Moving Cow/Calf Pairs to Greener Pastures

Jake and I spent the morning moving cows that have calved from the calving pasture to the "kick-out" fields. This mornings work in the pasture I have often called Marriage Counseling, where Jake and I go to work on our communication skills.

Today as we were moving the mamas with their calves, I began to realize many life lessons are learned when moving these creatures.

1. Life is easier when you point the cow in the right direction and let her find her own way to the gate hole. (even if it seems a little out of the way)
2. The calf almost always follows the mama cow.
3. Marriages are made stronger in the pasture field.

** These pictures are from last year. I couldn't help but post the beauty of the green pastures. Still waiting for the green pastures of 2013.**

Marriage Counseling - Do you need a map?

I have been thinking it would be an awesome idea to have a reality television show, where farm/ranch couples complete farm/ranch chores together in time constraints for prizes.  Who wants to play?

Jake and I have been working together a lot through this calving season. Jake has been calving three groups of cows, which include the U's, X's and Y's.  The Y's are the first calf heifers and demand more time and attention than the other two groups.  I take the girls to school and then help Jake with whatever he needs me to do.  Some days I take mineral out, bottle feed orphan calves, open gates, help feed hay, move cow/calf pairs to the kick out pastures, help get cows in and document anything funny or unusual on social media.

Many of our problems in communication are because Jake assumes since I love him so much and we have been married nearly 10 years that I am his clone and think just like him.  My confession is sometimes the way he explains things, it sounds as if he is speaking a foreign language. I explained it to him like this, when you give me directions on things it is the same as if I ask you to go into the girls room and pick out an outfit (that matches) for them to wear.  He is unable to do this.  In my mind it should be easy, because I open their drawers and see many things that match.  He opens the drawer picks out three items that are various shades of pink and says "will this work?"
 
The same things happen to me when I work in his domain. There are thousands of acres here, divided by miles of fences and I find it complicated to get to where I need to be many times (although I am getting better).  They have nicknames for most of the fields, none of them are labeled and there is more than one way to get to all of them.  I am only able to enter and exit through certain gate holes because some of the electric fence openers are too tight for me to physically open.  This means I drive around a lot.  I also will not stick my leg out and put the rubber sole of my shoe on the hot fence and drive over it.  I am neither talented nor tall enough to do this.  I just drive until there is a gate opening. Jake often gets frustrated with me when he wants me to take mineral to a field (that we were just in yesterday) and I don't know instantaneously which one he is talking about.  One day I said "you need a map around this place, not everyone knows every crevasse of this area". After more than a few intense discussions about not understanding where exactly he wanted the mineral feeder placed, I walked into the office to find this on the board.

It is suddenly all clear (enter sarcasm).

** The bottom notes are from the girls.  Including cursive practice and cakes.

This the second in a series of Marriage Counseling posts.

Darin - owner of Na-Da Show Cattle

Jacie in her independence to get ready for sled riding found this ear warmer from Jake's college days.

Jake was my brother's roommate (see for the love of beef (part 2)). However what has never been blogged about is their other roommate "Lippy" who's real name is Darin.  Darin did not grow up on a farm, however did grow up in a rural community.  ATI is a two year school, Darin spent something like eight years there on and off. He did graduate the second time there with Jake. While he was there with all of the cattle people and "steer jocks" he came up with his own cattle company called Na-Da Show Cattle meaning not a one, not one single calf.  It is funny and very creative.  Darin is a heck of a good guy.  He was a groomsman in our wedding, he came to Nebraska to visit us and Jake and him call each other often.

Darin and my brother Jason in Colorado.

for the love of the game

Jake and I went to the Clippers game on Saturday night, to celebrate Ohio Beef Producers support of Striking Out Hunger. Ohio Beef Producers have worked together with Kroger to give 2 pounds of lean beef to the Mid Ohio Food Bank for every strike out recorded by the Clippers Pitching Staff. It made me really proud to be a small part of something so big.

It rained right before the game started and then of course there was a beautiful rainbow.

The back of our awesome shirts.

My date to for the love of the game, just one night of for the love of beef.

I am sharing more about the Striking Out Hunger program through the new Ohio Cattlemen's Blog.
http://www.ohiobeefpromotions.org/_blog/Beef_Bytes/post/Striking_Out_Hunger_with_Lean_Beef/#.UCrw-J1mRRE

ohhh . . . for the love of beef

Ohhh . . . for the love of beef

I was reading another article about how hard it is for young people to get started in farming and ranching.  These articles, comments and headlines gnaw at me.

My immediate thought was to go back in time and write a poor FFA motivational speech using cliches of hope and faith.  Specifically the one that says you will miss 100% of the shots you never take.

However my FFA days are long over and I am too angry to write a motivational speech.  This topic needs to be covered by more of a get off your butt and go after what you want speech. There has never been a time where it was easy to get started in farming and ranching.  Every generation has made sacrifices to get started.  I am not sure I would find it easy to pack up my family in a conestoga wagon and travel several hundred miles with a document from the government to stake claim to a piece of land.

It is time to redefine family farming.  Jake and I would like to purchase a ranch a piece of ground to run cows and calves.  However the bank won't loan us that kind of money (yet).  So, we are building assets in other ways.

