Throckmorton Texas Here We Come!

Whoop!  I am so excited about leaving for Throckmorton today.  Lynn will be holding down the ranch and James the Houston area house.  It's a huge busy time for us the rest of the week.  Larry and I are attending this sale at the RA Brown Ranch on Thursday only as we are interested in some Red Angus cattle to be the base for building our Red Wagyu bulls in the future.  To view the sale catalog is pure eye candy for this rancher!  Yesterday bored with the same ole news about Congress I caught this week's American Rancher on RFD which was about the RA Brown Ranch Sale.  More eye candy on some gorgeous bulls, cows and weanling Quarter Horses.  The weanling Quarter Horses reminded me of the wonderful Quarter Horses of my youth!  Consistent quality throughout the offering at the sale!  WOW!!!  When Bogart needs a companion I just might have to go out to RA Brown to pick a weanling out.  But not this trip!  Two horses are enough for right now.

The first photograph I take upon arriving in Throckmorton (the town) will be the Throckmorton County Courthouse!!!  I will not be marking Throckmorton County off my list of courthouses photographed!  They have started restoration on the Courthouse Complex.  Yet another trip will be needed once the renovations are done!  I'm sure in another couple of years we will again visit our friends at King's High Ranch and I'll get more photos then.  If your interested you can see the Facebook Page.  I hope Larry will let me pick up some more photos of Courthouses along the way!

This coming weekend is the Get Back to Grass Sale and Field Day at Pitchford Genetics Sale Facility in Athens, Texas selling 75 lots of Lowline Cattle.  Sale starts at 1pm and can be viewed on Live Auctions TV.  The best in Lowline Genetics will be represented at this sale!

Be back next week!  Until next time!

Fitting

A little more of the work going on at the ranch!  It's Stock Show Season around the country.  Yesterday the Iowa Beef Expo Lowline sale was sponsored by the Midwest Lowline Assoc. in Des Moines.  Some nice cattle sold in the sale.  Unfortunately I don't have the sale report.  The San Antonio Livestock show is in full swing and we are exactly 2 weeks away from move in at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The work we do is enormous to get the cattle ready to strut their stuff in the ring. The cattle term is "fitting".  The person who "fits" is called a "fitter."  Fitting a calf for show encompasses nutrition, grooming (clipping, training hair on English and Continental breeds), and every day wash or rinse and blow.  Yes, there is that word "blow" not "blow dry."  Of course we teach the heifer, bull, or steer to lead and place feet to best present the animal to the judge.

FJL General Beauregard as six month old is in the trim chute with Lynn fitting the halter to his head.  We switch out halters quickly in the ready area so we need to know where the buckles need to be before showtime.  The photo was taken in February 2010 when The General was five months old.

If your attending HLSR from February 28th to March 4th please stop by and say hello at our stalls!

Sir Lancelot

I really need to get some of the photos we have of the cattle in the Ranch Scrapbook. I have a number of photos which need to be put in this album and more to purchase from show wins. As ususal I turned to ACOT for inspiration. January Contest was titled January Sketch Contest. I love how the contest was set up with the beginning letter of your "nick" as the Page Maps Sketch one had to use. I had this light bulb moment of a kit I purchased from Scrapbook Kits, now sadly defunct since I loved their kits! This is the Page Maps Sketch I used:

And my take on the sketch:



This was a fun sketch using American Crafts and Nikki Sivils pattern papers! I think I succeeded in giving the impression the photo was from a county fair, 2004 Brazoria County Fair. Lynn is showing one of her senior year projects, Sir Lancelot, her steer and scramble calf project.

What's in the Shoe! ahhh Boot!

