May 8, 2008 I feel like I have been on a merry go round that was going so fast that if I let go, I would fly so far and hit so hard, it wouldn't be worth it. But we got thru it and I now now why. Joe and I logged almost 8000 miles delivering bulls. The best part though was seeing your places, looking at some very good cattle, and quite honestly, just being together and talking thru ideas. I am ready to get out of the trucking business though and to get back to our own cattle.
We have now sent 8 loads of fed cattle. We are still marketing with Cargill. They pay the trucking and we no longer have Tyson as an option. The cattle we have data back on so far performed far better than we expected. They spent weeks in mud belly high, or frozen rough pens. The ones that did not get injured or die, seemed to be ok. We did have a very high rate of injury though. They would slip and break something on the rough ground. We even had 3 heifers get hurt that were turned out. We have never had that before.
Thankfully the sun is shining today and we are going to turn out some more cattle. We had a set of fall and spring cattle get mixed so that is our project for today. Tomorrow CIDRS go in the group of replacement heifers we are going to A.I. We sent the rest on to grass as we really hate keeping them up and feeding them when we have grass we have already paid for just sitting there.
The first week we sorted harvest ready cattle, Joe's horse decided to lick the high voltage fence. Joe doesn't fall off bucking horses, but he did fall off one when he wasn't ready. Yep he broke at least one rib and had the most amazing muscle spasms. He hurts when he lifts anything and until yesterday we have kept him off horses. I was to sick to help so he had to go yesterday, but hopefully today we can keep him in the truck. What is it with you guys refusing to go to the doctor? Anyway he is on the mend and it isn't nearly as serious as a year ago. The amazing thing is that when we were sorting cattle for last week that crazy horse tried to lick the fence again. We have decided he has the mentality of a gold fish.
Casey is off to Gilroy, CA (find San Jose) for the summer to mill onions. Why he is excited to go to that state, I will never know. Joe is going to drive out with him. When he returns in August, I will get to fly out and ride back with him. I have already told him we are taking some side trips. Definitely the Grand Canyon.......He will be here to help us A.I. the spring cows though and he is very good help.
Chris has emerged as a shot putter. I had no idea he was so strong. He has placed at every meet and usually gets first. We are thrilled for him. He graduates from middle school on the 17th. We are officially putting the grade school out of our planners as of that day as Maddy will be in the 5th grade. Only two schools to chase. I look forward to it!
The kids have been putting together Power Points for the junior deal this summer. They are so good. I am totally impressed with how good all of them are at getting around the program and thinking of creative ways to present things. Even Maddy did a really good job. I guess that is a strong point of our school district and it will serve them well. I will try to update this a little quicker next time. At least I will be in the state for the next few weeks.
March 31 - Well we survived the sale again! It was a humbling and gratifying day for us as our genetics were well received and went all over the United States. We are now trying to get the deliveries set up. We also have middle school track for Chris, banquets for the twins, and music programs to look forward too.
#2 son Casey, that so many of you know and enjoy, bought a motorcycle. I must cling to the fact that he has an awesome and very busy guardian angel and that he will continue to be safe. But boy is that kid excited. He rode it down Saturday to show us. The problem was it was COLD. We gave him a pretty hard time reminding him that he gets cold on the 4 wheeler going 10, so what do you suppose happened going down the highway? It ran out of gas close to home and we had to rescue him. He hid from the locals until we arrived because he knew he was going to get teased. Joe and I both had motorcycles growing up. I know he can enjoy it and be safe, I just hope he is!
I posted the sale results on the sale page link. I decided not to add a lot of details this year. If you have questions concerning any of the lots, let us know.
March 20, 2008 - The sun came out and I had a chance to go take a few more pictures today. But the best part is that the wind really dried out the mud. Not very far west of here they are pretty dry. I hate to hear that wheat is blowing out. Those guys deserve a good cash crop. Tomorrow I intend to spend most of my day getting things ready for my kids. I now understand how my mother felt when we all came home. It just makes things right. The barn is pretty close to getting set up. The bleachers go in tomorrow and then it is just final things after that. We are pretty proud of our bulls this year and the fact that we fed our bulls to gain steady but slowly. They are very fit and will be in great shape when you turn out.
March 18 - We are busy getting ready for the sale every day but are also looking ahead to a weekend of family and church services during the Easter season. Daniel and Christine are coming home Friday morning. Our plan is to have the barn all set up so we can fish, shoot clay rock and just hang. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. One of my favorite things about this time of year is getting to talk to folks from all over the United States. It is so fun to hear about how your winter has been, your hopes for the cattle business and your interest in Red Angus. Tomorrow I take Laura in to have her wisdom teeth removed. Hopefully though the next day I will be able to get back into the pens with the camera. Until this afternoon, it hasn't been fit and now it is very muddy again.
March 15, 2008 - We finally finished putting in sale lots Thursday morning and so are beginning the task of taking the barn apart so we can set up the sale ring and bleachers. This is always fun because we see the results of our effort, plus the kids are home for spring break so we have many hands. Last week was a landmark week because we had 8 'muck boot free' days in a row. It did rain again last night though and I haven't been to the barn or the pasture as we had 4-H day. Our club took their model meeting. It was very good because they were very much themselves. Probably not perfect by a long shot, but I figure if they are having a little fun and learning how to conduct a meeting, everything else is secondary. The kids schemed to change the role call. It was supposed to be a Kansas college and they had rehearsed quite an assortment so that no kid would have the same one. Well today they all said K-state. It was pretty funny. How could I object? I think they are right!
Grady is off to a ranch rodeo so Joe had to do all the chores today. He will have lots of help tomorrow though and we will probably get to the bull pens with some folks too. If I get to go I will take the camera.
March 8 - 2008 - As you can see we got some pictures done today. The heifers are on the commercial breeding heifer page but can be accessed from the sale page too. We finished cleaning up bulls today. We are going to maybe clean the heifers a little when we put their ear tags in next week. Then it will be time to take out the chute and begin to clean up the barn so we can set up for the sale. It is fun. I spent quite a bit of time in the yearlings today. Both Mushrush and Beckton are not going to disappoint you. I hope I can get a few more pictures tomorrow.
March 6, 2008- I can tell we are getting into the presale mode. It is really picking up around here. We scanned the yearlings yesterday. We are awaiting final data, putting in sale lot tags and talking about cleaning up the barn. The weather just cannot seem to give us a break though. They were calling for snow again. I sure hope the weather guys are wrong. It was a very cold day here and the wind blew all day. Calves are being born right along though and everything is going ok. I am looking forward to Easter because all the kids will be here, even my big grown up son, Daniel and his lovely wife. Last I heard we were going to have some students that are here studying abroad. We actually hosted these girls when they were getting their bachelors so it will be fun to see them again.
I hope to get out and get some pictures of bulls maybe even tomorrow. I fought with my computer all day today. I lost though as I cannot figure out how to get my PDF files out onto the web site. I can get zipped catalogs to anyone that wants one though. I will keep trying to figure out what I am doing wrong.
March 2, 2008-We finally got the catalog done and off to the printer. The first 800 are in the mail and the balance will hopefully get picked up and mailed on Monday. We must have done a good job, because I read about bulls and I get all excited. We did spend some time yesterday on the sale bulls. Casey, Cole and Laura, finished cleaning up the 18 month old bulls. In between Chris's wrestling matches, I would go check up on them. They were doing so well that we decided to bring in the rest of the yearlings. Right after that the clippers malfunctioned. We are going to need a couple of little parts to finish. The yearlings are really starting to look like bulls though. We scan them on Thursday. After that I think all the data will be collected for sale bulls. We are getting the Beckton yearlings tomorrow. It is always fun to finally see them after crunching the data. We are also preg checking the fall bred heifers tomorrow. And it is supposed to rain again this afternoon. I hope it holds off until Joe can get to the pastures because we figure he wont be able to go tomorrow unless it freezes. Chase Co. is actually in a flood watch.
I will keep trying to post sale bulls as I get them done. However, if you want a specific lot that I haven't posted, just email or call and I will try to get it done. The yearlings will get easier after Thursday when we are able to take the nonsale contemporaries out and the sale bulls are cleaned up.
February 19, 2008 - I was asked yesterday how the weather is here. Unbelievable! If you wait a day or so it will probably be something you really like, or dislike. This weekend it rained so much the creeks ran out of the bank all day Sunday, plus it snowed. Of course it froze too. Everytime our feed lot starts to dry up we get more moisture. The pens are a mess. Yesterday Laura and I walked the 2 year olds out to weigh. I think we got our exercise for the day. I feel bad for the cattle that have to be shut up.
The catalog is coming along. the kids laughed the other night because I came up and asked Joe which dam information he wanted me to look up. I really wasn't cussing............ I am waiting for Casey to come home and will help him bring in some bulls as he and a friend are cleaning them all up. I still need some pictures of Spring bulls so I am going to try to get them to concentrate on those today. Our kids had no school yesterday and Chris and Laura helped me get several decent pictures of fall bulls. We basically go out and randomly take whatever is clipped that walks by. Laura was pretty excited because we did her bull. I am posting a few of the lots we have done. When the catalog arrives, I try to get pictures of any cattle you all request to see. You just have to bear with us, we are not professional photographers.
This horrible weather has of course brought on the calves. Our first heifers had their calves when it was very cold. Joe brought in a little calf that was just frozen. I put it in the bathroom, rubbed it dry, talked to it, tubed it and got it to stir. We named it Dumb Dumb because it thought I was its mother. It's poor little dam tried so hard. Finally after several days, we just milked her out and tubed it. I decided it had nipple confusion. Of course all those milkings happened after dark! Joe went down one morning and saw it sucking. We left them alone. The next day Dumb Dumb was dead. It is SO frustrating. I feel very sorry for his mother. She really wanted him.
The weather forecast is for another front to move in tomorrow so I imagine we will have another draft of calves. The first cow had her calf over the weekend. It was 9037 one of my favorite cows and she had a heifer. They really were not supposed to start until the first of March, but this happens every year so Joe and Grady are carrying the tag box and scale everywhere.
February 1, 2008- Lots has happened since I last wrote in this less than a month ago. Joe had a board meeting in Denver during the National Western Stock Show, so I went along with him so he didn't have to travel alone. He spent the entire 3 days in meetings but I had lots of time to 'network'! It was a blast but a little sad without the stockgrower kids. I couldn't believe how much I missed them. I got to see lots of folks I know and made some new acquaintances. That is always my favorite part about the Red Angus functions anyway. However the 'braintrust' was really interesting this year. We had two panels, one was commercial cattlemen who currently use Red Angus in their operations, and the second was the semen companies. It was a very educational format but I think what I really took away from it is, we are all trying to offer what we can sell! I did have a chance to visit with some of the panelists alone though, and that was very insightful. As a result we are changing up our catalog some to hopefully help as you make your genetic decisions.
Speaking of genetics............Joe and I spent quite a bit of time in the bulls last week. We had been looking at them on paper but this time we looked at them out in the pen. We knew as a set they were visually outstanding. But when we began to match up the cattle to the paper it was awesome. We are truly getting moderate, rapid growth, low maintenance cattle in volume.
