the next chance we get!  

Farmer Math-Cattle and Corn

In an effort to make math more interesting for kids and to make my kids understand that math really is important, I have started a series of Farmer Math questions to go along with the Flat Aggie reports.  These are patterned after the blog Bedtime Math.  Some of the questions are easy enough for pre-schoolers and sometimes I come up with some to even challenge high school seniors.

These questions follow the report Flat Aggie visits the Maricle Family.

1.)  Flat Aggie helped load 3 semi trailers with cows and 1 trailer with calves.  How many semi trailers did Flat Aggie help load in all?

2.) Flat Aggie helped moved the cows and calves home in semi-trucks 75 miles.  If the trucks average 50 miles per hour, how long did it take for the cattle to arrive back home?

3.)  Cows can eat 3% of their body weight each day.  If the cows weigh 1200 pounds, how many pounds of feed can a cow eat in 24 hours?

4.)  Flat Aggie helped pick corn in a field that measured 1500 feet by 3600 feet.  How many acres did Flat Aggie help harvest?  (an acre is 43,560 square feet)

5.)  In the above field, Flat Aggie harvested 31,488 bushels of corn.  What is the average yield in bushels per acre for the field?  (Round to the nearest whole number)

1.) 4 trailers  2.)  1.5 hours  3.)  36 pounds  4.) 123.97 acres  5.)  254 bushels per acre

If you are a teacher or homeschooler that would like more information to go with the Flat Aggie reports, send me a message on my contact form.  Along with the report and the Farmer Math questions, we send each teacher an additional page of activities, crossword puzzles and sometimes a few hands on activities.

You might also like: Cow and Soybean Farmer Math, Cattle Farmer Math, and Corn and Soybean Farmer Math.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Thank You Jerry!

It was the first week of June.  I had just driven over 3 hours south into Oklahoma pulling a trailer with the youngest calf we had that was halter broke.  We arrived at Conners State College in Warner, Oklahoma and it was 98*.  The humidity had you sweating as soon as you stepped out of the truck.  Why on earth would not only me, but parents to 120+ other kids unload the truck and trailer of kids and cattle and leave them in that heat for 4 days?  Why would we leave them to work in a barn with no air conditioning?  Why would we leave them when we knew the schedule had them at the barn at 7:45 am working and busy until 11:00 pm?  Just a three words… Be A Champ.

For 35 years, Jerry McPeak has been a motivator and mentor to thousands of kids from all across North America.  From what I can tell, the stories and speeches haven’t changed much over the last 25 years.  You see because of a great friend that lived in Oklahoma I found out about this camp where kids were taught how to clip, fit and show cattle.  I think I was one of the first kids from Kansas to ever go.  Some 25+ years later, I look at the camp totally different.

Jerry says he doesn’t understand why his camp is more successful than others.  He doesn’t understand why kids from 15 states were in Oklahoma the same week my son was to sweat their tails off.  As a parent and past camper, I can tell you.  When you walk in that rodeo arena at Conners State College, everyone is equal.  It doesn’t matter if your calf came out of your dad’s commercial cow herd or was purchased for $50000.  Everyone is treated the same.  He believes that every one of his campers can and will get better.  Every single one of them will believe at the end of the week that they can do great things.  Every single one of them comes out of the camp changed.

No parents are allowed to stay at the camp, because guess what?!  The kids ARE capable of taking care of their calves without someone hovering over them.  They are able to actually get a calf ready to go to the show ring without an adults help.  I have heard they are capable of repairing tents when 65 mile per hour winds tear them down. 

The campers are put in groups based on their age and then they are paired with a partner who they are responsible for all week.  The kids do learn how to clip, fit and show cattle, but they learn so much more.  They learn a bit of work ethic.  They learn that they are capable of so much more than they have convinced their parents they are.  

A word of warning though.  If your kid can’t take getting yelled at, they might not like it.  If they don’t like getting a hug, they might not like it.  It is very possible that both will happen within 5 minutes of one another…just like at home.  They know how to push the kids to get them to us their talents to perform to their potential.

Jerry’s staff are all adults that went through the camp like I did.  In fact, one of the group leaders the week my son was there was one of my partners.  Matt was actually my favorite partner.  After camp, we kept in touch and actually travelled to one another’s county fairs to help one another fit cattle.  He even helped me find my heifer to show the next year.  My son reports he is a bit onery which hasn’t changed over the years.  If I remember correctly, Matt started going to camp when he was seven years old.  He has missed one year of camp in all of those years.  That is dedication to the future of agriculture for a rancher from Pawnee, Oklahoma that leaves his ranch behind for a week each summer.   