As a rancher of beef cattle what is in the footwear one wears. The first thought is a rancher wears boots. I smile as women want to marry the rancher but buy their food from a farmer. Even before I was high school graduate, I was a Wranglers and T-shirt gal. Hasn't change even after marriage. I love my Wranglers and t-shirts. I am even back to wearing men's Wranglers. Why, well I could go into all the economic gobbledygook about why, but lets just say I can't find my size anymore. I was blessed with a short waist and longer then long legs with needing a 36 inch inseam jeans. And as you can imagine I do not own a dress pair of slacks with needing that inseam. But boots....even getting me to ride with boots on unless I was in the show ring was not happening. More then likely you would find me barefoot as a teenager cleaning horse stalls and slip the tennis shoes on to ride. Sigh.....the joys of teenage rebellion. Tennis shoes even when riding until I went to work were State of Texas regulations required me to ride with boots on. Yep, my supervisor pulled that one on me. But if I didn't have a supervisor around on my weekend I had to work once a month, back in the tennis shoes horseback. Now happily turning 50 this year I look back and realize I have some real problems with my knees and ankles having worked with livestock my whole life. So now when I'm in the barn I look for a shoe which gives my ankles more support. Still no boots, but yep I have a pair for when I go to a cattle show. They are a pair of Ariat Lace Up. They are so uncomfortable and yet again finding my size was an issue, I wear a 7 1/2 C. It's that darn C width. Next pair of boots I'm going back to Justins! My work in the barn shoes are my US Polo Muckers. Oh My Gosh they are so comfortable! And then if it rains I'm back in what I call my work tennis shoes. So once again, I dispel the myth of all cattlewomen walking around in western clothes and boots like any of those old western movies. This gal loves her muckers and tennies in that order!!!

Flying J&L Lowline Bulls

I've spent too much time not writing. I've been so very frustrated with writing and listening to both sides of issues. So I stopped writing.

So now back with a different attitude to write about life, to hope my stories of the ranch and our lifestyle will be one bright part of my day.

Yesterday I spent taking photos for our website and a renewed interest in keeping up to date. My first photo is of the ranch, above, and one of our Star 5 weanlings. She is by far the best of last fall's calf crop of Star 5. She is an awesome heifer and one who will go on to be bred for a 3/4 Santa Gertrudis. She is due to be bred in late April of 2010 to one of our Lowline Bulls.

Speaking of the bulls I thought I'd spend the rest of this post on our Lowline Bulls.

LTL Peyton (LTL Dillion x Miss Jet's Raphael 258K). Peyton has done well in the show ring with 2 Division Championships and 1 Reserve Division Championship (against English and Exotic Breeds). His sire Dillion is a National Champion Bull and his dam is considered one of the greats in the breed. He's long, deep and a very complete bull. His first calf was born to EZ Tillie (EZ Houdini x Miss Panmure L361). A heifer that is really starting to come into her own. She is a very feminine heifer. She will be shown along side her mother at the Houston Livestock Show and in her own class.


EZ Undercover Agent was purchased this summer at the 3rd Annual Discover Lowline Weekend Sale held by Effertz EZ Ranch. It was hard to believe to see everyone bundled up because of snow. I was happy to be home in Texas and watching via Internet. Agent is a very powerful bull who has been shown and we will show him at Houston Livestock Show this coming March. It will be his last show. We are very pleased with him and he will breed some of our heifers this fall.


At this fall's Legends of Riverwood we purchased our newest bull, a fullblood, Riverwood Cadallic (Brambletye Transam x Riverwood Abby). Brambletye Transam is a half brother to Brambletye Tequila the sire of some of the most famous show cattle in Lowlines. Abby is sired by the renowned Bar J Sparks and out of the famous Bar J Nellie line. He also goes back to Brambletye Tequila through his dam. His pedigree is a who's who of famous Lowlines. He just turned a year old. A very well balanced bull with incredible extension through his stifle. Depth and length is all through this bull. He is exceptional! He should be a taller individual with his mother being 48" in height. Since his purchase we have sold 75% of Cadillac and the partnership will offer semen by this spring.


Our final fullblood bull is EZ 12S aka Murphy. He has been sent here to be sold. A mature three year old bull with loads of muscle mass and very high feed efficiency. He is an exceptional bull for a Grass Fed Operation.


Our only Percentage Lowline Bull is Flying J&L Diablo 11 W01 (JJ Bruzer 3S x PX 20L). Both sire and dam are 1/2 blood Lowlines with his dam tracing to a Gelbvieh cow and his sire's dam tracing to a Shorthorn. Diablo is a true composite bull with that look at me attitude. JJ Bruzer has some of the great bulls in his pedigree to include Admiral, Kaptain Planet, and Bell Brae Borus. His dam is an own daughter of the Great Quartermaster. One can't ask for a better pedigree. His conformation is perfect for the show ring with a club calf look. His first show will be the Houston Livestock Show. He's available for sale as a guaranteed low birth weight heifer bull. At birth Diablo weighed in at 53 lbs.

