It was nice yesterday, but it got butt-ass cold today.  And still, NO moisture.  But, we live in NW OK, we only need to wait a day or two and the weather will change.  Maybe, not for the best, but it will swing the other way.

       It doesn’t matter if you are dealing with a school board, fair board, congress, or a stock show committee, there are always those that want things done a certain way, but they don’t want to take part, voice their opinion or take the grief for decisions made.  But, they always have comments to others after the fact.   I’ve never had this problem.  To a fault, I will sign my name to something that I think, say or feel that needs to be changed.  As a result, I have had names attributed to me, but that is fine.  I actually like people, I just get sick of dealing with them–some more than others.  Work, goats, home, it all adds up. It does give me comfort knowing that when I get sick of others, there are plenty more that have had enough of my crap.  It all evens out.

        Judges–I enjoy watching livestock judges.  I don’t necessarily like watching the shows, but I like watching judges and their tendencies.  Doesn’t matter what species is being judged, a good judge is a good judge.  And likewise, a bad one is a bad one.  I like, really like, a good set of reasons.  But what I really like is being able to look at the top 5 or so in a class, class after class and understand where a judge’s priorities lie.  That speaks volumes.  Actions speak louder than words.  This is also what normally signals a game of dirty pool.  When a judge is fairly consistent through numerous classes, breeds, divisions and then, hiccup, there comes one that doesn’t fit and it runs all the way to a purple banner.  I’m not referring to any show in particular, just the fact that there are times that make you go HHMM?!  That deal just didn’t fit.  However, I have witnessed judges, at numerous shows, that didn’t have any business judging period.  The ones that should have joined the band back in 5th grade instead of trying to learn to mark a 4-H judging card.  Sometimes, people accept a job that they aren’t prepared for and shouldn’t do, but pride gets the better of them.  I mean, I’ve been asked to judge rabbits and some pretty good sheep shows.  I could do them and probably talk my way through them, but I don’t need to do them.  There are better people than me to judge rabbits.  Too many, go ahead and take the job and they shouldn’t.  

     First, it is hard to get a good judge hired.  Pick a reason– Already hired somewhere else, other conflicts, deer season, football tickets, family matters, etc.  Sometimes, you just have to try a new one to see if it works or not.  Most of the time that you are listing judges to hire, you better make a list of 10.  It amazes me how many times the truly good judges of livestock are not used, because of a FEAR that they might be political or for that matter, but actually it is because their is a fear that they WON’T be political.  It all depends on who is calling the shots.  

     I wish there was a grading system for judges.  Referees & umpires get grades, scored and get to do bigger games as a result of grades that are done after the game is over.  Think about that.  Wouldn’t it be cool for a judge to have to justify themselves to a panel of their peers after the show is over.  I mean, you screwed up the Billings International Livestock Show.  You probably don’t need to be judging Houston this next year.  

     The other theory is to utilize the olympic style system–have 3 or more judges.  This won’t work at most shows because it is hard enough to get one competent judge hired.  But, it would work for a major.  When you have 3, it limits the political crap.  Any of us that grew up in the 80s or before, remember what it was like to see the scores from the USSR & communist block countries compared to the rest of the judges.  Political–yes, it was and they didn’t try to hide it.  

     I’ll tell you something that I have learned in the show (goat) business and every year it is continually reinforced.  Spend money on top shelf genetics.  Go ahead and spend more money on high quality feed and hay–it will pay off.  Always spend money on facilities–comfortable animals look better and therefore, sell better.  In the end, you will work harder and more productively when you like the looks of the animals on your own farm.  It won’t come easy and it won’t come quick.  Explore partnerships, AI, ET/Flushes, paying for help, etc. in order to find a way to maximize your genetics without getting too deep in debt.  This business is about money and you have to spend money in order to make money.  There are no shortcuts.  There are rewards–mentally and financially.  And always, let me reiterate this point, ALWAYS get a good picture–for your website, text sales, emails, magazines and facebook.  Because you don’t want to try to sell them without a picture.  