This set of cattle has had to endure quite a winter though. When we finally got them moved out of the feed pen to their 15 acre trap, several had hurt their feet in the frozen rough lot. One bull actually had abscesses. We couldn't tell until we were able to get them on level ground because the pen was so frozen and rough all of them walked slow. We have several head that are injured from the storms too, hurt hips, knees, etc. This weather always costs more than just gain and certainly has here with injury, death and messed up pens.
Last Sunday morning our hot water heater decided to quit and leak profusely. So Maddy, Laura and Chris helped me clean up in the basement all day, while Joe and Cole did chores. There was some good news though. The heater was still under warranty so they replaced it at no cost. The bad news was it took 5 days. I also did some serious cleaning that I really hadn't planned to tackle until the sale was over with. I threw so much stuff away that Joe said he was going to make sure he looked 'useful' or HE might get tossed.
That first hot shower sure was nice though. And all of that stuff out of the house is a really good thing. I wish I had time to tackle a couple of more places that need a deep cleaning. But we really are into the sale preparation now. Casey is coming home to clean up cattle, we just sent the presale newsletter off to the printer, and I have started on the catalog. We start doing BSE's Monday and will take Yearling weights this week when the weather allows.
Laura got to go to Fort Worth to help with the National show as part of her junior board activities. She worked very hard but the highlight was meeting Mark Chestnut at a restaurant. He than invited the junior board back stage at his concert at Billy Bob's. She will never forget it and has pictures as proof. What a nice thing of Mark to do though. I guess those kids all dressed alike with a country flare looked like a good bet to him. If you see her she will tell you the whole story!
We had 4-H day today. My kids had a good run. Cole and Laura both did illustrated talks. They now do Power Points. Boy does that beat the poster days. Laura did hers on incorporating Red Angus into crossbreeding and Cole's was on Sale Preparation. The judge just happens to be a cattleman so he knew exactly what was going on and asked some great questions. Chris did a Baxter Black reading. He did so well and was a complete contrast from the first time he read it a few weeks back. Cole is our club president and presided over the Model meeting. Maddy was president for the gavel game. Her and her buds did really well for first timers. I was very proud of all my kids today.
January 11, 2008 - It has been quite a holiday and end to 2007 here. My silly kids decided to do a name count on the jounal and determined that Daniel and Christine have had more mentions than them. Casey thinks his return from Argentina should push him over the top. He arrived back in the United States the day Cole and Laura turned 17. We just happened to be smack in the middle of one of the worst ice storms I have ever had to go thru. Joe had the generator running the feed lot mill and water pump, so we all moved down to the lodge ( my 91 year old mom included). At least we had heat, water and electricity when the cattle were drinking! So that was poor Casey's welcome home. He missed our good corn fed beef and spicy food terribly. He did polish his Spanish though. He learned it with an accent though so Daniel is having trouble understanding him. Of course Daniel thinks Casey learned wrong and we all think it is amazing they can each speak the same foreign language but not always understand each other.
The twins 17th B-day will never be forgotten by them and will no doubt not go down as a favorite as we huddled in our crowded quarters for pizza and store bought cake that we brought back on our way from the airport. The good thing about that whole experience though is how much we all take for granted. Lights, computers, phones, running water................you get the idea.
Chris turned 14 the following Sunday and we were back up at the house so we had a big old party with homemade cake. If Chris ever grows into those feet of his, he is going to be a really big man. I can't believe he is already looking toward High School. Yikes!
The ice was brutal on the livestock. A good herd bull got hurt, we lost a cow and suspect it was responsible for a second one. After the ice we had snow. The upside was that our kids wore out 2 sleds and spent hours playing outside. But of course the snow melted and created quite a mess everywhere. On Dec. 28 we sold some fed cattle. The had so much mud on them it was hard to sort which were truly done and which were just covered. Maddy rallied and helped me do it because we had the kids processing cattle and had a small crisis when the fuel stand broke. Why that day? It was great to have all the kids pitching in though because we made it thru that day in pretty good shape.
We A.I.ed many of our fall cows again this year. Joe did a group of 40 plus the heifers. We had a big blitz for the last group. We got done in the nick of time as a snow storm moved in that afternoon causing the Christmas ball to get postponed. Laura was kind of glad and she felt really hurried after she had pushed cows thru the chute all morning. I was proud of her though as she can work with anyone than make herself look very nice without a lot of time.
Daniel and Christine got to be here for Christmas. Daniel decided to leave Cargill and work for Amarillo Brokerage. Casey and I helped them move shortly after the first of the year.
With the start of the new year it is time to think about the sale. The first catalog requests kind of knocked me off my feet but it is time and I am starting to get excited. We will keep the web site updated as we get more information. Casey plans to come back and help clean up bulls. All the kids are old enough that they can really step up and help prior to sale day.
November 28, 2007 - Happy Thanksgiving late to everyone who happens by here. We had a good one although we were one head short with Casey still in Argentina. Daniel and Christine got to be here for one day too. We decided to smoke a fowl. I got sick afterwards and I am sure it was that Turkey. There is no way it was the Spiral ham or Roast beef. The day before Thanksgiving one of my sisters called to say they were coming too. So we had lots of family from my side. The highlight of the day was when my sister neutered Cuddles, my orphan tomcat. We decided that needs to become a new family tradition. We put off shooting the Halloween pumpkins because Casey really needs to be here for that one.
Today we are heading to the barn to put CIDRS in the last breeding group. This one is the big one that we will have help breeding and is around 140 head. Yesterday we moved and sorted 120 pairs. Why is it that the redbook doesn't match the pasture? How can that be? We have four calves down for two calves. Joe is out trying to determine who gets the other two calves now.
I am in the process of moving my office to a bigger room. When it is done I will be so organized! Actually I told Joe I need to spread my piles out. They are just to deep. Besides when I move I will get to look outside at our glorious hills instead of at a wall. One way or the other I have to get the inside stuff caught up because of the year end business.
We pick Casey up around the 11th of December. We have been so busy it has gone pretty fast. He is feeling like he has so much he wants to do yet down there. Finally though he admitted he did miss us. I think holidays are pretty tough for the kids that are abroad, but they don't even acknowledge Thanksgiving at all in Argentina.
November 9 - We had a glorious day yesterday as the last group of commercial heifers were sold. I am very excited that a neighbor took some. It is going to be fun driving by watching them. We finally got the last load of heifers delivered too, plus some PT bulls delivered. All told we got 70 head of cattle off our feed bill yesterday.
Today we are pulling a set of preweaned heifer calves off. We are going to use fence line weaning but are not sure there is going to be much bawling as all parties are ready for change. Our scale head malfunctioned a couple weeks ago and we put off our last weaning project until tomorrow. But hopefully by tomorrow night I will have every weight I need to get my information processed.
October 30, 2007- I thought things were going to level out a bit after we got the convention under our belt but it hasn't. We started receiving customer cattle two days later and haven't slowed down a bit. The feedlot is full and boy are they nice calves. We have been getting the contracted bred heifers delivered too. That was quite a bit of work to do as we would have several owners cattle in a group of as many as 250. Finally we are down to one truck load for two owners so it is manageable. We still have a group of 20 red white face and brockle face heifers left. Because we have used gate cut they are not leftovers. There is also a set of blaze face Red Angus X Simmental. I am ready to get them sold out and gone so we can move on to another project.
Convention was great. If you read the ARA magazine you were able to get a sense of how it went. It turned out exactly the way we had hoped with emphasis on the commercial side of our great breed. Touring Cargill Meat Solutions was amazing. It would be a hard place to work though. It is so fast paced and synchronized. Brett Spader, from KLA, did a workshop of livestock photography. It was so educational. I immediately found our catalog and critiqued my picture taking skills.
We still have to get the Registered heifer calves weaned. We are doing it a little different this year. We get them in, weigh, tattoo, brand and vaccinate them and process their dams. Then we are turning them back out in a pasture close to the pen the calves will be weaned in. As soon as all the pastures are processed we are going to pull off the calves. We are hoping to eliminate sickness and reduce stress.
The Private Treaty heifer sale is moving along. I am ready to have that done too though. It is going to be fun to calve that set out and find out if our breeding and effort is working. They sure are nice females.
September 21, 2008 - I got my hair cut yesterday and told the hair guy I could not wait to get my elephant eaten. He stopped working on me and got the funniest look on his face. I had to explain that when I have huge projects to attend to I liken it to eating and elephant. You can get it done one bite at a time. And I am about to devour a huge one. The national convention begins next week in Dodge City. Along with lots of other hard working Kansans and Nebraska folks, we are about to enjoy the benefits of our efforts. Our theme has always been focus on the commercial part of the industry. I cannot wait to go thru Cargill Meat Solutions. I think son Daniel may be our tour guide. We have lots of other 'old west' fun planned too. Dodge City is kind of a rough town, but it is also a historical place and the folks out there have been super to work with.
Along with all of the planning we have been going to a middle school and two high school Football games each week. Both teams have been playing really well and my boys are doing great. The weather makes it perfect to go hang with the locals and cheer the kids on. Homecoming is tonight and both Cole and Laura (football manager) have lots to do for that.
Besides all of our noncattle things we have been busy with cattle too. Last year we A.I.ed 160 fall cows in one day. We have had lots of calves. I know one day they tagged 16 which has been the record to date. It is going to make the crop very uniform though and should help us for rebreeding this year. We brought home the first set of Spring bred commercial heifers this week. It has been so pleasant we did not realize it was going to get quite so hot the day we did it. They were scattered all over a 900 acre pasture. I took a horse and Joe took the feed truck. The dog came with me. I finally had to put her on my horse because she got so hot and tired I was afraid we would lose her. I dumped her at the pond then called Joe and had him come and get her. Silly little dog. She didn't have to be told twice to get in the truck.
We pregged and cataloged all of our 2008 Registered heifers. We are trying something a little different this year as an alternative to selling open heifers in our sale. I actually enjoyed putting this catalog together. Joe is going to have a pretty hard time talking me into offering Registered heifers in the sale ever again. We are going to let you pick out which one/s you want and all the work is done. I think it is a win win situation.
August 23, 2007 - The long gap since I have updated this is pretty much symbolic of our life this summer. I am always busy, but this was ridiculous. Daniel and Christine's wedding was pretty wonderful. I really didn't have that much to plan or do for it, so we went up and had a really good time.
We had amazing moisture until it got hot in early August. But what can you expect in August? Nevertheless we are going to have a super hay crop and good winter grazing. What a blessing. The hills are amazingly tough and have already begun to heal from the past two years of drought. Seed heads are starting to shoot which means protein is plummeting. You can always tell when that happens because the cattle get way more interested when we drive in with the cake truck.
We moved the Fall calving heifers back home last week. They sure are pretty and I can't wait to see what the calves look like. They will calve in a quarter right out in front of the house. It is fun to look out the window and see a cow off, then later see the calf.
