North Star Classic - Valley City, ND

It was nice to be back in North Dakota. A little snow on the way in but decent weather and not so bad temps make our first trip to the classic really fun. I caved in at the club calf sale and T ended up with a steer that is a Jake's Proud Jazz times Sunseeker. He's pretty cool and thanks to the Hawkin's crew and Mark Purferst for the help!!

2010 Minnesota Beef Expo - St Paul, MN

We had many firsts at the 2010 beef expo. It was the FIRST time Tiana has shown at more than the county fair! She did fine and was called back for showmanship! It was also the first time in a few years we haven't sold cattle on the sale, look for that to change in 2011. We also spent the weekend staying in the camper which lucky for us, has an excellent heater!! T and I are off to the North Star Classic this weekend in Valley City, ND. Look for pics from that event.

The heifer pictured is out of Shadybrook Scotty and a Jake's Proud Jazz mamma, raised by us and will be on the show circuit all summer.

Pork Update:
I still have a couple of pigs for sale for late February at Greg's Meats in Hampton, MN. Send me an e-mail if you are interested.

New Pork Options. . .

We have recently learned Lorentz Processing of Cannon Falls, Minnesota will no longer be in the custom hog processing business. We have decided to go with another local favorite just south of the farm:

They are a local business located just East of Northfield and provide an excellent variety of sausagess and cuts along with the option of processing pigs for hog roasts. Please feel free to contact them with any questions and I also have a cut-sheet I can e-mail out upon request.

At the moment with will continue to work with Lorentz's for our custom beef needs.

Updates...

We are approaching half done with the 2010 corn harvest. The soybeans yielded like crazy with one variety going 66 bu!! We started breeding for Feb. litters with the sow herd and are about ready to wean calves except for the fact its too nice to see them out with the cows on cornstalks getting fat and not putting a lot in them. The Fall cow herd is coming in a little slower than expected with three of the five and one that's not in is the only first calf heifer of the bunch.

I still have calves for sale as well as a nice set of bred heifers I will be getting some photo's of once they are out on stalks. We will also be making the trip to the State Fairgrounds and the Mn Beef Expo where T is showing her Shadybrook Scotty heifer and a home raised steer out of the 707T bull.

Ed

Our new show pig sire

Introducing BRW INTIMIDATOR 2-11.....

BRW Intimidator 2-11 Is a February born son of Cain's Intimindator times a sow by Cain's Playin 4 Keeps (PB Hampshire) Who's mother is out of a Alias 27-1 (SGI) times Yorkshire sow. He's a very wide based boar with tremendous shape and power. Pictured here at 7 months of age with no paylean. We purchased him from Ried Wildung, BRW Purebreds. We will use him to sire our spring born litters and are very excited to make more blue butt and belted show pigs. Feel free to visit Cain Farms's web site for more pics of the sire and maternal grand sire.

Cain's Intimidator

Cain's Playin 4 Keeps

Minnesota State Fair

Kristen Harrington showed a gilt we sold her this spring in the February crossbred gilt division at the 2010 Minnesota State Fair 4-H swine show. She looked good in the ring and ended up placing tenth in her class. We retained a full sister (Olsen's Onyx times Lumberyard, pb yorkshire, sow) to be bred to our new boar for a spring litter. Congratulations!!

Counry Fair Updates...

While I am working on the photos taken at county fairs this summer, I do have some results.

Dakota County Fair

Hannah Neil showed the Grand Champion 4-H Breeding Gilt. Alex and Brandon Ratzloff, Jackson Neil and Tiana all recieved blue ribbons with Jackson being third in the Market Gilt State Fair line-up.

Tiana also exhibited the Reserve Champion Prospect calf a the Dakota Co. 4-H beef show with a purebred Shorthorn heifer calf raised at the Barrett Stock Farm.

Clay County Fair

Christine Harrington campaigned the Grand Champion 4-H Breeding Gilt at the 2010 Clay County fair and was awarded with a trip to the Minnesota State Fair. She was 10th in her class at the state fair in a very tough crossbred breeding gilt show.

Beltrami County Fair

Colt Johnson showed the heifer he purchased from the farm in the 2009 Minnesota Beef Expo Sale. He exhibited her with some success at the Akin County Fair and his home fair in Beltrami County located in Bemidji where he was named intermediate showmanship champion.

Here are a few photos of Colt courtesy of his family....

2010 calves continued....

Another 707T out of a heifer I bought from Sharon Moore in Montana
707T out of a Gold Eagle cow I bought from Shadybrook Farm in Canada.

It sounds like a broken record but another 707T this time back to a Haumont bred cow. Her mother has never missed.

RB Eagle 255 back to a Powerstroke mamma. Haven't ever had a bad one out of this cow and she sure has done well with this gal.

Here's the heifer bull we have been waiting for... He's out of our calving ease bull Absolute Power out of an Absolute Power first calf heifer. The grandam is a Haumont female that is already line bred. Lots of predictability here and a look to match.

Another look at the bull calf!

2010 Calves

Jake's Proud Jazz Steer with Byland Dazzler Mamma

707T steer out of ADS Lusture


707T bull out of a Powerstroke Cow. Possible Mn State Sale entry. Red, polled and a meatwagon...

707T heifer calf out of a Ultra 49J daughter. Lots of roan and look.

Sold to Colt Johnson, Thanks Colt!

707T heifer out of a Deerhorn bred Mamma. Lots of solid red hefer calves with the same look as this gal.

Absolute Power out of a Haumont cow from Broken Bow NE. This is what we have been working towards. Lots of rib, growth and a cool look. Out of a young cow with a bright future.




I will be posting more pics as the weather (and my camera) allow. Please refer to the Sires page to take a look at 707T and Absolute Power.

Tiana's pig purchase!

We wanted to add some different genetics to our small swine herd and Tiana wanted to get into the 'ownership' role with her barrow money from last year. We were able to buy two crossbred gilts from the Rozeboom Family from Roberts, Wisconsin. The gilts are out of a purebred Hampshire sow and a cross boar who is a son of Alien Nation from Lean Value called Alien Nation 12-2 who is housed at North Iowa Boar Stud. They really look like breeding pieces for making barrows and T is super excited to show some belted "oreo" pigs as she calls them. Thanks Kyle!!

Tiana and the pigs.....

T sealing the deal with Owen Rozeboom.

Cattle Pictures

Well one may think this is just a hog farm from the posts so here's some pics throughout the past couple of years. The Shorthorn herd started with showing a few steers back in the day and then falling in love with the breed. We started in 1992 with a couple of older cows and started a herd. We will calve in 40 cows this spring with 6 more cows due for Fall calving. Once we hit grass later this month I will post some baby calf pics.

The white bred heifer is by Saskvalley Pioneer 126p and sold on the Minnesota State Shorthorn Sale to Jeff Stangland.


This is a 2009 steer by Jake's Proud Jazz times Byland Dazzler that we sold to Jake and Jenny Werner.



The roan heifer calf is also by Jake's Proud Jazz times RB Eagle 255. She sold to Colt Johnson at the 2009 Minnesota Beef Expo. Good luck showing her Colt!

Thank you Harringtons!!

We recently sold our first show pigs! Here are a barrow and a gilt by Olsen's Onyx and a white barrow out of our York boar and an Olsen's Superman female we call Charlottle!

Good Luck Kristen!