MARCH, 2022 | VOL.37
INTERNATIONAL TEXAS LONGHORN ASSOCIATION
THE LONGHORN DROVER
WHAT'S INSIDE THIS ISSUE: MARKETING YOUR ANIMAL FROM HOOVES TO HORN
Marketing Issue
WE’VE GOT MAIL TAKE A PEEK! I CAN’T BELIEVE THE SPEEDY RESPONSE YOU ALL HAVE GIVEN IN REFERENCE TO THE 11 HEAD OF HEIFERS I REGISTERED ONLINE. I WAS TOTALLY AMAZED. I HAVE 2 IN AN UPCOMING FUTURITY AND REALLY NEEDED PROOF THAT THEY WERE REGISTERED. THANK YOU AND GREAT JOB MIKE METCALFE
WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE SAYING Holy Cow! This version of The Drover is awesome! Kyla knocked it out of the park! I have vision issues due to diabetes and reading online is usually frustrating for me. I'm sure we have lots of members who have similar issues. This updated version of The Drover was easy to see, read, and follow. I didn't become fatigued while reading and could actually read the entire issue in one sitting. I appreciate the improvements. Russ Thompson
Registration Tips!
By- Sabrina Maricle ITLA Officer Administrator
I hope everyone is gearing up for warmer weather and longer days, here in the ITLA office we are busy gearing up for cattle sales and shows, while welcoming many new members to our organization. With so many new members and registrations of cattle, I would like to remind our members of the top forgotten items that can delay your registration process. The number one forgotten item on registrations is the brand id number, also known as the individual ID number, and the location. The brand id number, location, brand, and brand location are required to register your animal with ITLA. If you do not have a brand on file, you can email your name and brand to staff@itla.com and we will update your file for you. One of our goals in providing excellent service customer to our members, is to have our members certificates out within ten days of being received. To maintain this goal, it is vital that we have all required information when receiving a registration request, that includes what is mentioned above and a valid address. If you have not received your certificates or membership packet within ten days state side, please call the office, as there is something holding your registration from being processed and we have been trying to contact you. I would also like to invite anyone that has not used our i-register system to register or transfer your animals to do so. If you have questions or need assistance in learning the system, email or call the office to set up a time to walk through the system. Our office hours are 8am-5pm CST M-F, and we take lunch from 12pm-1pm each day. As another reminder, when registering cattle of either sex 15 months and older, our fee is only $25.00! What a deal! Get those older cattle registered to join in on the fun of shows and futurities.
Margaret Borland By- Sabrina Maricle ITLA Office Admininstrator
In
Ce om leb en ra t M ’s H ion on is th to of ry
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Margaret Borland threw herself into the role of sole owner and manager of the ranch she and her husband owned after her husband’s death in 1867 from yellow fever, which also took four of her children and a grandchild. Margaret hired more hands to do the physical labor of the ranch, while she threw herself into the cattle business, buying and selling livestock, and increasing her herd to 10,000 head. That same year Margaret paid the U.S. government $9.17 to become a licensed butcher in Victoria. Can you believe the license only cost $9.17? Margaret’s accomplishments are substantial, one of those accomplishments being the first female trail boss in 1873 when she drove 1,000 head of Texas Longhorn up the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Kansas with four children by her side. Although there are four women that have been designated “Cattle Queens”, Margert is believed to be the only woman to run her own drive. It took two months for Margert to reach her destination with half wild Texas Longhorn cattle, children, and many obstacles. Once landing in Wichita, the Wichita Beacon stated: “Mrs. T.M. Borland of Texas, with three children, is stopping at the Planter house. She is the happy possessor of about one thousand head of cattle and accompanied the herd all the way from its starting point to this place, giving evidence of a pluck and business tact far superior to many of the “lords.” Unfortunately, one month after her arrival, Margert became ill with what was known as “Trail fever” and passed away on July 5th, 1873, leaving no details of the trip or her life.
MARKETING TEXAS LONGHORN BEEF
Speaking about Texas Longhorn healthy beef at Rotary and Chamber meetings has multiple good things that can happen to increase sales
This is a subject that is easy, but a huge topic to nail down in one article. Several years ago I did a series of articles for Texas Longhorn Beef as a Business. It involved raising the right kind of cattle (thick ones) for beef, things to do when starting a beef business, marketing retail, inventory selection for process cattle, and the many profitable byproducts with this horned breed.
