In the last couple day's I've received what can best be described as a flood of positive feedback in response to an article I wrote about my family dealing with the drought for BEEF Magazine. You can check out the article here if you would like to.
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to email, Facebook, leave messages, etc... and tell the BEEF staff, myself, and/or my family what you thought of the article. The fact that people are taking the time to contact us means a lot to my entire family, and we appreciate them all. What a great industry we are a part of, full of exceptional people.
We felt very humbled to be asked to write about our operation and management practices, and that feeling has certainly continued as the publication chose to put us on their cover, and as we've heard people's responses. We consider this opportunity quite an honor, and are very thankful to the BEEF staff for the chance to write about what so many producers are dealing with this year.
I have a "behind the scenes" post of writing the article planned to share with you. But for now just wanted to relay how grateful we are to everyone involved for making this such a wonderful experience.
From the whole Hamilton family : )
Showing posts with label families in agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label families in agriculture. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Paint Sticks
My camera is broke, and it's been raining around here the past few days! What that means is I don't have much for photos to show you.
In the meantime, here is a story for you. Any young ranch wives may particularly enjoy this tale.
When my parents were first married, my grandfather (my dad's dad) stopped by after gathering supplies in town for a day of fall cattle work, and realized he forgot paint sticks. He was a little frustrated after going all the way to town just for supplies. My mom wasn't sure what he needed paint sticks for when working cattle, but was excited to be able to help, and informed him she had a whole bunch and would bring them along in the morning.
My grandfather gave her an odd look, likely wondering why she had a supply of paint sticks laying around (my mom wasn't raised on a ranch), but agreed and left for home.
The next morning, early I'm sure, my mom dutifully and happily presented my grandfather with about eight paint sticks - as in paint stirring sticks.
To hear my parents tell it, my grandfather just looked at her, dumbfounded. You see, he was referring to cattle marking paint sticks.
"What could you say?" was my dad's laughing remark to how his dad responded to his new daughter-in-law's happy attempt to help him with his odd supply list request.
Good luck to all you ladies who marry into ranching families, especially those who weren't raised in agriculture! After 27 years, I can assure you my mom has learned a lot, and taught a lot, to everyone in the family she married into : )
In the meantime, here is a story for you. Any young ranch wives may particularly enjoy this tale.
When my parents were first married, my grandfather (my dad's dad) stopped by after gathering supplies in town for a day of fall cattle work, and realized he forgot paint sticks. He was a little frustrated after going all the way to town just for supplies. My mom wasn't sure what he needed paint sticks for when working cattle, but was excited to be able to help, and informed him she had a whole bunch and would bring them along in the morning.
My grandfather gave her an odd look, likely wondering why she had a supply of paint sticks laying around (my mom wasn't raised on a ranch), but agreed and left for home.
The next morning, early I'm sure, my mom dutifully and happily presented my grandfather with about eight paint sticks - as in paint stirring sticks.
To hear my parents tell it, my grandfather just looked at her, dumbfounded. You see, he was referring to cattle marking paint sticks.
"What could you say?" was my dad's laughing remark to how his dad responded to his new daughter-in-law's happy attempt to help him with his odd supply list request.
Good luck to all you ladies who marry into ranching families, especially those who weren't raised in agriculture! After 27 years, I can assure you my mom has learned a lot, and taught a lot, to everyone in the family she married into : )
Thursday, April 12, 2012
My First Cow
My first cow's granddaughter just calved a few minutes ago. This big boy represents the fourth generation of my cowherd, and that makes me happy! Aside from being too big, mother and baby are doing great.
People get started in the cattle business in a variety of ways. For me it was through my family and the 4-H program. When I was eight years old I purchased my first heifer from the family ranch to show in 4-H, and as they say, the rest is history.
I've told this story before, but in case you missed it, there was quite the discussion over which heifer to choose. My dad, uncle and I narrowed it down to two choices. One was an exceptional individual that would have excelled in the show ring. She was big, fancy and an all around great heifer. The second was a small heifer with a big head, kind eyes and not a whole lot going for her from the show heifer angle. She was never going to be exceptional, physically.
My dad and uncle obviously wanted me to have a good start, both in the show ring and with my cowherd. But, my heart was dead set on the little gal, and despite some serious persuasion from my dad and uncle (I can still remember my uncle explaining the lower quarter of the great heifer, and how desirable that trait was, and how they both consented that it was my choice), I made the decision to purchase Sassy.