Shortie

My other post for today "Shame in the Horse Show Ring" made me think of the most wonderful Quarter Horse I ever rode. I was working as a Livestock Supervisor for Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice. I watched for three years this horse being ridden by another individual doing what one does with cattle: checking cattle daily, penning cattle for working, and checking fence. His name was Shortie. A fire orange sorrel gelding built like a little bulldog standing just 14.1 hands. The time came when his rider left the ranch. I was able to pick him up. Why that rider loved to have this horse's nose in the air was beyond me. I was drawn to Shortie because he loved his job and had a real gutsy attitude. He just knew he could do anything the bigger horses could, and he could.

Well that rough nose in the air gate had to go. Patience was the rule every day I stepped onto his back. After three weeks of a get to know you period I set up a series of cavaletti for Shortie. We would work about five minutes everyday at a walk and trot across them. At first it was like a fish out of water. This powerhouse athletic gelding couldn't even walk across them with out almost falling down. It took two weeks for him to begin to look down at the ground. It was the beginning for him to realize he didn't have to stick his nose in the air. Slowly over the next year he began to drop his head, learned to cadence his gait. We could head across open ground at an extended trot and I could sit and ride with ease. His jog was exquisite and balanced. His lope like a gentle rocking chair, easy and free lead changes with just a shift of the opposite leg by me. His neck level and collected at all gaits. All I had to do was lift my hand and he would stop. A year and half later other employees took notice, the gutsy little gelding was the envy of the ranch. Time and again I would hear someone say, I can't believe Shortie is the same horse. Can I ride him, the answer was always some other time.

Then one day as I climbed on his back, something was amiss. After twenty minutes I got off and check the girth, the pad, the saddle, the bridle, the bit.....I mean I checked everything. He was off, he wouldn't collect, wouldn't cadence any gait. After two hours I felt beaten to death like when I first started to ride him. On top of that I'd felt I was fighting him all morning. He wasn't tossing his head, he wasn't angry....it felt like a test. He didn't accept a single cue I gave him. I was trying to get a cadenced jog when I finally had enough. I didn't raise my hand to stop as I just stepped off of him. Roping horses are trained to stop when the rider comes off. He wasn't collected like he should have been. The result taught him a simple lesson he would never forget. He stumbled, scrambling to stop, and his knees hit the ground followed by his nose. He picked himself up as quickly as he fell. Stunned he stood there eyeing me.....I touched his neck lightly stroking him. 'Shortie,' I said, 'I hope that taught you a lesson.' I mounted and my wonderful gelding moved off at a walk, no soreness. I gently asked for a jog, and my gutsy little gelding was in fine form, collected and cadenced. He never again tested me. I never asked Shortie to drop his head so low he couldn't collect himself. I never forced him into an unnatural gait. I asked him to be on the bit and drive off his hindquarter. He was a horse I will never forget. A gutsy little guy that had one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen in a horse.

Some of the best horses I've ever mounted were ranch horses or PRCA Ropers. Working animals with hearts of fire and the patience to go all day long, day after day.

Kim

Barn Raising

My entry this week into 52 Sketches...52 Weeks Sketch Challenge. I'm always reminding you to visit Julie's site. Truly the work there is incredible!

Barns, I love barns! They smell wonderful to me, especially one where horses live. I love big barns, small barns.....oh did I say I love barns!!!

I've always wanted a barn this big! Filled to the brim with horses. Whoops, we are a cattle ranch and this barn doesn't have stalls it has pens. And it is not for our production cattle. It is for our show cattle. By the time a bull or heifer reaches three years of age they are relegated to the pasture for their lives as production cattle. Some of the show cattle still love their scratches on their terms, some don't. The only thing the barn and stock pens are used for are to care for cows or bulls who need to be looked at from the medical standpoint to include but not limited to a cold or injury. It's also where they are worked through the chutes to receive their vaccines, palpation for pregnancy, and genetic testing if required or needed. This is done twice a year. Any calves are weaned during this time. Weights on the calves are taken at birth, at six months and again at a year for statistical evaluations to determine if their growth pattern is meeting the genetic standards we set for both breeds. If not they are sold at six months or at a year as non registered cattle. We also decide if the bull calves will remain bulls at six months or are steered and grown out for our customers who buy beef right off the farm.

So where do the horses live. Cold rainy nights (winter only) they are in a pen in the barn. Otherwise like the cattle they love being out doing what they do best, being Arabian horses.

