FINAL BLOG -THANK YOU, MGA

The Matthew George Young Stockman Award offers young breeders a chance to “live your dream”.  In my case, it turned out to be so much more than I could have ever dreamed! I spent an incredible four months in Mexico and Canada where I was able to get a broad overview of beef production, from purebred seedstock genetics and production, to  commercial production, right through to feedlotting and branded beef marketing. I had the opportunity to see different livestock and pasture management systems and learn about their agriculture in general. I’ve met so many wonderful people and made a wealth of contacts. Above all, this study tour has broadened my perspectives – it’s made the world seem smaller and the possibilities within in it greater.

I want to thank the Ballarat Foundation, in particular to David & Lorraine George for their support;  Noel Trengrove for his assistance; and all those in the beef industry who contributed to the Foundation and made this award possible. On 30th September, I will be attending the Melbourne Royal Show for the announcement of this year’s Matthew George Young Stockman Award and to give a presentation on my study tour.

Below is a quick recap of my study tour. I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all those listed below – plus so many more - whom I stayed with, who toured me around, who shared their time, knowledge & expertise with me. Without your hospitality, help and support, I never would have been able to see and learn so much.

Also, thank you to the readers of my blog!! It’s been great to share my trip with you.

Thanks, & bye … Rach

MEXICO:  I spent a month in Mexico, staying with Mezquite Genetics at Tepatitlan in Jalisco, who breed red & black Angus & Charolais. I attended a major livestock show, Expo Ganadera, for two weeks where I helped with fitting and showing, and toured a variety of ranches. I gained a good overview of their beef industry as well as many other aspects of their agriculture, plus it was incredible to experience Mexican hospitality and culture.

REMINGTON RANCH (Sthn Alberta):  Purebred red & black Angus and Simmentals, SimAngus crosses & commercial herd.  I got to take part in their general ranch operations for a month, riding pastures, breeding cows & even attended  a big Canadian ‘branding day’ at a neighbouring ranch. My last week there was spent helping on the clipping team getting ready for their stud dispersal sale in October.

PEAK DOT RANCH (Saskatchewan): Purebred Angus. I had an opportunity to see their embryo and AI program, talk about Angus genetics, and learn about the partnerships they operate with breeders & Hillcrest Enterprises (feedlot).

SIX MILE RED ANGUS (Saskatchewan): Purebred Red & Black Angus. Their Red Angus genetics are being used in Australia and I was given a tour of their breeding herd.

JYF LIMOUSINS (Saskatchewan):  I toured their sale barn & looked at their yard design.

CANADIAN BEEF BREEDS COUNCIL (Calgary): I visited the CBBC office to talk about the Canadian cattle industry & learn about the role CBBC plays.

CALGARY STAMPEDE: I had 2 days at the Stampede where I watched the judging of the Steer Competition & toured the stud cattle displays.

OLE FARMS (Athabasca): Purebred Black & Red Angus, commercial herd, cropping & feedlot. I toured the ranch, looking at their cattle and talking about their range of operations.

HIGHLAND FEEDERS & BIO REFINERY (Vegreville):  I spent two days at Highland Feeders, one of Canada’s largest feedlot operations. I was also able to visit their integrated bio refinery, the first of its kind in Canada, and tour Spring Creek Ranch where they raise premium beef without hormones or antibiotics for their branded beef line.

LEWIS FARMS (Spruce Grove): Purebred Simmental & Angus, seed potatoes & grain. I had a chance to tour both their farms & look at their genetics, plus I was able to attend Vermilion Fair with them and take part in a Jackpot heifer show.

SPRING CREEK BEEF (Edmonton): I visited the Spring Creek Beef Office in Edmonton and got to talk about the Spring Creek brand and how it’s run; also looked at the marketed product in-store & attended a beef promotion.

MILLER WILSON ANGUS (DMM) (Bashaw): Purebred Black Angus. I helped DMM show their cattle at Agribition in Regina last November, so this was a chance to catch up again & look at their herd and talk Angus genetics.

HAMILTON FARMS (Calgary): Purebred Black Angus, hay & cropping. Toured their ranch and got to see their Angus herd and help out with hay making.

QUARTER CIRCLE X RANCH (Calgary): Beefbooster (hybrid bulls) production. My home base in Canada! I got to experience many wonderful things while staying here, including learning about their Beefbooster breeding program, taking part in general ranch operations, participating in ‘branding’, hay making, & trailing their cows to summer pastures in the Rockies.

