Highlands of the Heartland
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Highlands in the Heartland SummerPage 2010 1 HIGHLANDS OF THE Issue 5 HEARTLAND Heartland Highland Cattle Association , 976 State Highway 65 , Tunas , MO 65764 http://www.heartlandhighlandcattleassociation.org/ 417.345.0575 Hello Highlanders IIINSIDE TTTHIS IIISSUE By David Embury Hello Highlanders 1 It’s been a long dry summer in our area. The hay crop Reflections of a First Year 1 Let’s Go To The National Convention!! 2 is okay, but without the rain, there won't be much for Planning Early Weaning 2 second crop, but I am still cutting and baling first crop. Highland Marketing Workshop 3 I will be glad when fall arrives for cooler weather and Farm and Cattle Product Survey 4 maybe more rain. September 2011: 14-Day Trip to Scotland 4 th The 4th annual Highland picnic that was at our farm AHCA 59 Annual National Convention 5 Welcome New Members 5 on July 4th was informative. Our feed nutritionist Highland Discussion Forum 6 Chris Wake spoke on rotational grazing, which Board of Directors and Officers’ Contact Information 7 encourages animals to forage on new pasture and how Renewal Application 7 to move them by moving the mineral, salt and mineral Have You Ever Thought Of Having Your Very Own Website? 8 blocks from one paddock to another when moving Calendar of Events 11 Classified Ads 12 them. He also told us of a Vigortone product named Sinagod that creates a 30-35% reduction of flies. It has Now to some upcoming business. The HHCA Board has been tested in TX and MS states. It is basically made been approached by several HHCA members about from cinnamon and garlic and you can mix it having a Highland Cattle Auction in conjunction with our with your mineral or feed. I have started feeding it to annual meeting next March 2011. Before the Board can my cattle and I can see a big reduction in the flies that make a decision, much discussion and investigation to bother the cattle. The smell of the garlic is very intense cost and other things must be considered . My question to in the feed, but the cattle eat it well. One pound can the membership is : would you be interested in having a treat about 30 animals and it is all natural. If anyone highland cattle auction for you to sell your highlands and be wants to learn more about this product, just give me a able to purchase them as well? We want your input so please call and I can get you information. Please see Hello on page 10 Reflections of a First Year By Daniel and Becky Keith We are Daniel and Becky Keith, newcomers to the so the smaller package was attractive to us, and also HHCA, and to cattle owning in general. These last few the idea that those breeds tend to be more efficient months have been quite an experience. Our farm is grazers, good for a small farm. Since Daniel has a located north of Springfield in the Bolivar area, on 10 Scottish background, he’d had his eye on Highlands acres of open grassy land. We’ve lived here 10 years, for quite some time. He had been very impressed with every year saying that we should get a couple of calves the gentle nature of the Asmussens’ bull, which he had to put on the 8 acres we have in pasture. But every year seen more than once at the Buffalo Scottish Festival. As the time would go by without any calves. we researched, we really liked everything we saw In the early months of 2009, we found ourselves in the about the breed – the type of meat they provide, their position of being able to start making plans to purchase easy care and their docile personalities. So our decision a few head of cattle, our goal being to provide beef for was made and we started trying to learn e verything we ourselves and our family. As we started looking, we could about them. Gloria and others in the club were both agreed that we were interested in one of the small very helpful as we talked to them at Buffalo and at the breeds. Neither of us were experienced cattle handlers, fairgrounds in Springfield. Please see Reflections on page 3 Page 2 Highlands in the Heartland Let’s Go To The National Convention!! By Phyllis Campbell What a great idea! Take a break, go to Michigan and done so well for them. Everyone had a great time see LOTS of Highlands, what more could you ask for? visiting on the bus rides and lots of ideas were always Of course 3 days before time to go I start to get cold being passed around and on the last day on the last feet. How could my husband and I go the AHCA trip back to the hotel someone mentions problems with National Convention with all those "professionals" as the round bale feeders and a guy pops and says he we are true novices, greenhorns, haven’t even agreed solved the problem by bui lding a square pole container on the farm name, only have 3 two year old heifers for with one or two sliding sides which has eliminated one year, etc and was sure I would make a complete almost all waste and the yearlings are able to eat fool of myself. without leaving the central tower of unreachable hay. So off we go, fortunately we left in time to head to Well you should have seen all the people jump on him, Indianapolis and beat the rain. Later on we found out asking him to draw pictures, etc., which of course he Gloria got to do the same trip in a heavy downpour. did. We arrive at the hotel, explored a little of downtown It was obvious the organizers had put in a huge Kalamazoo which is a beautiful town. The next amount of planning and hard work which showed on morning I head downstairs to see what I could find all accounts. The families with children were so lucky out. Well, there they were!—a table of friendly, excited, as the Juniors were happily busy from morning to happy highland people more than willing to do night with everything from swimming, flying, anything, answer any questions about the schedules, museums, and a lot more. WE ATE and ATE—the buses, etc. We hop on a bus for the first day of visiting meals were wonderful and no one went away hungry. the first of 3 great Highland folds; each place had After hearing the reports from the various Highland wonderful, informative programs covering a multitude associations across the country, all members of the of topics from pasture irrigation, haylage, parasites, HHCA can take pride in our growth and our board as feeding, breeding, etc. What beautiful animals—from they really shine a step above. calves cows and bulls. We had never seen so many What did we learn from our adventure? Everyone Highlands. Every place and everyone talked about there LOVES and believes in their Highlands and how they do things, what works great and what hasn't wants the integrity of the breed to always be there. Please see National Convention on page 6 Plannin g Early Weaning By Laura Nelson Wean early without working overtime. “You can’t feed a more efficient Weaning calves at half the typical age calls for re- beef animal than one that is thinking your calendar, but it doesn’t obligate a 100 to 200 days of age,” Heldt management overhaul. With a few key tweaks, said. “If you’re feeding calves ranchers already weaning at home can reap the clear out to finish, you can rewards of calves that gain faster, convert cheaper, really take advantage of this in the area of feed perform better and reduce cow costs. efficiency and carcass quality. In an early-weaning “We started weaning calves early because of drought,” program, these two things are going to be money said ruminant nutritionist Jeff Heldt. “Now we do it makers.” It works; that’s proven. But don’t jump in because it makes sense from a cow feed cost and grass without careful evaluation on your own terms. availability standpoint.” Marketing, facilities and management plans must be Heldt, a field consultant for Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, in order to avoid weaning sooner than you or the works with cattlemen in the western portions of calves are ready. Nebraska and South Dakota who have moved their Market Planning weaning date toward a 90 day target. The result: an Like some of Heldt’s customers, Brush, CO, rancher average savings of $40 per cow in feed costs and 25 % Justin Curtis weaned his first set of 90 -day-old calves increase in forage availability. Please see Weaning on page 5 Highlands in the Heartland Page 3 Reflections from page 1 When everything was finally in place to choose the calves had grown to proper size. We really didn’t animals we would bring home, we ran across a posting know much about what to look for, but made our on craigslist for unregistered Highlands. Since we were choices – two heifers, one definitely bred, one thought not planning to market our beef, we were interested, to be; one two-year-old bull, one yearling bull, and a and called to make an appointment to see them. When bull calf. We needed to make arrangements for pickup, we arrived at the farm, the fold was out to graze and and set a date to bring them all home.