This is an article that came out of the NCBAs Cattleman’s Convention in New Orleans earlier this year.  Portia Stewart did a great job capturing what I think our demos are about.

https://www.drovers.com/article/you-herd-right-8-tips-gather-herd

Ron Gill and Myself along with Todd MacCartney and Dean Fish have been presenting demonstrations at National Cattleman’s Beef  Associations national convention trade show for several years at many cities.

I feel it is important to ask why sometimes.  Why do these remain popular after so many years?  These are some of my thoughts of why.

1. Cattlehandling  has been a focus in the industry for many years and it, like it’s companion BQA are becoming something for everyone to try to improve.  The folks that are in attendance at convention have dedicated themselves to learning and progressing  in the industry and cattlehandling is a big part of it.

2. Livestock people like to watch animals and people preform or work.  Horsemanship demonstrations, rodeos, and people going and sitting at the auction market with no intention of buying are all examples of this.

3. The attendees are foot sore, back sore and they are tired of looking and listening to sales pitches and they want a place to sit down

Since I believe in the Stockmanship and Stewardship program and enjoy the time at the Conventions I feel it is very important to ask “How” to keep it going.

1.  We as a team have to work together to create what is needed to get people in attendance to come sit in the seats and add value to the convention experience.  I feel it is very important   and  always try to Educate, Entertain, and activate people’s Emotions.  (The three E’s)
2. Present topics in a way that everyone in attendance can get value from while stimulating the desire to want to get home and work some cattle.
3. Don’t bore people with to much lecturing and non action.  They want to see cattle work!
4. Do not offend people.  Keep it positive.
5. Create the desire to see more.

Hopefully I and the team in the Stockmanship and Stewardship program are contributing to the cause of improving quality of life for Humans and Animals as much as both are contributing to ours.

If I was the kind of person that wore T shirts or caps I would get one that says “I love New York”.  Every time I’ve been it’s been a great experience, whether I am in the Big City, or out in the country, and there is a lot of out in the country in the state of New York.

I spent the last three days doing Dairy and Beef Stockmanship and Stewardship trainings for the NCBA.  They have partnered with Merc this year and you can see all the great things going in 2019 at Stockmanshipandstewardship.org .  Check it out and come see us.

The weather was not the best and I got to drive on some real tough roads because of the “lake effect” around Syracuse.  I rented a little Chevy Cruze and that thing was terrible in the snow and I got stuck a couple of times.

The dairy and beef producers are very unique in New York State.  The feel I get is they are very progressive producers, but have real strong moral and social values, and it’s kind of like going back in time about thirty years.  They are kind of a bunch of sophisticated hicks, and I say that as a real compliment.

I did three daytime dairy trainings and went to three very different dairy’s.  The main difference was the milking parlor and number of cows, and the different personalities of the management.  All were very interested in cow comfort and care, and I don’t know if anything I said or demonstrated helped, but they sure were listening and watching to see if I had anything worthwhile.  That’s all I hope for.

Two evening programs were beef focused.  One was at a real nice Farm, the Center Dale Farm, in Black River.  It turned real cold and they had a good supper out in a barn and the only heat was a single propane heater. We all gathered up after supper around the heater and I talked for quite a long time hoping everyone would get cold and want to go home and not want me to work live cattle.  Well that backfired on me as I got cold talking and still had to go outside in an open front shed and work some cattle. Don’t think New Yorkers can’t take a little cold.  It was a fun evening with real good people.

The next night we were at a sale barn, Empire Livestock in Bath, New York, had a good meal and I talked and had some real nice steers to work with in the ring.(heated ring). I just really enjoyed the people at both meetings and felt good about the things I presented to them on behalf of the Stockmanship and Stewardship program.  It seems like a long ways to go and lots of money spent, but they didn’t waste any time with five meetings in three days.

There was another presentation at the dairy meeting that I really enjoyed, think is a very important subject that fit right with what I was doing.

Erica Leubner  of NY Farmnet presented on communication (human)on the farm.  She was a great presenter and it really set the stage for for what I was going to present.  I would like to see her present at cattleman’s college next year.  Good stuff.

I had some fun things happen while I was spending my time in New York.