Heading Home

Well, my amazing adventure has finally come to an end – time to come home! I spent my last few days with the Buckleys at Quarter Circle X Ranch moving more cattle to their summer pastures in the Rockies.  I would like to say a huge thank you to the Buckley family for being my Canadian home base and family away from home!



I left Canada on 9 August and got home on 11 August. No time to feel jet lagged – it was straight to the farm to start clipping and preparing our show team for the local show circuit. It was exciting to get home and see our own cattle. I’m full of enthusiasm from all that I’ve seen and done and can’t wait to put some of the ideas I've learned to use in our own stud.

Cattle, Horses and the Rockies:

Wow! having only another day or so left in Canada hasn't meant I'm on the slow down - fitting as much in as I can!  And what better way to end my last days than on horseback moving cows in the Rocky Mountain foothills!  It definitely won't be an image I will get out of my mind for a long time - chasing our missing cows and calves and bulls up and down creeks, crashing through the water, riding blindly through the spruce trees, all while being in one of the most magnificent mountain ranges!  The flat plains of Peak Hill are going to take a bit of adjusting to after this!!!  The last few days I’ve been riding a different horse - Charlie  - definitely doesn't act his age (25), but still thinks he young – a tremendously athletic horse who really knows how to work cattle!  As well as this, we’ve being taking bulls out - only 2 more groups to go - and moving the cows around.  Have been trying to bale hay but the weather has had other ideas - the last 2 days we’ve had storms roll in in the afternoon and  had just enough rain to dampen everything and push the moisture content way too high.  Also had the opportunity to go raspberry picking today - absolutely gorged myself on them – they never taste better than when freshly picked from the bush! 
Looking forward to my last day/s here in Canada and getting to end it on a high - will be trailing more cows and calves to the summer pastures, then comes the joys of packing!  Seriously how much stuff can one accumulate in 4 months!! 

Quarter Circle X Ranch

After my stay at Hamilton Farms, I headed back to my Canadian ‘home away from home’ at John and Tracy Buckley’s Quarter Circle X Ranch near Calgary. I’m into my final week in Canada but what a way to end it!!!  This time of year is really busy with everything happening at once - trying to get hay made (not the easiest when the weather isn't that cooperative), pulling bulls out of the breeding pastures; and then – the HIGHLIGHT! - trailing the cows and calves to the summer pastures at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. 

 

On the first day, we went and gathered all the cows & calves - the pasture they were running on is set with a creek flowing from the Rockies in the middle with thick timber areas, steep banks and pasture land.  Once we had 'found' all the cows, we trailed them closer to home ready for the big cattle drive the next day to the summer pastures, and cut the bulls out and brought them home.  I then spent the afternoon raking hay while others were baling, trying to beat the rain!  Then came all the excitement of the next day when the drive really began. It was fantastic!!! Got up bright and early at 3.45 in the morning (practice for the shows when I get back!) and saddled our horses and headed out.  Only just light when we left the barn at close to 4.45am.  Went and gathered all the cows from the pasture - passed a herd of elk grazing on the hay fields along the way - then started them up the road and on the way to the lease. 

We went under the Calgary Banff Trans-Canada Highway overpass and took them southish along the road for 11 miles.  Beautiful scenery & a gorgeous day - warm (23degrees) and sunny.   Just something very 'right' about moving cattle this way!  It took us close to 4 hours to get to the corrals where the lease land starts and give the cattle a rest and us a coffee break. 

Then the best part began! Had to take them another 4 miles through all the pines and trees, green meadows, down a very steep edge and through a gorgeously clear creek that runs straight from the Rockies and up what they call the "wall" – literally, this very steep path up from the creek flats!  So much fun!!  Some parts you just held on and let the horses take you!  The bush was really dense in parts - made it fun trying to work out a path and get all 205 cows and calves through it!  Then we came out on top of the mountain onto this stunning mountain meadow! It was fantastic!  We’ve got a couple more trips to do up to the summer pastures with other cattle, so can’t wait for what’s in store over my last few days.

 

Oh, have also been busy getting the haying done - getting to become a pro at raking hay and now also baling.  This is a bale I made myself!

