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Last week we attended the Ohio Beef Expo. We are learning how fortunate we are to be a part of one of the best beef expos in the country. This was the Ohio Beef Expo's 34th year and it gets bigger and better with each year. With over 850 youth cattle, to the sale barn packed with cattle waiting to sell, to breeders from Ohio and all over the country, it is an opportunity to network with breeders, shop for all things cattle related and even add cattle to your farm.  The highlight for us is the Miniature Hereford show and sale.
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Our favorite show of the year is the Ohio Beef Expo and we get to move in this week! This show has always been our favorite, probably because it is really where we got our start, but it is now our favorite because of all the people. Through all the years of showing with the Miniature Hereford Breeders Association the Ohio Cattlemen's Association B.E.S.T. shows, we have come to know a lot of people.  It is so fun to just walk up and down the aisles, through the trade show, and around the grounds and see so many old friends. It's hard to get very far without stopping and talking or catching up with someone we haven't seen in a while.
I mean...it is fun to show...but the party back in the barn is way more fun! Are you looking to buy some Miniature Herefords? Well, the Ohio Beef Expo is the place you want to be. Saturday, March 19th, there will be a live and online auction with over 20 Miniature Herefords for sale. Make plans to attend the sale on Saturday and get your bidding arm ready. If you are not able to attend in person, you can bid online by clicking here.  Be sure to check out lot 14, our very own 4 Wiley Autumn Angel. Click below to see the complete listing of consigned animals, embryos and semen. 
Also, make plans to be there on Friday, the 18th to see the animals go through the show ring at 2:00 p.m.
Stop by the barns to check out the sale animals and talk with all the breeders. Be sure to stop by our stalls and say hi! Some may say that the agricultural community is the foundation of our country. The unseen heroes that work from sun up to sun down providing for their families and the rest of the world. They are the ones with the true grit and determination when everything is against them. From fires and drought to disease and unpredictable financial markets, they never give up. Farmers have a deep founded love for the land that flows into an unwavering love for our country. If you were to ask most people in agriculture, I bet almost all of them would tell you that they got their start in 4-H.  For our family, 4-H is where it all started. We live in a rural community so it only made sense that our kids would be a part of the program. What we didn't know is how much it would teach us. We had no idea what we were doing and we had a club and club leaders that held our hands through that first year and taught us what we didn't even know we didn't know.
We said we weren't going to go, but for some reason, we really wanted to go to Denver, Colorado for the 2022 Miniature Hereford World Show at the National Western Stock Show. We should have gone last year with Smith and Wesson, but we all know that didn't happen. I guess we just never got the 2021 disappointment out of our systems.  So, we packed our bags and loaded three cows onto the trailer for the twenty-four hour journey to Denver...in the middle of January...only to dodge a snow storm going out and another one on the way back home.
When 2021 began, we were all excited to put the year of Covid behind us and return to normal life. While 2021 was more normal, I can't say it was the year of moving on that we were all hoping for.
We thought things couldn't get much worse than 2020, but our 2021 brought some epic challenges and roadblocks that we never saw coming. We survived, but I can honestly say we are anxious to put this year behind us and move on to a better 2022. Frosty the snowcow was a jolly happy cow
With fluffy ears and curly coat and two eyes that looked so sweet. Frosty the snowcow is a farmers tale they say. He was made of fur but the children know how he came to the farm one day. There must have been some magic in the old trailer that came that day For when they opened up the gate he began to run around. It's been a couple of weeks now since we were in Louisville, Kentucky for the North American International Livestock Expo. This show is the start of our show season and then we come home long enough to throw in some laundry, head to the grocery store to buy all the food for Thanksgiving, then re-pack our suitcases to head to our cabin to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. I normally try to grab a few minutes in the gap between trips or while the Thanksgiving feast is digesting, to get my show reports done and you all updated on the events of the week. At the last minute, I decided not to pack my laptop this year and to fully enjoy the time with my family. I'm feeling a little guilty at the backlog of paper work, but it was worth it.  Miniature Herefords at the North American International Livestock Expo Louisville felt different for me this year. I'm not really sure why, but probably because the past year has almost broken me. I have cried buckets...just ask my family.
A few weeks ago, one of the biggest stressors resolved itself and I have finally been able to take a deep breath, sleep through the night (except for when I wake up thinking about the show) and realizing that things are good again. My emotions are still raw, but being on the other side of something bad has helped me to appreciate the little things that feel so good. The cows are loaded, the trailer is busting at the seems and we are headed south to Louisville, Kentucky. This week we will be showing at the North American International Livestock Expo. Louisville means something different for everyone. It is a national show where people and cows gather from all over the country. For some, it is the biggest show they attend and for others it is the start of something new. For us, Louisville means the start of show season. It is the debut for many of our cows, which brings a different level of excitement. The first time a cow stands before a judge, you get a pretty good idea of whether its going to be a good year of just another year.  Last week was busy making final preparations and some last minute unplanned preparations....like replacing the brakes on the trailer.
Blast is becoming the yo-yo bull.
Born here on our farm, sold, bought back, sold again, and now he is home again. We love this bull...but four mature bulls on our small farm is just too much...so Blast was the one that always had to go. |
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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
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