April 2019

My April report is coming in a few days late because frankly, I forgot!  April was full of all the seasons of the year; at least twice through and not in proper order. I got lost in another rainy, gloomy day as wife, mom, appraiser, cook, chauffer, tutor, and all around super-puncher.  I just forgot.

Day 1 of Bryce & Bolt

The kids are working on their summer show calves finally.  When we finish getting ready for Denver in January, we focus intently on caring for the cows as they are calving.  When we shift gears and start back working on show cattle after our calving is finished, it is always fun to watch these kids and calves learn to trust one another.  Being highly motivated by food and scratches, most of them are quickly won over.  Let’s be real though, the same can be said for winning over a lot of humans; with food and scratches. J  I love these months of all of us working together.  We eat a lot of picnic lunches and suppers in the barn, inoculating ourselves eating with unwashed hands, arguing because someone isn’t pulling their weight and sending calves back to the wash rack because there is still soap on their bellies.  Aah, good times!

It has been really fun seeing Bryce jump in with more intention now that he is old enough to show in the junior shows this summer.  He has always wanted to show a bull.  Talked about it for years which is saying a lot considering he is only seven!  What can I say, he takes after his mom I guess.  

John

When I was a kid, I kind of liked showing the bulls too and little known fact, unless you know me from my childhood, I had a bull that was kinda famous around home.  His name was John and he was a gentle giant tipping the scales at over 2,300 lbs. 

John at Wal-Mart with some random
kid riding him.  Common occurance.

Besides John’s responsibilities being a herd bull (that was born and raised on our farm), he was asked to make appearances at all kinds of places; school, beef producer events, lots of local fairs where people would come back year after year and ask, “do you know where they have John the Bull??”  One time he even went to the Wal-Mart for an afternoon!  We didn’t have a farm dog so I never had that “man’s best friend” experience with something of a reasonable size; mine was with a huge bull that behaved more like a golden retriever.  Definitely the first “boy” I ever loved.  He lived to be 14 years old which is OLD for a bull.  And…I may or may not be ugly crying while I write this.  Written words are funny like that.  I sat down to write this update not really knowing where it was going to take me.  I surely didn’t think it was going to require Kleenex on my part but here I am, blowing my nose.  Anyway, I have a soft spot for them and evidently that is hereditary! 

Bolt might just be my Bryce’s John.  That calf went from setting back in his halter on a Tuesday to Bryce leading him on Sunday morning.  It may not have hurt that the boy is as stubborn as me too because he put on and took off the halter on that calf no less than 87 times during those first 5 days.  When I walked in the barn Sunday after church and saw him lead that little Bolt over to be tied up and I nearly cried (again) as I was so proud of the two of them! 

Sometimes we need a good reminder of why we spend all the time we do with these calves.  The awards and banners are totally cool.  I will be the very first person to admit that feeling is super rewarding but as a parent, when you see these sweet little victories in the comfort of your own barn, well, that’s the coolest.  I hate to tear into stories from the show barn so early in the year but I guess this serves as the reader’s warning, there will be more of where that came from.

March 2019

March held true to the “in like a lion, out like a lamb” saying here at Next Gen.  We started the month with more than two feet of snow on the ground and piles of it as high as the tractor and yesterday I worked on landscaping around the house and manicured the picture pen.  As I sit here on April 1^stthough, we have snow flurries so…a lot can change in a day let alone a month, right!?

No question; it has been a long and challenging winter for all.  The cold and the snow piled up relentlessly and the weatherman was called everything but his birth name on a daily basis.  But through all the challenges we faced personally, there were many around us right here in our home state and our agriculture friends across the country that faced devastation and heartache we really cannot imagine. Catastrophic winter storms followed by even worse flooding has ripped through the heart of our Ag industry and frankly, a main source of food for not only our nation but the world.  Although the exact numbers are unclear at this time, it’s reported that the number of cattle lost could be over a million with the economic losses in the billions of dollars.  Cattle that literally floated away.  Piles of dead baby calves.  Entire fields and farms under silt and water that may never grow a crop again.  Homes and buildings destroyed.  Then imagine coupling all of this with an Ag industry that was already depressed both economically and emotionally and the world looks pretty bleak.  

