APRIL 2017
1
2
3
19
8 F E A T U R E S of the Chant 10 Master Washington’s Butch Booker continues the family legacy. By Kindra Gordon
14 10
24
Giving Back
Trinity Farms in Ellensburg, Washington put their customers and community first. By KayDee Gilkey
19 Livestock Auctions of the West The Auction Yards of the Western States.
in Seattle 24 Superlative Architecture, art and ambience all woven together with a superb menu put this restaurant at the top of the list of the finest restaurants in the west. By Kindra Gordon
28 Dawn Nelson – Rancher/Writer
Fourth generation cattle rancher Dawn Nelson is also the author of over 20 top selling Western books. You’ll find her story inspiring. By Heather Smith Thomas
14 re g u l ars 5
Trails
36 Index
“Hidden Delights” By Sherry Danekas
Thank you to all of our Advertisers.
8
38
Ridin’ Drag
“Sleeping It Off ” By Tyrell Marchant
The Bull Board
Recipes & Rules Oh My!
COVER
“Young Together” By Pooty Dagnon
Loomis, Washington
4
28
BUSINESS&ADVERTISING
Editor
Sherry Danekas sherry@jdaonline.com
Associate Editor
Mercedes Danekas-Lohse mercedes@jdaonline.com
Advertising
Mercedes Danekas-Lohse (916) 837-1432 (916) 849-2725
Circulation
Morgan Fryer morgan@jdaonline.com
Graphic Artist
Israel Robinson israel@jdaonline.com
Mailing Address P.O. Box 8629, Woodland, CA 95776 Office Phone P (530) 668-1224 National Sales Representative. THE POWELL GROUP, INC. 4162-B Carmichael Court Montgomery, AL 36106 (334) 271-6100 Attn: Davy Taff
Website www.westerncowman.com
Western Cowman, is owned and published monthly except May/June and July/ August combined by James Danekas & Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 8629, Woodland, CA 95776. Subscriptions are $20.00 per year. Presort Standard U.S. Postage Paid: Tucson, Arizona. Address corrections requested. contributing writers: Sherry Danekas, Heather Smith-Thomas, Kindra Gordon, KayDee Gilkey and Tyrell Marchant.
TR AILS “I don’t think you can feel a sense of entitlement and still be happy. Happiness always comes from feeling you’ve been blessed.” ~Robert Brault~ Spring arrived this week bringing along with it several rain storms and enough wind to shake the shutters, and that’s ok because this moisture will just keep the grass coming for a few weeks longer and the dust down. To say that the seasons are coming and going so fast that each catches me off guard would be something of an understatement. I incurably seem to have way too many irons in the fire and too much on my plate. I’m sad to say that it’s taken me this long to make the decision to make some modifications. It’s obvious that I won’t be taking off on any month long excursions or abandoning my day job any time soon, although I think it’s really time to think about finding a few more minutes in the day to count the many blessings that surround me and taking the time to appreciate all the beauty of my new habitat. I’ll keep you posted on just how finding this extra time reveals itself, and just where it’s going to come from. Speaking of revealing I have to tell you about how I was pleasantly surprised on the last business trip that Mercedes and I had that took us to the Houston Stock Show. We’ve been traveling with Sutter our newest family member since his birth last November, but the older he gets the more aware he is of all his surroundings. The four hour flight to Houston went so well and all of our fellow passengers were extremely courteous and kind considering we were traveling with a four month old. Arriving in Houston for the first time was an eye-opener, neither Mercedes nor I have ever been in the town other than passing through the airport and it really makes LA look small. The size of the town wasn’t what really amazed me, it was the kindness and warmth of everyone we encountered throughout our stay. Never having attended the Houston Stock Show was a delight and wonder at how amazing and substantial this event is. Upon arrival we headed to the International room where we’d been invited and enjoyed meeting cattlemen from around the globe. The Houston Stock Show pulls this room together stocked with food and drinks in a very comfortable environment for their international guests; it was an astounding experience to meet so many cattlemen from so many countries in one spot. Upon learning the Houston Stock Show is run entirely by volunteers was another amazing revelation, it really said a lot about Houston. But like they say, everything is always bigger and better in Texas. Getting back to better, I don’t think you’re going to find better reads anywhere than the issue you’re holding in your hands. This month we travel to the state of Washington and get the opportunity to meet some very interesting and talented folks. We begin our ride in Colfax, Washington with a stop at the business headquarters of one of the west’s premier auctioneers Butch Booker, Butch’s career has been varied and his road to his success of today is one you’re going to find very noteworthy. It’s a great article to learn more about the man behind the great chant. The one thing we learned through our travels around Washington is there are so many great cattle programs and people and there are none better than the folks who are the backbone of “Trinity Farms”. We found not only a very successful Angus, Sim-Angus, Simmental program, but a family that has found the true meaning of “giving back” to both their customers and the community. This is a must read for everyone. We don’t usually go all fancy when we choose a favorite state restaurant, although this time we just couldn’t resist. When we select a restaurant, we don’t just look at how great the food is, but the back story the restaurant has and their place in the community they’re serving. I know you’ll agree with me that the Canlis restaurant’s history is one beyond compare, from the architecture to the ambience, it certainly is a restaurant the state can be proud of. Talent was not lacking in Washington either, our next article describes how Dawn Nelson a fourth generation rancher went on to become one of the bestselling and prolific western writers and her journey from growing up on a ranch and the hardships she conquered is one our best pieces to date. Tyrell Marchant deals with a very relevant topic that I think every rancher will be able to concur with, don’t miss “Ridin’ Drag” this month. I’m going to stay the trail and continue to enjoy the many blessings I’m graced with each day. I am still delighted when I find our hens have laid eggs for us, and the pleasure of breaking open hay bales on a rain soaked morning with the wonderful smell that is revealed. Building my house has also brought me joy as I watched the shell turn in to a house and the inside become rooms, now I’m looking forward to windows and doors. Enjoy the blessings your own trails divulge this month as spring provides us once again the beginnings of great grass, hay fields and crops, along with all those new babies in the fields. Also a very Happy Easter to everyone as well as Happy Trails……………
5
e un
J
n, o i s as ime P ur r Pr o Y Fo w o ll sion o F as P
Located at the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center Springfield, Missouri
Wagyu Bulls • Females • Frozen Genetics entries • www.jdaonline.com
6
th,
10
17
20
Call to Consign
uPCOMinG WeSteRn viDeO MARKet SAleS May 4 • May 25 • June 8
THD ©
WAtCh AnD BiD live eveRy WeDneSDAy:
lMAAuCtiOnS.COM
Join Us Ringside at Galt
SpeCiaL cattLemen’s feeder SaLes Featuring Large runs oF top CaLves & YearLings
SAtuRDAyS: MAy 13 & June 10 Brunch 9 a.m. • Sales 10 a.m.
SeleCt WeDneSDAyS: 1 P.M.
