Hey there,

So far, we have covered terminology and how/ what to feed your show calf. So now you are probably wondering, what is considered “show ready” for your calf? Well, the first step is halter breaking. This can get tricky as you do not want to hurt your calf or yourself. This process can be time consuming, frustrating, and a lot of hard work. According to The Brahman Journal article called Low-Stress Halter Breaking, this process can take up to one month or even longer. The article explains that once calves are tied up for their first time they do not eat the same or drink the same due to being stressed out because of the halter which is why you want to halter break as soon as possible. Once you get the halter on which you can conquer anyway you would like, whether you put them in a shoot or rope them and walk up to them and put it on, you must start by gentling the calf by walking up to your heifer or steer and scratching them, petting them, or brushing them. The Brahman Journal article, Low-Stress Halter Breaking explains how it is very important to get all of the calves’ biggest fears out of the way while they are still tied up, such as, using the show stick, brushes, or even just being around you. The next step in this process is leading your calf which it is recommended to use gloves so in case your calf gets scared, you do not rope burn your hands. As you are leading your calf practice setting them up with the show stick. This is helpful for when you are in the show ring and they already know how to set up because of all the work that was put in while you were halter breaking. There is a helpful YouTube video called, Techniques to Halter-breaking calves with ease, that I would strongly recommend watching. This video shows how to set your calf up as well as showing how your calf should look in the show ring for when it is officially “show ready.”

The official link for the Brahman Journal article, Low-Stress Halter Breaking is:

http://brahmanjournal.com/brahman/low-stress-halter-breaking/

The official link for the YouTube video, Techniques to Halter-breaking Calves with Ease is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOJCrzqLgB8

I hope you find both of these links useful, Happy Halter-Breaking! J

Welcome back,

Now that we know much of the basic terminology used in showing cattle from last week’s post. We can get down to the nitty gritty of the basics of showing cattle. So it is your first time taking care of and raising a show calf, and you have no clue what to feed your animal, whether it is a heifer or a steer. According to the Cattle Today article called “Feeding Show Cattle Requires Good Management,” a show calf that is in the process of gaining weight should gain 3 pounds per day so they would need to eat at least 1.5% of their body weight each day. The real question here is, “what does one feed these calves?” There are so many good quality show feeds out there today so really it comes down to what is mixed into each one of those feed that will provide you show calf with the nutrients and weight gain that it needs to be show ready. This will come down to the overall fat content in the feed you choose. There are many people with many different opinions about the best quality show feed, but according to an article written by Texas Cooperative Extension called, “Managing Beef Cattle For Show,” feed with high energy will fatten cattle so corn and molasses are good to mix together for gaining purposes. Corn makes the best fatten grain because it is high in nutrients. There are other additives such as Vitamin A, D, and E that will improve the quality in which your calf gains as well. Water is another huge benefactor when feeding a show calf. You will want to make sure they have plenty of water with the feed you choose. Ration is another question many people have, “how do we know how much to feed?” this will depend on the weight of the calf. Like earlier in the post I stated they need to gain around 3 pounds per day and that is about 1.5% of their body weight so as they keep gaining weight you will want to keep upping their feed as their body weight keeps going up.

Thanks for hanging around and reading, if you would like to read more information on this topic both links to the articles are:

http://animalscience.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2012/04/beef-managing-beef-cattle.pdf

http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2004/September/CT353.shtml

See you next week!

Hello again!

What is the point of showing cattle? What do judges look for in a winning show calf? Many people ask these questions but do they really know what the answers mean?  In order to produce a good quality show calf, its genetics will make up how well it does in the ring. So you decide to read an article about what a judge looks for in show calf, but really you have no clue what they are talking about because the terminology is hard to understand. One of my favorite magazines to read about agriculture and showing cattle is called The Fence Post, the reason being? Many of the articles that are published in this magazine are about agriculture groups such as 4-H and FFA. Let's take a look at one of the article that I love because it explains so much for people who are new to the show circuit.  

“If you have a destination, the first step needs to be in the right direction. That not only applies to travel, but also to the world of 4-H. For 4-H participants choosing cattle as a project, breeders and producers of show cattle with a combination of breeds such as, Chi, Maine, Angus, and even Simmental are also known as “club calves.” They believe they are that important right step in reaching a successful destination.

In the past, 4-H calves were likely selected from a family farm or a neighbor’s herd. Present day competitions, however, feature a high percentage of steers (neutered as calves) and heifers (never have had a calf) specifically bred and raised for the purpose of showing, and they have a good chance of coming from producers who specialize in raising club calves instead of commercial cattle meaning these calves are not registered under a specific breed.

Obviously there is a difference in end-point focus, “explained Brad Fassett of Fassett Hay and Cattle in Durango, Colo., about club calves versus commercial cattle. “We’re trying to put in basically the same traits that you need in good commercial cattle, but then have a little bit of show ring quality with them. They need some extra balance and quality and eye appeal, such as hair, bone, and muscle. And that’s relative to just commercial cattle.”

That show ring quality was further explained by another smaller club calf producer in Colorado. “The difference is the bone and the muscle these club calves have on them,” said Jerry Riley of JDR cattle in Franktown, Colo.” (For breeding purposes) I’m going after that hair, muscle, and bone that it takes to be a club calf compared to just a pasture type calf.”

This is what a club calf looks like. Hair, muscle, and bone are the qualities that these calves have. Sometimes pictures make it easier to understand than just words on a page. J

For the full link to this article click here:

http://www.thefencepost.com/article/20111004/NEWS/111009993

For more information about 4-H click here:

http://www.4-h.org/Resource-Library/Promotional-Toolkits/Toolkits/4-H-Study-of-Positive-Youth-Development-Toolkit.dwn

My name is JaCee Aaseth and I am from a small town in North Dakota. I have been around the show circuit in North Dakota for about 4 years as a member of the North Dakota Junior Point Show Association, but I have been showing cattle for about 13 years. Some of the biggest life lessons I have ever learned have come from showing cattle. It is just like playing sports. Sportsmanship is required if you ever plan to play again. So many kids start off showing by being active in clubs we call “4-H” or “FFA,” which stands for Future Farmers of America. In this blog I plan on showing all the positives and great outcomes that showing cattle can have on a person’s life. This industry brings so much work ethic and interest to many kids across America who plan on fulfilling a dream of working in Agriculture. This can be rewarding for anyone of any age, but where the learning lies is within the youth where they may take away the most life lessons. Whether you are one of the lucky ones who got to grow up around animals or not, you still may take away a new perspective of how much one activity can teach someone. Check back weekly as I take you through the show circuit and the beautiful culture of showing cattle and being involved in the Ag industry.