Sidey Angus - January 1998 diary

January 2nd - Calves

Had an excellent EXT daughter born yesterday and a very nice heifer calf by GAR Sleep Easy today. The Sleep Easy is long necked and even longer bodied but a little finer boned. Her dam is one of the favorites here being a VDAR New Trend 315 out of a GDAR Equalizer from our Green Valley Queenmar family. The EXT is built just like her full sister from last year and is a pure and simple good looker! Her dam is a R&J Spade by Rito 9J9 from our Blackcap cow line.

My sister is scheduled for back surgery next week. She ruptured a disc and can hardy stand. She has been answering calls from work while braced on her couch. She is the head industrial nurse for the Kahns (ball park franks, Sarah Lee corporation etc...) plant in Cincinnati. Back problems are no fun at all!

January 5th - Its Hot

It is almost 60° F (15.5° C) today and is to get even warmer in the next few days. The grass is turning green and the calves are really enjoying it. We turned out the calves that were born in the past couple of days and they are running non stop.

We finally had another bull calf after eight heifers in a row. I was starting to get worried. He is a very long bodied son of GAR Precision out of our Tonto daughter that was Reserve Champion at the Ohio Preview two years ago. I would have liked another heifer from her but I do need some good bulls right now too.

January 7th - More Rain

I delivered an EXT bull calf to New Bedford today. Although I had been East of that area a lot, I had never traveled much in the area between Dresden and Coshocton. I enjoyed seeing that part of the state but it would have been much better without the rain.

The rain started as I reached Columbus in the morning and continued throughout the day. Hydroplaning on some of the low-lying roads was a real problem. Apparently, even though my part of the state is saturated, they actually wanted it in the Holmes-Coshocton County area.

January 9th - Colder

It has started to get a little colder today but not enough to freeze the ground. It can't freeze too soon for me! I really really hate dragging hay through the mud!

I received my "Ohio Cattleman" magazine today. There was an super nice article about the farm and my web site. I am on top of the world! My sister came through surgery very well this morning and the doctors feel that she should be back to full strength in about three months.

January 15th - Vita-Ferm^®

It has been a good week. The weather has been cold but not extreme. There is no mud, the calves are healthy and growing and no one is sick or even in a bad mood. We are even getting the heavier milking cows bred back in good time. I can take the rest of the Winter like this.

I solved one of the problems that arose with the closing of our local grain elevator this week when I became a dealer for Vita-Ferm^® products myself. We have used them for about fifteen years and I should have done this long before. It is expensive but there is just no better mineral or supplement out there. They are making a 200# tub now and I think that it could be a fantastic system.

January 17th - Snow & Ultrasound

It is snowing this morning and is to continue on into this afternoon. The temperature is staying in the 30° F (-1°C) range and the ground is solid so I have no complaints whatsoever.

We are having the West Central Ohio Angus Assn. meeting here tomorrow at 1:00 pm. This area had very strong county associations just twenty years ago and we are trying to get it going full strength. There is a good amount of interest.

My neighbor, Bonnie Bradford, called yesterday to ask my opinion on her new business venture. She and her husband Rex are Polled Hereford & Simmental breeders with a very well earned reputation for quality. They have also been good friends of mine for over twenty-five years as Rex and I exhibited cattle together up, down and around western Ohio as teenagers.

They are starting a service to Ultrasound cattle to measure carcass information for breeders and feedlots. I know that I will use it on all of our cattle. I have been getting feedback on on carcasses from steers sired by our bulls from some of our customers, but this will really help to tell me what I have in the pastures and how I am doing.

January 22nd - ice

We are getting a light ice/sleet storm right now and it is expected to turn more into a rain this afternoon. We bred the last of our Fall calving cows to Lucys Boy yesterday so I am happy about that.

The West Central Ohio Angus meeting went well on Sunday.The only problem was that I was re-elected President again. I thought that there were others that could do a better job. Other officers include Jim Rentz of Coldwater as Vice-President; Jay Clutter of Wapakoneta as Secretary\Treasurer and Ken Eiting of Minster, Joe Sanders of Harrod, Dennis Schroeder of Ottawa and Bill Strayer of Elida as directors. We are working on details for our district show this summer and hope to get that wrapped up with another full member meeting in the coming week or so.

January 25th - Annual Meeting

I got home very late last evening from the Ohio Angus Association Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet. The meetings were held in the afternoon with the main association gathering at the Kelgren center at Select Sires Inc., the Auxiliary meeting across the highway at Select Embryos and the Juniors meeting down the road at the Ohio cattlemen's new office complex, all just North of Plain City near Columbus. The Awards Banquet was held in the evening in Plain City.

A good friend, Freddie Penick of Hebron was elected President; while another friend,Vern Hall of Greenville was elected VP. Brent English from just up the road here, near Elida, is again Treasurer. Dave Long, of Hamilton, Jarrod Payne of Johnstown, Kevin Hinds of Newcomerstown and Mike McCauley of Cambridge were elected to terms on the Board of Directors. The 1999 Preview will be hosted by the Miami Valley Angus Assn. at Lebanon, OH. Jim Rentz and Creek Side Farm of Coldwater are hosting the 1998 Ohio Angus Picnic & Field day on September 5th.

The Distinguished Service Award went to the Hinds family. The Girls Silver Show winner was Neenah Hill of Bidwell, The Boys Silver Show winner was Justin Brosey of Hamilton. The new Miss Ohio Angus is Jamie King of Tiffin. The auction of Directory and Handbook pages went well for the Association but I was able to get the back cover page bought pretty cheaply this year for some reason.

January 29th - MVAA

I thought that I would plug the Miami Valley Angus Assn. Annual meeting and Banquet coming up on Feb. 10th. Dr. Bob Long of Amelia Island, Fl will be our featured speaker this year. He is professor emeritus, Animal Science dept., Texas Tech University, and joined Ankony Angus Corp in 1967 becoming Executive Vice-President and CEO. Dr. Long is well known for his column "Beef Logic" found in the Angus Journal, Angus News, Southwest Livestock Reporter, Southwest Farm Press and Southeast Farm Press among other publications. The banquet is at the Hamiltonian Hotel in downtown Hamilton, OH with dinner at 7:00 PM and a social hour prior to that at 6:00 PM. The meal is $15 for adults and $10 for Juniors. Call Jo Broshear at (513) 863-2384 for reservations by Feb. 6th.

It has been very warm here again with temperatures nearing the 60° F (16° C) mark. This has made the pastures and even the lawn extremely soft. It definitely makes it muddy on the lots. It is cooling down today and is supposed to snow later this afternoon. I will be happy if it just freezes the ground.

Sidey Angus Farm Diary - January 1998