Genetic testing you say! No, it's not some bio-engineering thing. We pull blood for DNA typing of parentage to be able to register our fullblood Lowline Angus. The Registry must determine the Fullbloods are from the parents they say they are from. Some of the other genetic testing is for production traits of meat. We collect hair samples from the cattle and they are sent off to determine if they have any of the genetic markers for tenderness, marbling and feed efficiency. These tests along with their performance tests based on weights help determine whether this animal is able to be registered or not. That's the short cut simplified version. And then we still aren't always right in keeping an animal in the herd. We will be culling four cows three of them first calf heifers based on their performance with their first calves. Two couldn't give milk to their calves and keep their weight up. One never got pregnant. The fourth has developed some leg problems with her third calf and as good a cow as she is structurally she also can't keep her weight up with or without a calf. If they pass all those criteria then they either stay here to be used as breeding animals or are sold as breeding animals to other individuals for the same thing we do. Breed cattle for beef or are used to provide beef producers improved genetics within their herds.

The barn is still unfinished. A shed off the right side in the lower picture is a shed over a portion of the working pens and the squeeze chute was built last fall. The inside of the barn has temporary pens. Plans in the near future is to build to shed's off the side, from where the tin is on the sides. Then the permanent pens will be finished. A wash rack and blow drying rack will be put in near the lab to be able to clean the show cattle every day and blow died. They get a soap bath once a week and a shower the other six days. The lab serves as a storage area for all of the different supplies we need to take care of the cattle, from medicine, wormer, to a calf puller, show sticks, rakes, electronic reader for the scale, etc. It is also a place where we can get our certified AI tech and embryologist shelter to work with their equipment. Both the back and front remain open to allow for air flow. It helps to keep the show cattle comfortable and healthy with the air movement. It is after all Texas and our winters are mild and summers hot. We rarely have a freeze last more then 24 hours. Cattle like cold weather or at least they are most comfortable in 50-65 degrees. I sometimes laugh at their funny looks when they start to run, jump and play and I won't join them.

The only thing I wish is I could bring one of those great big Amish barns down here. This barn won't hold a candle to the beauty of the big barns in the northeast!

Kim

Barn Raising

I'm a product of a urban (suburbia) up bringing. I remember how crowded it seemed when we lived up north in Niagara Falls and Wilmington. Houses seemed crammed together. In the Clear Lake area from the age of 9 through high school there were wide open areas. Lots of room for kids to investigate. If you went to the other side of Clear Lake into Galveston County the space was even larger. Somehow, I didn't always feel like I was living in a suburb of Houston. As a teenager my friends and I rode our horses where there is now houses, chemical plants, and shopping centers. We loved to ride to Galveston Bay, tie the horses and go swimming. By the time I was in Clear Creek High FFA I loved being down at the school farm. My closest friends were in school at Clear Creek, they always told me I wasn't stuck up like most of the Clear Lake High students. My friends were right. I went to Clear Lake, but if you want to take an Ag course you were at both high schools in our district. There were still gravel roads in the League City area.

I go home now and it is like being in a real city. I am always thankful I don't have to stay. I love the open spaces of where Lynn and James grew up in Angleton. The feel was like League City 30 years ago. Once again, though, I'm watching the urban sprawl move south towards Angleton, just as I watched it grow south towards the Clear Lake area and then engulf it. I'm so happy our business has allowed Larry and I to "return to the farm."

As a child I loved the drive from Wilmington, Delaware, to Geneva,Ohio to see my grandparents. It meant we drove through Amish Country in Pennsylvania. I loved the big barns. I wanted so badly to climb to the top floor. I've always loved the smell of a barn. Especially, if horses resided there. I've often thought about the age of those barns. The barn raising being a social affair for the community.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Our own barn raising and still a year later it is not quite complete. Our barn is 40'x80'. That's big to me. Now we are using the barn, it's small. There have been a host of considerations for a cattle barn vs. one to house horses. I think one of the most interesting things we had to consider was taking into account our hoof trimmer and his chute to trim one of the cows who has never been halter broke. Terry was amazed as I asked if what we were planning would work to get cattle in his chute. He had never been asked a question like that. I want everything set up right so we can care for the cattle in a fashion that is in their best interest of their health and welfare.