APRil 5 • APRil 19 • MAy 3 • MAy 24 • June 21 Visit Us 0nline
For upcoming special sales and market reports, visit www.clmgalt.com (209) 745-1515 Office (209) 745-1582 Fax THD ©
12495 Stockton Blvd. Galt, California 95632
Representatives Jake Parnell ............. 916-662-1298 George Gookin.......... 209-482-1648 Kris Gudel ................. 916-208-7258 Mark Fischer ............ 209-768-6522 Rex Whittle ............... 209-996-6994 Joe Gates ................. 707-694-3063 Abel Jimenez ............ 209-401-2515 Jason Dailey ............. 916-439-7761 7
Drag By Tyrell Marchant
Sleeping It Off W
I
paid my way through college working for a small carpet cleaning company. Among my many useful skills, the one my co-workers were most often in awe of was my ability to almost instantly fall asleep in the uncomfortable passenger seat of our work van as we drove from job to job. They simply couldn’t understand how I could let slumber overcome me so suddenly in such a cramped, bumpy, distinctly smelly environment. They’d always laugh and ask, “How can you sleep in here?” I would just shrug and laugh with them, happy to have gotten another mini-siesta. But I think my talent (and it is a talent) for snagging sleep whenever, wherever was developed throughout a youth spent in the cattle industry. If there’s anything that seems to be in a perpetual state of short supply, it’s got to be sleep. You don’t get enough in the spring because most of your nights are spent driving to and from competitively mediocre high school rodeos in dilapidated arenas. You don’t get enough in the early summer, simply because you can’t waste all those extra daylight hours going to bed early or sleeping in late. You don’t get enough come county fair time, what with the late-night rodeos and ungodly early mornings to ensure the kids get a good spot at the wash racks with their show steers. Just when you start to think you might get a few days’ respite, that last 8
cutting of hay is ready, and you’re up in the wee hours raking and baling. Then the high country gets its first dusting of snow, the cows start coming home, and you spend the next month getting into the house at 11 because pushing the old girls back up to the grass is never the easy job it should be. When you finally do allow them to come down, it’s weaning time, and those bawling calves will keep you up no matter how far from the house those new corrals are. Then winter hits with a vengeance, filled with repairing fences, busting up ice at water holes, and coming up with creative ways to keep the diesel in the old tractor from gelling up. While you’re in the midst of that fight, calving season starts, and heaven only knows how cowmen keep their eyes open and minds lucid through those weeks of 23hour workdays. Leading this kind of lifestyle makes a guy adept at snagging a nap every chance he gets. I mean, I spent a lot of my youth sleeping in the saddle on the way back to the trailer after trailing a herd over half a mountain range. Then, after unsaddling and loading the caballos in said trailer, I’ve settled into the bed of the pickup and slept the rest of the way home, using a saddle as a pillow. While everyone else in town is walking around the county fair chowing down on overpriced funnel cakes, I’ve been caught catching some Zs on top of a couple bales of cedar shavings. Heck, I’ve even fallen asleep in a sale barn
C
with the auctioneer’s chant ringing— nay, roaring—in my ears, having turned into a sort of lullaby some 80 lots prior. When you’re short on sleep and there’s the tiniest break in the work, you take a little when it becomes available. It’s not just sleep, either. Cow folk are pretty adept at making do with not quite enough of pretty much everything. Two feet short on wire to finish that new stretch of fence? No need to run into town and buy some more; just take the piece of wire that’s currently holding up the muffler of the old feed truck. (You’ve been meaning to fix that muffler for real, anyway.) Not enough grass in the foothill pasture to stretch that last week before the Forest Service lets you up on the mountain? Well, you can probably get a couple days’ worth back behind the house, maybe a day out by the pond, and (with some help from a hotwire and a little extra cowboying) the grass in the corners of the potato pivot could conceivably get you those last two or three days. When you really get down to brass tacks, the ingenuity and perseverance of cow people almost always finds a way to win out. You get what you can, when you can, and somehow you find a way for that to be sufficient. Whether it’s sleep or anything else, if you’re willing to look for it, the good Lord has a way of providing just enough to make things work. WC
9
T
he rhythmic auctioneer chant has always been woven through C.D. “Butch” Booker’s life. It’s a family affair – as Butch, his dad, three older brothers, a nephew, several nieces and now his son all have auctioneer credits to their name. Of his vocation auctioneering at livestock sales, as well as operating Kincaid Real Estate, a multi-broker business based at Colfax, Washington, Booker says, “I’m fortunate to be doing what I dreamed about as a kid. My career has been everything I ever dreamed.” Father’s footsteps Butch’s introduction to auctioneering began with his father D. L. Booker, a World War II veteran. D.L and his wife Colleen migrated from Oklahoma to Washington State in the 1950s, drawn to the area when veterans were offered land from the Columbia Basin Project. The young family had three sons, and in 1964 added a fourth – Butch. They quickly established a farm with sheep, pigs, chickens, goats, and as Butch recalls, “We always had a
10
of
W
C
the
By Kindra Gordon
Washington’s Butch Booker had the auctioneering bug from an early age.
lot of cattle.” By the late 50’s Butch’s father attended auctioneer school and began working livestock auction markets in the area. Butch says, “That was my introduction. At age 8-9-10, I went with dad to cattle auctions. He literally attended cattle sales six days a week.” In later years, D.L became an order buyer. Of his dad, Butch adds, “He loved people. He always visited with people and genuinely cared about them…that was the birth of me becoming a people person.” Today, that example set by his father has always stayed with Butch through his own auctioneer experience. He explains, “Fundamentally, that’s what makes people in our professional successful – caring about people and their success. One of my goals has always been to serve my customer well.” Butch says he keeps a Zig Ziglar quote top of mind. The
quote is this: “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” Shan Kelly, who has worked with Butch in his real estate office since 2008, attests to Butch’s people skills. She says, “He’s a perfect mix of hands on and hands off. He provides the resources and then let’s you run with it. She credits him with being confident and capable in what he does. Kelly says, “Butch has a good knowledge of historical and current real estate values and an understanding of the prices people are willing to pay. He can see trends and the big picture. He’s got the vision. He just does things right.” Young passion By the mid-1970s, when Butch’s parents were establishing their family auction business and Butch was just 10, he says he knew he wanted to become an auctioneer. He recalls traveling across the country in a pickup and camper with his mom and two of his brothers, so his brothers could attend auction school in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Butch tells, “On the drive home, my brother taught me some of the chants and tongue twists and that’s when I got bit by the auction bug.” By the time he was in high school,
Butch was helping auctioneer at farm auctions through the family’s business, Booker Auction Company. Upon graduating from high school in 1982, Butch returned to Arkansas in 1983 to attend auction school. He also attended Pasco Community College for one year and played basketball, then transferred and earned a degree in Ag Economics with an Animal Science emphasis from Washington State University. After graduating from college, Butch took a job with Farm Credit Services in Moses Lake, Washington. He also continued to work in the family auction business through the farm crisis of the 1980s, but says his goal was always set on being able to sell elite livestock and purebred cattle. He notes that Ken Troutt, Bill Lefty and Skinner Hardy were all auctioneers whom he looked up to. About a year-and-half into his job with Farm Credit Services, Butch tells that one day while at a ranch that had
purebred cattle, the ranch wife shared that she had seen the Western Livestock Reporter field man position advertised because Charlie Cooper was retiring. Butch recalls, “She encouraged me to send in a resume and expressed that she thought I’d be good at the job.” Butch took that advice and applied – and within a few days was interviewing at 5:30 a.m. in Billings, Montana with the newspaper’s publisher Pat Goggins. He took the job, which allowed him to sell ads and work livestock sales across the Northwest. A few years later, Butch transitioned to a similar position for the Farmer Stockman magazine. He credits those opportunities for helping him establish relationships with the purebred sector across the region. But he adds, “Most people didn’t know I had auctioneers skills because that wasn’t my role at the time.” However, a few years later with the untimely passing of Col. Ken Troutt from cancer, the need for an additional
seedstock cattle auctioneer in the West arose. Butch says, “I was one of the right guys in the right place with the right skills and was able to transition.” Today, he travels to many of the same seedstock operations he did as a field man, now just in a different role. From his years as a field man, to being an auctioneer today, Butch acknowledges that the cattle industry has seen many changes – from the type of cattle, and the ever up-and-down prices, to the number of producers and sales. He notes that there used to be more consignment sales – and credits people like the Danekas family and Gary Kendall for helping keep many of those sales going. Of Jim Danekas he says, “He was a workhorse and created a lot of opportunities for people to sell cattle.” Favorite moments Butch says he’s enjoyed all aspects of his career. From the busy sale peaks in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when | Continued on page 12
11
Continued from page 11 |
he’d work 52 sales in 60 days to the “road family” that supports one another from sale-to-sale. He explains, “Those of us who travel to sales – from those with publications to those working on the Internet marketing side – we attend many of the same events and become like family. We all have each other’s back, take care of each other and support each other through tough weather, bad roads and late nights, as well as bad whiskey and good food. I appreciate each of those people.” Another unique memory comes from the 1990’s when Butch auctioned several llama and alpaca sales. “I traveled coast to coast and that market was financially rewarding at the time, which created many opportunities for me.” One was the ability to purchase Kincaid Real Estate in Colfax. The business today has several agents offering residential, commercial and farm and ranch land properties. Another career highlight has been competing in the International Auctioneer Championship (IAC) sponsored by the National Auctioneers Association (NAA), of which Butch is a life member. He explains that he’s found it to be a great organization for education and networking, and of their annual auction contest says, “I mean no disrespect to
12
the other auction contests out there, but I believe it’s still the hardest auction contest to win.” A men’s and women’s division are offered, and once a champion title is earned, the auctioneer can no longer compete. Butch competed for the first time in 1993, and over the years says he was “like golf’s Phil Mickelson of the auction industry – I was runner up many times.” Indeed, Butch has nine IAC trophies – four second runner-up, four first runner-up, and the champion trophy which he earned in 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. He tells that it was an emotional moment because it took him back to the 1995 contest that he competed in in Niagara Falls, New York. Butch was there with his dad, and he shares, “My dad wasn’t one who gave a lot of praise to us boys. I’m sure he’d told us good things, but that evening as we went back to the hotel, he told me, ‘You did a good job tonight, and you’ll win this someday.’” Butch says, “I guess I believed him, and I didn’t give up. But he didn’t live long enough to see it.” Family focus Today, Butch divides his time between his real estate business and
being on the road with about 100 auctions each year. He says, “I don’t have all the sales, but I’ve got my share and am happy to have what I do.” He enjoys having a balance in being home with wife Jennifer and to be involved in their son Cotton’s activities. A high school freshman, Cotton has interests in sports, FFA and showing steers, and Butch says, “He has an interest in the auction business no doubt.” Presently, Cotton has done some charity auctions and has competed in junior auction contests. Butch says, “We’re proud of him; he’s got a good foundation and is building…We will see what the future brings.” Butch’s brothers and their children are also still involved in auctioneering. His oldest brother has four children who are all auctioneers. Butch says, “On a weekend we may have 4 to 5 events going on in one night. We all try to help each other. If we aren’t available, we try to pass it on to someone else in the family.” As he reflects on his auctioneering role, Butch says the early lesson his dad demonstrated in being genuinely concerned for others has always stayed with him. He says, “We’re dealing with families’ livelihoods and I always take that very seriously.”