      Stay warm, keep the animals healthy, work hard & play hard.  Don’t pray for luck, work for it.  

Ooohh!! I just noticed that we have 950 some words tonight.  Do we try for a 1000?  Nope.  Today, is not the day to go for a 1000.  A picture is worth a 1000 words, not a blog.  

      Duke is trying to do a 7th grade science fair project.  We came up with some ideas and he chose to do a smell test.  Is it natural or is it artificial?  He gathered up 10 artifcial “smells” and then got 10 corresponding Natural smells of the same item. For example, item #5 was Garlic.  Both the real Garlic and the fake Garlic had a heckuva odor.  Item 10 was grape.  When I smell the sample 10, item B, I just want to drink some grape kool-aid.  

       There is nothing wrong with a science fair project.  It is actually pretty cool to have both parents involved.  There were “blind” tests given.  Actually, double blind.  We gathered Empircal data in a double blind format  The subjects just had to smell 2 samples and answer which was Natural and which was Artificial.  That’s it.  What’s wrong with this deal?   

  Duke, Tammy and I loaded up in a ’93 Chevy van and headed out to perform this experiment.  “Step inside this van and smell this.”  There are a lot of Law & Order SVU episodes that start with a van and a promise.  Proper temperature, mood lights, leather seats, etc.  The scary thing is that most of the victims (I mean subjects) readily agreed to get inside the side doors of the van and smell the aromas.  

      The thing that I noticed first was that there two schools of thought.  1–That smells stronger, that must be the natural one.  2–That smells stronger, that must be artificial. 

      The next thing that I noticed was that my sister-in-law, Jessica, was 10 for 10 and didn’t have to think about it.  She was dead on.  Her husband was also accurate, but he had to think about it.  The scary part was that Big Bill was pretty accurate and pretty decisive about what he smelled.  However, his offspring weren’t as good.  Duke did NOT use MANDY GREER as a subject.  Why?  Because she hasn’t smelled anything for more than a decade.  That has worked to her benefit while changing diapers.  

      “Hey.  You.  Come over here and get inside this van and smell this.”  It’s just kind of wrong.  

On a goat note.  The weather was decent in this part of the world.  It is way fun watching 1to 2 week old kids running loose outside for their first time.  These nursing does are eating more alfalfa and more feed than I have EVER let does eat.  But, I like the way the babies are looking so I don’t mind the added cost.  

      What a day in this piece of paradise.  First of all, the weather was beautiful for a January day in NW OK.  Very little wind.  However, late tonight it is supposed to get butt-ass cold and windy as all hades.  

      Next topic, lots of calls/texts about the Okie Coalition.  All I am going to say at this point is that it is going to be good.  We’ll focus on this topic more at a later date.

      I have a whole new story that involves a goat, but I need to just leave it alone.  I swore that I would NOT blog about this topic.  But I did hear a story that the Governor Staats’ knows something about a black buck that has been in a goat breeding program. 

     I do have some bad news from the Kelln Kompound.  Verlin the dairy doe kidded this morning.  She had triplets.  Lost one little bitty dude.  The bad news is that one side of her udder is not working.  Have no fear about the twins that she has.  There is plenty of milk out of the one spigot.  However, I think her days of raising 17 babies in one year like she did in 2011 are a thing of the past.  I don’t know her exact age, and she can’t count or talk to tell me, but Verlin has earned the right to retire.  Her only fear at this point, is that somebody will confuse her color pattern and vertical horns with a deer.  

      Oh, then I get an email that says it is from Schoovy.  “He is stranded in the Phillipines and needs money wired to him.”  I texted and asked if he was in the Phillipines.  He responded, “Yes.  And if you are coming to get me, bring a goat box.  I think we can find a great one.”  

     Heard a new life lesson tonight that I really liked.  “Learn a lesson from your dog.  No matter what life brings you, kick some grass over that shit and move on.”