I'm excited about the wings which will go on the long side of the barn. It will provide more protection from the north wind in the winter for an animal who may be in the barn because they need attention to a health issue. The wings will allow me to have the show cattle out of the sun during the day so their coats will be healthier. It does mean fans will have to be mounted to during the summer. Consideration must be made for a tractor to be able to get into the pens to scrap the floor to remove manure. We also need the wings because we plan on having a yearly field day at the ranch. A chance to give back to the local agriculture community involved in beef cattle production especially the youth.

I hope you have learned a little more about my story and my love of my cattle, horses, and the rural life. I get to wake every morning to watch the heifers in the front pasture, in the distance the show cattle and horses sharing a pasture eating side by side on a round bale of hay when it's needed. And beyond them the bulls. Eating in the early morning sun. In the afternoon the bulls are lounging in the shade. I love the spring.

The scrapbook layout of the pictures I took of the barn was entered into 52 Sketches...52 Weeks for Week #14 Sketch. I guess making my own nuts(hex nuts) as an embellishment worked because I've found a lot of comments on the LO. To those who visit my blog because of the community at 52 Sketches...52 Weeks, I am very thankful to you for your wonderful support and love. To Julie, thank you for the wonderful work you do to make your site a wonderful community of supportive women.

Kim

"Cow-Tax" Bill Introduced - In Support of Producers

I found this wonderful blog yesterday, sponsored by a couple in South Dakota. To me they are wonderful to keep me politically informed about Agriculture. I love talking about Agriculture and telling my stories. They are about the triumphs and despair one experiences devoting so much energy and emotion to what I love. Yes, it is a part of our family income. Yet who in their right mind would invest over 1/2 a million dollars in structures, equipment, and animals or seed & chemicals to do what they love. A farmer and ranch would. What is our return for that investment, NONE. There isn't a corporation in America that would do what the American Farmer and Rancher does just because they love what they are doing. So I'm sure there will be plenty of double posts in a day. I hope so!


Time and again I find the citizens of this country have no idea where their food really comes from or how much we contribute as a nation to the hunger in this world. We crave certain fruits and vegetables year round, we want specialty items like gourmet coffee, cocoa, etc. These items can and do cause Agriculture production to be limited to meet the needs of a developed nation. Staples like rice and corn are put aside to grow the things we consume.

On January 13th I wrote a post about the proposed EPA tax on cows (beef & dairy) as well as pigs. I'll let you go back and read it instead of writing it over. I'm happy to say Frank Lucas from Oklahoma introduced the House Bill 1426 to amend the Clean Air Act to not allow the EPA to tax or charge a fee for emissions on cattle and pigs. In the Senate, Senator John Thume (SD-R) and Senator Charles Schumer (NY-D) introduced their version of the bill. As you can see there is bi-partisian support for this bill. New York has is a large dairy producing state and of course South Dakota is a large beef production state. These bills are ultimately to keep our food available to the US consumer at an inexpensive cost. It keeps fast food chains from going outside the country and importing beef for you to eat from South America and Australia. This keeps both the American Farmer and Rancher in business. The farmer producing grain the pigs and cattle eat. It would greatly please me if you would be so kind to take a moment to ask your congressman(woman) and Senators to support this bill.

Let's work together to keep American Farmers and Ranchers in business to help feed the rest of the world. Let's not be part of the problems of demanding of other countries for our food when we can grow our own. Let's keep our food products inexpensive so our population in the lower end of the economic scale can afford to eat. Remember you enjoy your lifestyle because of the American Farmer and Rancher!

Kim

EZ Sassafras - cattle pictures can be difficult

Cattlemen and women in Texas take their first look at the Lowline Angus and think we are nuts to raise a so called specialty breed. Women especially think the Lowline is cute. Even my husband will only acknowledge to me that they are. But really both of us believe with all our souls they are the future of the cattle industry in the US. This breed is a true Angus just smaller. To give you an idea how big they are I'd like you to think about the length of your inseam when you buy a pair of jeans. Sassy measures about 38 inches. Peyton our Junior Bull measures 44 inches at 2 1/2 years and we will probably get him another inch by the time he is three. Nova our Senior Bull measures about 47-48 inches.

I tell people we don't eat the legs of cattle. I always get a cocked head as they process that statement then always get, 'Ya know your right!' Peyton at 44 inches weighed in at the beginning of the month at 922 lbs and still not quite at full weight. He should reach 1000-1050 by the time he walks in the ring at Houston Livestock Show in Mid March.



