BELL RINGER!!!

My mom has this saying about doing something great.  She says something like,  "I hope we ring the bell with this one."  Funny thing is, I DID ring the bell and didn't even know it!!!

To quote what my breeder sent us to use for the newspaper,
"Prior to the Southwestern National Brown Swiss Show, the Oklahoma Brown Swiss Association names the State Bell Ringer award winners each year for the top junior-owned heifer in each of seven age classes.  

As a state winner, a portrait of the heifer will now be submitted as a nominee in the National Bell Ringer competition sponsored by the Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders' Association of America. The portrait will also be published in the January issue of the Brown Swiss Bulletin."

So Juicy is the Spring Yearling BELL RINGER for Oklahoma!!!  I am so THRILLED!!!

It was funny watching all the work that went into taking her portrait.  There were six people working on her.  Some adjusted her feet.  Some touched certain muscles to make her set up just right.  I had to hold her tail in just the right position. 

She looked amazing!  I can't wait to see the finished portrait and hang it on my wall!!!

Heart of America Expo: The Southwestern National Brown Swiss Show

Our school was out last Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Fall Break.

I packed up with some other exhibitors from my dairy team and went to Stillwater for the Southwestern National Brown Swiss Show also known as the Heart of America Expo.  It is one of six national level Brown Swiss shows in the United States.  It was my very first national level show.

One night during the banquet, they did a roll call of the states.  When they called your state, you stood up and everyone clapped and sometimes cheered.  There were people from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin.

My breeder hired a fitter for me.  His name is Allyn Paulson, and he came from Wisconsin.

Wednesday we met about 10:15 to load up our five animals and go to Stillwater.  We got there; unloaded animals into the wash rack; unloaded supplies, straw, and hay; broke apart straw bales and fluffed them out to make beds for nine heifers; set up automatic waterers and hoses; washed animals; fed; set up our "camp"; and finally, we ate something, I think.

Thursday we got up and cleaned manure out the straw beds.  We also spot washed and clipped animals.  Mom and I are getting faster and more accurate.  That night there was a fun auction.

Friday we kept things clean.  Friday night there was a nice banquet.  They gave out lots of awards.  Our group received FIRST PLACE in the Herdsmanship!  We won an awesome red embroidered chair.

Saturday morning Showmanship started at 8:30.  There were 11 in Pee Wee.  In my Junior category there were 23.  In the Intermediates there were 12.  In the Seniors there were 13.  I received FIRST PLACE in my Junior Showmanship category!!!  I competed against about twice as many people in my class as in the other classes, and it was a NATIONAL SHOW!!!  OH MY GOODNESS!!!  That is so amazing!!!  It is STILL exciting!!!

 (That's me over here on the right end.)

They gave me an embroidered blanket and a pewter belt buckle.  I've never won a belt buckle before!









Or a blanket either!  It is SO soft.

Juicy is a Class 5 Spring Yearling Heifer.  There were 13 in her class.  We got 9th in Open.  Then they had the Juniors pull forward, and we received 6th.  My friend Kasey and her heifer Jeanie got 6th and 4th in the same class as me.  Juicy and Jeanie's dams are siblings.  We did pretty well considering we were mostly up against professional dairy families.

Busy Busy!!!

Just because I haven't posted in awhile doesn't mean that I haven't been writing!  I just posted a whole pile of articles that have been sitting in the draft box.

Between my animals and Rainbow activities and Shooting Sports and dance classes and cleaning my room and doing my homework, I hardly have time for tv watching and blogging and Instagramming and texting!!!   I missed a Halloween dance the other night for goodness sakes!

I've still got a pile of articles that need to be finished.  I'll post photos to go along with my newly posted stuff later.  I'm just too TIRED!

Pray for me!

On the road to the TULSA STATE FAIR 2 of 5

Day 2 - Thursday
Alarm at 5:30
Downstairs at the hotel at 6:00.
Eat breakfast.
Realize that we didn't have to be there quite so early.
Leave at 6:45.
Pull all heifers out, feed them, and then spot wash them.
Other half of team cleans bedding straw and dumps wheelbarrow loads.
Set out fresh hay.
Let heifers dry on clean bedding straw.
Clip heifers when dry.
(Cows arrive from the dairies after their morning milking just as we finish clipping the last heifer.)
Unload cows into the wash rack.
Wash.
Let them dry on clean straw.
Clip all cows clean.  No belly hair.  No top lines. No udder hair.
Lunch around 3:30.
Watch for poop all day long.
My mom volunteers to stay all night in the barn and watch for poop while Ms. Jennings (our 4-H/FFA sponsor) clips top lines and udders.
We feed and water.  We leave around 11 P.M. to go to the hotel.