(209) 847-1033 6001 Albers Road - P.O. Box 2138 Oakdale, CA 95361 AUCTION SALE EVERY MONDAY & THURSDAY “THE FINEST IN AUCTION SERVICE”
Steve Haglund Clint Haglund Easton Haglund (209) 538-2509 (209) 604-0650 (209) 988-5031
Farmerslivestock.net
When Planning For The Future Really Matters. Here to help families plan for their financial futures.
We recommend Kent Larson for all your financial planning needs - call us at 916-768-1431 for a referral.
13
Tington, is a family-owned Sim-
rinity Farms of Ellensburg, Wash-
mental and Sim-Angus ranch that was established in the early 1980s. Mike and Paulette Forman and their son Robb began in the purebred Simmental business and a decade later added Angus into their herd to produce both purebred Angus and Sim-based cross bulls for their commercial customers. They purchased the current ranch in 1991, the same year that Robb married Debbie Bartoloc. Now, 26 years later, Robb and Debbie’s daughters Chelse and Mackenzie have graduated from college, eldest son Chance is pursuing his dream career, and youngest son Colton is in his first year of college. Debbie works for the Kittitas School District. Along with all of his ranch responsibilities, Robb is the manager of MRM Construction, which currently focuses on selling rock products, topsoil and 14
compost. When it comes to their breeding objectives in their herd Mike shared, “Our emphasis has been to raise moderately framed, sound, functional bulls that will thrive in any environment. Our SimAngus program has become the main focus of our program, and includes the whole gamut of hybrid cattle from 3/4 Simmental X 1/4 Angus, 1/2 bloods, 1/4 Simmental X 3/4 Angus and 1/8 Simmental X 7/8 Angus. Emphasis is placed on using calving ease sires with good birth to yearling growth.” He continued, “EPDs and carcass data are tools that are relied upon when breeding choices are made. Each year, all the females are synchronized for our timed breeding AI program. Females are AI’d through two heat cycles and then turned out with Trinity herdsires.” Calves are given all necessary vaccinations at birth, boostered before
turning out on grass, and given all necessary shots at weaning. The total cow herd is on a stringent twice-a-year vaccination program. Calves born by sires in their multi-sire pasture groups are all blood typed to confirm parentage. All the bulls in their spring sale are low density tested and parentage is confirmed. Between owned and leased ground, they farm a little over 1450 acres of irrigated ground. They grow alfalfa and timothy hay which is raised for the export market, and pasture for their cattle, which currently number 500 cows and 150 replacement heifers. Generations of Excellence Spring Sale For 15 years their annual production sale, Generations of Excellence, has been held on the ranch the first weekend in March. This year’s sale sold 113 SimAngus and Angus bulls
By KayDee Gilkey
W
C
with an average of $5,730 and sold 44 open heifers with an $1,812 average. As auctioneer Butch Booker said in opening the sale, “There are three priorities for the Forman family that they are absolutely passionate about: Number 1 is family and they value being able to work together; Number 2 is producing strong performance bulls and their third priority is their customers who do business with them.” In addition to that, Formans are committed to giving back to not only their customers but worthy causes as well. Giving Back When Robb and Debbie’s youngest daughter Mackenzie was a freshman in high school, through attending a Relay for Life event, she had a dream of raising $50,000 to help support the American Cancer Society. Robb and his family brainstormed
on how they all could help her attain that goal. It was decided that a heifer would be donated at the beginning of their sale, and all the proceeds would be donated to Relay for Life. Over the next four years, between the yearly heifer donation and other events she participated in, her goal was reached. Mike explained, “Once Mackenzie graduated and went to college, we decided we’d find another worthy charity to support. We chose the Wounded Warrior Project. The heifer picked for each of the last four years has been donated and with the help of our customers’ generosity, the Wounded Warrior Project has been sent over $72,500. We feel it is important to pay it forward and that is something we will continue to do through our program.” This year’s donation heifer was sold for $3,750 to Sheldon Ranch in Ellensburg. Following the sale of the heifer, by raising the paddle an addi-
tional $8,750 in donations was added from other buyers to go to Wounded Warrior Project. Robb said, “We feel very blessed to get to do the things what we get do in this country. This is due in part to the freedom our veterans fought for. A lot of our customers are veterans as well so choosing the Wounded Warrior Project has resonated with them. It is an honor to be supporting something that is obviously near and dear to many attending our sale.” Every December, Trinity Farms participates in the Kittitas County Cattlemen and CattleWomen’s work with the others in the state’s beef industry to help their hungry neighbors in need through the Beef Counts program. Donations received are matched by Agri Beef and beautiful beef roasts are handed out along with breads, vegetables and fruit to needy families. | Continued on page 16
15
Continued from page 15|
In addition to giving back to worthwhile causes, Trinity Farms created what they call “bull chits”. Mike said, “If customers purchase bulls at a designated purchase price, they are sent a ‘rebate’ check in the mail. The more bulls purchased, the higher the rebate. Since coming up with this idea of how we can thank our customers, we have returned more than $120,000 in cash rebates.” They also publicly recognized their repeat customers at their sale with Hall of Fame plaques for those customers who have purchased more than 25 bulls, more than 50 bulls as well as those who have purchased more than 75 bulls throughout the years. Robb said, “We have several customers that purchased bulls from us even before we began our annual sale. We really value and appreciate those customers who continue to use our bulls to enhance their herds’ genetics. We really appreciate and value the fact that our family has been doing business with our some of customers for several generations. We do not take that for granted.” Leadership Roles Formans have made giving back to the beef industry a priority as well. Robb has been active in the Kittitas County Cattlemen’s Association and held the position of Treasurer for several years. Paulette was president of the Kittitas County CattleWomen for three years, and at one point was named Washington State CattleWoman of the Year in conjunction with Jane Lee from Goldendale. This year, 16
Paulette is once again the President of the KCCW. The Formans were Kittitas County Cattlemen of the Year in 2005. Mike is currently serving his third year as Western Regional Trustee for the American Simmental Association. He is a past president of both the Washington Angus and Washington Simmental Associations. In addition to their successful
performance-based breeding program, Trinity Farms has made giving back a priority — whether its the giving back of their talents and time to the beef industry serving in leadership roles, or providing rebates to repeat bull-buying customers or fundraising for worthy causes — making the beef industry better because of their commitment and dedication.
ANADA 200-591, Approved by FDA
For intramuscular and subcutaneous use in beef and non-lactating dairy cattle only. BRIEF SUMMARY (For full Prescribing Information, see package insert.) INDICATIONS: Norfenicol is indicated for treatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) associated with Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, and Histophilus somni, and for the treatment of foot rot. Also, it is indicated for control of respiratory disease in cattle at high risk of developing BRD associated with M.haemolytica, P. multocida, and H. somni. CONTRAINDICATIONS: Do not use in animals that have shown hypersensitivity to florfenicol. NOT FOR HUMAN USE. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. Can be irritating to skin and eyes. Avoid direct contact with skin, eyes, and clothing. In case of accidental eye exposure, flush with water for 15 minutes. In case of accidental skin exposure, wash with soap and water. Remove contaminated clothing. Consult physician if irritation persists. Accidental injection of this product may cause local irritation. Consult physician immediately. The risk information provided here is not comprehensive. To learn more, talk about Norfenicol with your veterinarian. For customer service, adverse effects reporting, or to obtain a copy of the MSDS or FDA-approved package insert, call 1-866-591-5777. PRECAUTIONS: Not for use in animals intended for breeding. Effects on bovine reproductive performance, pregnancy, and lactation have not been determined. Intramuscular injection may result in local tissue reaction which persists beyond 28 days. This may result in trim loss at slaughter. Tissue reaction at injection sites other than the neck is likely to be more severe. RESIDUE WARNINGS: Animals intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 28 days of the last intramuscular treatment. Animals intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 33 days of subcutaneous treatment. Not approved for use in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older, including dry dairy cows as such use may cause drug residues in milk and/or in calves born to these cows. A withdrawal period has not been established in pre-ruminating calves. Do not use in calves to be processed for veal. ADVERSE REACTIONS: Inappetence, decreased water consumption, or diarrhea may occur transiently. Manufactured by: Norbrook Laboratories Limited, Newry, BT35 6PU, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. The Norbrook logos and Norfenicol ® are registered trademarks of Norbrook Laboratories Limited.
