NewsletterJun05

Farms

The Harvey's

Tom & Tina

Double

Farms

Double

Newsletter

Table of Contents:

I. Humor

II. Informative

III. Farm News

IV. Current Events

V. Herefords Highlighted

VI. Previous Newsletters

Preface

This month we kinda kept with the theme about "picking"...:)

I. HUMOR

A walk in the park! (True story)

Many years ago, towards the end of my tour of service, I was relocated to a base within a couple of hours from my parents home. The reason for this was that my Dad had suffered a mild stroke, temporarily incapacitating him. I was granted a hardship transfer to assist him and my Mom who were older and living alone. Every weekend I drove home and helped around the place as much as I could. One day, I was doing some work in the living room (painting, wallpapering or something) and my Mom approached me about a girl who was a roommate of the neighbors daughter. It should be noted that I was single, and was not the most outgoing type. Apparently my Mom felt I needed female attention. Great, that's all I needed. Another relationship!

My first question was "How old is she?". I knew the neighbors daughter was somewhat older than I, and it probably would not end up being the kind of relationship I was looking for at the time. When she told me she thought she was a little older I quickly dismissed the idea all together and went about my business. My Mother persuaded me to give this girl half a chance, but I let her know I was not interested. I think a day or so passed before I finally gave in and went to meet this girl. It was late, probably 9PM when I showed up at her doorstep, but it was daylight savings time so it did not seem so long after dark. I introduced myself through the screen door, and she acknowledged she knew who I was (I'm sure by means of gabbing old women). She let me in and we sat and talked for a period of time. I couldn't help but notice the bouffant hair doo and the frilly type clothes she wore. Definitely not the outdoorsy type! At least she was not as old as I had assumed. After about an hour of conversation I excused myself to head home.

The following weekend I called the girl and invited her to go to the local State Park. I explained to her that I was going to go for a hike. What she didn't know was that I meant I would be hiking to keep myself in good shape for transfer back to fleet. She agreed, and I'm sure at the time, she thought it would be a nice "walk in the park!". We drove to the park in our shorts and tennis shoes, but I believe she was a little surprised when we got there and I went to the trunk of the car and started pulling out military stuff! I threw on my pack, and some extra gear which amounted to a total of about 60 lbs, asked her if she was ready and off we went. I didn't notice the look on her face until we were a couple of miles into it. There was no talking, just hiking! Every once in a while I would look back and see her struggling to keep up behind me!....:)

Now I stand 6’3” with very long legs. My stride was probably two of hers. Add that to the grueling pace I had set from the start, and it looked like a Indian squaw following her brave. I wasn't really concerned about it either. Heck, she wanted to go, so she should be able to take whatever I dish out..right? Besides, I didn't even know if she had the slightest interest in me anyway, at least other than just someone to do something with. It wasn't like I was out to impress her either, and I didn't really know much about date etiquette! About half way through the "hike" I stopped and retrieved a gas mask from it's case, slipped it on, and continued to "march"...:) That is when I noticed the strange look on her face! She was probably thinking I was somewhat of a Jackass at that point! Deservedly so I would think, looking back on that moment...:) It was quite a sight moving down the trail, passing campsites and watching the expression on the peoples faces and hearing their laughter as we quickly and quietly strolled through; me in my mask with a heavy pack and this girl doing everything she could to keep up, except run, so she could insure herself a ride home!

Well, she made it (actually I called it short), and after the hike we finished the day on better terms...and conditions. I guess in some ways she impressed me that day. It would have run most girls off. I continued to date her and our outings became more like dating should be. We spent many long hours picnicking and swimming by the lake. We learned to enjoy each others company, and I found out she was an outdoorsy type girl after all. About 6 months later I proposed to that same girl, near that Lake. She said yes. We've been married almost 23 years now....just a "walk in the park"....Ha!

The moral of the story:

You usually only have one chance, to make a first impression.

From a cattle raisers point of view:

The animals that prove themselves up front are usually the ones you want to keep around for the long haul.

II. INFORMATIVE

"Flushing"..... your program! (opinion)

There is an old saying which refers to "flushing things down the tube". It means to get rid of something, or consider it waste. When I first started in the registered cattle business, "flushing an animal" was not the term used when you were getting rid of a cow or sending her to slaughter. In fact, it referred to just the opposite! It meant an animal had enough value or merit to make it both practical and profitable to reproduce as many of her offspring as possible. The procedure used to meet this objective was called "flushing", and it involved the collecting and freezing of fertilized eggs from a selected female. Initially, the beef cattle industry did not utilize this technology as widespread as the dairy cattle business or the race horse industry. This was partly due to beef cattle usually not being around long enough to make it practical, and because artificial insemination was a much easier and more reliable method of getting the conceptions with good genetics in the first place. The problem was, artificial insemination didn't always focus on the female side of the equation. It wasn't until beef breeders began managing their seedstock herds to exhibit traits desired by their customers and market demands, that they began to look at embryo transfer as a means to expand their best genetics.