Meet Sassy, who made up for any physical traits she was lacking in with her disposition. We bonded, and I loved her and fell in love with showing cattle and having my own cows before the 4-H year was out. Following my first year with her, I went on to show more than 15 heifers and steers in 4-H.
After her stint as my first 4-H project, Sassy went on to be an exceptional cow. Weighing in at maybe 1,000 lbs, she raised over 10 calves for me. Her steers weighed 1,300 lbs. as fats, and I kept almost every heifer calf she produced. She was one of those cows who produced calves that were better than she was.
She survived a nasty March blizzard one spring, where a quarter of her bag was soured. But, God bless her, she wasn't one of the cows that kicked her calf off. As she aged, the thought of selling her was difficult. For a few of her later years we housed her with our calves, who she taught how to eat cake, and which allowed her to eat a higher quality ration.
Eventually, at about 13 or 14 years old (that is ancient for a cow here), I made the tough decision to sell my first cow. All her teeth were gone, so she couldn't consume enough to stay in optimal condition. Her calves got smaller too, and she was just old. So, after more than a decade, my first cow was sold for slaughter. It wouldn't have been right to keep her out of love for her and let her waste away on our place. I cared too much for her to let her die a slow death like that.
Today her influence is still evident in my herd, as you saw in that first photo. She also helped pay for my college education, first vehicle, and numerous other expenses. I would still argue that I made the right choice that brisk winter day in front my grandparents barn, when the great debate was waged over which way to go for my first cow purchase.
People get started in the cattle business in a variety of ways. For me it was through my family and the 4-H program. When I was eight years old I purchased my first heifer from the family ranch to show in 4-H, and as they say, the rest is history.
I've told this story before, but in case you missed it, there was quite the discussion over which heifer to choose. My dad, uncle and I narrowed it down to two choices. One was an exceptional individual that would have excelled in the show ring. She was big, fancy and an all around great heifer. The second was a small heifer with a big head, kind eyes and not a whole lot going for her from the show heifer angle. She was never going to be exceptional, physically.
My dad and uncle obviously wanted me to have a good start, both in the show ring and with my cowherd. But, my heart was dead set on the little gal, and despite some serious persuasion from my dad and uncle (I can still remember my uncle explaining the lower quarter of the great heifer, and how desirable that trait was, and how they both consented that it was my choice), I made the decision to purchase Sassy.
She survived a nasty March blizzard one spring, where a quarter of her bag was soured. But, God bless her, she wasn't one of the cows that kicked her calf off. As she aged, the thought of selling her was difficult. For a few of her later years we housed her with our calves, who she taught how to eat cake, and which allowed her to eat a higher quality ration.
(Sassy in her later years with my sister riding her. We caught her in the pasture that day for a group of third graders who visited our ranch to learn about ranching. Everyone was thrilled to get to pet a cow.)
Eventually, at about 13 or 14 years old (that is ancient for a cow here), I made the tough decision to sell my first cow. All her teeth were gone, so she couldn't consume enough to stay in optimal condition. Her calves got smaller too, and she was just old. So, after more than a decade, my first cow was sold for slaughter. It wouldn't have been right to keep her out of love for her and let her waste away on our place. I cared too much for her to let her die a slow death like that.
Today her influence is still evident in my herd, as you saw in that first photo. She also helped pay for my college education, first vehicle, and numerous other expenses. I would still argue that I made the right choice that brisk winter day in front my grandparents barn, when the great debate was waged over which way to go for my first cow purchase.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
DOL Child Labor Law Revisions
Chad, from Texas, emailed me and asked if I would let you know what I know on the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed changes to child labor laws. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here is a link to what the DOL is proposing.
Or, in case you skip the link, here are some of the proposed changes:
The proposed updates include:
What I know may not be any more than you know on this subject, which is incredibly serious and potentially life threatening to many farms and ranches across this country. Basically, this is another attempt by our government to over-regulate its citizens so that they can drag us down to their preferred level of mediocrity through controlling our ability to work. It is ridiculous, frustrating, and completely shocking to me that anyone would even consider proposing these changes.
If you aren't familiar with agriculture, allow me to make a couple points. First, the family structure on a farm or ranch is rarely kids and their parents. It typically involves cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, distant cousins, and neighbors who you might as well be related to. Part of the proposed rule would limit a youth's ability to work with anyone but his parents, and maybe grandparents, on a farm or ranch.