TRUST IS EARNED
orfenicol
®
(florfenicol)
Winning the praise of cattlemen and veterinarians requires top performance, reliability and a fair price.
Norfenicol® (florfenicol)
Shorter Sub-Q Withdrawal Time Than Nuflor® Less Viscous and More Syringeable Than Nuflor* New Plastic Bottles Eliminate Breakage and Product Loss FDA-Approved for Sub-Q Use in Cattle at High-Risk of BRD Broad Spectrum Treatment and Control Against BRD Unique Formulation
*Data on file
www.norbrookinc.com Observe label directions and withdrawal times. Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian. For use in beef and non-lactating dairy cattle only. Not approved for use in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older, including dry dairy cows. Animals intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 28 days of the last intramuscular treatment or within 33 days of subcutaneous treatment. Do not use in calves to be processed for veal. Intramuscular injection may result in local tissue reaction which may result in trim loss at slaughter. See product labeling for full product information, including adverse reactions. The Norbrook logos and Norfenicol are registered trademarks of Norbrook Laboratories Limited. Nuflor is a registered trademark of Merck Animal Health.
0816-495-I01A
FOR VETERINARY USE ONLY
WC-NORFENICOL RANCHER.indd 1
9/28/16 3:12 PM
S
CHAROLA I
1. REIS LIVESTOCK Tony, Mary, Nathan, Natalie & Nicole Reis 648 Cowee Ave. Gridley, CA 95948 (530) 682-0317 reis@digitalpath.net www.reislivestock.com
5. BROKEN BOX RANCH Jerry & Sherry Maltby P.O. Box 760 Williams, CA 95987 (530) 473-2830 (office) E-mail: bbr@citlink.net www.brokenboxranch.com
2. JORGENSEN CHAROLAIS Fred & Toni Jorgensen 25864 Moller Avenue Orland, CA 95963 (530) 865-7102
6. AURELIA CHAROLAIS Wade & Thomas Helms P.O. Box 779 Salida, CA 95368 (209) 612-1147
3. CSU-FRESNO STATE AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION 2415 East San Ramon Ave. Fresno, CA 93740-8033 Randy Perry (559) 278-4793 (559) 278-4101 fax
7. NICHOLAS LIVESTOCK CO. 6522 Vernon Rd. Nicolaus, CA 95659 Nicoli Nicholas (916) 455-2384 (916) 813-2384 Nicoli Nicholas, Jr. (530) 668-4566
4. BIANCHI CHAROLAIS Robert, Chris & Erica Bianchi 6810 Canada Rd. Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 842-5855 (408) 804-3133 cell Email: BianchiRanches@aol.com
8. AMERICAN-INTERNATIONAL CHAROLAIS WEST REPRESENTATIVE Weston Geppert (605) 933-1387 westongeppert@hotmail.com David Hobbs: Charolais Associate (913) 515-1215
17
T-Shirts Bumper Stickers A Way of Life
At the end of 2017, a portion of the Rancher Lives Matter t-shirt and bumber sticker proceeds will go to the Jack Yantis scholarship fund.
Black & White Bumper S t i c k e r s Av a i l a b l e T- S h i r t s Av a i l a b l e i n both Black & White
Contact
530-668-1224
18
to order and support this way of life.
Spring 2017
Special Sales
Competitive Livestock Marketing Weekly Auction Schedule Monday – Beef Wednesday - Dairy Friday - Small Animals
Annual Roping cattle sale Saturday March 18 Sale at 12 Noon Miguel A. Machado President 25525 E. Lone Tree Road • Escalon, CA 95320 Office: (209) 838-7011 • Fax (209) 838-1535 Cellular (209) 595-2014
19
Newman Stockyard Experienced & Professional Competitive Pricing Honest & Reliable Sale Every: Tuesday & Thursday
starting at 3:30
2011 E Stuhr Rd. Newman, CA 95360
209-862-4500 www.newmanauctionyard.com
Shasta Livestock
Auction Yard Sale Every
Friday Stay tuned to our March 2017 website for24, upcoming
Shasta Livestock Pair & Cow Sale specialSpecial sale dates. Expecting 250 pairs and 40 bred cows
3917 N. Main Street P.O. Box 558 Cottonwood, CA 96022
(530)347-3793
20
www.shastalivestock.com
Regular Sales Schedule Monday 11:00 am Weigh Cows & Bulls Tuesday 9 am Stockers & Feeders 12 noon Pairs & Bred Cows 2:30 pm Cull Cows & Bulls of all breeds Wednesday 11:00 am Cull Cows & Bulls of all breeds Friday 10:30 am Dairy Milk Cows, Dairy Fresh Cows, Dairy Fresh Heifers 12:00 noon Dairy Springers 1:30 pm Dairy Bred Heifers & Open Heifers & Breeding Bulls 2:30 pm Cull Cows & Bulls of all breeds
10430 N. Lander Ave. Turlock, CA 95380
209-634-4326 www.turlocklivestock.com
Weekly Sale Every Friday
Central Oregon
Intermountain
Livestock Auction Inc.
Livestock
FEEDER SALE May 1 • June April 3rd5
Sales on Thursdays
Sale Every Regular Sale April 10th Monday 3457 SW HWY 97 P.O. Box 29 Madras, OR 97741
541-475-3851 Trent Stewart 541-325-3662
Clay Tanler 541-419-6060 www.centraloregonlivestockauction.com
All sales start at 12:30 PM sharp
KLAMATH LIVESTOCK AUCTION, INC. we buy or consign all livestock
Sale Every Tuesday Fall Feeders Sale Sept, Oct, & Nov. 1601 Laverne Klamath Falls, OR
60654 Livestock Rd. La Grande, OR 97850
YARD: 541-884-9667 FAX: 541-884-9686
541-963-2158
L/S Hauling: 541-884-4097 541-891-0033 Ken Say (Video): 541-892-2067
www.imlivestock.com
Lebanon Auction Yard, Inc 37063 KGAL Drive Lebanon, OR 97355
541-259-1251 April 6 - Feeder sale April 13- livestock sale April 20- Feeder sale April 27 - livestock sale
May 4 - livestock sale May 11 - livestock sale May 18 - Feeder sale May 25 - livestock sale
June 1 - livestock sale June 8 - livestock sale June 15 - Feeder sale June 22 - livestock sale June 29- livestock sale
July 6 - livestock sale July 13 - livestock sale July 20 - Feeder sale July 27 - livestock sale
Aug 3 - livestock sale Aug 10 - livestock sale Aug 17 - Feeder sale Aug 24 - livestock sale Aug 31 - livestock sale
Sept 7 - Feeder sale Sept 14 - livestock sale Sept 21 - Feeder sale Sept 28 - livestock sale
Oct 5 - Feeder sale Oct 12 - livestock sale Oct 19 - Customer Appreciation Feeder sale & Trade show 30th Anniversary ! Oct 26 - livestock sale
Nov 2 - Feeder Sale Nov 9 - livestock sale Nov 16 - Feeder sale Nov 23 - No Sale Nov 30 - Feeder sale
Dec 7 - livestock sale Dec 14 - Feeder sale Dec 21 - livestock sale
Dec 28 - livestock sale
Sales Every
Thursday at 1:00 pm
lebanonauctionyard.com
Sales Every
TUESDAY at 11:00 am
28871 NW Coelho P.O. Box 953 Hermiston, OR 97838
541-567-6655 www.nwlivestock.com
21
597 S. Pacific Hwy. Woodburn, Or 97071 Sale Days: Poultry every Tuesday @ 9:30 am
Serving the Northwests Beef & Dairy Marketing Needs
Weekly Sale TUEsday
Cattle every Tuesday @ 11:30 am
SaleS On: Saturday • Monday • thurSday
Small Barn at 11:00 am (Goats, Sheep, Pigs)
Sheep, Goats and Hogs every other Monday @ 11:30
John Top (509) 840-0342 Chad Lowry (208) 861-2224 Troy Frazier (509) 386-3077 Bobby Wiersma, yard mgr (509) 830-3340 Nathan Ziegler (509) 840-3400
Tom Elder Phone: 503-981-9497 Fax: 503-981-9543
428 S G St P.O. Box 351 Toppenish, WA 98948
www.woodburnlivestockexchange.com
www.toppenishlivestock.com
(509)865-2820
September - June
Sales on Mondays 25 Wheatland Road Three Forks, MT 59752
Cattle Sales Held Every
Wednesday Sheep & Goat Sales
Mondays
Jerry Olson
1802 Minnestoa Ave Billings MT 59101
406-245-0391
406-580-0100
www.billingslivestock.com
406-245-6447
www.headwaterslivestock.com
www.billingslivestock.com
2443 N Frontage Road Billings, MT 59101
22
775-867-2020
Yards
Commission
Thursdays
Monte Bruck, Manager
Public Auction
Billings Livestock Cattle Sales Held Weekly on
Cattle Sale at 1:00 pm (Steers, Heifers, Cows, Bulls, Horses)
Owner
TWIN FALLS Livestock Commission CO.