MARKETING TEXAS LONGHORN BEEF Written by Darol Dickinson
With only marketing as a topic we will divide that in two parts that are believed most profitable when starting a new business or growing a business. The easy part is that every intelligent person likes and consumes a lot of lean beef over the years. They are going to buy it somewhere. We have to make that "somewhere" us, with healthy Texas Longhorn beef. WHAT WON'T WORK: This is a heart breaking list. I realized that the jails, public schools, rehab facilities, old folks homes, hospitals and Meals On Wheels prepare more food than all the restaurants in any area. In my county over 10,000 meals every day are produced by these providers. I quickly hit these places and one by one they were not interested. The county jail that used to prepare their own meals with free labor, now order in a weeks supply of prepared frozen meals. All they do is heat and serve. The public schools are some of the worst at serving the lowest quality meats and cheap carbs to precious growing kids. Hospitals act as if all their guests want is jello, and potatoes.
MARKETING TEXAS LONGHORN BEEF When you are in a hospital and your grandma
If you live in a rural area join the Chamber of
doesn't eat her food, taste the meat -- right there
Commerce in the largest city around -- or several
you will see why she didn't eat it. A high percent of
cities. Attend meetings and speak up about your
the beef provided for these facilities is imported
product. You will get strong support as a Chamber
from countries of Africa, Brazil and even Scotland.
member. They will buy product from chamber
It is not inspected in the country of origin and
members quicker than non members. At a farmers
arrives frozen at the Port of Baltimore available
market there may be a half dozen others selling beef,
for food wholesalers at under $2 per lb.
but you will be the only chamber member wearing a
Another thing that won't work is small framed,
western hat, peddling beef at the down town
fine boned cattle. They are like squirrels -- it takes
chamber monthly meeting. (Don't wear a free farmer
more time to find
seed cap, wear a big western hat -- the biggest hat
the meat than it does to eat it. Only the thicker
always wins.) Be the only hat in the building.
cattle are high profit.
Pass out post cards, you could even offer a gift certificate for a drawing during the meeting. Pass out
WHAT WILL WORK: Getting the message of great
nutritional info and a price list. Make sure info has
nutritious beef "personally" to groups of people
your name address, email and phone number. If one
works. The more the better. Speaking about Texas
of your clients is present, clue them in to stand up
Longhorn healthy beef at Rotary and Chamber
and make a testimonial about your "great" beef --
meetings has multiple good things that can
nothing is stronger than eye witness accounts.
happen
After the meeting you have a yellow tablet with
to increase sales. It is personal. Always good to
contacts. The more contacts, the more you will be
shake hands and meet people.
able to communicate with. In the next few days email
There are thousands of social organizations like
a short followup about their meeting. Invite them to
Rotary, Moose, Bears, Kiwanis, Lions, Elks, etc.
your store. Do it before they
Offer to be the special speaker and discuss the
forget who you are. Send emails with continued
many health benefits of Texas Longhorn beef.
information monthly, forever.
Rotary has weekly noon lunch meetings and need
WHAT WILL ALSO WORK: I know this is cheap. I know
new speakers for each week. (They get really tired
high class people like Texas Longhorn folks don't like
of politicians.) While making a sales presentation
to do these econo things. It looks low budget. It is low
hand out promotion materials, show a frozen
budget. Sometimes it is important that your clients
ground beef sample pack, and pass around your
know you are saving money so they benefit by getting
After a long drought,
the Oakwood Bearsto write down their yellow tablet for each person
a good deal. It is tear-off strip posters. You have all
finally won against thewill get a free name, address and e-mail. You
seen a simple sheet of paper posted at some public
meal, and the in giftaofthrilling a Rotary cup or ball point Hadlers
place saying puppies for sale, and there at the
pen. (Always act gracious to receive even your
bottom you can tear off a little strip with the name
twentieth Rotary pen as if it was the first and
and phone number to make contact.
basketball final.
best.)