We had a pretty terrible thing happen last Saturday. We slept in. About 8 I headed to town with one of the kids for something. Three of our good geldings were pigging out on a corn based supplement. They had broken a wire on a gate and pushed it open. We put them on banamine and headed into the vet to get them tubed with oil. He got tubes passed down two but just could not get the young horse done. He finally gave him some activated charcoal and sent us home. We kept them cool and moving all day Saturday and continued the banamine for 48 hours. We were feeling like maybe we had whipped it. But Monday the young horse wasn't moving right. We actually thought he was going to have to be put down. We put him along with the other two back on the drugs and waited. Today they all act fine and move well. I am very concerned that there may be damage that won't manifest until we start using them. As I am sure all of you who have horse know, this is pretty upsetting to us. We have so much time and emotion invested in the horses. I guess we should be grateful that all of them didn't get out that morning.
The 4-H fair was about like every other year. It is such a relief to haul the market animals off. The kids all had some successes. That is always nice. Laura had Grand Champion lamb. We had no clue it was that good. Actually we have no clue about lambs period. But it sure was fun. She has become pretty good at handling lambs too.
National Convention is only weeks away. Somehow I got very involved in all the planning. It has taken some time, but I think we have got a great format planned. The folks at Dodge City have been quite friendly. Brian Winter, Winter Livestock, told me how thrilled they are to have a livestock group coming to Dodge. Dodge City is a historic rough old cow town and we hope to let attendees have a peek at what shaped the cattle industry in the early nineteen centuries. And how even today Dodge City is a huge piece of the Cattle industry with the concentration of packing plants and feed lots.
I gave up the Kansas Red Angus secretary position to a very capable young lady, Andy Bauck, during our annual field day. She is off to a roaring start and many of you will be hearing from her.
June 29 - We heard from the kids who are spending the week on the annual Junior Red Angus Round UP. They had made it to Beckton and were thrilled to see the entire Forbes family, but especially Sal. It has been another wonderful busy informative trip and they will come back with stories and a whole new list of friends from all over the US.
We were blessed with a slow 2 inch rain the night before last. It was so timely and will insure that the annuals get growing and the grass stays fresh. We can always tell when the grass starts to harden off as the mineral consumption goes down. That certainly has not been the case yet. We literally haul out tons each week. I can hardly believe that it will be time to start pulling bulls on heifers before long. That always makes pasture checking easier. Once the heifers are bred and the boys are not there, it seems like we have less trouble with cattle.
I got a few more pictures of the ProCows up on the web site. Joe is going to finish calling everyone that had requested information.
I have been very busy with the 2007 National Red Angus convention. It is going to be a dandy and the sponsorship has been phenomenal. The hard part is so much has to be done very far ahead of time, and it is hard to make decisions when we would like more time. Nevertheless, it is getting done, and the attendees are going to have an opportunity to really soak up the Commercial aspect of Red Angus.
June 26 - Our oldest son Daniel is 23 years old today. He just started his job with Cargill and has been putting in some pretty long hours. We intend to go see him and his new place this weekend and maybe take out a cake and present. I know he is looking forward to July 14 so that Christine can join him in Dodge City.
Our kids are spending the week on the annual Junior Red Angus Round Up. They left Sunday and haven't even called us yet. They have so much fun on it and will this year again. They are traveling clear up to Sheridan and will get to visit Beckton. I know my kids couldn't wait to get started and so look forward to seeing the Forbes family.
Joe had a mishap on May 19th. He broke 6 ribs and two were separated. It changed our summer plans. Suddenly he was immobile and in lots of pain. Casey decided to forgo his internship in South Carolina and stay to help out. It is a good thing too because Joe will be unable to do much in terms of physical labor for sometime. I had hoped to get a secretary out of the deal, but he claims he is unable to learn. In fact he wont even listen! What I do realize though is that I love what we do because it is us. I miss him when we go to the pastures on the horses. I can't wait to have him back doing all the things we all took for granted.
April 26 - Well like all of you we get up every morning and try to figure out the quickest way to get more cattle turned out and off the feed bill. We have made some head way and will be sending 4 more loads of fed cattle tomorrow morning, so that is good. Nearly all the bulls from the sale have been transferred and there are about 20 May 1 bulls waiting to go to their new homes. Joe does have a couple more deliveries though, one to Kim, CO and then north to Nebraska and South Dakota.
Yesterday we figured out our breeding schedule. It is always a challenge as it is in conjunction with graduations, year end school things, and the other cattle work. We finally decided the heifer CIDRS have to go in Sunday. There is just no other day where we can make it work for breeding. We hate to work on Sunday on purpose. But if we want to go to Daniel's graduation, that was about the only option. We still hope to sort those heifers today, but I am sick, and it is showering off and on.
Planning a wedding is kind of fun. It helps us to reconnect with family and friends. My very dear friends threw the coolest shower for Daniel and Christine. I took his baby book that I just made him for his graduation gift. Everyone had to look at it because they all have been such an intricate part of his life. After the shower we came back here and ate. It was a great afternoon.
April 6, 2007- Wow! It is like a fog around here and we are moving at warp speed. By Monday evening nearly all the deliveries will be made. We had a wonderful day for our sale and are always humbled and pleased with everyone who comes to bid, buy and participate. Until yesterday it has been very warm and we even got 2 inches of rain. Then it Snowed! Not really a lot of accumulation, but it sure is cold. We think maybe we froze the cherry blossoms off.
March 21 - Sale preparations are really shaping up and we plan to have everything ready so that tomorrow all we have to do is chore and move cattle in. The kids have all been lots of help. We have had the added pleasure of a journalism student from KU (we wont hold that against her) shadowing us this week. She is working on a project for a class and chose to profile a local ranch. She just happened to come the week of the sale so she is getting to see something we only do once a year. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing our interests and our cattle with her. We are still trying to get pictures of lots that you all have requested. Yesterday it sort of rained all day, although it never accumulated. We would love to have a nice 2 inch soaker. Some of the natives are getting restless and talking about burning. It is way early though if you want to kill the weeds. We can't even think about it anyway but sure would like to see some moisture first. I may not get back to this until after the sale, but we look forward to seeing so many of you Friday.
March 16 - We power washed the barn out yesterday and got the ring up today so it is starting to look like a sale barn again. This is a fun time. The kids are home for Spring break, and we are getting lots done. The college boys will be home soon too. We have had amazing weather and it has made all the preparations so much easier. I have been posting new pictures and will send the most up to date supplement sheet to anyone who would like to have it in an excel format. Just email and ask for it.
March 13 - Finally, we got the scan data so the P+ EPDs and all the missing data from the catalog is now available when you click on the supplement link on the sale page. You can also request a copy in an excel spreadsheet by emailing us. We were thrilled with the way the cattle scanned.
March 13 - We discovered a incorrect lot assignment to a picture on the web site, so if you were looking at lots 103 or 113, they were turned around. I am waiting a little impatiently for the Mushrush scan data. I know it has been read because CUP called with a question the other day. As soon as I have it, I will post the supplement sheet which will include the most current data that was not in the catalog. We also have the Commercial heifers in lots, and know out bulls as of today. I suspect there will be another injury or two by sale day.
March 12 - With the help of former JRA member, and my adopted child, Cortney Bowden, from Wisconsin, there are quite a few new pictures for you to look at. She came down to get a little family time with us before heading off for Spring break. We had a great weekend. The highlight though was when our oldest son Daniel and Christine Soukup, announced 'officially' that they are getting married. No one was surprised, but we are all thrilled. We are heading over to finish with final preg checks and semen evaluations. Sometimes the bulls just wont work the first time. We heard from CUP lab Friday, so we are hoping to get the updated carcass EPDs this week too. When I have all of that, I will make the supplement sheet available online. We will try to keep the web site updated and current and will do whatever we can to help you and represent all the cattle fairly and accurately.
March 10- We put lot tags in the fall bulls yesterday. Casey and a friend came down and helped Grady reimplant two pens of steers. It was a great day and we got lots done. You should all have your catalogs by now. If you haven't received one, we had better check addresses, and resend you one. I am planning to get into the Beckton bulls today and get some photos of them to post tonight or tomorrow.
Our new colts are coming along nicely. One is quite a bit more receptive to handling than the other, but we will get them. We are over there every day and they are seeing lots of activity.
March 8 - Time is just flying by here and we are getting closer to being ready for the 23rd. Today Joe and Grady almost finished getting the heifers cleaned up. Yearling scan data should be getting processed right now and we are trying to call and email (plus send out a card) making sure you all know the sale is FRIDAY, not Thursday like the catalog says. We have been enjoying some unseasonably warm temperatures this week. We will take it! Today I took pictures all afternoon and really didn't want to come back in. I will continue to update the web site as data comes in. The Beckton yearlings just arrived so after they are rested up, I will start photographing them too. Be sure to let me know if there is a lot you would like to see posted.
March 1 - Only in Kansas can we go from almost 70 degrees to snow. This storm doesn't have the intensity though so hopefully it will blow on out. The catalog is heading to the post office this morning so you should have them in a few days. I have also made my first attempt at getting it online. You can also email me if you would like an excel spreadsheet of the offering.
We will scan the Spring bulls and heifers Tuesday and continue to clean up cattle and get things prepared for the sale. Every time I get out in the offering, our program is validated. We have a super set of cattle and I am so proud to offer them to you. I will continue updating the web site with pictures. Be sure to email if one you would like to see is not up and I will try to get one posted.
February 27 - We really lucked out on the weekend storm and got by with just a few flurries and some temps. around freezing. Seven calves were born yesterday with the 8th one starting at dark. That is how I like to get calving done. The Spring bulls were semen tested yesterday. Lot 65 had a 43 actual scrotal. The vet asked us how old he was as that is pretty large. Joe and Grady finished cleaning them up too, so I hope to get a few more pictures posted. They will get their ultra scan for carcass done next Monday. When we get the interim EPDs and ratios, I will get a supplement sheet done and up on the web site. The catalogs should be done tomorrow. If so, we will mail them on Thursday. Meanwhile I put a spreadsheet format on the sale page. Unfortunately you can't sort with it, but I figured it would be a fun thing to start looking at.
The more time I spend in the bulls the happier I am with our offering. We have some very good cattle that represent what we are trying to do. Our only concern is that we have so many contemporary groups represented, that it is not a simple comparison. Joe does address that in the catalog and I realize you already understand it.
On a personal note, we went ice skating Saturday night. It was one of the funnest things our family has done in awhile. Manhattan has a shelter house in the park that they convert to a rink. We rented it from 9 - 11p.m. (definitely college hours). When we went in it was sleeting and we had to wonder just how crazy we were to be that far from home in that weather. But it all worked out and we got home safely before 3 a.m. No one got hurt seriously, and the cousins bonded. It was a great day. Because Saturday was the only day this week we didn't have to chore, Joe and I went to Stouts Hereford and Quarter horse sale. We brought home two of the nicest colts. I have decided that horses are like kittens. You better not look if you don't intend to own one (or some). Still we got two very nice colts and got them bought right. Chris has already claimed the buckskin and I am pretty partial to the other one a heavy muscled, large boned sorrel.