But then hope arrives from other farmers and ranchers who are experiencing challenges themselves but they realize that despite what they are going through, they still have something to give.  A load of hay.  Fence posts. Wire.  Feed.  All things that we are in need of and have value to us but farmers and ranchers find it in their full hearts and empty wallets to give.  Whenever I hear about or see the pictures of these acts, it reminds me of Jesus feeding the thousands from a few loaves of bread and fish.  How will we be able to share with others if we barely have enough ourselves??  Yet somehow a little extra is found in hopes it provides relief to those who need it more than you.  

We live in an area of the world that doesn’t have hurricanes, where we can get our cattle to high ground in times of flood, and where we can provide shelter on desperately cold and snowy winter days.  We aren’t without our own challenges of course but hey, that’s farming.  I’ll take what we have time and again and try to be more grateful because you know what?? I STILL have it. 

For more information on how to help if you are so blessed visit:

 iowaagriculture.gov and search “Resources for Flooding”

 flood.unl.edu

 dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2019/03/20/agriculture-state-organization-try

February 2019

February might be the shortest month in the calendar but I have long maintained that it certainly seems the longest as waiting for March/Spring is the adult version of kids waiting for Christmas! This year is no exception! The weather temps and snowfall have been relentless and I never sleep great during this time of year because I love to worry about everything that can go wrong.  Frozen this and that.  Broken this and that.

Always makes me laugh! :)

Broken AND frozen is my personal favorite.  

And the stock...doesn’t really matter if your herd is large or small, every life is precious.  Having a resident veterinarian in the house doesn’t eliminate the occasional trouble that might arise but I like to think that my job as the resident worrywart is taken back a few notches by sleeping next to the vet!

The snow keeps on piling up!

During one of our many snowfalls this month, we were all cozy in the house watching a heifer progress in labor on the cameras when she seemed to get tired and ran out of energy.  It happened to be about 7:30 at night, no school and not terribly cold out so we told the kids, “Get your clothes on!  If we all work together, we’ll be back inside before you know it!”  

I can't even tell you how many times they have seen a calf be born on its own or how quickly a mother loves her baby at birth but I don’t know, at 10 and 7 years old, how many times I really have “let” them be in on assisting in a delivery.  I think because I worry (duh) and have tried too hard to protect them from the parts of this life that hurt you; not just physically but emotionally.  I haven’t wanted them to be calloused by neither the successes when helping a calf into this world nor the inevitable failures that come too.  It’s not a glamorous job, its often filled with tension and it can definitely be sad.  

We got the heifer in to check her and before I knew it, we were having a real life birthing class with the kids in the barn. Tod talked through the checklist of things we do as we decide whether we need to help a baby into this world. Bryce put on a long breeding glove to make his assessment that was way too big for him but he didn’t care!  Blake helped hold the chains and rope and in no time at all, another healthy baby was welcomed into this world.  We worked to encourage the baby to take its first breaths and moved it and the new mom together. 

I never really tire seeing new life.  It is a miracle every time.  Their will to live and will to love; aah, awesome!  It was a little more awesome as for once in my life, we actually slowed down and had this moment to share TOGETHER and learn from.  They asked so many great questions and expressed concern when the heifer took a little time getting her bearings being a new mom.  I felt a smidge regretful that we hadn’t made time for this moment sooner in their lives but these situations and the outcomes are so unpredictable.  It’s not lost on me how text book this delivery was but if there were ever a calving for the kids to be armpit deep in amniotic fluid and afterbirth, this was it! 

It was the perfect scenario to teach them and to teach us too about how sometimes, it pays off to let go of your fears and do what you know needs to be done.  I left the barn that night feeling so content and happy as our little team relished in the victory of a live baby and a loving mother.  

January 2019

I'm writing this on January 68th...this is the month that would seemingly never end. The New Year around here is always brought in close to home.  We start our calving season as close to the 1st of January as possible.  It doesn't work for everyone but we are able to provide good shelter for cows calving in the sometimes-harsh Wisconsin winter.  All of the cows that calve that time of year are either pregnant to an artificial breeding or are a recipient carrying an embryo so we have a really good idea of when a cow is going to calve that time of year based on a breeding date and of course, our visual observations of how her body is changing as she gets closer to her expected due date.