Hamilton Farms

Hamilton Farms is located in the scenic foothills northwest of Calgary, Alberta . Hamilton Farms has been raising high quality purebred Black Angus cattle since 1981. They run approximately 400 cows & operate over 5000 acres of which 850 acres is hay; approximately 900 acres in annual crops & the remaining 3500 acres mostly native grazing land.

I arrived at Hamilton Farms north of Cochrane on Friday afternoon and toured around the cattle with Gail Hamilton.  Had a great look around all their cattle and got to see a lot of HF Kodiak and HF Tiger progeny, which was exciting as we have used Tiger (pictured below) at Hollywood Angus and  our first AI calves have just been born.

I then stayed on at Hamilton Farms with Rob and Gail for the next three days - got to go and tour some more pastures; put mineral and salt out; do general cattle work; drive the pickup truck ferrying everyone around to the different pastures; and mow lawns (grass can really grow over here!).  They were in the middle of making hay, so also got my first taste of hay making!  Hay production is so critical here for feed in the winter months.  It has been a good year for hay production with lots of rain, but the rain definitely makes it interesting when you’re trying to bale it!  I really want to thank Rob and Gail for having me stay and help - I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed doing something a little different to what I’ve been doing in Canada and have ever done at home, but that is so relied upon for survival through their winter! Thanks so much!

Miller Wilson Angus

After Vermilion Fair, I headed off with Miller Wilson Angus (DMM) back to their ranch at Bashaw, Alberta.  Last year I had a fantastic time helping Lee & Dawn Wilson show their cattle at Agribition in Regina, Sasketchewan, and it was so great to catch up on everything that has been going on since, and also hear about their time in Australia at Sydney Royal where Dawn judged the Angus.  When we got back, we off loaded the steers that DMM showed at the Fair, and had a quick look around at some of their cows right near the house.  The next morning was spent touring around all the cows and calves and also moving some to different pastures - a tremendous line of cattle!!! Unfortunately my time at DMM was all too short, as that afternoon I headed with Dawn to Hamilton Farms north of Cochrane. Thank you DMM for a great visit!

Vermilion Fair

On Thursday, I went with Lewis Farms to Vermilion Fair, about 2 ¾ hours east of Edmonton. The Fair was similar to one of our typical country shows, with livestock, agricultural trade displays and carnival rides etc. The grounds were very green and pretty! At the Fair, they held a ‘Jackpot Heifer Show’, which Lewis Farms won with their Simmental heifer. There was also a ‘Steer Jackpot’ which was great to watch; some of the steers in the lineup are pictured below. The  steer with white legs was one shown by DMM; the other black steer was the winner of the jackpot.

Spring Creek Beef, Edmonton

On Wednesday, I visited the Spring Creek Office in Edmonton where I met with Kirstin Kotelko and others on the Spring Creek Ranch Premium Beef team. Spring Creek Ranch produces premium beef raised without hormones or antibiotics. As well as delivering a beef product that is high quality and pure, they focus on the well-being and humane treatment of their cattle, and are committed to environmental sustainability through the use of bio waste (cattle manure and crop residues) to produce ethanol; green energy for the local community; and bio fertilizer for their pastures. This capped off what I had seen the previous week at the feedlot and bio-refinery, and gave me an understanding of how these operations all work successfully together.

I got to talk about the vision behind the Spring Creek Beef brand, how it’s run, & look at their promotional material. We then took some promotional material to a local grocer who stocks their product so I could see how it was displayed in the shop, the style of packaging & the various cuts available. They carry a range of fresh (ie steaks, roasts, mince) and frozen beef products (eg burgers, meatballs, stirfry cuts), that are aimed not only at providing a quality dining experience, but also at being very accessible to the consumer.

 

After that, we visited ‘A Taste of Edmonton’, a food fair where restaurants offer samples from their menus to taste. One of the restaurants, “Zinc”, uses Spring Creek Beef and was serving Alberta Beef Petit Tenderloin with blue cheese mashed potatoes (pictured below). Got to talk to them & taste the product (really good!!!).

Lewis Farms, Alberta

I spent three great days at Lewis Farms, located at Spruce Grove, west of Edmonton. Lewis Farms grows 800 acres of seed potatoes, 3000 acres of grain and run 800 purebred Simmental and Angus cows. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to tour both their farms and see all their cows! While I was there, they took blood samples from their Simmental heifers to test whether they were hetero- or homozygous for the poll gene, and also to test for colour gene. We put minerals and salts out; moved cows to different pastures; and tattooed some young bulls. I also helped them take hay equipment and rakes out to their haylands, about an hour away.  