My son’s partner won the award that I never won.  The most coveted award of all Be A Champ campers, The Effort Award.  My son who works at his own pace (not fast) was probably pushed a little by this go getter.  As I watched them fit their calf the last day, I knew he had what it took to get The Effort Award.  He had drive.  He had desire.  I hope a little of it rubbed off on my son.   

That sweet boy even gave my son the showstick he won in showmanship, because the Effort Award was what is was most proud of.  Stone Manufacturing has donated prizes to the campers over the years.  I remember the week I attended when the owner of the company visited all week.  He is a former NFL football player that believes that all NFL players should have to live through Be A Champ before they can play in the pros.  Jerry runs a "tight ship," but also knows how to let the kids have fun, too.

After hearing about camp, my youngest is ready to go next year and I am ready to send him with his brother.  Don’t be fooled this camp isn’t just about showing cattle (or lambs) this camp is about building the future of agriculture.  What I saw in that barn that hot, muggy Saturday has me optimistic about the future of agriculture all across this country.

Thank you Jerry for continuing to believe in kids and give them the opportunity to prove themselves to their parents.  Thank you for continuing to provide a camp so I can sit back like my parents used to and enjoy the livestock shows.  We will be back next year.  

Flat Aggie Visit the Texas Panhandle!

A big Texas howdy to Mrs. Piatt’s class from Follett, TX! Today, I’m going to tell you about my visit to the Rafter F Ranches with my friends Adam and Katie.

Adam and his family have ranches in Oklahoma and Texas where they have about 500-1000 cows and calves depending on the time of year. They also grow wheat and milo. The Ferrell's have been in the cattle business in this area for over 100 years. The reason this area of Texas is called the panhandle is because it sticks out from the rest of the state and looks like a handle! Let’s see where my adventures took me!

My day started out bright and early at 5:45 a.m. as Katie drove out to the ranch. It was so early that the moon was still out and it was too dark for me to even see the camera!

First stop for the day was at what Adam and Katie call the “Catesby Ranch” located in Catesby, Ok right near the Oklahoma/Texas line. It’s important to check cattle each day, no matter rain or shine, to make sure that they are all there and haven’t gone to visit the neighbors, and that they are happy and healthy. During the spring, it’s extra important to check for new calves that might have been recently born to make sure that their mommas are taking good care of them. Adam honks the horn and that’s their signal that it’s breakfast time.

Wait, are they all running towards me? I must be popular!

 Look, it’s a baby calf! He’s a cutie.

Usually the cows eat mostly grass in the pasture for their meals, but about three days a week, Adam puts out “cake” for the cows. No, this isn’t the kind of birthday cake you are thinking about – cake is a pellet full of extra nutrients for the cattle to help them grow big and strong. For 60 head of cattle, Adam has to set out 14 bags of cake!

Cows also eat lots of hay, especially during the winter.  It makes it easier to find their food.  There's usually lots of snow on the ground covering up their grass. We didn’t set out any hay during this trip, but we stopped by the bales just so I could see how big they are. One bale weighs about 1,500 pounds!

My next job was to help Adam check to make sure all of the cattle had lots of water. A cow drinks about 15 gallons of water a day. How many total gallons of water do the 60 head of cattle at the Catsby Ranch drink a day?

The way that cattle get their water is from windmills. Windmills pump water from underground using wind power up to tanks on the surface where cattle can drink it. Good thing I wasn’t scared of heights!

Next, it was time to head to Rafter F’s next ranch in Follett, TX, which is about 5 miles away. Unlike the Catesby Ranch, the cattle at the Follett Ranch graze on wheat from November – May.  The cattle start grazing on the wheat from when they are about 8 months old until they go to the feed yard.

The reason why the wheat is so green is because Adam irrigates this pasture. Their irrigation sprinklers pump about 700 gallons of water per minute to help it grow. It takes about 9 months for the wheat to fully grow.

While Adam was out at the fields, it was important that we checked the soil profile of the pasture. I took a long stick called a soil probe and stuck it into the ground. Good thing I have big muscles!

Once we pulled it back up, there was dirt stick in the tube. If the dirt in the tube sticks together and is wet, that means the pasture has enough water to help the wheat grow. If the dirt crumbles, that means it’s dry and needs more irrigation. This dirt had a good amount of moisture – thumbs up!

Now for the best part of the day – time to drive the big red tractor! I was a little intimidated at first since it was SO BIG, but I loved it.

I got to help Adam disk another pasture on the ranch to help prepare for spring wheat to be planted. Adam uses the disk to help break up the soil to make it softer.