The picture of Peyton was taken in May '08, the spring grasses just before going to seed. They would come up just above my knee. Gives a real idea of just what the size of a 18 month old bull. He's about 38 inches in this photo. You might ask why there is a ring in his nose. All bulls shown over the age of nine months must have a ring for control. Peyton hates the ring. The only time he has a line attached to the ring is when we enter the show grounds as he loves arrival and gets excited. The other time is when he is actually in the show ring per the rules. Oh and don't pull on that line, he'll go nuts. He literally gets angry. Lynn is a master of not pulling on his ring when she has a line attached. He just instinctively knows if he behaves it won't hurt. He really hates being angry, too. He'll tell you real quick he's a lover not a fighter.

I have two months a year to take really nice photos of the cattle, when the grass is green and lush, April and May. About 5% are worthy of using in advertising or on the website. I've never had a great picture of Peyton, and so hope this year at Houston we'll get a good show picture. If nothing else I use the pictures for identification purposes as Lowline Angus as a breed are not branded. They tattoo the ears instead. Should they get stolen I need the photos. Also Lowlines are DNA Tested for parentage so there is a way other then pictures and tattoos to identify a stolen animal.

As pictures go I couldn't get Sassy (Sassafras) in a position for a great shot. But I did get two right together that reminded me just a silly noise from the human will bring both ears forward. So Sassy, thank you for paying attention.



Even with the difficulty taking her picture I remind myself at times she lives up to her name, Sassy. Remember we give direction to kids for photos and they don't always do what we want. Try working with a child who has always been told to smile for a photo graph, then you tell him/her you don't want them to smile. Yeah, had that happen recently with a great-nephew and great-niece. I really got some strange, 'Are you NUTS!' looks from both. They loved the pictures in the camera when I showed them. Cattle are worse....LOL. I want to thank Pencil Lines for their Sketch this week, Sketch 123. I think that is why I chose to use a pink background. Sassy you can be cute when she wants to, Miss Prissy!

I really enjoy our Lowline Cattle.

Kim

Reagan

Wow! I loved the sketch from Pink Sketches #21. I love circles! Yet, as I started really thinking about the sketch I found I was thinking curves. I started pulling paper and was thinking how striking Charlie was against white. Well his son would surely be, too. I'd been wanting to try a technique I saw in Scrapbooks, etc. issue Jan. '09 on page 133, titled: Quick Class Woven Together. Lisa Storms used a Square Scalloped piece of card stock and some pastel embroidery thread to creat a woven patten on the paper. I thought the LO she created stunning. In my mind I saw a Circle Scalloped Cardstock done the same way. The result would look like petals on a flower. If the picture was placed just right on the page those lines coming to the center of the cardstock would draw your eyes to the picture. Cool, was my only thought. When I saw this sketch I knew exactly how I would do this LO. I loved the result!





I felt I stayed true to the sketch by using buttons on the flowers to have my circles. Even the ribbon has a circular burst. The circle mat has circles within it and the card stock I used for the title matches the color of one of those small circles in the mat.

Here's what I used. Paper: Basic Grey Paper from the Scarlet's Letter collection (Fate & Among The Ruins) and Quickutz QuickStripz Tropical Yellow. Ribbon: GCD Studios Winter Wonderland. Thread: DMC # 349. Flowers: Buttons Galore and More Fiesta Felt. Assorted Buttons from my stash with DMC Thread White. Pen: Creative Memories Bold Tip Black.

Reagan is a 2008 February calf. He is a striking son of Mr. Double TT 31 aka as Charlie from my last post out of Five Oaks 1/5. 1/5 gives us some striking calves with Reagan's older sister Jillian in our current show string. Reagan always has had that look at me attitude. His pictures so easy to take. Right now he is going through his gain test and if he passes he will be on his way to be sold as a herd bull.

I hope you will check out Pink Sketches site, as their sketches are great to work with.

Kim

Daisy D's Closing & Charlie

I found a blog quite by accident looking for a picture of the new specialty coverset album put out by Creative Memories. The album is called Wishes and Dreams. I must say it is beautiful. I had to order one. The joys of being a hobby consultant. Find a local consultant for the new Spring Catalog and March/April Mini Brochure. It's their semi-annual big release of new product.

