Rich grew up on a dairy farm. He said when he transitioned to beef cattle he discovered that if he did exactly the opposite of what he THOUGHT he should do (as a dairy farmer) that would be the correct thing to do for his beef cattle. He said it took him about two years to figure that out - and apparently he has figured it out pretty well, judging by the look of his cattle. Nice!
Rich also is a good spokesman for agriculture overall. He allows ATVs to park on his land to ride nearby trails. He has TV stations that often use his cattle and farm for stories about beef. He has a nature trail that he opens to the public - no fee, just donations. His latest venture will be a dude ranch of sort - sans the horses. He will allow city slickers to come and work on his farm - drive a tractor, haul hay, build a fence - you get the picture. And yes, he's familiar with Tom Sawyer and even mentioned that in his talk. But, in addition to getting some help on the farm, he's building an important relationship with members of the non-farming public. Smart logic, if you ask me.
The next tour stop was Fleur-De-Lis Farm, a registered black angus farm in Seneca Falls, NY steeped deep in history and filled with beautiful black cows. The farm is run by Robert Groom who likes black Angus but openly appreciates all breeds of cattle - he even owns a couple of Herefords. The owner Rita Partee was so gracious. She prepared a barbecue beef lunch that was delicious, but before that we snacked on local cheese (a scrumptious sharp, white cheddar) and beef sausage made from beef grown there on the farm. A fun story the owners shared was that the Amish young men from the area will go into town, rent a tv and then party in the nearby woods with the local girls from town on the weekends. Apparently, it's a common occurrence and one that is fairly well tolerated by the locals. Who knew the Amish liked to party?
It's a little after 2 p.m. and we just finished a tour of the brand new Lake View Cattle Co. facility owned by the Cayuga Indians, in Seneca Falls, NY. The tribe has just purchased land in this area that was once tribal land. The previous owners ran a dairy there years ago but until the tribe purchased it (or repurchased it, whichever is correct) it was pretty much grown up in weeds. Brian, the farm manager and herdsman, is a local fella who in his own words "has the best job in the world." The tour participants were all envious that all the farm's equipment is brand spanking new and the tribe has purchased some of the best genetics in the world. The farm raises registered black Angus cattle and in addition to a holding barn that rivals just about any facility any where I've been, it has a top-notch medical barn with handling facilities and office space - again, all new. The manager said we were the first guests ever at the ranch.
Our final stop of the day was at a small feedlot owned by Ed Primrose and Matt Slegel of Conquest, NY. Currently, They run about 550 calves through the lot, but can hold more than 900. There is an expansion underway that will increase the one-time feeding capacity to more than 1,400 head. However, with the current number of cattle, the feedlot is classified as a small CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation). The expansion will move it to a large CAFO classification, but the owners say they aren't worried and the fees aren't that much more here in New York.
As for the cattle purchased for the feedlot, crossbred cattle with black hides are preferred. Not to offend any seed stock farmers, Ed said, "but the last thing I want here is purebred cattle. They just don't perform as well."
Most of the cattle are purchased in small lots - usually 10-15 head at the time - sometimes less, from individual farmers. That's a far cry from the tractor trailer load lots that most feed yards prefer (usually 60 head at the time), but this works for him and his young partner, Matt, pretty well apparently.
It's shortly before 4 and our ever-faithful bus driver, Augie, has us headed back to the Double Tree Hotel in Rochester. Winds have kicked up and it's a less than smooth ride. But we have a pit stop planned for the big rest area/store we saw yesterday. They sell sweat shirts there - the weatherman says we'll be needing them tomorrow! Today's high was 83 - warmer than I thought it would be. But tomorrow, the forecast is for a high of 69 and a low of 47! Thursday is predicted to be even colder - a high of 58 and a low of 42! Fall weather - hooray!!! Real Fall Weather!
No comments:
Post a Comment