I sat on Katie’s lap most of the time, but Adam let me drive for a little bit! I felt like a pro.

It was a long day, but I sure had fun touring the plains of Oklahoma and Texas learning all about cattle and wheat. I can’t wait to come back again soon! Think Adam will let me drive the tractor by myself next time?

For more adventures around Rafter F Ranches, check out Adam on Twitter at @awferrell83 or Katie at @katie_vaz . If you have any questions, let Mrs. Piatt know and Katie & Adam would love to answer them and give you lots of other fun facts!

Getting Ready for Bad Weather

Old Man Winter came back Sunday night with bitter cold north winds.  I did not stress out too much, because we spent all weekend preparing for this storm right at the beginning of calving season.  In addition to the usual stuff we gather for the barn, the mudroom and the people, we took advantage of the nice weather to get some other things ready.

We cleaned out the barn.  I was really wishing I could clean my house with the skid steer when I got done, but alas I couldn't take it inside.

 We moved in a couple of feed bunks and filled them with hay.

 My youngest son worked tirelessly in one pen to make the perfect calf bed and he tried it out.
 

Our barn is old and can be a bit drafty.  If we have a twin calf, orphan or one that needs to be separated from its mom, they get a hay palace that is insulated with hay bales.  While I hope I don't have to use it, I went ahead and built it this weekend.  Being out in extreme cold wears me out enough without having to do a lot of extra manual labor.

 

 When I got up to check the heifers (aka the Teenage Mothers of the Farm) at 3 am this morning, I found a tree had been blown over into the road. (I waited until daylight to take the picture.)

 

As soon as the boys went to school, we had a brand new calf born out in the wind.  We promptly moved her and her mother inside out of the wind for the day.  They sure liked the nice nest made of straw.

Later in the day, they were joined by a couple of others in neighboring pens.  The next morning they went out into the sunshine.  The wind had died down and they were all nice and dry and their tummies were full of milk.  Now, I need to go clean the barn and rebuild a couple of straw beds.

Our big project on Sunday was to build a wind break for the heifers.  A few of them really appreciated it yesterday, but my fingers were too cold to take a picture.  :)

After we got done with the winterizing, I went to the house to prepare for the boy's birthday party.  Luckily, they didn't request a Longhorn steer cake this year and were totally content with Cherry Cheese Pie and Not yo Mama's Banana Pudding.

Do you do anything different if a storm is coming?  Are you one of the thousands that goes to buy eggs, milk and bread or do you take more serious steps to prepare?  I would love to know!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Tribute to Stock Show Moms

I grew up loving to show livestock.  I currently have one son that also has the love.  Growing up, I didn't realize how much my parents did for me and how much I appreciated all the other parents at the shows.  It is safe to say that there was a whole village raising me that happened to also show and love Limousin cattle.  They are all still like family to me.

I hope you enjoy this video tribute to livestock show mom's everywhere.  Please feel free to share it with your friends and those that made a difference in helping you become who you are.

Bless all the 4-H and FFA parents out there.  They make an impact on so many lives, not just their own children.  Thank you to all the stock show mom's that I had growing up!  I hope I can be half the mom that some of you were to me.  These kids are NOT Just a Farm Kid and their dad's are pretty special, too.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

The Teen Age Mothers of our Farm

We consider calving season finished when the last heifer calves.  A heifer is a female bovine that has not had a calf. On our ranch they are usually 2 years old.  I like to call them the teenage mothers of the farm.  And these are the teenage mothers that don't get to read the book What to Expect When You Are Expecting.  ;)  These are the clueless ones that try to deny they are pregnant until they go into labor.

About the end of February, I feel like I have spent more time with them than my own family.  I never know what I am going to find when I go out to check the "girls" and I feel like they need constant babysitting.

Here are a couple of examples.  One Saturday afternoon, I went to town to get a few groceries.  I had watched one of the heifers with her newborn before lunch and decided I should check on her when I got back from town.  When I pulled up to the gate, I did not like what I saw...

That's right!  The calf had fallen face first into the creek and she was just standing there "protecting" it.  I snapped this picture as I was going down the clay covered creek bank (in my good go to town shoes).  The calf was laying with one nostril in the water, but was still breathing.  Thank you Lord for watching over this calf! 

I pushed the heifer out of the way and drug the calf back up the bank.  Baby calves are not light, ours usually weigh 50-65 pounds.  As soon as I got him back to the top, he stood up and took off walking with mom...away from the creek.

Now, I just needed to convince The Farmer that I needed a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that are now stained orange from the clay on the creek bank.