Res Champion Junior Pen of 3 Heifers

In among calving cows heavy duty in January, our annual trek to Denver occurs early in the month which is filled with lots of preparation with the cattle we take and lots of preparation of our equipment; much of which is only used for this one event. And then we have to pack all this up and travel 1000 miles!  It is challenging, hard on the people and sometimes even exhausting but is incredibly rewarding.  We feel so blessed to be able to live out this dream of ours.  This year marked the beginning of the end of "The Yards" in Denver where the facility will be going through a major renovation.  I think this topic deserves more attention than a paragraph so I will write more on this experience in a later post.  Long story short, we had another amazing year with our cattle and crew.

New babies and their mommas

Upon returning from the mild weather of Denver, the upper Midwest slipped into an arctic abyss and pretty much stayed there the latter portion of the month.  We received about 18" of snow in the last few weeks followed quickly by subzero temps lovingly referred to as the Polar Vortex.  We spent the days leading up to the final 10" snowfall and -50F wind chills piling some hay for an additional windbreak for cows that had already calved and consolidating some groups of cattle so that feeding could be more efficient during this time.  All of the new babies, 28 in total by the end of the month, were snuggled into straw and were remarkably resilient.  This weather is hardest on the young and the old just like it is with humans.  Less fat on their bodies and physically not being able to regulate their body temps makes these temperatures a real challenge but with the right tools (like clean straw and a roof over their heads) they are pretty tough cookies.  We got 4 calves (thank God it was only 4) during a 5 day stretch of below zero temps which conveniently came staggered apart enough that we were able to accommodate them all at various times in an insulated room.  We are able to watch the cows close to calving on a camera system from anywhere on our phones which allows us to be right there when we need to be.  You gotta love technology, right?!

Frosty, but what you can't see is that she
is chewing her cud!
She is surprisingly happy!

I think back on this month with a lot of gratitude.  There were a lot of things that went right but some challenges too that we had to work through for the sake of the cattle.  In the moments we are living those challenges, I can't say that I ever think about the time it takes or the conditions you sometimes have to work in.  Even the sometimes less than desirable outcomes or circumstances we face generally don’t cross my mind at the time.  I mostly feel determined.  I never feel like I need credit and I think most all farmers feel the same way.  They don't need a thank you or an atta boy to go out at 2:30 in the morning when its -29F to warm a new born baby.  They don't need a well done for thawing a frozen water source.  Farmers and ranchers are going to keep on doing what is best for their land and their livestock because it is the right thing to do.  It is a priority.  And when the work has slowed and we get to reflect on the opportunity we have to live this life we have chosen, well, that is enough for me.  And I'm going to get up and do it all again tomorrow.

The Beginning of a New Tradition

Most all of our "vacations" revolve around our love for our kids and cattle in some way shape or form. Yesterday the whole family loaded up and headed west to Grand Island, Nebraska for the Junior National Hereford Expo.  This is what we lovingly refer to as a "show-cation" by those of us bit by the livestock show bug. A "show-cation" involves early mornings, late nights, lots of physical labor, old friends and new, laughs, a few tears and oh, and it generally leaves you with two feelings by the end of the trip; "Ah, I love this life!" and "Man, I need a vacation!"

The Junior National Hereford Expo is arguably the Greatest Show on Earth and this year we are breaking records with over 2000 head of Hereford cattle entered by exhibitors ages 7-20 from all across the United States. There are also over 20 educational contests and a week full of fun and learning for all in attendance. The location changes from year to year and in 2016, Wisconsin will host the show for the first time since 2005. 

Our oldest can exhibit for the first time at Junior Nationals next year in Madison. This year though, she is participating in the pre-peewee showmanship contest.  The Pre-Peewee Showmanship is for the kids not quite old enough to exhibit their own cattle (but want to!) and are given the chance to shine on this grand stage right along side the older kids they are surely looking up to.  I have heard more than one person say that it is their favorite part of the show; seeing those little ones out there showing everyone how it is done!  Pure joy!

This is undoubtedly the beginning of a new tradition, as our family vacation will take us near and far across the country with a cattle trailer instead of a camper.  Boots instead of flip-flops.  Forks and shovels instead of marshmallow roasting sticks.  And we wouldn't have it any other way.  