Back to the blog I found. The blog is titled is Cake, Cocoa, & Gossip by Becks Fagg. Becks is from the UK as listed on her blog. She is manages "Creativity Life" a magazine I've not heard of so I assume it is only in the UK, maybe Europe, too. Yet I'm not sure of any of that. On her entry for today she annouces the closing of Daisy D's. So I went to Daisy D's website and sure enough they are closing. It was hard for me to know Daisy D's is going belly up. I've never been a big fan of theirs but I know many who are. I do have some of their border tapes and I struggle to get them to apply evenly, yet I LUV LUV the idea. It looks as if you the consumer can buy directly from Daisy D's, as this was the first time I've been to their site. Speaking of Scrapbooking Companies, Creative Memories parent company went into reorganization and has come out with a new plan to restructure which has been approved. Creative Memories was never in danger of folding though as they are very solvent, but they too have seen a down turn in number of consultants which means less income. I'm spending less and have moved to getting the much needed framing done instead of scraping supplies. I'll start buying Christmas Presents for my nieces & MIL within the month. I'm spreading it out over the year to only maintain my consultant hobby status.

Back to Beck's Blog. She had some wonderful photos up on her site of some of the new things at CHA. When I have more time this week I'll return to dive into her writings and maybe become a follower of her blog.

Onto my LO for 52 Sketches...52 Weeks. Sketch 2009 #7. My subject, Charlie. Every time I write his name I think of "Charlie Brown." He's Lynn's Santa Gertrudis Bull and she hates it that I compare him to Charlie Brown. Yet, his personality is both playful and he always wants the attention the girls get. I'll be somewhat sad to see him sold this year after spring breeding. He just has too many daughters on the ranch to justify the cost to keep him. We are moving to maintain only Lowline bulls, and use Artifical Insemination work on our Santa Gertrudis with clean up by our Lowline bulls. This picture I was able to capture of Charlie was the best shot I took of all of the cattle last spring. I was thrilled when I saw it in the camera. I thought, oh if only I'd had the Cannon Rebel at the time. I'm still drooling over that camera. I'm still wishing I had a Rebel.



As for the LO. I rotated the sketch and went to my scraps to find the perfect pieces for the LO. I had fun using my Quickutz Archiver's Exclusive Patterned Bracket's 4x4 die to make my brackets. That die was a purchase I couldn't live without! Has three different brackets that measure 3 3/4" when cut out. LOVE THEM! I also LUV the Bazzill Stitchez templates and used DMC 814 thread, a deep cherry red, as that is the color the Santa Gertrudis are known for. I really love all of the LO's that were done for this week by those who participated and their was overall great compliments on the sketch by the members of the 52 Weeks...52 Sketches community. If you've not jumped over to Julie's site, you really should!

Have a great weekend!

Kim

EPA's Emission Tax on Cattle & Pigs

Hmmmm....Emission Tax on Cattle & Pigs. As Larry says, "If they tax cow crap, they'll tax anything!" LOL, I happen to agree with the stupidity of the individuals who run the EPA.

The EPA has collected data on cattle and pigs to justify this tax in order to meet emission requirements per law. The EPA has declared cows alone produce more emissions then the total number of cars in the US in the form of methane. My response is, "SO WHAT IS THE POINT!" If your going to tax ruminants lets tax sheep, goats, prong horn antelope, big horn sheep, elk, and deer. Lets tax the states based on their wildlife populations. If your going to tax pigs which are mono gastric animals lets tax horses, humans, dogs and cats. Well in some states like North Carolina you already pay a pet tax on your State Income Tax.

So what does this really mean to Dairy, Beef and Pork producers? Then finally what does this mean to the consumer of these products? Lower prices to the producer and higher prices to the consumer. For those of you who do not understand Agriculture Economics, I'll explain why this tax is so detrimental to both the consumer and producer.

We'll start with the producer. I am a seed stock producer of cattle. This means I produce cattle that will eventually be sold to the producer who produces calves which will eventually go to someone who eats beef. So there is the two tier system in the beef industry. One who produces registered cattle or F1 cross (two breeds bred for first cross giving hybrid vigor) is the first tier. Second tier is the commerical producer, one who produces calves to sell to a specified market. There are a lot of options to this second tier. Some direct market their cattle and others sell their calves via the local sale barn. There are various other types of cattle operations that fit within both tiers, but that is another story. Now I move on to the final product, the beef you find in the grocery store. If you choose to buy ribeye steaks today at the store do you know the color of the calf or the breed of the calf that steak came from. No! Even in the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Program you don't know the true breeds represented of the steak your eating. See the CAB website for the definition of CAB.