Second, tasks like not being able to drive a tractor, not coming into contact with a bull, ride a horse, or be allowed to transport raw farm materials is comparable to saying your child may not come into contact with flour until he/she is sixteen if you own a bakery. Literally is at that level of overkill, with about the same amount of reasoning to back it as you can imagine they would have to keep kids out of contact with flour. Actually it is much the same thing, except it's contact with flour before it's in your kitchen.
I recently sat next to a man who is heavily involved in fighting this proposed rule, and he taught me lot on the subject. First, whoever came up with this idea knows something about agriculture, in his opinion. Why? Because they put the proposed rule out for comment on September 2, which is one of the busiest times of the year for America's farmers, and ranchers, in many cases. They knew our industry wouldn't have time to immediately respond as a whole because we were busy harvesting, weaning, etc... So, as we move forward with this, be aware that timely updates, any future comment periods, and other pertinent information is likely to be released at times when farmers and ranchers are exceptionally busy working, ironically enough.
He also said that one thing he hears a lot in D.C. is that it's okay, they aren't really going to enforce these, but just want to have them updated and current. Really, is anyone buying into that??? No. Don't worry, he isn't either.
He and I also discussed just how safe, or unsafe, our industry is to kids. He had a whole pile of great statistics that I cannot remember, or find at the moment. He mentioned that Hispanic youth who are part of immigrant working families are something like 50-75 percent less likely to suffer an injury working on a farm than they are if they move to an inner-city. So, gangs and other kids are far more likely to result in injury than driving a tractor or riding a horse. He also told me that the most dangerous industry for youth to work in based on data is acting.
In response to eliminating youth under 16 from operating almost all power-driven equipment, he quoted that stock car circuits allow youth to compete, at far greater speeds than a tractor ever dreamed of going, at significantly younger ages. In regard to a component that states youth are unable to manipulate cattle from horseback (ie, ride and move cows). His response is that numerous equine breed organizations, in addition to numerous youth organizations, host contests that prove otherwise.
I apologize for not remembering any more of the very interested and well thought out pieces of information this man had to the rule. The key points here are that there is a lot of data showing agriculture is safe for youth to be involved in, a lot of their proposed rules have no precedence when looking at facts and figures, and basically that it's as ludicrous from that viewpoint as it is from the more emotional standpoint producers often take. The man noted that as a part of the American Farm Bureau Federation, he is fighting on the facts and figures side of the fence, and leaving the emotional side of the battle to the producers.
You can read some additional information on how the ag industry feels about this issue at these links:
Article One
Article Two
Article Three
This is going to happen, in some form. The DOL has mostly ignored the thousands upon thousands of comments sent in by agriculture producers around the country. But, I do feel better after meeting one of the men fighting this rule face to face with our country's lawmakers.
As for the emotional side of this, here's my personal take. I grew up on an operation that included my parents, aunt and uncle and grandparents. We had a lot of work to do, and not a lot of help. So, at a very young age my siblings and I worked, and worked hard. We had our own horse, knew how to drive a manual pickup, the tractor and various other pieces of equipment, and held long hours some days. We were competent children that could be sent to complete a task, and would. Our level of success was questionable at times, but it was never for a lack of trying. I didn't just work with my dad either. On any given day I was as likely to be working under my uncle's supervision as my own parents. People also trade work (kids a lot of the time) with neighbors during certain times of the year.
This law, as currently proposed, would have significantly altered my family's ability to run our operation successfully, not to mention the impact it would have had on me as an individual. Those tasks taught me what work ethic really is, how to be self-sufficient, how to plan, implement and complete a task by myself or in a group setting, and how to work under and/or with a variety of people in both calm and high stress situations. A person's youth is the cornerstone to their adulthood, and lessons learned early tend to stick. I find it frightening to think out government doesn't want another generation to know how to work.
What can we do? There is still time to submit comments on specific sections of the rule, and several of the links I've provided have information on how to do that. I would also suggest contacting your state representatives, especially if they are unfamiliar with agriculture, and the impact this will have within the industry. You can also offer support, comments, and in some instances your time, through various ag affiliated organizations, including your state stockgrowers/stockmans groups, your state and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA) to name a few. I know the USCA is currently looking for participants for their latest D.C. Fly-In, where you can travel to our nation's capital and meet and discuss current issues, like this one, with various groups and individuals involved in our government.
