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This past week has been interesting... To say the least. As the Coronavirus has spread, so have the cancellations of schools, mass gatherings, and life as we know it. Included in the cancellations is the Ohio Beef Expo.  But the sale will go on!
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Are you going to the Ohio Beef Expo? The Expo will be held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio on March 19th - 22nd. This year is going to be big for the Miniature Herefords!  Not only is there a Miniature Hereford show...
But new this year, the Miniature Herefords will be participating in the sale. We left Ohio on January 18th in freezing rain and snow to begin our bucket list journey to Denver, Colorado for the Miniature Hereford World Show at the National Western Stock Show.  I laughed more than I have in a long time, we enjoyed time with friends, worked hard, walked miles and miles, and we all got sick, but we had an amazing time and made so many memories.
One of our bucket list items is to take the boys to Denver to show at the National Western Stock Show before Isaac graduates. Yes...that means it has to happen in 2020 or 2021. 2020 was not the plan...because the bank account was saying otherwise. Until...Wesson won Reserve Grand Champion at Louisville.  There are times that all the plans get kicked out the window and you just seize the moment...and figure out the rest later.
This is one of those years. We are on our way to Denver! Last week we were in Louisville, Kentucky for the 2019 North American International Livestock Expo. Since I put the show program together, I knew that there were going to be an incredible set of cattle in the show ring. We didn't expect to do that well this year. We have good cattle, but there were some amazing cattle in the show ring. We took our two bulls, Smith and Wesson, and were hoping we might win something in the division and possibly in the pair of bulls, but that is all we could hope for.  The unexpected made it so much more fun.
One of the best ways to promote your farm is to attend cattle shows. At cattle shows, the best of your herd is on display, both in the show ring and back at the stalls. Even if you don't win in the show ring, you have to opportunity to expose your farm and promote your animals. We just want to be farmers, but what good is farming if we can't sell our products? Whether you like it or not, you have to be in the marketing business.  There are several things you can do at the show to market your farm. Some cost some money and take a little pre-planning, and others are very cheap and easy.
Over the years, we have spent a lot of quality time together in the truck. We have logged miles and miles and miles travelling to and from cattle shows. This weekend, Daniel and I left the boys at home (the advantages of having a teenage driver) and made an impromptu trip to Virginia. No, it wasn't a romantic getaway... We had cows to deliver.  As much as I like the destinations...I absolutely love the trip.
Some of our best memories are made in the cab of the truck. Did you know that cows can get ulcers? I didn't either...until one of our cows had one.  You may remember how sick Angel was on our trip to Oklahoma for Junior Nationals. It wasn't until we arrived home and our vet examined her that we learned she had a bleeding ulcer.
'We ended the summer show season with a few days at the Ohio State Fair. If it feels like you have read this post before...I kind of feel like I have written this before. As the years go on, we do the same things over and over. It should make things easier...right? Well, I don't know if our July's will ever be easy, but maybe we just don't have to think as hard and can rely on the auto pilot a little more. Heading into the Ohio State Fair, I just didn't feel very prepared. Planning for the show was pretty last minute, because the time just wasn't there. Over the years, we have kept detailed notes, so it really is easier...but it felt a little bit too easy...so I was sure I was forgetting something. Well thankfully, I didn't forget anything... at least that I know of.  Coming off of the county fair, we always have to will ourselves to the state fair. We are usually just too tired to really care.
Once we arrived, it didn't take us long to get into the spirit of things. We survived! By Monday the extreme heat had subsided and we returned to normal temperatures. The fair board did a great job of modifying weigh-ins so that the animals were stressed as little as possible. Amazingly, only one chicken died this week due to the heat. You can only control what you can control, but the vet, fair board members, parents and kids did a great job in a not so great couple of days.  I worked on Monday...because I am a bad mom and kept forgetting that Isaac shows goats...which show on Monday.
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AuthorHello! I am Heather... the city girl turned mom to manure loving country boys. My husband and I both grew up in the city, but spent weekends visiting grandparents in the country. We are first generation farmers who learn best by almost always doing things the hard way. I hope you enjoy following along with our adventures down on the farm. Archives
March 2020
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