I had been watching another heifer for quite some time in labor one afternoon.  I had to stay several hundred yards away or she got nervous and took off walking.  Of course, I didn't get out the scope or binoculars to see how close she was laying to the creek bank, but I could tell when she was really pushing and when she stopped.   When she stopped pushing, I walked to see if she needed some help and found this...

That's right, she sat herself down so close to the edge of the bank that when the calf finally came out it slid straight down the bank!  If you look closely, you can see the skid marks from the calf's legs.

The calf was laying right at the waters edge.  I called The Farmer and said, "I NEED HELP!"  I was pretty sure it would take me the rest of the day to get the calf back to the top and I needed his strong back.

He picked up the calf and started climbing...

and climbing...

and climbing...

and climbing.

He laid the calf a safe distance from the bank and I went to make the heifer get up.  Yep, she was still laying there resting clueless to the fact that she had just given birth and had new responsibilities. 

After I got her up, and drove her toward the calf she decided it smelled good and that maybe she should take care of it.

Heifers also have their calves in nice places, but as soon as the calf is delivered they take off.  We don't have a leave your baby at the hospital and no one will come looking for you policy.  Nope, we go find these girls and make them take care of the baby they brought into this world.

We have seen two heifers calve side by side in the middle of a pasture and then both heifers only take care of one calf.  Apparently they think it is a team sport and it is fine to leave the other little guy out in the cold.  I have seen them actually get in a fight over who's calf it actually is.  Think two 1000 pound cows having a "cat fight" with a 50 pound baby in the middle.  

Now, don't get me wrong.  We do have some great girls that take care of their calves and get them off to a great start in life.  I also know some teenage moms that are working their tails off to become fabulous mother's to their son or daughter.  One of them is a faithful follower of this blog.  It's just that immaturity is just as prevalent in the animal world as it is in the human world. 

 I now see why older farmers tend to not calve heifers and buy older cows that someone else has helped them through that first calf. 

-A Kansas Farm Mom

The Saga of Twin Calves

When everyone saw the Facebook post about the twin calves that were born before the first snow storm, there was a huge amount of enthusiasm.  

There were comments like great, how cute, and a bonus!  Many times ranchers say the same things about twins with a huge amount of sarcasm.  WHY?  You might ask.  Well, you see cows typically only want to take care of 1 baby.  There are exceptions to every rule, but cows are not taught to treat all their children the same and there usually becomes a favorite.  We have seen sets of twins once and never see the second one again because the cow takes it away and hides it.  And sadly someone besides a cow finds it too and has it for lunch.

If we find a set of twins in our cow herd, we pick one of them up and take it to the barn to be cared for in a couple of different ways.  These twins had been taken care of pretty well, but one was visibly colder and wetter than the other one.  We took him.

He got a quick ride home on the back of the pickup in the calf sled.  The dogs watched over him. 

When we got home, we put a calf coat on him.  Left him in the calf sled, out of the wind, and in the sunshine.  It was a nice day it the temperature reached 50 F, so he was warmed up in no time. 

We had a heifer give birth to a still born calf a few days earlier.  She still had milk in her udder, so we decided to try to make a foster mother out of her.  Foster parents are great, but in humans it is their choice, this heifer did not say pick me!  We said you look like the best candidate.  Now we had to convince her that she will make a good mama.

This heifer actually acted like she liked the calf, but did not want to let him nurse.  We put her in a squeeze chute to contain her and helped him get some dinner.  My Farmer even sat by the calf helping him keep his balance in the awkward position of nursing in the chute.
 See he can be sweet! 

That evening the same thing, she wasn’t going to let him nurse.  We put her in the chute and this time she still kicked him.  Poor little guy!  We put a “flank rope” on her.  This rope kept her from kicking the calf and he could get his belly full for the night.

Again the next morning, she talked to the calf like he was hers, but if he went near the udder she kicked and butted him.  Back in the chute again, but she didn’t kick when he nursed.  I didn’t have to put on the flank rope.  (Whew, I hate putting my hands and head close to kicking feet.)

Then there was a miracle!  I walked into the barn and saw...success!!!

And again that afternoon! 

 He was getting pretty active and she thought about kicking him a couple of times, but decided she better not.  

Of course, his brother is doing fabulous out with his mama in the pasture.  I put a purple tag in him (different that the other calves), so I could check on him easier.  They are doing wonderful and she is taking excellent care of him.

We were lucky that both of these calves were bulls.  When a heifer calf is born twin to a bull calf, she has a 95% chance of being sterile due to the increased level of testosterone in the uterus during gestation.

-A Kansas Farm Mom