WEDNESDAY Sales Start at 9:00 am
Sale Order: Butcher Cows will run till Noon, Bred Cows, Stock Cows, Feeders
630 Commercial Ave, Twin Falls, ID 83301
(208)733-7474 www.twinfallslivestock.com CONTACT INFO:
1/8 mile south of HWY 152 on HWY 33. 16575 S. HWY 33 Dos Palos Y, CA 93620 Office .............................. (209) 387 4113 Joel E. Cozzi .................. (209) 769 4660 Joel A. (Joey) Cozzi ..... (209) 769 4662
FIELD REPRESENTATIVES: Doug Gallaway ............. Mike Vieira ..................... Bill Enos ......................... Garrett Jones ................ Established in 1950
AUCTIONEER:
Doug Gallaway ............. (209) 617 5435 Garrett Jones ................ (209) 710 7904
SPECIAL SPRING FEEDER SALE
SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2017 AT 12 NOON P.O. Box 8629 Woodland, CA 95776
530-668-1224
WEEKLY SALE SCHEDULE
(209) 617 5435 (209) 761 6267 (209) 761 1322 (209) 710 7904
Reputation quality feeder cattle from local producers. Many repeat consignments of calves & yearlings.
MONDAYS: DAIRY • FEEDERS • SLAUGHTER BULLS & COWS THURSDAYS: FEEDERS • SLAUGHTER BULLS & COWS
www.dpyauction.com
23
F By Kindra Gordon
From the ambience to the entrees, Seattle’s Canlis Restaurant has achieved the highest degree of quality.
WC
24
rom its inception in 1950, Canlis was designed to be “the world’s most beautiful restaurant.” And today – more than seventy years later, that high standard continues with the restaurant’s website proclaiming their mission: Canlis strives to be the best restaurant in America. Indeed, from the architecture, art and ambience to the orchestrated four and nine course menus and wine pairings, Canlis is more than a restaurant, it’s a decadent, superlative experience. Family Affair The upscale restaurant was the vision of Peter Canlis, whose father and mother were both accomplished chefs in their own right. Peter’s father Nicholas, who was born in Greece, is said to have met President Teddy Roosevelt while working at the Mena House
in Cairo in 1909 – and was then hired to cook for Roosevelt’s safari. After he immigrated to America, Nicholas married Susan, a Lebanese immigrant, and they opened their first restaurant in Stockton, Calif. Their oldest child Peter worked in the business and learned from his parents. His mother inspired the Canlis salad – which is still featured on the Canlis menu today (and the recipe is featured on the restaurant’s website.) In 1946, Peter opened his first restaurant in Honolulu, but eventually set his sights on Seattle. In 1950, he hired architect Roland Terry to make the notable restaurant a reality. Terry gravitated toward a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired design, while his collaborator Pete Wimberley envisioned a comfortable setting for guests. The result of their work became iconic and is
described as “Northwest inspired modern architecture” as well as “Seattle’s fanciest, finest restaurant.” Located in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood on a scenic cliff, the restaurant offers views of the Cascade Mountains and Gas Works Park. Over the next two decades, additional Canlis restaurants were opened in Honolulu, Portland and San Francisco. While they did not endure, and Peter Canlis succumbed to lung cancer in 1977, Seattle’s Canlis restaurant has survived and thrived. With Peter’s passing, his son Chris returned to shepherd the restaurant into modern times. His wife Alice oversaw a major renovation and remodel in 1996. They also made updates to the menu, but remained true to the restaurants origin and elegance. Today, the third generation is at
the helm – Chris and Alice’s sons Mark and Brian Canlis took the reins in 2005. They too have made updates and revisions to the menu and interior, however, many of the hallmarks of their grandfather’s desire for the “best and most beautiful restaurant” remain. As testament, Canlis aims to keep the tradition of fashion and showing it off alive. Thus there is a dress code requiring men to wear suits or a sport coat; casual attire is not appropriate, nor are electronic devices at the table. Once guests arrive, service is a top consideration. Music in the lounge, table-side salad preparation, your wish – or whim – is their command. As well, sommeliers and valets are discreet and attentive; many guests marvel at how the valets can magically have cars waiting before guests even make it to the door. | Continued on page 26
25
Continued from page 25 |
Of the upscale atmosphere, there is also a rumor that a “card” will be given to guests who do not spend enough – asking them not to return. But alas, that is still just a rumor. The restaurant shares that Peter Canlis offered $1000 to anyone who could produce such a card with his signature – and today, the purse is still unclaimed. Magnificent Menu When Peter Canlis initially designed his restaurant, serving the finest seafood and steak in America were his goal. He wanted the food on the plate to speak for itself, meaning no sauces. His innovative ideas in the 1950’s also featured a kitchen open to the dining room and team table service – pioneering ideas in that time period. Today, the restaurant continues to 26
strive to be pioneering with a focus on local Northwest cuisine, and as their website proclaims, “to nourish community, to nourish stomach and soul.” Patrons can choose individual items from a four course menu, or select the preset tasting menu featuring nine courses. Dining typically takes about three hours. Current menu features include steak tartare made with raw, Wagyu tenderloin; and filet mignon or Wagyu New York Strip with desiree potato, kale, oyster mushroom, and beef fat hollandaise. Duck, scallops, pork and cod – along with various accoutrements to tempt the senses are also featured, as are an array of salads, soups and desserts. In total, dining at Canlis is indeed an experience that engages all the senses. And, it is testament to the legacy one individual can leave behind. Learn more by visiting, http://canlis. com.
The Story of Table No. 1
Should you have the privilege to dine at Canlis, consider requesting Table No.1, which was Peter Canlis’ personal table for 27 years. Only he or his personal guests ever sat there, and it offered a vantage point to keep an eye on the entire restaurant. It was also the only table that had a telephone. A fun story about this special table is that when John Wayne began to frequent Canlis, he claimed table 1 as his table. However, Peter disagreed with this, and once left the Duke in the lounge for an hour while the table sat empty – just to prove his point. Today, Table No. 1 is the restaurants most requested table, and the phone is still there.
In Memory
John Anthony Santos 1954 - 2017
John Anthony Santos, 62 of Hilmar, California was born April 3, 1954 in Los Banos, California. He passed away Friday February 24, 2017. John is preceded in death by his father Tony Santos. He is survived by his wife of 41 years Susan, his daughter Corinne, his son Derek (Colby) and grandsons Alexander and Connor. He is also survived by his mother Hazel Santos, his brother Richard Santos, his brother Gerard Santos (Cecelia) and many nephews and nieces. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the John Santos Memorial Fund which will benefit youth Hereford breeders. Donations can be sent to: F &M Bank c/o Corinne Santos, 2401 Patterson Rd., Riverbank, Ca 95367
PHOTO CONTEST
CONTEST RULES
2017 ENTRY DEADLINE: September 6th, 2017 SPECIAL CATEGORY: “Ranch Roads” Photo by: Suzy Vargas
1. Contestants must be from the following states: California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. Contestants must be paid subscribers to the Western Cowman magazine. 2. Photos are to be 8 x 10-inch color or black and white prints, mounted on 11 x 14- inch black poster board. Photos not securely mounted will be disqualified. Make certain your name., address, and phone numbers are attached to the back. 3. Photo must depict our western ranching lifestyle. Photos can’t be altered or image- enhanced in any way. 4. Categories will be divided up after all of the entries have been received. 5. Junior category is for shutterbugs 15 years of age and younger. 6. A maximum of 25 photos per contestant can be entered. Entries cannot have appeared in any other contest. 7. Photos become the property of the Western Cowman for use in the publications and promotions. 8. Winning entries will be published in the November 2017 issue of the Western Cowman magazine. 9. Cash awards will be given to first place winners. Photo chosen as the “Editor’s Choice” will appear on the November 2017 Western Cowman cover.