February 22 -As I type this I am itching to get outside as it is expected to hit the high 60's today. A cool down is forecast for the weekend, but we can live with freezing, just not that - business we were having. I am happy to report that the catalog is leaving my house tomorrow. Our printer is working all weekend to get it ready to print Monday and Tuesday. I still plan to mail them by the first of March. We have been spending lots of time in the bulls and I must tell you, this is definitely an outstanding group of cattle. Not putting the heifers in the sale has given us more time to spend on the bulls and that has been so great. Calving is finally going and going well, except for that darned black calf. Our neighbors bull got in and we thought we got them all aborted when we synchronized. Unfortunately, some that we natural serviced didn't get the shot so now we have some nice little black calves. At least they are angus!
February 14, 2007- Brrrr it is cold here and I have a feeling about everywhere. We lucked out with very little snow this go around. It did rain first and made the cattle good and cold before it turned off cold. By the weekend we will be above freezing again and sure are hoping to get some cattle out that have been stuck in the lot due to water situations. We were so dry last year that many of the creeks dried up leaving only ponds for water sources in some pastures. With the freezing and thawing the ice gets rotten and cattle fall in. Several neighbors have lost horses, and cattle. We had one get pushed in. She probably died from hypothermia. She was right up by the bank.
Before the cold snap we got lots of presale work done. The fall bulls and two year olds are semen checked. We got yearling weights on the spring bulls and have now had a negative ear notch result on all the cattle. We have begun pulling bulls from the fall bred cows and got the last bunch moved into their final winter pasture last weekend.
I have a feed program that is supposed to make billing of feed eaiser. Well I somehow got corn in at $257/bu or some outrageous amount. When our oldest son Daniel's bill was $44,000, I knew I had a big problem. Joe and I spent quite a bit of time fixing that one. We sold some fed cattle but I don't have the data sorted just yet. I am going to work on the catalog first, and that later. Meanwhile, with the exception of a few weeks, we really have had a great feeding period.
The first spring calves were born last week before it got cold. Thankfully there were none last night. They are out in grass, but still, it is pretty brutal even for our Red Angus. (ha) I will try to keep the web site updated and hope to get some pictures if the weather cooperates.
January 23, 2007 - My infrequent updates pretty much sums up our life here at Mushrush Red Angus. Since I last wrote, we have bred all the fall cows, made first sort on the Spring Commercial breeding heifers, calfhooded everything, and completely filled our feed lot with customer cattle. The day we time bred 160 of our fall cows, the twins had their Christmas ball. Laura worked her heart out all morning dressed in chinks, a ponytail and boots. By 6 p.m. she had turned herself into a very pretty young lady, fit for a ball. We are very proud of how the kids all stepped up, and especially her.
Christmas was excellent again this year. Keeping the focus on why is sometimes so difficult with all of our distractions. But having our college boys home was so awesome. I had to relearn grocery shopping. Casey drinks a gallon of milk by himself everyday. The boys slept in our guest house (except for Christmas eve) and we had lots of family time. It was hard to send them back. Besides they are excellent help.
Joe had a Red Angus board meeting on January 10 in Denver. If you all remember that is when we were bracing ourselves for the big ice/rain/snow storm. The night before we needed to leave I was in Douglass, Kansas, an hour and a half south of us at a wrestling match. At 8:30 that night as I headed back to Chase Co. I still didn't know if we were going and had done very little packing. The next morning school was called off, we sent the kids to chop tanks and we decided to head out and see how it went as we headed west. It didn't take long to drive into dry weather. Other then worrying about everyone at home, it was a really nice time at the National Western. Cattle and people participation were impacted by the adverse weather. But those who were able to come, we so much fun to see. The BrainTrust was excellent. it was about the relevance of Red Angus for end marketing. A feed lot manager who focuses on quality cattle, Superior Livestock who market every class of cattle from all over the US, and Marcine Moldenhauer, from Cargill, all gave a perspective.
And now today, as I read emails, return phone calls and place ads, I know it truly is time to get rolling on our upcoming sale. When we finished calf hooding and ear notching the Spring 06 born crop, we got another look at some of our offering. The bulls are going to be excellent again. I couldn't help but notice how even, big testicled and thick they looked, even though they are not even a year old yet.
I plan to start updating the site pretty frequently. Don't hesitate to call or email if you have a question, thought or idea.
November 15, 2006 - Last Saturday night was one of the funnest our family has had in awhile. After KSU surprised Texas, all my kids but Maddy were down on the field celebrating. I know those of you who know Casey will find this shocking, but he was on the goal post. Anyway, we wish we could be in Lawrence this weekend. And believe me that is not something anyone in this family ever says! So much for football.........................we finally got the Spring cows moved to a kind of storage place before they move to winter pasture. We are still in one of the worst droughts ever, certainly the worst since I arrived in 1980. We had to abandon some fall grazing as the creeks are dry. With feed in short supply, that is disappointing. We ended up taking one group back to a pasture 25 miles East of here. They are going to eat dry grass and get some protein tubs.
We are trying something new this fall. We are going to hire an A.I. team and get all our Fall cows bred in one day. Actually they think they can do 150 in 4 hours. Boy do we have some organizational stuff to do though. Joe will still breed the heifers on detection. If it goes well, I will be hooked because we are so labor impaired here.
Our feed lot renovation is not done yet. Joe and Grady literally build a pen as we get in new cattle. It is a huge worry and I wish it was complete but we have so much other stuff that is in front of the pens. There are only two left. One will be a group of heifers that are currently with their steer mates, and the other is a set of Fall cattle that we are storing at the other place. We got another set of nice heifers in last Sat. By the time we take off the bottom, we are going to have a very fancy set of breeding heifers for 2007. We have several sets of customer cattle on feed too, and they look great. We won't talk about the price of corn though.
October 24, 2006 - I knew it had been awhile since I updated the journal but had no idea it was this long. Football which was just beginning when I last wrote is about to come to an end. Chris played for Chase Co. Middle School and got to start every day. I always say my kids love that sport because it is the only time they are told to 'go hit someone' and applauded for their effort in doing so. Son, Cole, played JV, and was a back up for Varsity. Needless to say we had football games 3 evenings a week in addition to our Sat. trek to watch our beloved Wildcats. We got season tickets so that we had a reason to get up to see Daniel who will graduate from KSU in May, and Casey, who is a Freshman. Casey LOVES college. I do hope he studies at least a little so he can stay there!
We sold our bred heifers so quickly this fall that I really never got a handle on what we had to offer. They are quite a group and will sure make good cows for their new owners. We are finally getting them cleared out as we need the room for the new cattle that are arriving far to quickly for me.
With the renovation of our feed lot, we decided to get the mill fixed too. Little did we know it would take weeks, I mean months to get it all back together. At one point, we had no pens, no mill, and our feed truck was in the shop. Pretty worrisome when part of our financial plan includes feeding cattle.
We had hoped to have the renovation completed by our Customer Appreciation party last Saturday. It wasn't, but I do think the folks who took the self guided tour got to see what we are up to, and look at some pretty impressive Mushrush sired cattle. The party was very fun, even with the damp rain. Our estimations are that about 150 customers and their families attended. Two high lights for us were the fact that the two remaining founding Red Angus members attended. That was our dear friend Sal Forbes, and George Chiga. The second thing was that the RAAA used our event to present grid master awards to past bull customers, Rick Hanschu and CJ Blew. It seems like every time we do anything we learn more. This time it would have been nice if we had started the music sooner as many of our guests came from quite a distance and left before 9:00. Never the less we enjoyed the band Bluestem immensely. We also forgot to put our additional cookies. You have no idea how many cookies we are going to have to eat now! That is so sad. We also forgot several of the hamburger and brat toppings. So only the last few got those. I don't think anyone went home hungry though.
With our renovation project, we have been frustrated trying to wean our Spring calves. We finally got the bulls done just last week. We hope to get the heifers yet this week, but still need to get the pen built. We have been supplementing the pairs on grass, hoping to maintain body condition of both cows and calves as the protein in our grass has really nose dived. It seems like the calves go to the bunk quicker too, when they have eaten beside their dams.
I will try to be a little bit more diligent about updating this page now that we are going to be forced indoors and hour sooner and football is about over. We sure do need rain here to help with our fall grazing situation. Many of our creeks are dry and we can't utilize the fields.
August 4, 2006 - The last two weeks have been amazing here at the ranch. As many parts of the country have endured, we to have continued to fight triple digit temperatures. Smack in the middle of the heat, we participated in the county fair. There were some real surprises as there always is. Probably nicest for us was Chris having Grand Champion steer. It came from a pen of customer cattle owned by Royce Enns. The steer has always been exceptionally nice. However he weighed 1414 and we were concerned that the judge might ding him as to big. It is pretty difficult to hold those good doing cattle and feed to a date, as his lot mates were sold in Feb. and March. Laura had a lamb this year and it was the Grand Champion. We had no idea it was that good. That was pretty fun and helped her learn about another species. Madelyn on the other hand WILL NOT have a lamb next year. She too learned about the lamb project. Somehow it just didn't take!
With the fair, I felt that we had neglected our cattle checking and have attempted to get back around this week. For the most part things look good. However, that hot wind has really taken a toll on the grass. In a pasture of 3/4 stock steers, we are running out of water too. They sold last week on Superior though and will hopefully get delivered soon. We are going to have to bring home 100 of them early next week though. This set of steers was just a set of put together cattle that we bought late to fill a couple of pastures that we got a lease on not long before grass. Hopefully next year we can put something in that has a Mushrush or Beckton tie. We have begun to pull cow bulls too. You can always tell when they are done. They have been laying off, and in some cases, visiting the neighbors. It seems like this is when we get injuries the most often, so those bulls are out and we plan to get the balance next week when we precondition the Spring calves.
Casey heads to KSU on August 16. Those of you who know him know what a big whole he is going to leave in this family. He is outstanding at the ranch jobs. He is either sleeping or busy doing something. As parents we try to keep the something positive because he will be busy. My prayer is that the good Lord and a little luck will keep him focused at college on good things.
We intend to have a Customer Appreciation day on Oct. 21. If you are on our mailing list, you will get a formal notification. If you would like to be invited, please email me.
July 16- I cannot believe I let the journal go for so long without at least a brief update. We are in the belly of summer with the heat dictating how we do everything. We are beginning to pull the bulls from Commercial and Registered heifers this morning. The pastures are so far apart and in some cases so large, that it is going to take us all week to get them all gathered up. We will leave the bulls on the cows for a couple more weeks.
The summer began quite dry for us. In fact we made the decision to only burn pastures that would have steers on them, or, that bordered neighbors that would cause a lot of labor to put out. Not long after that, we got some very timely rains and wondered if we had made the wrong choice. Although we have had rains along here and there, it has become very dry. The unburned pastures for the most part look better. Our biggest concern is water. A couple of the pastures water from a stream and it is really getting low. Those cattle come out in August as soon as they sell on Superior. It will be a footrace to see whether or not the water holds though.