MARKETING TEXAS LONGHORN BEEF
Tear-off strip promotion works for your kids start up lawn service, a kool-aid stand or a school fund-raiser car wash, if the kids do that any more. It works for beef sales. Tear-off strips work by the numbers. At LHTT
Feral Fred is showing our
we have found when 100 tear-off posters are
tear-off strip poster. Fred
up, it sells a half beef or more
is growing about 3 inches
per week. Bry and Kara hand them out when people are leaving church, hungry, headed to
a year and seldom takes time to chew Texas Longhorn beef -- he just
restaurants. Every buyer of beef
swallows. It is all he gets
in the LHTT store promises to post some
but he don't care.
tear-offs. Employees post them in car
Nutrition means nothing
dealerships, Rotary meeting rooms,
to Fred. The poster has 8
government schools, hospitals, and every place that is visual. To have 100 posted all over your distribution area is probably a
strips and data about nutrition and where to buy it.
cost of about $4 per hundred, just paper and printing.
WHAT WORKS AND DOESN'T WORK: Any
Bry Dickinson passing out tear off strip posters to church members as they leave the service. Each agrees to post in their work place.
positive promotion will work. The more types of promotion the better. The more Rotaries, tear-offs, post cards, etc, the better. WHAT WON'T WORK: Don't do anything -that will guarantee that you will not sell product. Co-op efforts seldom work. Co-ops are like communism. They are designed so another will do the work and someone will benefit without doing marketing. The energetic marketing person who does their own marketing always wins. That is a fact.
April 8-10, 2022 Hopkins County Civic Center Sulphur Springs, TX
ITLA’s 2nd Annual Lone Star Classic Judges Youth - Mark Oliver Non-Haltered - Connie Ollive Haltered - Russell Hooks Lone Star Classic Futurity A Futurity Money Earners Participant Judges Bill Henderson Rick Baldwin Joe Dowling
I tla’s New Marketing Platform “Amazing” stated Darol Dickinson when informed of the ITLA’s new marketing tool available to members.
To celebrate this marketing issue of the Longhorn Drover the ITLA is proud to unveil the “All Animals” division of iRegister that opens up an entire new and exciting avenue to market Longhorns. All Animals is located in iRegister on the new ITLA Web Site where over 300,000 Registered Longhorns can be searched to view photos, horn measurements, show winnings, registered offspring, weights, and DNA Data. Once inside your herd book, producers can continually upload photos, horn measurements, show winnings, animal weights, and DNA data which is then immediately viewable by everyone when visiting All Animals. When an animal is registered, it immediately populates in All Animals in the offspring section of the sire and dam.
I tla’s New Marketing Platform “Amazing” stated Darol Dickinson when informed of the ITLA’s new marketing tool available to members.
Selling a cow or bull? Buyers can view photos, horn measurements, show winnings, DNA Data, weights, and offspring all at one site. Selling semen or embryos? Potential customers can view all the data and every offspring at one site. The All Animals section of iRegister is a groundbreaking service that is included in your ITLA Membership with no limit on viewing time. Please contact the ITLA Office if you have any issues logging on to experience this exciting new venture that is only available in the ITLA.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING LONGHORNS When photographing yourselfWhen photographing livestock, particularly if the images you are shooting are for sales catalogs or auction brochures, it is important to show the animal in its natural state, without employing any artificial embellishments. Prospective buyers are entitled to view exactly what they are bidding on. This means you should resist the urge to augment livestock images with photo editing software. To ensure that you get quality livestock photos: · Grooming: Be sure the animal is clean and shiny. · Background: Avoid cluttered spaces that will distract the viewer's attention. Choose an open field as a backdrop rather than a dingy barn. · Position: The animal must be properly positioned and posed. Aim for a full side view, or a threequarters view, or both, with the animal looking alert and alive. The head should be positioned high, the stance should be solid, and the overall appearance should be healthy. Patience is Pivotal When it comes to shooting animals, patience is key. There is a very good chance that you will have to wait a long time in the right place to score a winning shot. Animals have a knack for being uncooperative in front of the camera. By remaining calm and creating a relaxing atmosphere for the animal, you increase your chances of walking away with great shots. Practice Makes Perfect Practice does make perfect, especially when shooting farm animals. Before your shoot, it's a good idea to get in a few practice sessions. Visit a farm, zoo or ranch and take some pictures of the livestock there. Study the animals' behavior, take notes, and apply what you learned to enhance your photo session. - Michele wanker photography.love to know.com
Tips & Tricks Continued Hiring a photographer1) Preparation: Making sure the animal looks its best. The camera will pick up any flaws in grooming and they will stand out like a sore thumb. Your animal must be healthy, vigorous-looking and "handsome," and must look characteristic of the breed. This means a lot of work on your part before taking the picture. If you will be photographing the animal in a field, make sure the grass is short enough to see its legs full-length, and that there are no bushes, even tiny ones, in front. Check for unwanted debris on the ground, and remove anything that is unsightly. (2) Posing: The animal must be positioned for photography in such a way that its best characteristics are shown, and that it looks alert, well-proportioned, and ideally flawless.