On Thursday, I was able to accompany Lewis Farms to Vermilion Fair, some 2 hours east of their ranch. I enjoyed helping them get ready for the Fair – it’s given me a taste for the shows in our local area as soon as I get back home! They took two heifers and had a really successful day, winning the Jackpot Heifer Show with their Simmental heifer (pictured left), with their Angus heifer (Bismark x Final Answer) which I showed for them running second to her (pictured below).

I am so grateful to Lewis Farms for having me stay, and also for running me around so much. They took me to the finals of the Chuckwagon Races at ‘Capital X’ in Edmonton on Tuesday night – very exciting! – and on Wednesday, they took me back into Edmonton so I could visit the Spring Creek office. Thanks so much!! 

Visit to Highland Feeders, Vegreville

On 18/19 July I spent two days at Highland Feeders at Vegreville (about an hour from Edmonton). I am extremely grateful to Mike Kotelko for allowing me to visit the feedlot, as well as the Growing Power Biorefinery and their Spring Creek Ranch.

Highland Feeders is amongst Canada’s largest feedlot operations and has received several awards for industry leadership and environmental practices. Highland Feeders has capacity for up to 36,000 cattle, and specialises in feeding 270-400kg animals to a market ready weight of 540-585kgs. It was great to get an understanding of the feedlot operations and look at their design and how they are set up for maximum efficiency.  I got to help with processing some of the steers that were going through the feedlot. The next day I rode out with the pen riders to check the stock and water in the feedlot pens. They were shipping some cattle out to the processors on this day, so I was able to see how this was done, the paperwork involved, weighing and shipping etc.

I was also given a tour of the integrated Bio-refinery, the first of its kind in Canada. Cattle manure from Highland Feeders' feedlot is processed through an anaerobic digester, which produces biogas. This biogas is burned as fuel to produce electricity and steam, which are used to produce ethanol from grain such as high starch wheat. The grain by-products from the ethanol production are then fed back to the cattle. Because the bio-refinery gets most of its energy from the anaerobic digestion of cattle manure from the feedlot, it is a cost and energy efficient method of producing fuel ethanol. The bio-refinery will generate an annual 40 million litres of fuel ethanol & 10 thousand tonnes of premium biofertilizer.

Finally I toured Spring Creek Ranch, where they raise premium beef without hormones or antibiotics. Spring Creek ‘s emphasis in on pure food production, the well being of their cattle, and environmental sustainability. I had a chance to learn about their operations, including their health practices, how they source their cattle & market their product. Next Wednesday, I will be visiting Spring Creek’s office in Edmonton and attend a beef promotion they are holding at a restaurant, which will be great to see.

Visit to Ole Farms, Athabasca

About Ole Farms: Ole Farms is located at Athabasca, Alberta (about 2 hours north of Edmonton). They run 650 Registered Black and Red Angus breeding females along with 1350 commercial females. Ole Farms produces cereal, forage and pasture crops, and has a 1200 head feedlot. This year they are celebrating the 100^th year of Ole Farm’s establishment.

It was great to be able to visit Ole Farms and I appreciate Kelly and Anna Olson taking the time to show me their ranch and talk about their operations. In the morning I got to help them check cows & calves, tag calves & put mineral out. After lunch, they toured me around the ranch and showed me their herd and commercial sires, embryo calves and commercial cows.

Jordan Burke

Jordan is Assistant Agronomist at Cargill, based at Vegreville near Edmonton, Alberta. She is coming to Australia for several months later in the year to look at Australian agriculture and pastures, and has arranged to spend some of that time with Lyn & Ian at Hollywood Angus Stud, Peak Hill. Jordan kindly offered to host me for this week while I visit Highland Feeders which are nearby, and will also be taking me north to visit “Ole Farms”. I also got to accompany Jordan for a day at her work, checking fields for insects & diseases and reporting to farmers. It was interesting to tour around with her and see lots of crops and pastures.

Calgary Stampede

I had two days visiting the Calgary Stampede on 15 & 16 July. I watched the judging of the Steer Competition and toured the stud cattle displays. Remington were representing the Angus breed, and it was great to see them again, as well as catch up with lots of other people I had met previously. I also got to see the Night Show which was great; there was a fantastic performance set to music and dance with acrobatic and aerial displays, the rodeo, and of course the famous Chuckwagon races.