The 4-H fair begins next weekend. Someone asked me if we are ready. We are at the stage where I beg the kids to quit 4-H. Trying to get them to feed, work with and think about all of their projects is a daunting task. The good news is it will all be over soon. I also hope that they are learning something about making choices and then suffering the consequences of so much to do. Hopefully they will also be rewarded for their hard work because they really have done a good job. It is just that they are KIDS!
Since I last wrote in this (and a reason I have been so negligent) is that Casey graduated from Chase Co. High School in May. He is going to K-State in August to study Milling. He cannot wait. It is going to leave a pretty good hole when he moves out. We do go to some football games so hopefully we will see him and Daniel quite a bit this fall.
April 2 - As usual we think it will slow down a little after the sale, when in fact, it just continues to stay really busy. Last week we had the pleasure of delivering several groups of bulls. We got to see the offspring of some of the heifers we sold as bred ProCows last fall. They were beautiful cows with great udders and very nice calves at their side. It validates for us that we are producing what we tell you we are.
The sale was excellent again, thanks to so many people. I put a sale report on the sale page link if you are interested in details. We are now buy getting cattle delivered, planning Spring herd breeding, and thinking about burning, weaning fall calves, and we have a pen of cattle to ear tag for the age verification program. We may turn in some more harvest ready steers, which will go to Dodge City, a week from tomorrow. We are have to go walk the pens to see how many loads it will be. With the QSA, I have to be very vigilant where the cattle come from and when they are sold, so that I can verify age and source when we turn them in and again when the truck picks them up. It has increased our paperwork and record keeping load for sure.
On a personal note, the twins were confirmed last night so we had a big party afterwards. It was fun and a nice change from our work. At the end of this month, Maddy makes her first communion. I hope to be better organized so I can get all the family notified. That way they can come if they would like. Cole is out for track again this year. I have a feeling he is more interested in the other members of the girls teams than his own performance. Laura has found her sport, golf. They don't run, don't practice if it is windy, or raining, and always go when its nice. She is having a blast. Last week we drove by the golf course when they were practicing. We saw someone madly jumping up and down and waving. Yep, it was Laura, making sure we saw her and waved back.
March 21 - We have had several calls and yes, the sale will go on as scheduled. You might want your over boots though, and a nice warm coat if the wind is blowing. We ended up with no snow. There were some flurries, but the ground was just to warm for anything to accumulate. We have been told that our area had as much as 2" of rain though, and it is muddy. For that we are very thankful.
The overcast skies and mist have made it pretty difficult to take pictures. I took the camera this a.m. when we walked the bulls in for a prospective buyer, but it just wasn't good. By tomorrow afternoon we plan to have all the cattle penned. It may get a little muddy in those Wed. night, but that is just the price we pay for moisture. We very much look forward to hosting you this Thursday.
March 20 - With one eye on the weather and the other busy getting presale things done, we are a little unsettled here. It looks like the much needed moisture is all coming at one time in the form of rain, ice and snow. It will be a relief to have the burn bans lifted. Our neighbors to the south could have used this moisture a couple weeks sooner and it would have saved some very serious fires from happening. Hopefully now though recovery can begin. I got the scan data back this morning and must compliment the CUP lab and Red Angus for turning it around so quickly. If you would like the updated yearling EPD's and carcass ratios, they are on the supplement links on the sale page. I can get you actual scan data, if you would like. Our concern with actual data is when it gets compared across contemporary groups.
If the rain/snow lets up, I hope to get some more pictures posted. I never did get to the Two year old pen, and had to discard a lot of bred heifer pictures, when we realized we hadn't done a good job of recording who was who.
We think the weather should be cleared and changing for the better by Wednesday morning. I certainly hope that is the case. We don't want to exclude you because of weather. As our banner showed, Lynn Pelton called and said he had made the decision to postpone his sale for a week. I told him we would use our web site to let folks know. I will try to keep the journal updated as things change.
March 17 - The sale facility is beginning to shape up. That is a relief because it hasn't looked much like a lot of people will be coming in less then a week. We power washed the entire thing and got some bleachers in yesterday. The kids will paint bleachers today and the other guys will work on outside pens some. It looks like the weather might get very chilly and wet. I hope to get a few pictures of 2 year old bulls this afternoon before the rain starts. I called CUP yesterday, and there is hope that we will have Mushrush Yearling data before sale day. As always if you want to see an individual animal, I will try to get it posted.
I was very pleased at how quiet our heifers are when I was trying to photograph them yesterday. It is hard to get a picture when they try to come up to you. Chris tried to act as decoy and I think we got a few good ones.
March 15 - Today I had time to think and I sure do hope our Yearling scan data gets turned around in time for the sale. We scanned on the 9th this year. Last year we did it early so the updated data could be cataloged. Unfortunately, that throws quite a few out if they are to young. We want the data to contribute to the lines long term, so we hate to not have it in the data. I did add the Fall heifer expected calving dates. When we were lotting the ProCows we had them sorted up. They are really nice again this year. Hopefully after tomorrow I will have more pictures to post. If there is a particular individual you would like to see, I will try to get it taken and posted.
The Beckton Yearlings arrived last night. I haven't got to do a thorough study yet, but they did look very good coming off the truck. I plan to get some pictures of them tomorrow too.
March 12 - Friday we finished cleaning up sale cattle. What a relief. Monday we plan to take out the chute and start cleaning up the barn. It is one of my favorite things because it changes so much and means sale day is almost here. We got the data back on our first ever set of age and source verified cattle. It was predominately culls from our Registered Fall cattle. They did very well. I hope to get the data on the Carcass page right away.
We had a shower this morning, just enough to grease up the feeding road. Joe couldn't maneuver the big truck without assistance from the loader. If it had really rained he probably would have had no trouble at all. Maybe we can all get some moisture before it is done with.
We made it thru County 4-H club day. Our club had the only model meeting, so off to Madison we all will go. It is the Saturday after the sale. Chris takes his talk on to Regional as does Casey with his Reading. He did a Baxter Black on putting in a prolapse. That was a compromise because he has been wanting to do "The Oyster" forever. He was sure we would let him this year, as it is his last. I don't know who the judge was, but she must have understood the poem, because she gave Casey pretty good marks. It may be a little sketchier at Regional. I am pretty confident that Casey will not be to concerned either way. He got to make a college visit this weekend after 4-H day. He is trying to get living arrangements figured out.
Maddy turns 8 on Wed. so we have another party to plan. I cannot believe she is so big.
March 7 - You would think that by now this sale preparation would get easier, but it doesn't. I guess that is what makes our life interesting.............never knowing what we are going to face when we step out of bed each day. Joe and I have taken the task of cleaning up the sale animals on ourselves. As of this morning we only have the Registered heifers left. We intend to get the bred ones done today, and the Spring by Friday. Sickness has really taken a toll on all of us, but it looks like we are all healthy now and have been self inoculated by every virus out there this year. As we get groups cleaned up, I am trying to get a few pictures. We prefer to show the heifers running out, like they really are, but, I wanted the groups and they will not be sorted again until right before sale day.
The more time we spend in our offering the more pleased we are. It is a great feeling to have our plans validated by such an outstanding set of cattle. For the second year now, we believe that our program is exactly where we want to be. The commercial females are the proof.
Our kids are busy with their stuff too. We have club day this Saturday. Mushrush talks are coming along slowly, hopefully they will peak by the weekend. (ha) The other leader and I are a little uncertain about how we feel having the only model meeting. The good news is we will go to Regional. The bad news is we will go to Regional. Casey gets to attend YBIC as part of his Red Angus board experience. It is in Mississippi this year. The junior program is such a great opportunity for the youth.
Last week I attended the KSU Cattleman's Day. It was so fun to see all the junior Red Angus kids hanging together. They were from different schools, states and majors, and they are all buds. I will try to get more photos posted as sun and time dictate and intend to keep updating every few days.
February 27, 2006 - What a month we have had. Our family has taken turns being sick but this week we were 8 for 8. The kids have missed so much school, and Joe and I are way behind on work, but I figure we have had it now so we can move on. The catalogs were done Friday and the first group goes out today with the second set on Tuesday. Picture day was so cold that the camera kept freezing. That is a little hard to believe with the wonderful weather we have had since. I posted a few pictures and will add more as I get them. If you would like to see a certain lot, I will attempt to get a shot taken. We have not started cleaning the heifers up yet, so those are still a week or two away from being posted. I hope to add a few things pretty often now and don't hesitate to call or email if we can be of service.
January 27, 2006- I cannot believe it has been so long since I updated this. We have done so much. All the fall cows are bred, in fact we are pulling bulls! We are really ramping up on sale preparation. We have figured out numbers and are starting to really look at individuals. I spent the last two days (between trips to the doctor and dentist) working on advertising and getting the web site freshened up a bit. We once again got to go to NWSS. What a wonderful trip. It is always so much fun to see old friends and make new ones. This year was no exception. Casey was fortunate enough to win the stockgrower contest. He was thrilled. He got a stipend good for a heifer or to help pay for a heifer if he gets wild as part of his prize. He can't wait for the sale catalogs to start pouring in so he can make a choice. That stockgrower contest is an amazing experience.
We start calving very soon. It sure is different than a year ago. Dry warm weather has made our feed go further and the cattle are in excellent shape. We just reimplanted a set of fed cattle and they are very close to harvest. Under the umbrella of Cargill we have gone to the time and trouble of becoming a QSA qualified feedlot and producer. If the border can get open and stay that way to Japan, maybe the extra time will pay off. Otherwise I will be very disappointed. It requires documentation starting with the producer and all the way thru. We actually had one of our own culls that had 4 tags in her ear when we were done processing her. We have been joking that we are going to develop a muti eared animal. Six of our producers have gone to the time and trouble to become QSA producers. It seems like we keep getting new things to learn about all the time in the cattle business and it certainly isn't dull. I intend to be updating the site very regularly from now until sale day. We hope you all have excellent calving!
Dec 8 - We awoke to frigid temps as I am sure all of you did. Nothing will start except for the big feed truck that spent the night in Emporia getting worked on. I guess it was a blessing we didn't get it picked up last night. Joe and I spent much of yesterday waiting on it, so he 'helped' me Christmas shop. He had no idea it was so painful and expensive. I rather enjoyed his company. He couldn't even use the line that we had to get going because we were waiting!
We are supposed to get another set of customer cattle later today. They had even more snow then we did and are in a real mess. The superior rep kind of needs to get it done as he made a trip from MO or somewhere off. We are attempting to get all the Red Angus customer cattle QSA qualified so that when the Japan border opens maybe both us and our customer can benefit financially. It does require record keeping and documentation from both us and them though. At the very least, it would be a good idea to write down the date of your first and last calves born. Better would be a ranch I.D. put in a birth that ties the calf to a specific date. Joe and I think that eventually this will not be something that garners a premium, but will become necessary to get your cattle sold.
