|
It was very impressive to read about
the numbers of cattle and families that traveled to this year’s
National Junior Angus Show in Iowa, given the cost of diesel and
travel, a lot of folks thought the numbers might be down. The
Western States breeders can be very proud of the showing the
cattle from the west made. We want to congratulate Garrett
Blanchard on winning the Boy’s Silver Pitcher award as well as
he, Austin Perry, and Marcie Falleur for making it into the
fifteen finalists in the Showmanship competition. The West can
be very proud of the fact that three out of the six new Junior
Board Members hail from our Western states; Robert Myers from
Oregon, Andrew Rogen from South Dakota and Kirbe Schnoor from
California, our congratulations go out to all of them.
The State Fairs are just around the
corner and I want to encourage everyone whether there exhibiting
cattle or not to try and be in attendance on show day. This is
an excellent way to see some different genetics, make new
friends and customers and you never know maybe convert some one
over to the Angus breed. Also there are a lot of fall sales
scheduled this year, so you’ll want to be sure and make plans to
try and attend some of those in your local area. Since the
economic news has been less then encouraging, this is going to
be an important year for us all to offer support where we can,
even if that means just filling a seat and being positive about
the future.
Here in California the fires
have once again taken their toll and Mother Nature has proven
her strength all through the West with droughts here and
flooding there. There are those days when one asks ourselves why
we work so hard to raise these cows considering what it takes
when faced with the economic pressures that this year has
yielded. I guess the question that always helps me cut to the
answer is, what would my life be without these cows? I know the
answer would be pretty bleak, sure I’d have a lot more cash in
my pocket, but not going through the cows daily, watching the
calves change and grow, seeing those genetic pairings that
clicked and looking forward to a “do over” on those that didn’t,
are just the tip of iceberg of how important these cows are to
me. I think to raise purebred cattle takes a passion and lots of
heart, and yes quite a few dollars to throw at it as well, but I
just can’t think of anything more important of an investment
then an Angus cow. Until Next Month……..
|