Stay tuned this week as we experience Hereford Nation in Nebraska!

Living the Dream

A long time ago, Tod and I made a goal/dream of bringing our own cattle with our own prefix on them to Denver.  We didn't know when the time would be right or if it would ever be right but it was definitely a stage we had hoped to walk on some day.  The possibility became a little more realistic for us after our 2014 calf crop began to arrive and take shape and we discussed all spring and summer that this MIGHT be the year we give it a go. 
    

What lie ahead of us from there on out was unknown.  A lot of unknown.  What we did know was how little we knew!  As we began to discuss the trip, we questioned our sanity more often than not.  Everything we THOUGHT or PLANNED on turned out different than we had expected.  From the heifers we would take to how the sale went on Friday night; not a single, solitary detailed went as planned.  Now I'm the first to admit, I'm as hard headed as they come but I'm not a fool.  I can learn.  And boy did we ever. We asked for help and probably alienated every connection we had that had been an exhibitor in the yards before us.  And you know what, every single one of them was as helpful as we hoped.  The tips.  The tricks of getting in and out of there.  How to set up our pen.  What to bring and what to just buy there instead of hauling 1000 miles...I cannot even begin to count the number of questions we asked and the pieces of information that trickled in over a 4 or 5 month period that when all put together, made us not feel (or look, in my humble opinion) like the first timers we were.  Are there things we would change now after having been through it once ourselves??  I think there are some notes we have made that might make things a little less chaotic but overall; the time leading up to and while in Denver has been grand champion caliber in our books to say the least.

So the Readers Digest version of the trip goes something like this:  We spent 10 nights away from our children, farm and jobs to try and make a dream come true.  We took 7 head (2 pens of 3 heifers and one Charlie the bull).  I will be frank; this was a ridiculous undertaking.  We have kind of always realized this but what made this doable was our crew.  Tod and I, a NWSS veteran who wields clippers like few others and 4 young women who make me proud.  The days before and of the show and sale were wild but some first class friends from home (who happened to bring their clippers on the airplane) and some new friends from the Midwest made the whole deal come together in an unexpected way.  That crew afforded Tod and I the opportunity to try and meet and talk to everyone who took the time to come and see us.  Before this year, I don't think we fully realized how much time that would take us and how much we would rely on the rest of our crew to keep our ship afloat.  We also had consigned the choice of our 6 heifers to our national Hereford sale with hopes that the sale would pay for our trip and what we would gain would be experience (and courage) to try it again another year.  

  

For me, the journey has been an emotional one.  For Tod too although he doesn't wear it on his sleeve like I do.  The kind man who bought our heifer asked me why I was crying (yeah, I cried), "are you happy or are you sad?"  I told him both.  I was sad because he picked the favorite.  The favorite because when all things were considered (with heavy emphasis on her personality) she was the one that was hardest to part with.  She was great for our kids.  She gave our daughter self-confidence with the cattle she had yet to discover and reinforced our son's.  She was the one you could always rely on for the novice.  When the heifers had to be worked and you were short of hands, she was the one that the kids could take without worry.  Explaining that their favorite had a new home left me sad.  I was happy though because everything that Tod and I had dreamed had come true.  And just when you thought it couldn't get any better/bigger, it did.  I was in disbelief that this was all happening.  That people I had literally looked up to my ENTIRE life in this business; whose names I would probably recognize before any professional athlete or pop star were standing in the same group of people as us.  That those people who we look up to (still) were looking seriously at our cattle and that some of them were even helping us throughout the week.  I couldn't believe we had accomplished this dream.  And when I reflected on all of it, what I realized was sad too because our dream of showing in Denver seemed so small then. 

It really was so small compared to everything that was going on around us that we tried so desperately to absorb and take in.  And maybe the most revealing part was that all this time, I realized that what we had dreamed for ourselves maybe wasn't big enough?!  What else are we capable of??!!  More than we ever imagined. 

Happy to have done it all but sad it was all coming to an end.  At least for NWSS 2015 anyway.  We are well aware of the fact that what happened to us in Denver this year may never happen again.  At least not at the magnitude that we felt it.  But the number one question I get now is, will you do it again next year?  After all the work and time and efforts and even the headaches (and heartaches)...will you try it again?  And without hesitation, the answer is yes.