There is more to posing livestock than meets the eye. Check out pictures in agricultural magazines and breeding advertisements for similarities in the best-posed animal pictures, and attempt to copy them. You will find they were photographed from about the animal's shoulder height or slightly lower while the animal was positioned sideways or almost sideways to the camera. You will also note that the animals look calm and "dignified," with no wide-eyed appearance at all, but rather as if they were pleased or keen to be posing. They look alert and intelligent. If you have the animal posed with people near it, all the better. It suggests domesticity, docility, ease-ofhandling and gives a sense of scale. You do not want the animal to be looking at the camera. If its rear legs are positioned so that one is in front of the other, that is fine, but you generally want its front legs to be even, so that it appears content to remain where it is. The head should be up and attentive-looking, and the mouth closed. The animal should not look sleepy. The less leather and hardware on the animal, the better. A simple bridle is good, but if a nose ring is warranted, then include it in the picture. Honesty is essential. The pose should not be designed to conceal a flaw that would be obvious when simply observing the animal. (3) Photographic technique: You must consider the photography of cattle to be as serious and demanding as people portraiture if you expect to have quality results. This is not "snapshot" time. You must have good equipment. Your camera and lens should produce predictably-good results - sharp images that will make good prints. Shoot at the level of the animal - not from above. Use a portrait lens so that the animal's proportions appear normal, not exaggerated as they would with a wide-angle lens. Many of the techniques that apply to people portraiture should be applied to cattle photography for guaranteed success. Fill flash can be very effective when the animal is backlit by the sun. -photographing cattle photographytips.com
Tips & Tricks Continued Q WHAT TIME OF DAY IS BEST TO SHOOT? A The very simple answer to this is, anytime! Events happening in the early morning with the rising sun can be just as interesting as late-night shoots in the lambing shed, where the only available light is the glowing amber heat lamps. As well as varying light, the time of day can affect how shadows fall, so ensure your own shadow is not noticeable in your photographs. Overcast days are my favorite, as the sun is naturally diffused through the clouds. Very sunny days are a little more challenging and harsh light can cause glare. However, this doesn’t mean you should be afraid to shoot under strong light. Some of my most creative shots contain glare on the lens and I also like to use the strong angling light to naturally highlight and exaggerate parts of a scene.
Q WHAT CAMERA SHOULD I USE? A A photograph’s success should not be determined by how good your camera is. If you want to take photos of your cattle and you only have your smartphone, then that should be fine. Anything that has the capability of capturing an image, will be okay and I have numerous images on my website which were shot on my iPhone. Without getting too technical, I regularly shoot on a full-frame DSLR but most new digital cameras are of a decent quality. As a hobby, I like to shoot on 35mm film using a passed down film camera. As most farmers will know, technology is progressing all the time and photography is always advancing too. I find that it is sometimes nice to experiment with the old camera kits generations before us used. As a young photographer, who mainly works digitally with duplicate files, processing film is very different and I usually only have one copy of each photo on physical paper. Second-hand film cameras can be purchased online and pop up in charity shops for a very small cost. If using a manual camera is a little daunting, why not experiment with taking some images on a cheap throwaway camera?