If you would like to send me an email at doublehphoto@live.com with your respectfully written thoughts, comments, personal experiences growing up, or anything else relevant to this rule, I will accept them and do a post of what everyone has to say in a week or so. My thoughts are we can't publicize this enough, through enough venues, using enough concerned people, in our attempt to get the federal government to see reason. If a few people do email me, I too will take the time to write up a much shorter something to include in the post.
Hope this helps Chad, and thank you again for writing me in regard to this issue.
Or, in case you skip the link, here are some of the proposed changes:
The proposed updates include:
- Strengthening current child labor prohibitions regarding agricultural work with animals in timber operations, manure pits, storage bins and pesticide handling.
- Prohibiting hired farm workers under the age of 16 from employment in the cultivation, harvesting and curing of tobacco.
- Prohibiting youth in both agricultural and nonagricultural employment from using electronic devices, including communication devices, while operating power-driven equipment.
- Prohibiting hired farm workers under the age of 16 from operating almost all power-driven equipment. A similar prohibition has existed as part of the nonagricultural child labor provisions for more than 50 years. A limited exemption would permit some student-learners to operate certain farm implements and tractors (when equipped with proper rollover protection structures and seat belts) under specified conditions.
- Preventing children under 18 years of age from being employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm-product raw materials. Prohibited places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.
What I know may not be any more than you know on this subject, which is incredibly serious and potentially life threatening to many farms and ranches across this country. Basically, this is another attempt by our government to over-regulate its citizens so that they can drag us down to their preferred level of mediocrity through controlling our ability to work. It is ridiculous, frustrating, and completely shocking to me that anyone would even consider proposing these changes.
If you aren't familiar with agriculture, allow me to make a couple points. First, the family structure on a farm or ranch is rarely kids and their parents. It typically involves cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, distant cousins, and neighbors who you might as well be related to. Part of the proposed rule would limit a youth's ability to work with anyone but his parents, and maybe grandparents, on a farm or ranch.
Second, tasks like not being able to drive a tractor, not coming into contact with a bull, ride a horse, or be allowed to transport raw farm materials is comparable to saying your child may not come into contact with flour until he/she is sixteen if you own a bakery. Literally is at that level of overkill, with about the same amount of reasoning to back it as you can imagine they would have to keep kids out of contact with flour. Actually it is much the same thing, except it's contact with flour before it's in your kitchen.
I recently sat next to a man who is heavily involved in fighting this proposed rule, and he taught me lot on the subject. First, whoever came up with this idea knows something about agriculture, in his opinion. Why? Because they put the proposed rule out for comment on September 2, which is one of the busiest times of the year for America's farmers, and ranchers, in many cases. They knew our industry wouldn't have time to immediately respond as a whole because we were busy harvesting, weaning, etc... So, as we move forward with this, be aware that timely updates, any future comment periods, and other pertinent information is likely to be released at times when farmers and ranchers are exceptionally busy working, ironically enough.
He also said that one thing he hears a lot in D.C. is that it's okay, they aren't really going to enforce these, but just want to have them updated and current. Really, is anyone buying into that??? No. Don't worry, he isn't either.
He and I also discussed just how safe, or unsafe, our industry is to kids. He had a whole pile of great statistics that I cannot remember, or find at the moment. He mentioned that Hispanic youth who are part of immigrant working families are something like 50-75 percent less likely to suffer an injury working on a farm than they are if they move to an inner-city. So, gangs and other kids are far more likely to result in injury than driving a tractor or riding a horse. He also told me that the most dangerous industry for youth to work in based on data is acting.
In response to eliminating youth under 16 from operating almost all power-driven equipment, he quoted that stock car circuits allow youth to compete, at far greater speeds than a tractor ever dreamed of going, at significantly younger ages. In regard to a component that states youth are unable to manipulate cattle from horseback (ie, ride and move cows). His response is that numerous equine breed organizations, in addition to numerous youth organizations, host contests that prove otherwise.
I apologize for not remembering any more of the very interested and well thought out pieces of information this man had to the rule. The key points here are that there is a lot of data showing agriculture is safe for youth to be involved in, a lot of their proposed rules have no precedence when looking at facts and figures, and basically that it's as ludicrous from that viewpoint as it is from the more emotional standpoint producers often take. The man noted that as a part of the American Farm Bureau Federation, he is fighting on the facts and figures side of the fence, and leaving the emotional side of the battle to the producers.
