Jerry Crownover – Things are coming up a little short

from OFN March 8, 2021

Julie Turner-Crawford – Thank you, farmers

just a thoughtWhat’s On Your Mind, Ozarks?

Life Is Simple By Jerry Crownover Life is Simple By Jerry CrownoverAbout three years ago, I switched the breed of bulls that I use on my cow herd. My cows, even though they are various colors, are all “English” breeds, and I had been using a different English breed bull on them for the past 20 years.

One of my neighbors across the road raises purebred cat- Jerry Crownover farms tle that are Brahman influenced, and I was envious of how in Lawrence County. He they seemed to outperform my calves, so I switched. is a former professor of

My cattle auction field man warned me that I might have Agriculture Education at to take $2 or $3 per hundredweight less for them, when it Missouri State University, came time to sell the calves because their buyers were a lit- and is an author and tle reluctant to bid up the calves that showed a “little ear.” professional speaker. He was right on the price discount, but I’m sure I more To contact Jerry, go to than made up for the slightly lower price with the signifi- ozarksfn.com and click cant increase in pounds marketed from the heavier calves. on ‘Contact Us.’

I’ve always started my spring calving around Feb. 1, and nine years out of 10, I’m glad that I did because normal years allow me to avoid the bitter cold of January and the sloppy mud of late March and April. Alas, not this year. I don’t have to tell any cattleman in the Midwest how awful the weather has been for calving through the entire month of February – with lows below zero and highs in the single digits for what seemed like an eternity.

Tagging the newborns was easier than most years, with neither the calves, nor their mommas, moving too quickly, to avoid the procedure. On those frigid mornings, however, I noticed that most of the calves I was grabbing needed tagging a little closer to their heads than I usually do, because the tips of their long ears were a little (or sometimes, a lot) frostbitten. From experience, I know those frozen ear tips will likely slough off, when normal weather resumes.

A group of cattlemen gathered at the local feed store last week, and we were all bemoaning the trials and tribulations experienced in this extended period of snow and freezing weather. Some were telling of all the baby calves that were scattered around the insides of their homes,

— Continued on Page 5

32ND EDITION PRODUCTION SALE

Offering 60 Bulls

50 Charolais • 10 Fullblood Akaushi

Fullblood Akaushi Bred Heifers & Embryos F1 Heifers & Steers Commercial Cows Bred Akaushi Depend on ACE Genetics • Satisfaction Guaranteed

Saturday, March 20, 2021 1 p.m. Central At the Ranch • Carthage, Mo.

Visit our website for video’s and sale catalog.

LIVE INTERNET BIDDING AT: www.cowbuyer.com

Larry & Peggy Aschermann Carthage, Missouri (417) 793-2855 cell • (417) 358-7879 e-mail: hayhook@gmail.com www.aschermanncharolais.com

Come see us at

PO Box 1319, Lebanon, MO 65536 Toll Free: 1-866-532-1960

417-532-1960 • Fax: 417-532-4721 E-mail: editor@ozarksfn.com Eric Tietze

President/Publisher Pete Boaz

Vice President Administrative

Amanda Newell, Marketing Manager Eric Tietze, Accounting Advertising

Amanda Newell, Display & Production Sales Amanda Newell, Classified Sales Circulation Eric Tietze, Circulation Editorial Julie Turner-Crawford, Managing Editor Jerry Crownover, Columnist

Frank Farmer, Editorial Page Editor Emeritus

Production

Amanda Newell, Production

Contributors

Brenda Brinkley, Rachel Harper, Patricia Kilson, Jaynie Kinnie-Hout, Cheryl Kepes, Taylor Short and Abby Wendel

About the Cover

The Shortt family raise have a commercial cattle and farm-to-plate beef business in Douglas County, Mo. Read more on page 15.

Photo courtesy of the Shortt family

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor accepts story suggestions from readers. Story information appears as gathered from interviewees. Ozarks Farm & Neighbor assumes no responsibility for the credibility of statements made by interviewees. © Copyright Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, Inc., 2020. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.