I must say that flushing was probably the lowest priority in my program when I first got started. Not only was it expensive, but it was not practical, seeing I was still new to the business. I also could never figure out why people were flushing young heifers with only one calf to their name, or sometimes even no calves at all! Maybe a cow, who had just one great calf who made a fuss in the show circut. I'm sure that some would argue that it only takes one calf to determine a keeper, but I say it takes a bunch of calves, year after year to determine a great cow. I suppose you could also argue that the genetics are "behind" the animal you intend to flush in the first place. I sure hope I never fall into that pit! I think every animal must prove their worth despite their background. I suppose that is part of the reason I chose to wait as long as I did. Longevity, fertility, mothering ability, fleshing ability, and calving ease, year after year, are not proven with one or two calves. It is the reason the American Hereford Association has the standard they do for Dams of Distinction! I guess part of the reason to flush unproven females is to strike while the iron is hot. It might be that a heifer who has just won national champion may only have a market for about one year, so getting as many offspring out of her mated to that recent national champion bull is a money market priority. Several years later that same national champion bull and cow will lose their value, perhaps even to due to the inability of the offspring to perform up to "hype". So goes the integrity of the breed.

Do I think flushing is impractical? Of course not. It has it's place in the industry, and with the right markets, can make many breeders "some" profit. It can also improve the genetic base of the herd. This year we implemented a flushing program in our own herd. However, the selection is based on years of production in our females. Most of the females we intend to flush will be around 10 years of age, with 7 or 8 calves to their credit. The youngest cow to be considered for flush will be a 1998 female and she will probably not see flushing until the year 2006. The oldest cow will be close to 13 years of age, and will have given a calf a year since age two. Six of these females are Dams of Distinction, and the remainder are top performing females within the herd. These are the type animals I want to use as a base for the future of my program. I will be confident in the mating's, and know that it will not just be the sire side contributing to the mating, or two animals who won their notoriety in the show ring. Do I think the offspring will automatically be great animals when they hit the ground? Well, I'll have my hopes, but the proof will be in their performance over time.

Flushing your good females can be a shortcut to a herd with the genetics, and desirable traits to take a program to the next level, but it can also be a disaster if it is not based on proven performance. Genetics, EPD's and the ability to impress a judge in the show arena are only a small and sometimes insignificant part of seedstock selection. Pick the animals in your herd that meet the epitome of what you are trying to accomplish, which should be what your customer wants! These females should be problem free, easy keeping, fertile, and raise a dang good calf. Remember, cattle don't have to have a championship picture to benefit your herd where it counts....in the pasture! So, be careful how you select the females you intend to flush, or you might just be "flushing your program".

III.FARM NEWS:

County Fair! For the first time in 9 years we missed showing at our county Fair! It just didn't work out for us this year.

Internet Auction lots for the Septembers sale "are" posted on our site!

We are offering embryos, semen, bulls, and heifers.

Santos Estraca is the most recent buyer of Double H Farms cattle. Thankyou!

Watch for more flushes! Two of our Feltons Dams of Distinctions will be flushed this year.

The Hereford Breeders Online Auction, slated for September of 2005, will probably be the next best time to pick up some of our upcoming breed age bulls and heifer calves. Check out the "Auctions" link on our "Sale Barn" page!

IV. CURRENT EVENTS:

The Jr. Nationals will be held July 9th through the 16th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this year.

Oualline Polled Herefords is offering up a great set of cattle in out upcoming internet auction!

V. HEREFORD HIGHLIGHTS:

LLLDeana 2099 80E

12/18/1995

Well, that about wraps it up. We certainly hoped you enjoyed the newsletter! Email us and let us know what you think.

Thankyou

Tom and Tina Harvey

Performance on the Hoof!

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June 2005

"Deana" was purchased at the Keipersol Estates Vintage 1 Sale on September 13th, 2004. She had weaned off her natural 2003 bull calf at 731 lbs and had 9 offspring recorded with the AHA. Deana was already a registered donor cow. All these things combined told me she had merit despite her age. As an added benefit she was bred back to calve in November to the popular PW Victor Boomer P606 bull. She was my #1 choice in the sale, and I was determined to buy her, but after the first few animals went through I was a little worried. I knew her price would be high, and I liked to buy good animals at a great price. I was glad when Scott Stewart who was also at the sale, agreed to split the cow with me

her "reasonable". We almost didn't, but luck would see us through. She calved a very nice bull calf on November 6, 2004 and was off and running. Her 2004 bull calf out of P606 weaned at 730 lbs. She was flushed back to P606, then bred to Feltons Ozzie, and cleaned up by Feltons Jedi. Deana will be flushed again following her calving next spring. Three of her embryos to P606, and her 2004 bull calf from P606 will be offered in the Hereford Breeders Online Auction this September. We will retain interest in the bull along with the Stewarts so that future use through AI can be accomplished. Deana is pigmented, problem free, easy fleshing, fertile, and raises a good calf. We will see this proven cow's genetics expanded into our herd in the future. Below you will see a picture of her nice P606 son which is for sale this September.

Thanks, and keep coming back!!

(after some convincing on my part) if we could get