27
WC By Heather Smith-Thomas
D
awn Nelson grew up ranching, married a rancher, and is passionate about cows. She enjoyed raising good commercial cattle and then about 15 years ago started her own purebred business with registered Gelbvieh. She never dreamed she would also become an author of many popular books depicting ranch life and memories of her childhood years on a ranch in northern Washington. “I am a 4th generation cattle rancher and my husband Kris is 5th generation. Our daughter Laren (12 years old in March) is 6th generation on our ranch here at Creston in central Washington, near Grand Coulee Dam, west of Spokane,” she says. This is high desert country, and it can have 28
severe winters. “We took over Kris’s family’s ranch, the NN Bar Ranch, after we got married. I first met Kris while I was training horses for a local lady, when he brought a mare to be bred. It was an instant thing for me, but not so much for him. We didn’t start dating until two years later after we met again at a local Fair.” Dawn grew up on a ranch near Danville, Washington. Her father raised Simmental cattle and her grandfather raised Herefords. “I tell everyone I was born 100 years too late, because I loved the way we raised cattle in that remote area. Even now, that area is still like it was 60 years ago. My mom always worked, and my dad worked off the ranch, so my grandpa and I basically ran the ranch
when Dad was working. I drove tractor and helped with the cattle. My parents pulled me out of school when I was 13 so I could help full time on the ranch. I got my GED and finished schooling that way; I did not attend high school but I don’t feel like I missed out on anything. In truth, I have always felt lucky, growing up the way I did.” She and her grandfather did everything together. “It was really fun because I got to learn all of his ways, and we were a good team. I am still a bit old-school when it comes to doing things because I believe that if something works and is not broken, why fix it? I often hear my grandpa, in my head, telling me it’s right. I tell Kris that I do things a certain way because this is how Grandpa used to do it. Kris tells me we have tools now that are handier, but I feel that once the old ways are gone, they are gone forever, and I think it’s important to pass some of the old wisdom on to the next generation. Even my writing tends to sound a bit like earlier times,” she says. As a teenager, Dawn spent a lot of time riding, taking care of cattle. She enjoyed taking her horse to the mountains for 2 weeks at a time and camping out there. “Grandpa would find me and bring me food at the old line shack or wherever I was, and I’d just stay out there checking cattle. It was a fun time, and if I could go back and relive any part of my life I’d love to go back and relive some of those teenage years exploring the mountains. Our ranch and
range was right next to the Canadian border but it’s hard to explain to a kid that there’s a border you can’t cross, when you can’t see it,” Dawn says. “My horse and I went everywhere together. Checking cattle, packing salt, etc. was a good way to train young horses. Most people today don’t break horses the way we did, putting in all those miles. We’d take 10 salt blocks up there on 2 pack horses, and the young horses learned by doing. We’d take the salt out, check the water, and camp on top of the mountain. We ran cattle on Forest Service land so that’s where I was during most of the spring and summer,” she says. “We ran cows up in the mountains for many years on my family’s leases, even after Kris and I got married, and now my brother runs those leases. I don’t like feeding my registered cows to the wolves!” The wolves are a bigger problem today than they were 20 years ago. Kris and Dawn would be hesitant to send a kid out there today to do some of the things Dawn used to do. One summer she was chased by a wolf and got bucked off and dragged about 150 yards when the wolf spooked her young mare. “I am not a fan of wolves, but we’ve learned to live with them and try to survive the best we can,” she says. Cattle have always been her biggest interest. “When Kris and I got married, I took my mother-in-law Sandy with me to AI school and left my husband home! I love my cattle. Kris often jokes and says he isn’t sure if I am married to him or to my cows,” says Dawn. “You can tell that a person is a cattle rancher by looking at their mail-if 60% of their mail is cattle magazines, bull books or ranch bills. I am sure the post office looks at my mail and wonders how many bull magazines/ catalogues I receive in a year!” GETTING INTO GELBVIEH Kris’s family raised Herefords and Angus. “I thought the Angus were a bit lacking in hip size and muscling. I went searching for a breed that had a good hip. I found the Gelbvieh and fell in love with their temperament and I
MORE COWS BRED
BY THE BARREL The two most critical times of the year for proper trace mineral and vitamin supplementation in your cow herd are prior to calving and prior to breeding. CRYSTALYX® Breed-Up® products have higher levels of vitamins, more concentrated levels of trace minerals and contain organic forms of trace minerals for stronger, healthier calves this season.
RESULTS BY THE BARREL® Crystalyx.com l 800.727.2502
liked the look of these cattle. They also work well in our climate and terrain. I decided that this was the breed I wanted. My father-in-law Keith and I went to a sale and bought a couple registered Angus and I realized we couldn’t find much in this area except Angus,” says Dawn. “Then my father-in-law was looking at one of the agricultural newspapers and saw that a rancher had a bunch of Gelbvieh cattle for sale. We called up that guy and he told us his wife was getting into raising horses and they were selling the cattle. He told us he would make us a heck of a deal on the whole herd. That’s how I got into the registered Gelbvieh business very quickly!” she says. “We were told that this breed would not do very well in this area, with our harsh winters, but we decided to give it a try. And boy, did those cows adjust! They handle our environment just fine and they are hassle-free. We don’t have to assist at calving; we haven’t pulled a calf in years. They are born small and grow quickly. This
breed has worked very well for us,” says Dawn. “This was perfect, because when I married Kris I stepped into a very nice ranch that was run very well, and now we had purebred cattle. Keith had always had a lot of great ideas and managed the ranch and cattle very well. When he first started out he began rotational grazing, with portable fencing, and everyone was looking at him to see how he was doing things. It was great to become part of this ranch,” she says. Then very suddenly, her life changed dramatically. Twelve years ago, when she was about 5 months pregnant with her daughter, Dawn was diagnosed with cancer. “I was told that the best option was to abort the baby, to save me. Of course that wasn’t what I wanted to do. So I just decided to not tell anyone about the cancer, because I knew that my husband would say that we could always make another kid but it would be hard to make another me! So I kept this all to myself, and I was able to have our little girl,” says Dawn. | Continued on page 30
29
Continued from page 29 |
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY BECOMING A WRITER “During the last few months of my pregnancy, I wrote down a lot of my memories—stories of my childhood and growing up on a cattle ranch. I jotted down a lot of different things that I thought my daughter might want to read someday, if I wasn’t around to tell her. The stories weren’t really organized, nothing fancy, with no title; these stories were just me remembering back when I was a kid, so my daughter could know who her mom was,” Dawn says. There were fun memories, and sad ones; she wrote down everything she could remember. She put all the stories in a hope chest at the end of Laren’s crib. “After she was born, I underwent 5 years of reconstruction surgery. Dur-
30
ing that time, a good friend of mine often came to my place. One day she was helping me clean up my daughter’s room. She was putting some blankets away, and came across these manuscripts.” Her friend asked what these were and Dawn told her it was just a group of stories about ranching. “I said I should probably throw that away, but she wanted to take the manuscripts home to read. She took them home and I didn’t think any more about it. Then about 3 months later I got an e-mail from a publisher in Spokane, Washington. My friend had sent the batch of stories to him, under my name.” The publisher loved the stories, wanted to print them as a book, and needed a title for it. “I was surprised, but decided that yes, I want to publish
this. It goes back to that old saying that when God closes a door he opens a window. This was just another direction I could take,” Dawn says. She debated on a title, and couldn’t come up with anything, so she called her friend for advice and told her, “You sent it in! You have to help me come up with a title!” Her friend thought that it had to be something referring to a cowgirl because the stories were telling about things Dawn did as a young cowgirl. She suggested something like “A Cowgirl Remembers” and Dawn came up with “A Cowgirl Remembers When”. Her friend thought that was perfect, so that became the title for her first book. It was published, and immediately became a best seller. “People were buying it and I just couldn’t believe it. I never wanted to be anything but a cattle rancher, and this new direction was unreal. Then I thought that maybe I could do both—be a rancher and a writer. A lot of people do outside jobs and this was something I could do at home and add to the ranch income. And it was also fun!” Dawn says. She had to undergo another surgery on her chest and was bandaged up for a while. “They wouldn’t let me be out there helping with the cows, wouldn’t let me ride my horse, and I was indoors for 5 months after the reconstructive surgery. So I wrote another book, and realized I did have a knack for this,” Dawn says. She sent that one to the same publisher. “He said, ‘Let’s get it edited and see what we have, and go from there.’ He was just starting out in the publish-