Sorry the picture below won't load in vertical position, but this is a shot of the hindquarters of one of the steers in the competition!

Canadian Beef Breeds Council

On 5 July I visited Canadian Beef Breeds Council at their office in Calgary. It was great to reconnect with Brett Campbell, Executive Vice President, and Doris Rempel, Executive Assistant, whom I had previously met at Farmfair and Agribition last year. It was interesting to talk about different aspects of the Canadian cattle industry and I gained more understanding of the role CBBC plays.

The Canadian Beef Breeds Council (CBBC) represents, supports and promotes the Canadian purebred beef cattle industry. Members include national breed associations that collectively represent more than 10,000 producers of purebred beef breeding stock. Associate CBBC members are exporters and sector service providers. The Council helps individuals and organizations throughout Canada and around the world to access Canadian purebred beef cattle genetics and related services.

Six Mile Red Angus

 While I was at Peak Dot, they also took me to visit Six Mile Angus, who breed predominantly red and some black Angus. I had met the owners of Six Mile Angus at Agribition last year, so it was great to renew the acquaintance. Their Red Angus genetics are being used in Australia and it was interesting to see their herd and their impressive females (pictured below). I also visited JYF Limousins, where we looked at their salebarn and yard design - a fantastic setup.

A Great Time at Peak Dot Ranch...

We finished doing the embryo programme in trying conditions (pouring rain!). For the next few days we took out loose lick minerals and salt blocks to the bred heifers and cows. Got to go out to as many of the pastures as the sodden conditions permitted to look at their genetics - saw their donor cows and bulls they've bred, as well as herd sires they've bought, plus a lot of progeny by bulls that are available in Australia that we've used in our own Stud. A tremendous line of cattle!!! Pictured below is Queen of Peak Dot 832S, one of their awesome donor cows. Also spent a lot of time talking about genetics & went through heaps of sale catalogues which was so interesting. 

 

I got to visit several other ranches that Peak Dot Ranch work in partnership with. At one we did flushing & implanting fresh embryos; at another we implanted frozen embryos; and then at another we pulled CIDR's for their AI program. Interesting to see how these relationships work and how these partnerships between ranches are mutually beneficial.

I had an awesome time at Peak Dot and was made to feel part of the family - I had my first weiner roast at one of the boy's birthday -  'weiners' (hotdogs) roasted over an open fire on forks and served with dill pickles, onions, cheese.. whatever takes your fancy! + 'smores' - marshmallows melted over the fire, put between two biscuits with a  piece of chocolate, and melted... yummy! They took me to Wood Mountain Provincial Park, where Sitting Bull and his tribe lived after the Battle of the Little Big Horn; also the Rodeo Museum (site of longest continual rodeo in Canada); we went to Regina and looked around; also spent a day in Moose Jaw where we went on a trolly tour and walked down the historic mainstreet with old buildings covered with murals & visited their renowned underground tunnels. I learnt a lot from my time at Peak Dot, and I so appreciate the hospitality the family showed me!!!

Peak Dot Ranch, Sasketchewan

About Peak Dot: Peak Dot Ranch consists of 9000 acres including 3500 acres of tame hay in the “Wood Mountain Hills”, one of the elite ranching areas in Saskatchewan. The Ranch is made up of rolling hills and trees, with creeks that run all winter and spring fed dams. Peak Dot Ranch has been in the purebred business for over 40 years and is now one of the larger purebred Angus outfits in Canada. They run approx 750 cows and sell around 250 bulls annually, which are marketed through a spring sale, as well as a December sale.

I arrived at Peak Dot a few days ago and am having a wonderful time staying with Carson and Lana Moneo. Had a busy start here, as they’re in the middle of 2-3 week AI & ET program.  My first day was spent helping AI cows that they run in a partnership program with Owen Cairns and Tracy Weist  from Hillcrest Enterprises. Hillcrest runs one of the leading commercial recipient herds in the nation and has been running an embryo program for Peak Dot the last two years.  In 2010, Peak Dot also began a new business venture with Hillcrest Enterprises in the form of Hillcrest Feedlot - a newly constructed 3000 head feed yard, 40 minutes east of Peak Dot Ranch. The goal is to fill the feedlot with all Peak Dot sired cattle & provide marketing options for Peak Dot customers. 