On the road to the TULSA STATE FAIR - Day 1 of 5

1:50 P.M.  BELL RINGS TO DISMISS SCHOOL (TEACHER MEETING DAY)

2:07  MEET AT AG FARM TO LOAD EQUIPMENT

3:04  MEET AT ANOTHER STUDENT’S HOME TO LOAD HER SUPPLIES

         MEET UP WITH MOM AND THE SCHOOL SUBURBAN - LOAD MORE LUGGAGE

3:25  CONVOY TO WINDY HILL TO LOAD MY SUPPLIES AND MY ANIMALS

RE-ARRANGE ALL ANIMALS FROM SMALLEST TO BIGGEST

4:00  CONVOY TO DIMMITT’S HAY FARM TO LOAD STRAW AND GRASS HAY

4:30  SUBURBAN CREW VISITS THE LOGAN COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE TO PICK UP 5 4-H PATCHES.  NO ONE IS THERE.  MAKE SOME PHONE CALLS AND SOMEONE MEETS US.

4:58  FIND REST OF CONVOY ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN THE NEXT TOWN WITH A BLOWOUT ON THE SUPPLY TRAILER

LEARN HOW TO ROLL A TRAILER UP ON AN ELEVATED OBJECT (METAL FEED TROUGH)

LEARN HOW TO USE A HIGH LIFT JACK (WATCH YOUR HEAD!)

LEARN THE DANGERS OF A HIGH LIFT JACK (BROKEN LIMBS, CRUSHED SKULL, ETC.)

LEARN THE DANGERS OF TOUCHING A BLOWN OUT TIRE (STEEL STICKING IN YOUR HAND)

5:30  TWO GIANT SLICES OF PEPPERONI PIZZA AND A RED DIAMOND SWEET TEA FROM THE AMPRIDE TRUCK STOP

5:39  DROP OFF ONE TRUCK AT THE PERKINS AG FARM

CONTINUE ON TO TULSA
7:18 TIRED TREAD SLINGS OFF ANOTHER SUPPLY TRAILER TIRE...WE SLOWLY CREEP THE LAST TEN MILES TO THE FAIR WITHOUT A BLOWOUT :)
8:00 UNLOAD HEIFER TRAILER.
UNLOAD SUPPLY TRAILER.
CLEAN OUT "CAMP" SPOT AT THE END OF OUR AISLE.
BUST STRAW BALES.
SHAKE EACH FLAKE OF STRAW LOOSE.
FORK AND FLUFF ALL STRAW PILES INTO A SMOOTH BEDDING FOR COWS ON ONE SIDE OF THE AISLE AND HEIFERS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE.
PUT HAY AT EACH SPOT.
OTHER HALF OF TEAM WASHES HEIFERS.
GIVE THEM A DRINK ON THE WAY BACK FROM THE WASH RACK. 

BED THEM DOWN ON CLEAN STRAW.
HOOK UP AUTOMATIC WATERERS FOR COWS.
12:55 A.M. DRIVE THROUGH THE SLOWEST 24 HR. MCDONALD’S EVER BUILT

1:20 A.M.  TAKE A SHOWER AND GO TO BED
END OF DAY ONE.

It's THUNDERING!!!

Dear Lord,  PLEASE let us get a good soaking!  Amen.


UPDATE!  We got a good soaking, and my friend Kayla (who you can see in pics of my PeeWee showmanship days with the Milking Shorthorn) got her wedding rings for free from B.C. Clark's because it rained an inch or more Saturday, her wedding day!!!
And OSU beat Kansas!  Which is also really great since she is an OSU graduate!!!  (P.S. We watched the third quarter stats on the church projector through the piano solos until it was time to seat the grandparents!)

Yea rain!!! Yea Oklahoma State!  Yea Kayla!  GOD IS GREAT!!!

Sweet Feet

Yeah, I know we have hooves trimmed for health, but they're just so darn pretty afterward!
Thinking about the "pedicures" we give our dairy animals made me think about all the different types of things we do for them.

Just like everything else, we do it because "comfortable cows produce more milk."  "Happy cows" don't just come from California.  Happy cows live everywhere that good dairy farmers live.  Good dairy farmers do all sorts of things to keep their animals comfortable.  They provide good air flow in the barns, sometimes even big fan systems and cool water misters.  They supply comfortable bedding, sometimes even high-tech gel mattresses!  They install and freshen footbaths for the cows that they walk through at least twice a day to kill bacteria.  Those are just a few things.

Cows are like people some ways.  If your feet hurt, you don't walk right.  If your feet hurt you don't work as well.  If cows feet hurt, they aren't comfortable. If cows aren't comfortable, they don't produce as much milk.  Those are not happy cows.

We have hooves trimmed to make sure their feet stay healthy.  We don't want any hoof rot.  We don't want our animals to go lame.  One of the very first lessons we learned in my middle school Ag class was that an animal has to be able to walk in order to... get to feed/water.  (I answered that question correctly in our class discussion!  Yea! pat on the back. )
If an animal can't get to feed/water, it will not thrive.  It will not be healthy and grow and develop the way it should.  It will not be useful as one of our food sources.

