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!