Things change! Time to be creative. What you really want may be a journey (so Jake and I tell ourselves daily).  If you can have what you dream of today, your dream must not big enough.

One of the best accidental things I ever did  was marry someone that has the same passion, that is my friend and my business partner.  Jake and I agree on most of what we want our future to look like.  If you are lucky enough to share the same dream as your life partner - Congratulations!

Gather your Skills - Jake spent the younger part of his life gathering skills (accidently of course).  He worked for other farmers, he built houses where he learned building, concrete, electric and pluming skills.  Jake had a wonderful welding teacher where he learned basic welding and fabrication skills.  These skills have saved us an undetermined amount of money and helped increase our assets.

Find Mentors - people running any successful business and people that have at one point failed.  I wish I had a list of people that have helped us.  Jake and I should make a list as we often sit and think about the long list of people that have helped us learn and make progress toward our dream.

Great Bankers - preferably with one foot in agriculture and the other in the banking business.  This banker should also understand what drives you, has clear understanding of your goals, has the words to tell you not now and keep working and the guts to tell you hell no.

Quiet possibly the hardest part is sacrificing some things that Americans in their 30's have like a really nice house, luxury cars, expensive vacations and down time.

Dream Bigger, Sacrifice and Pray - Anything is Possible no matter how old you are!

for the love of beef (part ?)

Five years ago yesterday, this is what I looked like.  Our second daughter was a scheduled c-section for Monday April 23, 2005.  She was born weighing 6 pounds and 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. I pleaded with the doctor to schedule the c-section after State FFA Convention the first weekend in May so I would be able to see my first ever state public speaking qualifier compete for first place. (However I did end up recovering in time to see Jessica McKinley win first place in beginning prepared.) I was also thinking I could have a 10 pound baby.  I figured if they were cutting me open again, hey big babies are happy babies.     

Having the second child is so much different then the first.  My mom kept Jacie and brought her in later that afternoon.  Since it was April Jake was busy spraying (there is no convenient time for a baby to be born on a farm). Jake left early the next morning.  I said, but it's raining.  He said, I know but I have few things to fix on the sprayer.  He also said, what am I going to around here all day. When Jacie was born the hospital room was packed most of the day and evening.  With our families both getting reading to plant and taking turns watching Jacie, it was mostly just Jaelin and I.   We went home a few days later and it was a long spring and summer for this mom with a breastfeeding newborn and a potty training 2 year old.  I feel like the next year was a major accomplishment in my life.

for the love of beef (part 8)

On Friday the 13th we had our rehearsal dinner in the neighbors farm shop.  It was a great evening and we had a wonderful meal planned by my mother in law and cooked by her and several other family and friends. It was a great evening!

It is now June 14, 2003, the house is not finished.  However we deemed it livable after the honeymoon.  Neither of us wanted to move back in with our parents as a newlywed couple.  We had no kitchen and carpeting went in a couple days before the wedding. It was a long summer.

It was raining that morning and I was a little bummed because we had plans for the wedding party to have a hay ride from the church to the reception.  I headed from my parent's house to Newark to get my hair and make up done.  Jake and his friends (including my brother) were supposed to be doing some last minute things for the wedding and reception.

Mary, Amber, Katy, Jamie, Me, Jenny, Marie, Kelly and Amy

Andy, Travis, Joe Lee, Ben, Jake and RJ, Lippy, Matt, Nick, Jason

By the time I reached the church it had stopped raining and my bridesmaids were gathering in the church basement.  They all had the same color dresses but each had a different top.  To compliment the differences they each got a different bouquet.  The boys were I have no idea where doing things I still don't want to know about.  My mother showed up with food for everyone, which saved the day.

It was soon time for the ceremony, where Father Dennis married us.  It was beautiful!

We then had several pictures taken.  By now the sun was shining and the hay ride with our bridal party to the reception was a great time.

When we reached the reception it was 100 questions for me music, toasts, cake, food, etc..  Not Jake, he was off talking with everyone. We had a wonderful caterer that served Wolfinger beef and homemade noodles that my Grandma Poorman and I spent most of the winter making. Every time we needed to dance, toast, take a picture or kiss we first had to send a search party for Jake.  We even had to find him when it was time to surprise his Dad and his Dad's twin sister Rosie with a 50th Birthday Cake.  We chose their birthday for our wedding day. Unfortunately I didn't feel like I got to see or talk to anyone.

No one had a better time at our reception than Jake's brother Andy.  He gave a wonderful toast and then danced with everyone there.

It felt like I turned my head and everyone was gone.  Jake finally revealed the surprise honeymoon would be to Cancun and I was excited to leave the country for the first time and lay on the beach.

We left soon after that and headed to change our clothes and head for the Hyatt in Columbus for our Honeymoon night.  We were leaving in the morning for Cancun.

We checked into the hotel.  We started asking a lot of questions about each other's day.  After all this was the first time we had really talked in 24 hours.  I found out that he had greeted almost all of our guests as they came into the church.  I was jealous because I was locked up in the basement.  I said I can't believe so and so didn't come and he would say yeah they were there.  By the end of the conversation I was saddened that I had missed a lot of our guests. The whole day seemed like a big blurr. However I was now Mrs. Jake Wolfinger and we were now working on the happily ever after.