Dec. 2 - Where did fall get to? We just finished A.I.ing group 2 this morning and I can taste the end with the last ones getting done tomorrow. It is like a marathon. What we have discovered (the hard way) is that just because it is a good day to put CIDRS in, the schedule that follows might not work so hot. So we now take the calendar and a pencil and keep writing down scenarios until we finally get one that isn't to messed up.
My mother came to stay for an extended period this week. She took a fall and cannot be alone as she now uses a walker. She can't carry hot things ect. The good news is she is doing great. But the day I got her (from another sister who lives in Manhattan) we had to take the trailer to haul all her things. While we were in Manhattan we picked up a bull that was being collected too. It was amusing for all of us to haul Mom, LT and all her stuff that way.
If you have ever been to our house you know it is not very accessible to anyone who cannot climb stairs. We took the PU and got Mom right up to the deck and got her in pretty easily. I am very excited that Physical Therapy is coming here to help her do exercises so she can get stronger. She will be spending most of the winter with myself or my sister in Manhattan. That way she gets care, attention and eats.
December is a big birthday month at our house. Our twins will be 15 on the 12th and Chris is 12 on the 16th. We usually have one big party and then little parties on 'the day'. Typically we have some sort of activity on the real birthdays. I am reeling at the idea that these kids are that big. YIKES.
I haven't even taken time to get out our Advent wreath. It is going to be week 2 before we even get it lit! Oh well.
The other thing that is taking all my time is the KRA membership directory. I have to get it done. I am planning on being in more as soon as the cows are bred. We will see.....................
November 21, 2005 - I knew the heifers would not last long and they didn't. They are going to a good home with a long time genetic partner of ours and we will probably get to feed out the offspring of many of them. We spent last week getting our breeding groups organized. We start synchronizing the cows today and will do three groups, one each of the next three days. On Wed. the CIDRS come out of the heifers so we should be breeding them by Friday. We are pulling them late to try to stay off of Thanksgiving as much as possible.
I am pretty surprised and very relieved that we did not lose any calves to coyotes up north this Fall. There were over 100 cows calving in about 960 acres. We saw and heard so many that we were sure all that singing meant a fresh meal of Sterling Silver. As of Saturday, we accounted for every calf!
We did have a flash back from last year though. By the time we got all the cows and calves run thru, it was getting dark. Casey got flashlights to sort off the last few cows that were going back out. We got it done though and didn't have to work Sunday other then feeding. Having Grady has really taken off some pressure, particularly for the kids.
Nov. 15- We woke up this morning to our first snow storm. I knew something was up the way the cattle and the kids have been acting. We did get a nice group of potential breeding heifers calf-hood vaccinated and ear notched yesterday though, before it got cold. Joe and I took the calendar and tried to plan out our synchronization and breeding plan for this fall. We are going to be moving lots of cattle through the chute over the next few weeks. It seems like there is always something to do with the cows. We did get the Fall cattle scanned though and took one more cut on them that day to get out the ones that just don't make the cut. We went pretty deep on them this year and they are shaping up to be a very nice set of bulls. We just had a set of heifers come up as available. They are a pretty nice set and I don't anticipate it being long before someone snatches them up. They are kind of in the way so we move them a lot. They do follow a cake truck about anywhere for sure.
October 30 - October flew by for us here at Mushrush Red Angus. With the first day of sleeping in under our belts I am glad we have put in the hours we have. It is amazing what just one hour can do to a project. By tomorrow evening we will have all the Spring cows into their fall grazing. The next project is to organize Fall breeding. It is always a challenge to plan all the trips thru the chute around school activities, church and 4-H. We are getting the bred heifers delivered as quickly as our trucker can go. He broke down in Meade, KS with a load of our calves last weekend. A second truck had to go get the load and of course that set the whole schedule back a little.
Casey had his last football game of his high school career Thursday night. It was bitter sweet. The team got beat pretty bad, but he played so well. He has so much heart. Hopefully he will pursue life the way he does football. The kids are picking our steers today to take to the Stockgrower contest next January. They have a lot of work to do to get ready for that in the next 60 days.
October 23, 2005 - Typically October is a month that we view like grain farmers look at harvest. We are gathering up the crop from our spring cows and marketing and delivering bred heifers. This year has been no exception. By Tuesday all heifers will be pregged and ready to deliver. So far we are under 8% on opens. We always figure a 10% when we make projections so it is looking very optimistic. All the spring calves are weaned and going. What a set of females we just brought in. the LT 142 calves are already standing out. He is back up for collection and we hope it goes well. Currently we are very low on semen from him.
Casey plays his last high school football game Thursday night. I am ready to get my boys back but a little disappointed they didn't get further in the play offs. Casey is an outstanding player. He has so much heart and wants to win. We love watching him. He has lost weight this fall though and I doubt that he weighs much over 170#. Thursday will be his last real football game I think.
Our house down the hill has had several groups go through it now. I am relived that it is covering its bills so far. We did put a hot tub in and that has been really fun for us when there are not guests. Hopefully the word will get out and we can keep it going. The part I don't like is trying to clean and maintain two homes. My own house has suffered as we have tried to get the lodge cleaned up. I really want to paint our house this fall and one of these days it is going to be to cold.
October 9, 2005 - In one short month we have gotten a lot done. All the bred heifers are contracted for. The first two groups are home and will be pregged and tagged for delivery. The group of British based heifers come home Tuesday afternoon and will be pregged and ready for delivery by Wed. evening. Our Spring bulls are weaned and well started. What a set! We will keep you posted on them. The heifer calves are being stored with their mothers until we can get some of the other cattle cleared out.
I had a large group of guests in our Tallgrass Prairie Lodge over the weekend. They were from several states and were here for a Purina trail ride. We were invited up for the Sat. evening steak fry and ran into one of our customers. We also enjoyed some excellent Sterling Silver steak. Because of the guests we had to put off getting some bawling calves. Starting this next week we are going to be getting in quite a few calves, some weaned and some just preconditioned off the cows.
September 3, 2005- We have had an amazing week. We finally ended up with over 10" of rain ourselves before the rain ended a few days ago. The grass has greened back up and it will certainly make that 3rd cutting of alfalfa better. We can hardly believe we are concerned about cutting hay and getting it wet. Fall calving started last week. They are early though so they tend to be light. I just have to brag a little on Casey. He had his first football game last night. He hurt his shoulder Tues. and we all have been pretty worried. He was supposed to play just a little defense but he ended up playing quite a little the second half. I hope we can keep him healthy because our little team is really good together this year. I don't recall a year since we started following Football that they have been so hungry to win. It is really fun.
We hope to early wean some of our calves by mid Sept. Like so many, the logistics of getting mature cow weights is very difficult. Joe is thinking though we might actually take our chute from the sale barn and weigh a couple of far off groups. Together they number over 50 head so we kind of need the data. Our new help is wonderful. We are getting so much done and I a little to my dismay, have been working indoors more. I do have a pile of computer things to get updated though.
We have been showing the bred heifers several times a week here lately and it looks like they may be gone by this evening. They are a really nice set of cow prospects and we expect the buyers to really like them.
August 25- Unbelievable but we are looking at a possible flood. For August that is a new one for me. It has rained quite a bit the past several days, but what sends the river out is the rain on up. Apparently they had up to 10" in places. We will keep our fingers crossed as we have so much to do. Casey and Cole will play their team scrimmage for football Sat. evening. Casey and Laura were supposed to judge for the State 4-H team Sat. morning. And we have started fall calving. The heifers are in a half section over on the other side of the river. We have had two and several more really looking close. A couple of weeks ago we preconditioned all the calves and treated everyone for flies. The spring crop is pretty impressive this year. In one pasture two of my favorites visually were LT 142 calves. We hope to wean them in mid September.
Our new help began last Monday. That has been so nice. He keeps working when Joe and I have to attend to other disruptions like cattle out, the phone ect. We hired a local guy we didn't even know was thinking of changing jobs.
The three quarter stock steers came out and were sold last week. I was very disappointed with their performance. It validates yet again the importance of purchasing cattle with known genetics and health programs. This was a put together set of very plain southern cattle. I don't think some of them gained a pound. Joe is much calmer then I am about the whole thing. But, mark my word, we are NEVER getting cattle from that source again.
Daniel is back from Honduras and in school at K-state. He is living in a house with 6 other guys. When we go by it brings back very fond memories of college days and all that free time with no worry of money or things. If we had food and good music we were set.
July 31 - We just finished our week of the county fair and Joe figured up that we took in 18 animals if you count horses. It was busy, rewarding and not real hot. Monday evening a cool front blew in and saved us all. Some day I will share the 'pig loading' story, but it isn't funny just yet. It still needs some 'aging'. Maddy had a pink hat that returned one hundred fold. I really felt a little bad (but not to) for the boys that had to compete against her and Sweetie the bucket calf. She hates it when we castrate things and told us she would not tell the judge that Dad and Casey had castrated him. Afterwards she told Joe she told the judge that we had neutered him.
If you want to see them larger, just click on the picture.
We will pull the rest of the bulls and precondition calves next week. I am really looking forward to that. We usually try to pick out a few to watch at that point. We also have full time help again starting in a couple of weeks. It is really going to be nice going into fall work, the sale, sports, and other events. Sometimes things really work out.
July 5-I just returned from the pasture and got a couple of pictures of two groups of our Commercial heifers. By the end of the week I hope to have the other two groups checked and will try to get a picture of them too. We heard from Daniel and as you can imagine Honduras is a conflict of the 'haves and have nots'. He was very struck by the poverty and saw a little girl that reminded him of Maddy. It tore at his heart. He said the children repair pot holes in the road and then stand by and wait for cars to throw them money. Unfortunately some are run over trying to get the money. It mad him very very sad.
We have had wonderful rain and it is going to be another great grass year. With the exception of a bad eye here and there the cattle really look good. I cannot wait to get the bulls back in. They are starting to cave around which is a pretty good indication that they have their work done. We are in the middle of brome. We have made the decision to hire someone full time again. I am looking forward to having a little bit of time to do what I want again. I am afraid I don't read enough with Maddy and just spend time with the others doing nothing. If you know of someone who would like to do general ranch work, we are actively interviewing now.
June 28, 2005 - Our oldest turned 21 on Sunday. I must have been 10 when we had him because I am way to young to have a kid that grown up! We are taking him to the airport for a 6 week stint in Honduras. He is really excited about going. I am just glad it was only for half the summer instead of all of it like he originally planned.
Thankfully cattle are out grazing on beautiful grass once again due to all the rain in May. The kids began to think the only thing they did was put in water gaps. We did finally flood in two weeks ago. The water from two creeks and the river sometimes covers our drive clear down at the highway. I really don't mind if we have food because I have captive labor. We cleaned on the barn did a bunch of mowing and worked on the house down the hill some more. It is slowly coming together and will have its first guests in early August. I am also closer to having that tack room and getting the vet stuff out of the mud room.