I've already talked about foot health for our dairy cows, but what about dairy heifers?  Heifers don't give milk yet, but we want them to be healthy before they become cows.  Also, when you are showing a heifer or a cow, you want them to walk correctly.  You want their feet and legs to be correct.  They carry a lot of weight.  You want them to stand and walk correctly to show what awesome dairy animals they are!

Gotta take care of those sweet little ol' big ol' feet!

"MawMaw, I..."

Last year I slept most of the way home from the Tulsa State Fair.  My grandparents had to bring us our truck because my mom drove the school suburban to and from the fair.

When they woke me up to get into our truck, before I even opened my eyes, in a soft sleepy voice I said, "MawMaw, I beat the Van der Laans..."  We still joke about that.  We probably always will.  I don't remember if we've told the Van der Laans this story before, but I'm sure going to try to remember to.  I think they will think it is funny, too.

It was a really big deal to me.  Ever since Posey started showing, the Van der Laans have had an Ayrshire that looked like it could be her sibling.  Its name is Raimie, and it has ALWAYS come in ahead of Posey...until the Jr. show of 2011.

Now it will start all over again.  They will compete against each other as cows.  Raimie had a calf quite a bit before Posey, I think.  I wonder what they look like compared to one another.  They are both at the same dairy.  (It's an Ayrshire dairy for the most part.)  It's also the same dairy that owns Faith, now.

P.S.
Darned ol' Raimie beat Posey AGAIN at the Tulsa State Fair!  Maybe next year.  We will never surrender!!!

Breeder EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!

Some people memorize all the plays of football games.  Some people memorize sports statistics.  One of my friends (my breeder) memorizes genetics.

He can tell you the line and lineage of all KINDS of dairy animals and other species, too.  He reads sire directories with even more enthusiasm than I read Seventeen Magazine!  Mom says he is like the "Rain man" of breeding!

He's done all kinds of things for me and other dairy kids.  He's stood in the freezing rain loading/unloading animals.  He's waded in mud-barefoot!-up past his shins.  He's driven a million miles.  He's picked out super deals for me when he could've kept them for himself.  He's done every round of A. I. my animals have ever needed.  He's told me what kinds and what portions of feed to give.  He's spent all day walking across wheat fields looking at heifers in the freezing wind.  He's told us how to order semen.  He's taught me about A.I.ing.  He's taught me how to train my animals.  He's made arrangements for selling and purchasing at the sale.
and, and, and, and!

I am SO blessed to know him!

Alan Jennings, you're A.MA.ZING!!!

National Brown Swiss Show

Tomorrow when the school bell rings, I will begin my Fall Break...by packing up to move into the National Brown Swiss Show in Stillwater, Oklahoma!

The WORLD DAIRY EXPO is on my bucket list

One of these days I will go to the WORLD DAIRY EXPO.
In my dreams I will take at least one of each breed to exhibit.

I've been looking at the pictures from there.  It sure was pretty and bright!

TULSA STATE FAIR!!!

TULSA STATE FAIR PLACINGS

AYRSHIRE JR. 2 YO JR 2ND AND OPEN 2ND

AYRSHIRE RESERVE SENIOR CHAMPION FEMALE IN JR. 

AYRSHIRE RESERVE CHAMPION FEMALE IN JR.

AYRSHIRE PRODUCE OF DAM 2ND

BROWN SWISS SPRING YEARLING HEIFER JR. 1ST AND OPEN 3RD

JERSEY SPRING HEIFER JR. 2ND AND OPEN 4TH 

JERSEY DAUGHTER DAM 2ND

JERSEY SPRING YEARLING HEIFER JR. 2ND AND OPEN 3RD

Oklahoma State Fair - TEASER - Part 2

State Fair placings:

SHOWMANSHIP 2ND

BEST DRESSED COW CONTEST 1ST  and GRAND CHAMPION

BROWN SWISS SPRING YEARLING HEIFER 2nd in Jr. and Open

JERSEY SPRING HEIFER 1ST / RESERVE BREED CHAMPION IN JR. AND OPEN

JERSEY SPRING YEARLING HEIFER 1st in Jr. and Open 

I was on TV!

This is what the greater Tulsa area saw on Monday, October 2nd at 6 P.M. and Tuesday, October 3rd at 11 A.M. on FOX23.

There was so much more to say, but they took an hour and a half interview AND extra video from the fair and turned it into 00:02:46, so they had to pick and choose what they put in video.
It looks really slick!

No school! Time to recouperate!

Our teachers are at a two day meeting, so I get to stay home!  I get to sleep late and work on my homework from being gone to the Tulsa State Fair...and maybe a blog post or two.