Specifications of Certified Angus Beef

What I'm trying to explain is every Agriculture product you buy is a homozygous product. Every steak in the grocery store looks the same as the next store and the same in every store across the US. Every ear of corn grown in my state looks the same as every ear of corn grown in every other state, etc. As such this causes a standard pricing for the end product to the consumer. Of course you just said, "But, I pay more for Certified Angus Beef!" Yes, you do, you have bought into the best marketing program in the US by the American Angus Association. If you really want a superior steak, ask your butcher for "Elite Tender Beef." These programs are considered "Branded Programs," an attempt to bring higher prices to the producers and they have succeeded. Through DNA testing we now have markers which allow producers to select for Tenderness and Marbling giving the consumer a higher quality product.

Yet, after all this cattle prices to the producers are less today then in 1980 based on inflation. Remember I produce a homozygous product. Unless I develop a market directly to the consumer and many producers have, providing quality grain fed, grass fed, natural, or organic beef directly to the consumer. Of course these four areas can be a combination. These producers by pass the middle man. Yeah, I got to the middle man. In the beef industry there can be more then one middle man. The list may or may not include the local sale barn, the feedlot, the slaughter house, then the grocery store. They all want to make a profit. No one wants to be in business and not make a profit. I'm included.

So what happens if the EPA enacts this tax. Well I get taxed and the feedlot gets taxed. It is the middle man who knows just how much the consumer will stand on a price hike before they stop buying beef and choose chicken over beef or pork simply because of cost. So who suffers, the producer. The middle man will offer less to the producer for their product. Why? It's a homozygous product. An example in point.... As grain prices went up last year on the Future's Market the amount offered to beef producers went down. This caused a huge number of producers to dump cattle on the market. These production cows and bulls were sold to make hamburger meat. The prices haven't risen even though a large number of production animals were sold. Today on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange the price of cattle is 84.00 cwt. It will be slightly higher depending on how close you live to Chicago. The reason is a whole new discussion which I won't go into. In Texas cattle are running 87.00 per cwt.

Let's look at what 87.00 per cwt brings to the producer. If I have 100 cows I will produce 95 calves based on the average of 95% conception rate. I'll sell these calves at an average of 500 lbs at sale time at the local sale barn. This equates to 95 x 5 cwt x $87 = $41,325 gross income. It takes about $250.00-350.00 for each mama beef cow. I'm down to $11,325 dollars profit. Now the EPA wants me to pay $87.50 for each beef cow I own. Now I've just made a profit of $2,575.00. Why in the world would I now want to raise cattle.

Let's look at the AVERAGE PRODUCER! The average cattle herd in this country is 30-50 head and the EPA very intelligently decided this tax is only for the producer with 50 head or more. Still stupid. What makes me with just under 100 head on my farm any different then two producers with the same number I have. Their cattle have the same emissions as me. Most producers have cattle to supplement income from their other job. I promise no one can live on the current $11,325 per year. The amount of labor the producer puts in doesn't even pay minimum wage. The small producer raises cattle for one simple reason....THEY LIKE CATTLE. As I said not only will the producer have to pay this tax, so will the feedlots. Double taxing by the government. They will offer less to the producer for their calves so they can absorb the tax and keep the price of beef the same to you. Remember I said the feedlots know exactly what you as the consumer will pay for beef before you switch to chicken or pork. Eventually with this type of tax, the rise in pork and beef will go up to you the consumer.

Let's look briefly at dairy cattle. I'm going to use California Dairies. You like the California Cheese Cows on TV. I can't help but laugh each time I see those cows on TV. The marketing for California Cheese is great....you have this picture of happy cows in the pasture. This so far from the truth it is mind boggling. The large dairies in Southern California keep their dairy cows in a huge feedlot situation. They are milked three times a day. The dairy operates around the clock. These dairies can have 10,000 and some more cows in them. The EPA's wise decision is to tax dairies above 50 head at a rate of $179.00 per head. So those large dairies milking 10,000 head a day equates to $1,790,000 dollars a year. What do you think will happen to the price of milk. Yep, you got it...GO UP!

Are you willing to pay this tax, while producers make less.....think! You need to eat, tell your senators and representatives in Washington the EPA is STUPID!

Kim