It is supposed to cool off some and we intend to calf hood the fall calves and ear notch everything this Thursday. We got them weaned a little later then we had wanted and it affected their adjusted wean weight. We have already culled them pretty deep and I know they will get carved on again before next March. We are leaving the culls in their contemporary groups though until after yearling weights are taken. The culls are just sporting a FCCP tag too.
We sold the last of our fed cattle a couple weeks ago. What a relief to have the pens empty of fed cattle for a little while. We have not compiled all the data but generally they killed very well again this year. It is always interesting to see how cattle from the same pen do a different week. I hope to get something up on the web site with more detail soon.
It is hard to believe that we will get to start pulling bulls in a couple of weeks. Once the double stocks are gone and the cows are bred, it seems like things always settle down and we don't spend as much time fixing problems in the pastures.
Our 4-H fair is only about 5 weeks away. I am not sure how my children are going to get their little Fall heifers halter broke. I think it is time for two a days. Their steers are quite gentle and fat. Chris has a major woodworking project going. He is restoring a table and two chairs. The table had multiple layers of paint and finish. I think he is going to have to choose either the chairs or the table but probably cannot do all three by the fair.
May 15, 2005- I had no idea it would be so long before I updated our site again. It seems like each year we get busier. Once all the cattle were delivered it was time to focus on breeding groups and turning out. After a very wet winter we got pretty dry by mid April. With everything burned by the last of April we were ready for a nice shower. It didn't come. One week ago, on May 5 we were driving cattle across a pasture kicking up suet and dust. That is very unusual for us this early in the season.
Thursday night that all changed. We had 4 1/2 inches of rain. It was wonderful. All the streams are running and as Joe always says "we can hear the grass grow". It is transformed into what I most love about our Flint Hills. The hills are rolling green and speckled with red cattle. It is a beautiful time to live here.
With all the rain we lost some water gaps. We are now in the process of finding lost cattle. Casey has done a great job of getting gaps repaired. We still have 30 steers on the lam. We are afraid they have gone to the 3000 acres to our East. I hope not. It is nearly impossible to ride and retrive cattle from those big pastures.
We pull CIDRS tomorrow and will AI the Spring cows by the weekend. Hopefully by then all the cows will be where they are supposed to be and we can start thinking about first cutting of alfalfa.
Chris gets to go to the World with his Odyssey team. He and I leave for a 5 day jaunt to Boulder, CO this next weekend. He is very excited and it is an opportunity we will probably never get to take advantage of again. The downside is that I have to miss the twins promotion from 8th grade. I will also miss Casey running the 300 m. hurdles at Regional track.
I promise to update this in the next 4 - 6 weeks.
March 29- What a sale we had this year. I knew we had some very good cattle and it was a validating day. We are now thinking about delivery and transfers. I will write more when I have a minute but I did post the sale results on the sale page.
March 18 - Bleachers are coming, the barn is pretty clean and the sale ring is up. It actually looks like there may be an auction here next week. With the kids out of school we have lots of extra hands. We did have to get Cole glasses today. Boy are those things pricey. Tomorrow morning we will attend Regional 4-H day. Our schedule is so spread out that we have to be there all morning. Casey gives his reading, Chris his project talk and all of them will have a part in the model meeting. Hopefully by tomorrow night the bleachers will be in the barn and the final cleaning wrapping up.
Daniel is coming home to start his Spring break tomorrow so he
will get to help feed. We are still having lots of calves and should break
100 by Saturday night. I will continue to take pictures as I get the
opportunity. Some I have posted are just not that great. It is
definitely best if you see the cattle.
March 14 - We finished tagging cattle for the sale and
discovered that we forgot to catalog a bull. Every day I try to take some
pictures. Lot 146 and 150 are giving me fits. They always try to
face me and I just cannot get a decent picture. I will keep working on
them and the others that have been requested. It is starting to get fun
around here. The cattle look so good. We are tearing the barn down
tomorrow. We figure that is a good rainy day project. I intend to
use the power washer quite a bit too. We have now had over 90 calves and
are getting several every day. We are pretty pleased with the rate they
are coming.
We have a customer that had 200 calves in 37 days. I don't think we are going to beat him! He is delighted. We get to feed his calves so it will be another uniform group. Maddy turns 7 tomorrow so it is time for me to go be a Mom. I will keep the web site updated every few days as I get photos.
I should have that darned heifer sheet done later tonight or tomorrow. I will post it when it is completed.
March 8 - Here I am updating this in the middle of the day. Daniel had come home to help finish cleaning up the bulls but got a call from a very good friend. She was going to be within 60 miles of here and he had to go meet her. Hopefully he and I can still get the bulls done after he gets back! After that we will have the Yearling heifers to do, and sale cattle will be clean. Our barn looks like a disaster area. It always amazes me that it transforms so well.
We are having Spring calves really quickly. We didn't start that long ago and already have 60 on the ground. So far only a minor glitch here and there. They are so cute and the weather has been wonderful.
I am hoping to get the heifer pregnancy sheet done by this weekend. When I do, it will be posted on the sale page.
February 24 - The catalog is leaving my house today! YEA! We did it a little differently this year so that I did not have to key in every pedigree and every EPD. Hopefully that will decrease the number of errors. The flu is going around our house and I had it most of the time I was doing the catalog so it just makes everything more difficult. I can't wait to get back outside again. I haven't got to feed any cows for a week.
Daniel is coming down a couple of times a week to clip the sale cattle. He is doing an awesome job and it is fun to see him so often. He brings one of his buddies sometimes. I am hoping to continue taking pictures and will be glad to post lots as I can get a decent picture. It seems like they will have a leg wrong or their head down or another one growing out of them from somewhere. I am posting what I took in preparation for the catalog. I wish I could get pictures of Beckton Yearlings but will not have a chance to until shortly before the sale.
We ear notched Yearling heifers yesterday and plan to separate culls, replacements and sale heifers. They have been stuck in a mud pen and we are moving them to a pasture.
February 19 - This is going to be short because we are smack in the middle of putting the catalog together. We are so excited though. The quality and depth of the bulls is incredible. When the catalog is safely at the printer, I will add more to the web site.
February 8 - When is it going to quit raining, icing and snowing? As I type it is snowing again. Spring is going to be extra sweet this year that is for sure. We got the Super Bowl over with. My kids are mad at me because I pick out who to cheer for by their outfits. They are disgusted that I am so disconnected.
I figured out how to import my files for the catalog last night so that was a huge success. Now I just have to wait for Yearling bull data and I am ready to really put the catalog together. I figured out why my emails disappeared a couple of weeks ago. Our server was changed. No one knew, not even the school, so it cleared out accounts. Even though I am on the wireless, my dial up had not expired, so I was still getting some email from it. I am not even going to set up the dial up as it expires very soon anyway.
I just put the finishing touched on a newsletter. We will be sending it out the minute we get it back from the printer, probably early next week. If you want to be sure you are included, give us a call or email to get on our mailing list.
January 29- We are starting to gather up the information for the sale offering. Next week we will scan the Spring calves and get yearling weights. It is a little worrisome how much there is to do and how little time, but I suspect by March 24 it will be done one way or the other. We had our first Spring calf last week. Casey bred the heifer he took to the fair to calve early hoping she wouldn't slip it when he showed her. We will start for real the middle of February with the first calf heifers. Being the computer guru that I am, I somehow lost all my email last weekend. The good news though is that my Cow program is interfacing with Red Angus again. It has been messed up since a year ago and has required a lot of moving of files to get things updated. Unfortunately, if you requested more information, or a catalog, I did not have those moved to the permanent list. I would appreciate it if you would email us again and will get it done immediately. I have given up on getting pictures in good weather. I am convinced that this winter, good weather means no ice or sub 0 temperatures. Spring is going to be particularly sweet this year.
Our new (and I use that word loosely) feed truck started slipping the transmission yesterday. I sure do hope it is nothing but I know we are going to be feeding with the tractor. I intend to update frequently so I will visit with you again soon.
January 24 - We finally got the first group of Spring cows home. We had to haul them because the weather wouldn't cooperate when the kids were here. It is starting to get pretty busy here. We are doing lots of planning for the sale. It looks like we will have a dozen two year olds, 55+ 18 month bulls and at least 50 yearlings. We also will have a super set of Fall bred (commercial and registered) and yearling females.
I got the kill data back on the steers and I have not studied yet. All I know is that we fed them to long. There were several 4's. Last year we didn't harvest them until February. I am pretty disappointed. They would have rung the bell if we had managed them correctly. I will try to get some closeouts posted when it is down by the computer.
January 8- We delivered 39 of the Fall born calf feds yesterday. Even after the horrible ice storm the weighed almost 1400#. That should lay to rest the myth that British cattle don't get big enough. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that mishandled or poor genetics don't get big enough. I will have a close out on this pen soon. The day we delivered them it was frozen solid with a sheet of ice covering everything. The leg on our mill is frozen and we can't roll corn. Joe fed whole corn starting last evening. The cattle don't like it at first and all of this is hurting performance. Miraculously health seems to be pretty good though. The fall baby calves always worry us. For the most part they are in good shape. We are also cautiously optimistic that the Fall cows are getting bred too. We have been watching the group that is still at our house and M099 has been busy. That was the latest of the Fall cows and we did not A.I. any of them. I saw him with one of the later cows yesterday so that was great.
Our big plans to drive the one group of Spring cows back home is falling apart. We should have done it last Sat. but the weather called for rain. We decided to do it Monday when it was supposed to be warm and sunny. You guessed it, Saturday was great and Monday it was raining. Then the ice started. Today it is supposed to be warm and sunny and it is very cold. We are all kind of just surviving until it thaws. My horse and my new saddle really want to do this so I am pretty disappointed.
Sale plans are starting to be further scrutinized. After we return from Denver it will really take off. The Fall bulls are basically ready other than a clip job. The Fall heifers should be mostly bred, and the yearlings are out in pastures growing. We turned the Spring bulls out too this year. They will not gain as well but we hope they will be in good shape for using. It is always hard to balance feed with function.
December 27 - The first load of these cattle are turned in and will be harvested next week. We expect them to do very well on the grid. There will be a few of our cull bulls with the balance from the Mushrush sired pen.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Daniel made it home safe and sound, it warmed up, and Casey did not have to have his knee scoped. He was actually prepped when the decision was made. What a relief. His steer is coming along too so life is good. We are going to use this week to get a few things done. We wouldn't want our kids to spend to much time watching TV or playing those mindless video games! We are going to get the heifers calf hood vaccinated and work the last bunch of steers. Hopefully we can get a fence project or two going too. Joe got me a saddle for Christmas. I couldn't believe it. I can't wait to go for a real ride and actually use it, but it looks like it will be wonderful. He had them use a Wade tree which is supposed to be good for leg contact. Because I rode bareback so much as a kid, I tend to use my legs a lot, so that will be really fun to check into.
It is about time to gear up for sale stuff. I can't believe it is already 2005. Where does our time get to? We wish you all a very prosperous New Year.