They were very organized at setting things up and I had a list with addresses and times of my presentations.  The second day I got to town early, drove out and found the dairy, had some time so I went back to town and looked at some skid steers(I’m on the hunt for a new one for the ranch).  I then went to the Route 38 bar and grille, as my instructions instructed, and was wondering where everyone was.  I got a text from the extension person wondering where I was.  They were at a local church for the meeting.  So, it hasn’t happened for quite some time but I was at a bar when I should have been at a church.  

The other funny thing that happened was when outsiders go to dairy, for bio security reasons everyone wears plastic booties over their footwear.  I have rubber overshoes and use disinfecting scrub because the booties always tear and they are slick.

So they handed them out at the parlor, everyone put them on and headed to the barn we were going to work in, which was was quite a ways off.  The guy that was hosting for the dairy took off at a fast walk as the wind was blowing and it was cold.  I was at the back of the pack and I had to stop and lean against the building because I was laughing so hard.  When the group hit the ice and snow no one could walk and about five of them were in a pile on the ground.  They were all young and having fun and they were laughing too.  When Brad got to the barn he turned around to look and about half the people following were on the ground, he had to lean against the building laughing.  We all got a big laugh and were happy to get in out of the wind and on concrete.  I guess confinement isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be.

After I finished up at the “bottoms up dairy”, I decided to drive to Niagara Falls.  If you want to take the back roads in populated areas all you have to do is set your gps for no toll roads.  I always do that as I like to see the country from two lanes instead of four.  It took me twice as long to get there but I really saw some nice farm country.

It was cold and miserable and the fog and the mist were heavy and made it hard to see, but it was really great to see.  They said the number of people visiting is usually way higher, but the weather had them backed off.

I’m glad I went.  The power and beauty is unimaginable until you see it.

So that was my trip. I love New York!

It’s cold

We have been having some tough weather.  It was so nice through January.

Then it hit us and we have had lots of snow and this last week bitter cold.  24 below in Ryegate actual temp.  Luckily we didn’t have much wind.  The livestock on our little place are very well protected from the wind with lots of brush and trees, and I bought some cheap small squares that the top of the stack is really good for bedding so I have bedded the heck out of em.  They get all they want to eat and a little more.

My barn cats have been worrying me. So I took a electric dog bed warmer and put a box over it and a saddle blanket and they are warm and cozy.

I really like taking care of animals with no thought to profit when it’s terrible conditions for them.  I get out there with em and make sure they are all right, and actually it makes me feel better when I have to suffer a little from the cold because they do it and can’t get out of it.

If they have lots to eat and their rumen is working, they actually have like a furnace inside their body to create heat from the inside out.  This is why they can take so much cold if they are out of the wind and not wet.

The ones I feel bad for are the baby calves that are being born.  They are coming out of a 100 degree environment into a -zero environment and have not had anytime for acclimation to the difference.  They don’t have a winter hair coat and the same rumen activity so they really suffer.  If you put the bulls in at a certain time to calve in these conditions, I think you need to have the facilities and the manpower to take care of these newborns (all livestock).  If you don’t and calves freeze to death or their ears and lungs freeze, who caused it?  You had the control.  I think it’s something we all need to look at as an animal care issue.  Have you ever heard of the “five Freedoms” for animal welfare?

I’m not saying to not calve or lamb at this time, I’m saying have the infrastructure and help to get it done with the five freedoms in mind.  

I am feeding lots of deer right now, and they are free choice eating my good second cutting alfalfa hay.  I don’t see any new baby’s  with them.

I went to the ranch to check on things and turn the heat up in the main and the guest house.  It was really beautiful just after the sun went over the Bridges Mountains.  When it is real cold like this it seems everything is crisp and it comes right through the pictures.

I spent the night in Bozeman/Belgrade near the airport.  It was 32 below this morning.  I was supposed to have a flight at 6:30 to Chicago.  They loaded us up and it was cold on the plane as they had no heat until the engines got going.

Well they couldn’t get the engines going and we sat on plane for about an hour.

People demanded to get off so we unloaded.  

It was to cold to de-ice and nothing was working.  We finally got out of Bozeman at about 10:30.  It was interesting to see how much the equipment was affected by the cold and the people out working in it.  

I missed my flight to Syracuse, but United had me another one booked and I got upgraded to first class where I’m writing this from, so it all worked out for me, just getting in a little later.

It’s going to be cold in  New York as well.  I sure hope it warms up, for the animals.