Above is a photo of AI'ing in progress. We AI'd to SAV Bullet 0473  (pictured below left) & SAV Eliminator 9105 (pictured below right) and most of the cows were on their 2nd and 3rd calves - a lot of Predominant, Dynamite and Capacity daughters. The next day we flushed 14 donors - all Predominant daughters, bred to SAV Bullet  or SAV Eliminator - & then implanted embryos in afternoon.  Today followed much the same pattern,  flushing 15 cows – a lot of Dynamite females but also some different bloodlines (as opposed to Dynamite and Predominant daughters).  Also implanted more embryos (implanted close to 170 embryos and also froze a lot).  The weather has been so unpredictable: it seems to rain all the time - everywhere is so saturated; there's lots of land not seeded yet (& getting VERY late to plant crops - such a short growing period makes it really hard); and the rain is meant to stick around for a while, with  50-75ml predicted over next week. 

I’m already loving every moment here at Peak Dot & really looking forward to the rest of my stay. Hopefully in next few days we will start to take photos of the donor cows for catalogues, do more AI programs next week, haul bulls to pasture, tour around the herds …. Can’t wait to see what else is in store!!

Final Days at Remington

I’ve had an amazing month at Remington, and the final days were no different.  The weather finally improved and provided 4 lovely days of sunshine and warmth - the temperature even hit 20 degrees one day - warm enough for a T-shirt!!  (must be starting to acclimatise!). Spent my last 4 days clipping – we finished most of the Simmental cows before clipping the angus &  straight Canadian bred angus cows (all pure Canadian genetics - ie no US blood,) as well as some red angus. As we clipped, we also processed them - gave them their injections and Ivomec - while the cowboys processed the calves - gave them injections and tattoos.   Everyone has been really busy getting ready for the dispersal sale.  If the weather holds up, they will hopefully finish the clipping early next week, with the people coming to film and photograph the cattle for the sale arriving next week as well. 

I’ve had such a fantastic stay here: I got to take part in all the different operations that were happening; saw some really impressive cattle (their dispersal sale will be an awesome opportunity to purchase some great cattle and genetics - all the embryos are qualified for Australia!); loved spending most of my days on horseback working with the cattle; got to help clip one of the largest numbers of cattle ever for a dispersal in Canada; made great friends & learnt stacks…. I can’t wait to go back and visit.  Thank you to everyone at Remington for the fantastic time!! 

Clipping at Remington

 

We started clipping at Remington this week but the weather hasn’t been kind at all. We’ve had heaps of rain through the week (unusual for this area) which keeps interfering with our clipping work. Nevertheless we worked our way thru last year’s fall heifers at the main ranch; then we moved out into the pastures and took all our panels, S races, chutes etc and built a clipping setup out there. We’re ‘slick clipping’ - taking all the hair off. We run 2 clipping chutes (a cross between a chute and a crush) and work in pairs, one each side of the animal. It’s a great way to see all their cattle as they come through - they all still have a thick, winter coat so there’s quite a transformation when they’re done. Above is a 'before' and 'after' shot of Red Label. All up there’s about 1800-2000 head to be clipped!                       



Today was really wet again, so got to spend a day in the office helping get the catalogues ready for their sale - great to get some experience working on their computerised herd recording systems. My plans have been somewhat affected by the weather; I had planned to spend a week shortly at Soo Line in Sasketchewan, however they had a huge storm during the week and are completely flooded, so will have to give that a miss unfortunately. Last night Peak Dot Ranch also copped a big downpour, but I am still planning to head there next Monday & spend 8 or 9 days with them which I’m really looking forward to.

Branding at Hillmer's

On Saturday I got to experience another Branding day at a neighbouring ranch owned by Martin & Sheila Hillmer. We floated our own horses over to the ranch, where I joined the roundup team while others got started on the branding. It was so great rounding up the cattle – finally got what they call a perfect Canadian Spring day – 16 degrees and sunny – and the country was magnificent. Pens were set up in 4 different areas on the ranch, and by the time we finished with the roundup, branding was underway in the second location. When we finished there, we had snacks and refreshments, then we all rode off to the next location; in all we branded some 350 head. At this ranch, they use horses and rope the calves to catch and hold the calves. The calves were all branded, bulls castrated (as it’s a commercial ranch); needled and backlined. It was great fun and got to meets lots of people (around 30 people were there), including some from over the border (the US!).  At the end of the day we went back to the main place and had an early supper and spent some time socialising. A great day!