December 20 - We are actually considering turning a load of the above cattle in on Monday. The holiday has us a little spooked. They have had a great finishing period other than a little mud. OK, a lot of mud! I get anxious and want to pull the trigger. Joe on the other hand, is more patient and will wait. Either way, they are about to go to harvest.
Like everyone else, we are crazy busy and anticipating the upcoming Christmas break eagerly. The kids are starting to bounce off the wall. Madelyn in particular is really into Christmas. We have a life size nativity. Since they were all quite small, they have played with, ridden and talked to it. Maddy was doing it last night.
We bred the last group of Fall cows on the 10th. What an accomplishment. We A.I.ed 120 cows and 50 heifers. I wasn't sure we could get it all done at one point. We will turn the last bull in soon and that little task is done. We had one last surprise calf a couple of days ago. Otherwise Fall calving has been over with for awhile too!
We have two groups of Spring cows on some cool season grass meadows away from home. One of them is only about 7 miles across the hills to where we will calve them out. I am petitioning for a winter cow drive. Doesn't that sound fun? And it will beat the heck out of loading them and driving 12 miles loaded five times. Besides it will get the horses and the kids exercised.
The kids are trying to get their stockgrower projects done. Everyone is on schedule but Casey. He traded steers with Chris because Chris was having trouble. It turns out that the steer is just a little bit ornery. Casey will get him but I am not sure he will make it to Denver. We are going to have him catch his Spring heifer tonight. The trouble is Casey may get his knee scoped on Thursday and will not be working with any animal. I guess this will be on opportunity for his siblings to help out and show some leadership.
Daniel is arriving home from Spain tonight. We go to Casey's concert and then straight to the airport. Daniel will have been traveling for 24 hours so he will be pretty tired. We can't wait to see him, his pictures and just hear about his experiences. I know this study has been a far greater education than learning a language. He has had to defend our policies, deal with religious oppression and with women being treated like second class citizens. The places he has gone and things he has seen has been unbelievable. I am sure he will come home with a greater appreciation for our country and hopefully for his family.
We wish everyone of you a Blessed and Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. May the cows all breed, the calves all live, the pay weight high and the prices good! I will update again after New Years.
November 14, 2004 - Well we got our high speed internet up and running. What a relief to actually be able to receive files in a timely manner. We also appreciate having our phone line freed up. Joe and I have busily getting the balance of our mature cow weights taken for the ME EPD. We finally started taking groups up to our sale facility and having the kids help us process them after school in the evenings. It has lights so we could work in the dark. The kids have been real troopers about us working them so much. They do have cattle too, so they like seeing when their own come in and are pregged.
We finished tattooing and boosting the Spring calves yesterday. I don't know if it is the year or our good luck, but our health has been outstanding on all classes this year. We have only pulled one from two separate groups of cattle that we have had 2 1/2 - 3 1/s weeks. None of them were weaned. Our own spring calves hit the pens eating and haven't been sick either.
We are going to get the Spring cows moved to some cool season grazing and then we will begin to sort the Fall calving cows for breeding. Trying to decide how to breed them is such a huge decision. We hope to A.I. about 120 cows and 60 heifers. That will be a busy week for Joe. We also have a group of commercial heifers we would like to time breed. They will be offered in our Mushrush - Beckton Joint sale.
The last KSU game is on Nov. 20. After this season, I am ready for it to end. It has been pretty painful and ugly. Colorado drove the final stake into our heart. Our post season is not going to happen. But there is always next year................
Casey is one of the main characters in our all school play. He is really good. Their final performance is today and starting tomorrow we will have him home after school to help out some. We need to teach him to weld!
We found out Monday which portion of the bottom feed lot fence will be a part of our EQUIP project so now we can begin to rebuild some of the ones that will not be included. It is time as some are in pretty bad shape.
November 2 - I had not planned to updated this until after November 8 as we are going wireless and getting high speed internet. The old dial up has been coming in as slow as 9.2. The computer thinks it is inactive and kicks off all the time. This will change our email address and should lower the frustration level some. With Halloween the Mushrush family has a tradition. We shoot our pumpkins afterwards. It is always great fun and a much anticipated activity. A sad thing happened though. "Richard" our jack - o-lantern, fell from the deck and busted. Oh well we still have two to shoot.
With no outside help we are really jumping to get things done. With the fall calving winding down, we are getting in customer cattle, pregging cows and thinking about fall breeding. It has been a remarkable fall. I don't remember enjoying the colors, textures and smells as much as this year.
We made it thru Football with only one trip to the specialist and an MRI. Then he told Casey he could play! Casey did hurt one of his shoulders blocking a punt at the last game. He literally throws himself into the game. At least he can rest it for track.
September 18 - Fall calving is well under way with about 1/3 of the calves on the ground. The weather has been exceptional and the cattle certainly must be maternal for their calves to survive where we calve. We did finally move one group to a smaller pasture because the section with the tall grass was so difficult to find them in. Often we see them when they are born and than not again for several days to a week. They can lay down in the grass and just disappear.
I am really proud of our first calf heifers. They are also calving out in some very tall grass and are doing a good job of taking care of their babies. It is a good thing too. We would never find a calf if it was lost. It is such a clean natural environment though for them to be in.
With no hired help we are stretched pretty thin just trying to get normal chores done. I like spending more time outside getting to do some of the hands on work we used to delegate to someone else. With Maddy in first grade, it has been a good thing. I do worry a little about my KRA duties and keeping my computer work current for our business.
Rather than having someone live in our second house full time, we have made the decision to turn it into a guest house. We have spent what little free time we have had getting it shaped up. It is starting to look like a lodge. Our plan is to let people bring their horses out and enjoy the prairie and a working cattle ranch.
The set of cattle we are following are still not up on feed. We are holding them until we get the fall weights back and do the first culling of the fall bulls. Last year we kept the scan contemporary groups in tact, but this year we think we had better get them on feed and gone while the price is good. We will still turn in carcass data, but it will be actual instead of a scan. We had our first sick steer this week. He appeared to have a sore foot but ended up with a respiratory thing. We will see how this affects his carcass.
August 18, 2004 - We have continued to be blessed with lots of moisture and have enjoyed one of the best grass years since I moved to the Flint Hills. Ironically, double stock gains have been somewhat depressed in part because the grass was so washy. The kids and I have noticed a decrease in mineral consumption finally. I guess that is a pretty good indication that the grass is hardening off. We actually have pastures shooting seedheads that are as high as we are when we are on the horses.
This is probably going to go down as one of the best summers we ever have as a family. We have had the opportunity to work with each other every day. It has not always been fun, and some days we get pretty cranky, but we have also made some wonderful memories. Daniel left for Europe on August 8. Watching him leave was pretty tough. Even after he went to college we have been close enough that we either talked on the phone or saw each other very often. This time it is different. He has been emailing though, and that is pretty amazing. We are in touch nearly every day. Around the 28th of August, he will head to Spain to begin his fall semester. He is getting a minor in Spanish and will be fluent when we pick him up on Christmas eve. He is in for quite an adventure the next few months.
The 4-H fair was great. We had no idea we rode such good halter horses. (ha) Chris had Champion mare and Laura and Tootles were Champion gelding. They had many other good things happen too. Chris took a heifer that he broke himself this spring. Now he is campaigning for a steer. I sure wish he'd wait until he was just a little bit bigger. Our kids steers made a very decent showing. Two of the three were purchased for freezer beef. People are figuring out that ours are always good. The premiums for all the sale animals was very humbling. We have very generous supporters in our community.
Fall cows should start calving about the 10th of September, so it wont be long. We hope to start preconditioning the spring calves soon and before we know it we will be weaning calves and going to football games.
July 11 - Unbelievable is the only way to describe the cattle business right now. Cattle prices have held unprecedented highs even with the BSE scares. We have got to do a better job of making consumers realize just how safe beef is. Many activities that we all participate in daily, are way more likely to injure or kill us than eating Beef. Driving on Hwy. 50 comes to my mind. In a road construction site 8 people were killed in a two week period. For those of us who drive it daily, we were not surprised. The truck traffic is very heavy and they are coming off of a four lane at Newton and Emporia. It looks like summer finally found us. Joe has big plans for the hay field and his two oldest sons next week. I have some plans too so we should accomplish a lot. I have been trying to give my kids a reason to ride their horses nearly every day. They sure are better help if they have been at it regularly. We are starting to pull a few bulls. I can't wait to get those onery things home. It seems like once the cows are bred and the double stocks get shipped, things settle down and you can actually go to a pasture and get a decent count without spending half a day in the neighboring pastures.
With all the rains and storms we have been expecting to lose some cattle to lightening. So far we have only had one cow get it and she was in one of the first storms, and a heifer last week. As high as some of the pastures are and as wicked as the lightening has been, we consider ourselves pretty fortunate. The kids actually led their heifers and set them up pretty well today. Yippee! We have them on two a days as it is crunch time for us and the fair. That woodworking project is still not done though. Chris may take it in half done.
July 1 - July marks the over half way point of summer and that makes me a little sad. It has been wonderful having our kids around this summer. Watching them grow and mature as they help with the ranch chores has been wonderful. Chris has gone from being a pretty poor horseman to really being able to pick up the slack. He has commandeered Joe's mare. They are getting along really well. He plans to show Sis at our county fair. We have been blessed with some amazing rain. It has gone from a so so grass year to full ponds and lots of grass. We are so hoping that some of it is going west too as we know there is some pretty dry country out there. The kids just returned from the National Junior Red Angus Round Up. This year they spent a week in California. It was an unbelievable experience for them. This was the first one for Cole and Laura. They made lots of friends and even got to spend a day with some friends of ours from that area. Daniel is the new Vice President of the junior association. With his semester in Spain, he is going to be pretty busy again.
We are going to have to get the 4-H projects ready. Chris has been working on an old organ stool for his woodworking. Sanding is a hard thing to do. Laura has a sewing project cut out but not stitched and they have cattle that got very little attention while they were in California. They will be pretty busy from now until the end of the month. At least they have been using their horses and have them kind of squared up. They cleaned them up and rode in our annual rodeo parade. This was the most interactive parade I have ever been in. It was a blast.
I can't wait to get the bulls back in. It seems like once the double stocks come out and the cows are bred, things settle down a little and we can actually get a count without spending half a day at the neighbors looking for cattle. We have a really fancy set of commercial bred heifers this year. It has been fun to watch them develop.
May 27 - It has been pretty busy since I last updated the site. We have made some changes and with them it has once again made our dynamics new. As of May 1 we no longer have outside hired help. For now the kids and Connie will be picking up the slack plus getting some additional things done. The younger ones and Connie are trying to keep mineral out and check count on all the pastures. We discovered that we actually have 23 different ones scattered from the East to the West side of the county. It is very interesting because the rainfall variation just within those pastures is huge. The one closest to Marion county on the West is definitely the driest. On toward Emporia on the other end of the county the pasture is in better condition due to more moisture. Some of the pastures work better with horses and some with the four wheeler. Connie intends to have her young horse really going by fall.