Q HOW SHOULD I COMPOSE THE IMAGE? A Composition is one of the main aspects of taking a photograph. Where you stand, the angle of the camera, and the background of the image should all be considered. If you want to take a shot of your pedigree bull, for example, the angle of the shot will greatly affect how your livestock will appear on camera. Take the photo from a low angle, on the same level as your animal. Fill most of the frame with the bull and ensure it is looking forward, with its head up and ears forward. Pay close attention to the background of the photograph and ensure nothing is too distracting. Make sure nobody is standing in the shot or there is nothing too brightly colored to interfere with what you are capturing. Photographing subjects slightly off-center can also contribute to a more successful image. The benefit of digital shooting is that you can take multiple versions of a shot, without having to worry about using up expensive film. Experiment with a few angles, positions, and viewpoints and pick which photo you prefer afterward.
Q WHAT SHOULD I TAKE PICTURES OF? A If you look at my website (www.holliecrawshawphotography.co.uk) you will see I take photographs of a wide variety of agricultural topics. Included in this, I will shoot landscapes, portraits, close-ups of still life objects, and of course, livestock. Most of my work is typically described as documentary photography, telling a visual record of a farming story. Whatever it is you choose to photograph, it’s important that it interests you and tells the audience something about the subject.
Q HOW CAN I SHARE MY PHOTOS? A Like modern agriculture, there is a huge online community of photographers who share their work on social media. In particular, Instagram allows you to capture images on your phone and apply some post-production effects, before sharing them with the world! I follow many farmers on Instagram who upload some great images of their working day, cattle, and farming landscapes. Not only is it a good platform for professionals, but it is also great for beginners who want to start shooting farming photography easily, cheaply, and creatively!
“I shoot what I love. I want my work to reflect my passion and show non-farming people the agricultural industry through photography”. Hollie Crawshaw
-thatsfarming.com - by Catherina Cunnane
PRINT, COLOR, AND SUBMIT BACK FOR YOUR CHANCE TO BE FEATURED IN THE DROVER
“My Win” submitted by Micha Hamersky from Austria
214-500-0894 TTTLonghornTapeMeasure.com
Coming- March 2022
The APP is fascinating and easy to use. You can capture measurements in a split second from the safety of any environment. No stress on the animals, no accidental horn breakage, in the chute, great for auctions and pasture tours. Kurt Twining, Silver T Longhorns I’m thoroughly enjoying the APP. IT IS A GAME CHANGER FOR THE LONGHORN INDUSTRY! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! Sherese Glendenning , Glendenning Farms
Micha Hamersky
Laas 10/2 | 3650 Pöggstall | AUSTRIA
Raclette Burger
4 pcs 180g Texas Longhorn Patties 4 pcs burger buns 150 g red cabbage 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar 0.75 dl water 1.5 tsp cane sugar Salt Pepper 100 g flour 4 tsp paprika sweet 2 tsp salt 650 g onion, large, in rings Oil for frying
Red cabbage: Cut cabbage into fine strips. Put apple cider vinegar, water and sugar in a small pan. Add cabbage and simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Onions: mix flour, paprika and salt in a shallow bowl, turn onion in portions in it and fry one by one in a pan on the stove in plenty of oil over medium heat until golden brown. Keep the red cabbage and onion warm and fry/grill the patties. Melt the raclette cheese separately. Put the red cabbage on the bottom burger bun, then the pattie and then gleefully run the melted raclette cheese over it. Then add the fried onion and the top bun and then Taste explosion ;-) Post your pictures on Facebook with the link to Texas Longhorn Austria Good appetite #texaslonghornaustria
INTERNATIONAL NEWS CORRECTION THE JANUARY/FEBRUARY ISSUE OF THE LONGHORN DROVER LISTED KING NOEL AS THE FIRST BREEDING BULL IN EUROPE. WHILE KING NOEL WAS AN IMPORTANT EARLY BREEDER IN EUROPE, HOJER HORIZON 1 WAS BORN A FEW MONTHS PRIOR TO KING NOEL AND WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST BREEDING LONGHORN SIRE IN EUROPE. HOJER HORIZON 1, BORN MAY 13, 2004 IS OWNED BY WOLFGANG HAGENBERGER IN GERMANY AND IS OUT OF HEADLINER AND ZAZZLE BY SENATOR. WOLFGANG HAGENBERGER IS THE OWNER OF PULLMAN CITY HARTZ IN GERMANY THAT IS A TOWN THAT PUTS ON WESTERN SHOWS AND CATTLE DRIVES THAT HOJER HORIZON 1 STILL PARTICIPATES IN.