Trailing Yearlings

Last Tuesday we trailed my uncle's yearlings (the term yearlings is a collective term to describe cattle that are between one and two years in age, and is not sexually specific - and in this case is referring to both steers, and some spayed heifers) from their winter pasture to the pasture they will spend the summer in.
Cattle are moved to different pastures throughout the year to maximize the utilization and regrowth potential of grass on the operation. How people graze their pastures varies drastically from place to place depending on the types of grass, weather, terrain, soil and any number of other varying factors present on their land.
The idea with grazing is to provide adequate nutrition to your livestock to meet their growth or maintenance needs, while also maintaining or improving the quality of grass, so you can use it again the following year. If you do a poor job managing your grass, it will directly impact your livestock, because they won't have enough feed to grow or maintain. Ranchers are experts at grass management, due in part because their livelihood depends on it.

This time of year a lot of cattle are being moved to their summer homes, where they will graze pastures that have been untouched since last year in most cases. We started by gathering the steers out of a smaller pasture where they have been for a week, waiting for this day when they will head for their summer home.

Yearlings are very curious, energetic creatures, and this often results in some funny, and sometimes not funny, situations. We often compare them to teenagers, as they have several personality similarities.

As we gathered, my cousin and I held the bunch up near the gate we were heading out. The yearlings promptly surrounded both of us, bucked and kicked, sniffed our horses, and stared at us. Cows generally don't show this behavior, and would be farther away from our horses, and not as interested in us.

Another difference is you follow, or push, cows. But, sometimes with the yearlings being so curious they happily follow you, and that makes them very difficult to push and turn. So, on this day my horse and I became the leaders, and this was taken over my shoulder as we headed for the first gate, and the yearlings eagerly trotted along behind.

Through the first gate we were prepared to stop, or at least slow down and stear, the yearlings if they had taken off. But, this year they simply started grazing, then would jog off a little, then graze again.

Here we go, jogging off. It also started raining right as we came through the gate, and that is why some of these photos have rain spots on them. At this point we all took turns putting on our rain gear. There are leather straps, called saddle strings, on the back of saddles that are designed to hold equipment, such as rain coats, and we all had ours with us.

We all got suited up, while simultaneously heading the yearlings in the right direction.

We headed across a field to the second gate, which took us onto the neighbors. My uncle asked his neighbor's permission to trail across them, and having good neighbors is a great aspect of ranching in both his and my family's locations.

We went across the neighbor's alfalfa field, across the creek, and headed up a hill.

It was a total of 12 miles from start to finish with this trip, and after the first couple miles the yearling settled down and started stringing out. We were very thankful for a cool day, as that makes trailing much easier on the cattle.

Through the next gate we headed into some rougher country, with some trees.

To prevent the yearlings in front from running off down a steep stretch, my uncle and the neighbor, who helped us, rode in front again, leading them at a decent speed.

At the bottom we all resumed positions on either side and at the back to push the yearlings out of the other side.

We headed back out into some relatively flat country, and they strung out and headed down the road. We stuck with the road a while, then continued cross country. While you can't see them in this picture, two people are riding toward the front of the herd, one on either side of the bunch, to steer the cattle. We had to trail this bunch around various reservoirs, through gates and among trees, and turned them different directions when necessary to make the route as easy as possible for them and our horses.

Here we are going through two gates. The top of the horizon in this photo was the halfway point. We stopped there, where there was a corner in the fence to hold the cattle, and my aunt brought out the hot coffee and rolls she brought with her on a 4-wheeler. It was cold and windy, and we appreciated the warm beverages. Had it been hot, the stop would have been to let to yearlings rest and cool off. But on this day it was more for us to warm up.

After a brief coffee break, we all got back on and continued on our way.

All the wonderful rain this spring has resulted in lots of puddles and standing water.

After going 12 miles through alfalfa fields, pine and ceder trees, sage brush, steep hills, flat country and rolling hills, we approached our destination. My uncle rode ahead to open the gate and prepare to count the yearlings in. Counting of livestock is done a lot on ranches - it's important to know how many cattle you have in different places. This knowledge lets you know if you lost any while they were in a pasture or if you missed any gathering, among other things.

We worked at making the steers walk single, or double-file through the gate, so he could get an accurate count on them. A lot of teasing and joking can be associated with counting, and getting the count right, at our place.

Then someone (my cousin in this case) gets off and closes the last gate. We started just this side, and to the right, of the farthest, black hill.