ing business and I was just starting out with my writing, so there were a few mistakes along the way, but we worked through everything and got it published. This one, called Cowgirl’s Justice, was my first book in the Rancher series, and it sold very well,” she says. After it was published, Crystal Clear productions in California called her and wanted to make it into a movie. This was exciting, and she followed up with 4 more books in her Rancher series—The Colt, The Rancher, Wanted Dead or Alive, and High Country. Then she wrote two more books of short stories. After that she decided to continue producing books. She has published 3 cookbooks, and has written 2 more series. The Range series consists of Range Wild, Range Law, and the third one (Range Fire) is about to be released. The Montana Strong series includes Montana Star, Legend of Love, Montana Law, Christmas in Cattle Country, and the fifth and last book in that series will be Montana Secrets—which will be released soon. She has now published 20 books, with more to come. “I have 2 books under movie contracts and also have my first CD coming out. Halfway through my new writing career, one of my friends told me that even though I could write books,
they didn’t think I could write cowboy poetry, so I decided to show them that I could! I ended up doing a whole CD of poetry, and I also have 4 new books scheduled for 2017 releases.” She has won many awards for her writing. “I’ve had the opportunity to travel all over the country, and this has been absolutely amazing—all because of what some people would call my misfortune of having cancer. I turned lemons into lemonade! Before I started writing books, I’d only been in 2 states. Now there are only 8 states I haven’t been to yet. If it wasn’t for my writing I would not have been able to do all this; it’s been an interesting ride,” she says. Ranching is still her passion, and her experiences on the ranch continue to provide inspiration for her writing. “I am a rancher first, and a writer second. For instance, I try to keep all my murder mysteries in ranch settings. There seems to be a lot of interest in
these kinds of books,” she explains. THE RANCH TODAY Dawn, Kris and their daughter Laren continue to enjoy raising cattle. Laren loves cattle and shows 4-H steers. “She’s my little right-hand man, helping around the ranch, and she likes to ride. I currently have 4 good cow horses on the ranch—one for each of us and a backup for when my fatherin-law Keith comes to ride with us,” Dawn says. “My grandpa always said that horses need a purpose, and that every horse I owned was two less cows that we could feed each year. So I just have the minimal number of horses it takes to run a ranch this size,” she explains. “We also keep improving the cattle and the land. We have 150 registered cows and a small herd of commercial cattle. We put up most of our hay, but often purchase some additional hay,” she says. The family has also done some showing with their Gelbvieh cattle. Dawn says the nice thing about the | Continued on page 32
31
Continued from page 31 |
Gelbvieh breed is that a person can always improve and select these cattle to fit your area. “Even though we have registered cows we also cross them with Angus and can produce registered offspring (Balancers) and adjust the breed to fit any climate. This is something we’ve appreciated with this breed,” she says. The ranch raises registered Angus, Gelbvieh and Balancers and the commercial herd consists of several breeds and crosses. “We chose registered Gelbvieh cattle for their docility, growth, feed efficiency, maternal traits
1ST SPECIAL
and muscle. We chose registered Black Angus for tenderness, growth, maternal traits and color. When we cross these two breeds and register the calves we create a Balancer, and those are some of our favorite calves,” says Dawn. This is a really good cross and the females make excellent cows. The NN Bar Ranch goal is to provide high quality pasture-to-plate genetics at an affordable price to ranchers. “Our cattle are raised in rough country with no pampering from birth to weaning. They learn to fend for themselves and how to travel to water
2 ND SPECIAL
Monday, May 22nd, 2017 Monday, June 19th, 2017
* Lunch provided for all consigners, buyers and families
Expecting a Large Number of Quality Feeders (559) 674-4674 Madera, California WWW.PRODUCERSLIVESTOCK.COM 32
and food. The terrain is scab rock and sagebrush with a few meadows, and the temperature in summer is hot and dry. Our commercial cattle graze on the mountain during summer months, and we have a two-week roundup every fall,” she says. “Our bulls are bred to produce easy calving and fast growth with great eye appeal. We breed for moderate frame and the ability to do well in any environment. We believe in always trying to improve on the quality of our genetics to satisfy the changing needs of our customers and the industry. We have embryos available from some of our top females and some of the industry’s best sires. We’ve raised some amazing bulls and collected semen from some of them. We’ve also taken our bulls to shows, and to the Red Bluff show and sale and have done very well there with our bulls,” Dawn says. “We sell 40 to 60 bulls each year by private treaty and deliver them; we travel all over, delivering bulls, which is fun.” It’s been a great adventure and she enjoys getting to know her customers. “I do a buy-back program for most of my bull clients. If they buy a bull from me and bring him back by the time he is three years old, in sound breeding condition, I swap that bull for their choice of a bull calf. That way we can also make sure that they get a new bloodline, and they can keep improving their herd. I am a genetics nerd; I enjoy helping people when they give me a chance to play with the genetics in their herd. That’s my passion,” she says. The cows calve in January even though it’s the middle of winter. “We have to do this because that’s the only time the cows are home from the mountains, and also we need the bull calves born early, to be old enough to sell as yearlings when people want bulls,” she explains. Dawn is also a law enforcement officer when she is not busy ranching and writing. “I started working off the ranch to pay for the high cost of health care, and this has also has been my offfarm job that I do so I can support my cow habit.”
APRIL 2017
809 N. Main • Colfax, WA 99111 (509) 397-4434 Cell: (509) 989-2855 Email: cartha@colfax.com
Trent Stewart Auctioneer
(541) 325-3662 tsauctions@gmail.com
WESTERN REGION FIELD REPRESENTATIVE AZ, CA, ID, NV, OR, UT, WA (208) 369-7425 mholt@hereford.org
ANGUS
Home of Quality Calving-Ease and Growth Bulls
Ron and Barbara Jones 685 King Ave. Ontario, OR 97914 541/889-4563
David & Jeanene Dal Porto 694 Bartlett Ct. • Brentwood, CA 94513
925/634-0933
2001 CBCIA Seedstock Producer of the Year
ANGUS
Ken & Sandy Coleman
Quality Angus Bulls & Females available at the Ranch Sires:
Consensus, Hoover Dam, Brilliance, Mytty in Focus, and New Design 878
7337 Northwest Ryegrass Rd.
Prineville, OR 97739 541/749-8986
33
The Home of Generations of National Champions st
Production Sale
1 Saturday in November
Salmon, ID 83467 Clyde Nelson 208/756-2454
Steve Herbst 208/756-4748
the
Beef Up The Range With
PROFITABLE WEIGH
is the SILLER WAY…
Use Siller Profitable Weigh ANGUS BULLS
WENDELL STARKE, CURTIS GAY & FAMILY
www.pristinespringsangus.com
619 East 400 South • Jerome, Idaho 83338 (208) 308-8220
pristinespringsangus@yahoo.com
Steve Smith
Brian & Joan, Managers “Angus Cattle With Practical Balanced Genetics”
3623 W. King Road Kuna, ID 83634 (208) 465-4516 (208) 899-0530
Bulls, Project Calves and Females Available
Kay Siller 1453 Bogue Road Yuba City, CA 95993 530/674-7136 • 530/755-7357 kzangus@neteze.com
ANGUS BULLS
Angus & Gelbvieh November 18, 2017 Producers Livestock Auction Jerome, Idaho
Performance bred bulls and heifers at reasonable prices. Call Steve 801/768-8388 cell 801/368-4510 or stop by 9200 W., 8570 N., Lehi, UT 84043
Tehama Angus Ranch “Generations of Performance” 23820 Tehama Ave. • Gerber, CA 96035 Ranch: 530-385-1570 • Kevin: 530-624-6564 Mike: 530-736-3428 • Bryce: 530-526-9404 • Bill: 530-384-2788 tehamaranch@gmail.com • www.tehamaangus.com
RED ANGUS
Double Eagle Ranch The finest in Red Angus genetics.
Jim Coleman, Owner Doug Worthington, Manager 2702 Scenic Bend • Modesto, CA 95355 209/521-0537 • www.vintageangusranch.com
34
Brown Alliance X7795 Reg# 1384813 Doug, Betty, Dave Dunn
9695 Lowerbridge Way Terrebonne, OR
541-923-1705 doubleeagle@uci.net
TLC Angus
Willis & Cindy Kinder • Laura Hooper • Roderick Atwood 2225 S. 1200 E., Bliss, ID 83314 • 208.358.2322 Email: tlcangus@hotmail.com
Sugar Top
Doug, Jackie & Jake Kohntopp 1078 Hwy 25, Jerome, ID 83338 • 208.324.5342 Email: j.kohntopp@yahoo.com
LOWLINE
BR ANGUS
CHAROL AIS
Romans Brangus Registered Brangus Bulls and Females Greg Romans Cell: (541) 212-1790 Vale, OR • 541/473-3822
Production Sale March 14th, 2017
Bulls with Beef.