You can read some additional information on how the ag industry feels about this issue at these links:
Article One
Article Two
Article Three
This is going to happen, in some form. The DOL has mostly ignored the thousands upon thousands of comments sent in by agriculture producers around the country. But, I do feel better after meeting one of the men fighting this rule face to face with our country's lawmakers.
As for the emotional side of this, here's my personal take. I grew up on an operation that included my parents, aunt and uncle and grandparents. We had a lot of work to do, and not a lot of help. So, at a very young age my siblings and I worked, and worked hard. We had our own horse, knew how to drive a manual pickup, the tractor and various other pieces of equipment, and held long hours some days. We were competent children that could be sent to complete a task, and would. Our level of success was questionable at times, but it was never for a lack of trying. I didn't just work with my dad either. On any given day I was as likely to be working under my uncle's supervision as my own parents. People also trade work (kids a lot of the time) with neighbors during certain times of the year.
This law, as currently proposed, would have significantly altered my family's ability to run our operation successfully, not to mention the impact it would have had on me as an individual. Those tasks taught me what work ethic really is, how to be self-sufficient, how to plan, implement and complete a task by myself or in a group setting, and how to work under and/or with a variety of people in both calm and high stress situations. A person's youth is the cornerstone to their adulthood, and lessons learned early tend to stick. I find it frightening to think out government doesn't want another generation to know how to work.
What can we do? There is still time to submit comments on specific sections of the rule, and several of the links I've provided have information on how to do that. I would also suggest contacting your state representatives, especially if they are unfamiliar with agriculture, and the impact this will have within the industry. You can also offer support, comments, and in some instances your time, through various ag affiliated organizations, including your state stockgrowers/stockmans groups, your state and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA) to name a few. I know the USCA is currently looking for participants for their latest D.C. Fly-In, where you can travel to our nation's capital and meet and discuss current issues, like this one, with various groups and individuals involved in our government.
If you would like to send me an email at doublehphoto@live.com with your respectfully written thoughts, comments, personal experiences growing up, or anything else relevant to this rule, I will accept them and do a post of what everyone has to say in a week or so. My thoughts are we can't publicize this enough, through enough venues, using enough concerned people, in our attempt to get the federal government to see reason. If a few people do email me, I too will take the time to write up a much shorter something to include in the post.
Hope this helps Chad, and thank you again for writing me in regard to this issue.
Friday, February 25, 2011
A family Affair
Our operation, like so many other ranches and farms, is family run. The family element is what makes the vast majority operations across America work. Factory farms don't exist where I'm from, and the reality is that almost every farm and ranch in America is family owned and operated.
Here is my family this past weekend. As you can see, despite the frigid temperatures, we enjoyed our time spent together working our cattle. Our work is our fun, and we feel incredibly blessed to be able to say that!
It's also great that my family has fully embraced the idea behind "Heather's blog," and will randomly grab my camera a take a couple pictures when they have a few seconds.
When we have the vet out for something, or go somewhere else, and as I'm taking pictures here and there, it's pretty common to overhear one of my family members explaining my behavior.
It usually goes something like, "Yeah, Heather has this blog, where she explains what we really do out here, to combat all the misinformation out there about agriculture...Well, I'm not sure how a blog works either...but she uses a lot of pictures and tells about ranching....it's pretty neat...yeah, I don't keep up with all this technology either.... she has people from all over the world read the thing."
You have to love family!
Here is my family this past weekend. As you can see, despite the frigid temperatures, we enjoyed our time spent together working our cattle. Our work is our fun, and we feel incredibly blessed to be able to say that!
It's also great that my family has fully embraced the idea behind "Heather's blog," and will randomly grab my camera a take a couple pictures when they have a few seconds.
When we have the vet out for something, or go somewhere else, and as I'm taking pictures here and there, it's pretty common to overhear one of my family members explaining my behavior.
It usually goes something like, "Yeah, Heather has this blog, where she explains what we really do out here, to combat all the misinformation out there about agriculture...Well, I'm not sure how a blog works either...but she uses a lot of pictures and tells about ranching....it's pretty neat...yeah, I don't keep up with all this technology either.... she has people from all over the world read the thing."
You have to love family!
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