Then we leave the yearlings to gain and grow at their summer home. My uncle has put his steers in here before, and as I mentioned at the beginning, he manages his grass so the pasture will be as good, or better, than the year before. You can see the old (grey) grass from last year that he left. This old grass was allowed to go to seed, and it caught moisture in the winter that soaked in and helped germinate this year's grass. It also provided food to a number of wildlife species, even after he was done grazing it, and provided cover for the land, and discouraged weeds from growing.

I also mentioned that different places grow different kinds of grasses, which provide more or less nutrition to cattle. This area will result in good quality yearlings gaining over two pounds a day. To give a comparison, yearlings on grass an hour south of were my family lives will gain over three pounds a day in some cases.

Out of Everything

Out of everything I do today, and have done in the past, my favorite is still cattle. They are just about the only thing that has held my interest consistently from the time I was a little kid. From about 9 years old, when I got past being the next big country music star, I have been focused on cattle. From that age on I would tell you in no uncertain terms that I was going to be involved in cattle genetics in some way when I grew up.



I was told by numerous teachers, friends, and adults that kids always change their minds, and that when I did it would be okay. But, I was one of the outliers that knew what I loved from a young age, and I never did change my mind.



Fast forward, and today I select and buy all my family's bulls, and spend a lot of time researching genetics and seedstock producers. I love cattle genetics, and the ability to utilize all the technology-based information available today in conjunction with the historic practice of selecting cattle based on their look to buy bulls and select heifers that better our herd. I also love feeding cattle, and betting on those genetics you've implemented in your herd.




I find it exciting, challenging and rewarding beyond anything I've ever experienced. Nothing beats time spent looking over a herd of cattle you have raised for generations, and seeing the improvements you've made over the years, then deciding what you're going to do with them next. It's a rush.



There have been countless conversations held in feed pickups in locations like this one. In depth discussions on how the calves look, how they compare to last years, what we like better, what we like less, which ones are outstanding, which ones will never be outstanding, and the reasons behind those two distinctions.




We talk about the condition they're in, what we will do with them the next spring. We get antsy if we've seen them every day, because that makes it harder to see that they're growing. If one of us hasn't been home in a while, someone will almost always suggest, first thing, that we get down and look at the calves to see if we think they're growing, in good condition, etc... We pay constant attention to every little detail, myself on a more individual basis, and the rest of my family on a more group-wide basis. These calves are the most current representation of the genetic selections we've made, and they set the bar for the years to come.




Then there our yearling heifers. You think we spend a lot of time looking at and analyzing our calves, you should see us with our yearling heifers. These girls represent the most current genetics in our breeding herd, and we work really hard to make them the best they can be genetically and physically. People tend to select items they find eye appealing, and cattle are no different. These heifers represent decades of selecting for very specific female traits, and it shows. We like them, and that's a good thing, because they will hopefully be in production in our herd for the next decade.





However, one interesting thing on our operation is that my dad and brother have a different "eye" for cattle than I do. They like, long, extended females that are smooth, elevated and distinctly feminine. I like those too, but I tend to prefer stout, thick females over really long, smooth ones. In my opinion this difference in preference helps us select better cattle, because we all choose our replacements together, and they have to pass inspection by all three individuals.




One result of this strict selection criteria is our heifers are much thicker today (my influence) than they used to be, but they have also maintained their length and femininity (my dad and brother's influence) for the most part. This has all been done without compromising things like low birth weights, fertility, fleshing ability, and other important traits to our operation.
I believe you can have cattle that do it all, and we select cattle based on that principle. My opinion is that you can produce a moderate, feminine, fancy cow out of a terminal sire, who will raise low birth weight, high growth, good looking steer calves, or moderate framed, adequate milking, easy fleshing, fertile and fancy heifer calves. This is what I expect out of our cows...




..who are looked at based on their calves performance more than anything. As I've mentioned, there are my "cows of note," but we try not to judge a cow on her cover, and rather on how her offspring perform. She was selected on her personal looks as a calf or yearling, and from that point on it's about her calves. We expect our cows to work for us, and if she doesn't pull her weight, she's in trouble, especially on years without a lot of excess grass.




It's a constantly changing picture, and as I mentioned before a unique and challenging job and lifestyle choice that involves so many variables it's hard to explain. It's a job that knows no vacations, down time or room for error. To do it successfully you have to know about economics, technology, biology, chemistry, nutrition, livestock production, genetics, marketing, reproduction and animal health and welfare. Along with all that, you still have to understand cattle and have the ability to look at them and know any number of things. You have to know about soils, water, plants and weather patterns.
It's fascinating and difficult and it keeps my mind occupied and challenged, and I love every minute of it.