Bulls available at the ranch Carolyn Belden 1483 Lone Tree Rd. Oroville, CA 95695 530-534-0585
120 Bulls • Westfall, Oregon Ask us about our Bull Buyer Incentive Program with Agri Beef
Bill & Cindy Romans 541-358-2921 Jeff & Julie Romans 541-358-2905
www.romanscharolais.com
MULTI BREEDERS
hereford
Annual Bull Sale
February 11th, 2017 Composite Bulls Make Optimizing Heterosis Easy
Mike, Margo & Crystal Alley Steve & Katey Farley
Jarred Patterson: 208-312-2386 Bob Coker: 916-539-1987 • Office: 775-782-3336 640 Genoa Lane • Minden, NV 89423 www.genoalivestock.com
87925 SW Green Dr., Culver, OR 97734 mike@barckcattle.com • www.barckcattle.com
HEREFORD
GELBVIEH
541-948-3521
Angus • Sim-Angus • Gelbvieh-Angus Composite Cattle Available Tom Price 541-969-8970 43215 Old Wingville Road, Baker City, OR 97814 Email: interwest@wtechlink.us FENCING
Top Quality Hereford Bulls for Sale at Leading Sales and Private Treaty
Carl, Susan & Tracy (530) 846-4354
Steven, Amanda & Joseph (530) 864-2855
P.O. Box 391 • Gridley, CA 95948 e-mail: ricencows@schohr.com www.schohrherefords.com
AUC TION YARD
Competitive Livestock Marketing Weekly Auction Schedule Monday – Beef Wednesday - Dairy Friday - Small Animals
Miguel A. Machado President 25525 E. Lone Tree Road • Escalon, CA 95320 Office: (209) 838-7011 • Fax (209) 838-1535 Cellular (209) 595-2014
Representatives
JAKE PARNELL........................... (916) 662-1298 GEORGE GOOKIN....................... (209) 482-1648 MARK FISHER............................. (209) 768-6522 REX WHITTLE.............................. (209) 996-6994 JOE GATES.................................. (707) 694-3063 ABLE JIMENEZ............................ (209) 401-2515 JASON DAILEY............................ (916) 439-7761 12495 STOCKTON BLVD., GALT, CA 95632 (209) 745-1515 Office • (209) 745-1582 Fax Web: www.clmgalt.com
35
INSUR ANCE
FEEDLOT Customized Feeding Experience Management Modern Facilities • Great Location Satisfied Customers
Snyder Livestock Company, Inc.
Livestock Mortality Insurance
Put your trust in this Emblem.
Your American Livestock Insurance Company
Lucy Rechel • Eddie Snyder P.O. Box 550 • Yerington, NV 89447 Office (775) 463-2677 Home (775) 463-4924 Fax (775) 463-4319 Web Site: www.slcnv.com
SHERRY DANEKAS
530-668-1224 SUPPLY
SEMEN
1 800-207-3115 KLP2@charter.net
SORTING FLAGS
SORTING POLES
(flexible style) 52-inch & 60-inch: $10.25 & $10.75 With print add $1.00 each
$5.20 each per 100 for the 4 1/2 ft. golf grip pole with 8-inch decal. 9 colors to choose from.
Semen & Embryo Sales • AI & ET Equipment Sales • AI Consulting AI/Palpation Clinics • Professional Exporting • Semen & Embryo Warehousing
SORTING PADDLES With print from $8.50 - $10.00.
• info@bovine-elite.com SEMEN STOR AGE
Universal Semen Sales, Inc.
Convenient custom collection in the stud or at the ranch. Certified semen service Approved lab providing semen eligible for domestic or foreign markets. Secure and sheltered sire housing and collection facilities.
Logan • Semen, Storage and shipping • Liquid Nitrogen, tanks and A.I. supplies available • Semen marketing assistance through Hoffman A.I. Breeders sire directory
Doug Coombs 435/245-4325
1950 S. Hwy. 89-91 Logan, UT 84321
• • • • • •
Co mpl e te B re e d L i st i ngs & Pri c e s Onl i ne E PD C o m pa ri so ns by B re e d CI DR’s & Su ppl i e s Synchro n i z e d B re e di ng S e r v i c e s Se me n Ta n k s & S t o ra ge A.I . Ce rti fi ca t e s
To Order A Sire Directory, Call: 1-800-227-8774 • 406-453-0374 OR view our Complete Catalog Online!
435/753-7883 (phone) • 435/753-2951(fax) hoffmanaibreeders@gmail.com
www.universalsemensales.com
5 J Angus......................................................33 American-International Charolais Rep.......17 Aurelia Charolais...........................................2 BAR CK Cattle Co.......................................35 Bianchi Cattle Co.........................................17 Billings Livestock Commission....................22 Bovine Elite..................................................36 Broken Box Ranch......................................17 Buchanan Angus..........................................33 Calif. Angus Breeders Female Sale........20, 32 California Charolais Breeders.....................17 Cattlemen’s Livestock Market...........7, 19, 35 Cattle Visions...............................................13 Central Oregon Livestock...........................21 Crystalyx......................................................29
CSU Fresno Ag Foundation........................17 Dal Porto Livestock......................................33 DAR J EZ Weigh..........................................23 Dos Palos Y............................................19, 23 Double Eagle Ranch....................................34 Escalon Livestock Market......................19, 35 Fallon Livestock.....................................22, 35 Farmer’s Livestock.................................13, 20 Genoa Livestock...........................................35 Headwaters Livestock..................................22 Hoffman Breeders.......................................36 Intermountain Livestock Commission........21 James F. Bessler...........................................36 Jorgensen Charolais.....................................17 KC Angus.....................................................33
36
James F Bessler Inc Livestock Mortalit y Insurance
321 Brownstone Dr. St. Charles, IL 60174-2843 630/945.3483 Office 815/762.2641 Cell 630/945.3584 Fax jim@jamesfbessler.com www.jamesfbessler.com Kent Larson.................................................13 KERNDT Livestock Products......................36 Kessler Angus..............................................33 Klamath Livestock Market..........................21 Lebanon Livestock Commission..................21 Lewis Livestock............................................33 Livestock Mortality Insurance.....................36 Lone Mountain Ranch..................................3 Multimin........................................................9 Nelson Angus Ranch...................................34 Newman Stockyards....................................20 Nicholas Livestock Co..................................17 Norbrook...............................................16, 17 Northwest Breeders Female Sale................40 Northwest Livestock Commission...............21 Passion For Prime..........................................6 Pedleton Cattle Barons................................31 Pheasant Trek..............................................34 Prestige Angus.............................................34 Price Cattle Co.............................................35 Pristine Springs Angus................................34 Producers Livestock, Jerome.......................23 Producers Livestock, Madera................20, 32 Producers Livestock, Salt Lake...................23 Producers Livestock, Vale............................21 Public Auction Yards....................................22 Rancher Lives Matter..................................18 Red Angus Association...................................9 Reis Livestock..............................................17 Reynolds Brothers.......................................34 Romans Brangus.........................................35 Romans Ranches Charolais.........................35 San Juan Ranch...........................................35 Scales Northwest..........................................27 Schohr Herefords........................................35 Shasta Livestock...........................................20 Siller Ponderosa Angus................................34 Snyder Livestock Co....................................36 Southwest Fence & Supply..........................35 Steve Smith Angus & Gelbvieh....................34 Tehama Angus Ranch..................................34 TLC - Sugar Top Bull Sale..........................34 Toppenish Livestock Commission...............22 Turlock Livestock Auction Yard..............2, 20 Twin Falls Livestock Commission................23 Universal Semen Sales.................................36 Western Cowman.........................................39 Western Cowman Photo Contest.................27 Western Stockmans Market.........................20 Woodburn Livestock Exchange...................22 Wyman Creek Brangus................................35 Vintage Angus Ranch..................................34
The Angus Sale of
California
Saturday, May 13th, 2017 Escalon Livestock Market Escalon, California
Females, Embryos & Semen Many Great Programs
Bringing
The Best of Their Program all in One Location 37
38
Celebrate
Big Bull 7 1 0 2 k o Bo
with us ReseRve youR space in ouR special 20th yeaR anniveRsaRy issue, the July/august Big Bull Book! 39
PRST STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Tucson, AZ Permit No. 271
c/o James Danekas & Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 8629 Woodland, CA 95776
F E M A L E S A L E Selling All Breeds
The Voice of eVery GeneraTion of The WesTern caTTleman
celebraTinG 20 years of The WesTern represenTinG th Sunday, May 7 , 2017 at 1:00 P.M. caTTle indusTry. Central Oregon Livestock Auction • Madras, OR
WiTh an enhanced readership, We can TarGeT The audience ThaT makes up This GreaT Way of life.
PROMOTION • INDUSTRY ISSUES • RANCH WORTHY EDITORIAL
The
T he Sale W C m esTern
oWman
of The
Spring F r
agazine...BroughT To you By
530-668-1224
www.westernCowman.Com 40
Just an example of the exciting females selling this spring!
elloW
www.jdaonline.com
anChers