     Speaking of dogs.  Tammy, Duke and I are dog-sitting another corgi for a day or two.  We gathered up a pup from the Bedwell’s for my Dad’s Christmas present.  This might be the best dog that I have been around.  JB is wide based, huge boned, wide skulled and cocky as all get out.  But, he is WAY laid back–like the DUDE abides kind of laid back.  He gives Ammo and Sasha fits when he is outside.  But, gladly chills out and kicks back when he is inside.  He knows how to behave.  I like an animal that looks the part, acts the part and doesn’t cause problems.  He looks good, acts good, is confident but not overbearing.  Plus, he hasn’t crapped on the floor.  So, he is one up on some of my friends.  

      Keep the stock warm.  Get layers of blankets on show does & wethers.  Make sure everything gets a good drink and has shelter.  The weathermen are pretty confident that it is going to get cold and windy.  But, there won’t be any moisture.  

     Taking care of animals this time of year, warmth is a requirement.  Heat lamps are a good way to provide direct heat to the little ones.  There is only one kind of heat lamp worth messing with–the Premier brand.  Got to premier1supplies.com to find this heat lamp.  You don’t have to worry about catching the place on fire with this heat lamp.  They aren’t cheap, but they are worth it.  Hide the cord in the panel and have no fear using this lamp.  (How is it that a doe can bite through a plugged in cord and not get electrocuted?)

Throw those aluminum canopy lamps away.  Those things have burned down a pile of barns.

      The only problem I have found with this lamp is that at some point they quit working.  I have several dead soldiers piled in a box.  Last night, I came home and several  more had given up life.  I loaded a pile of them up and headed to Tyke’s.  He had bought some internal replacement parts for these lamps.  It took us a little while to figure out the first, but after a while, we renewed life to a bunch of heat lamps that are back in operation.  We actually used screwdrivers like we knew what we were doing.  No goats were called last night.

      Since about 1985 or so, I have always enjoyed an evening just cruising dirt roads in Ellis County.  Not speeding, no wreckless behavior, just good music and cruising.  Years later, not much has changed.  Just cruise around, stop occasionally to check a road sign–30 to 60 minutes or so later– and I am home.  No harm, no foul.  It’s like a reset button.  The day gets better.  Therefore, tomorrow will be better.  

       The wind is brutal.  It is dry as all hades.  But it could be worse.   I could have sheep instead of goats.

      I looked at a pile of wethers and doe kids this weekend.  Lots of hooves needed trimming, some wethers need to eat more, some need ran more and some need worked with more.  After all of the goats passing through here this weekend, I am now sore and Monday will be even stiffer.  

      Oh, and did I mention that Duke and I unloaded a trailer of small alfalfa square balers.  This weekend, I realized that my son is now 13 and had never used hay hooks or bucked square bales.  Well, now we have remedied that problem.  He actually worked pretty good.  I did notice that I was sweating more than him.  I guess that comes with being old and fat.  

     Cheers. 

      Friday night is here.  If you are of age, then it is time for a frosty.  Other than the WIND and complete lack of moisture in this part of paradise, the weather has been quite tolerable the past week.  

     I had time to slip down to the Wooward Livestock Auction for lunch today.  The Woodward sale barn is one of the better cattle sales in the midwest.  I don’t get to go as often as I would like.  Cattle prices are still trending upwards.  With very little wheat pasture in this part of the world, a high cost to buy, and high cost of meds one would think that the market would back up a little.  NOPE.  From the perspective from somebody that likes to see good livestock, it was impressive to see the quality of cattle that were coming through the sale ring.  As a whole, cattle producers have done a better job raising sound, good bodied cattle with good structure.  It costs more to buy a good bull but it pays off when you keep good daughters and sell good calves.  The same applies to the goat world.  Yes, bucks cost a pile, but spend more to get the good one and it will pay off in years to come.  Doesn’t matter if you are talking commerical or show stock.  Buy the good one.  

     We only lack one more doe to kid out and then we are done for awhile.  What doe am I waiting on?  Verlin the dairy doe.  That’s pretty good planning on my part.  You are supposed to have the milk goat kid first so that she is ready to go to work if needed.  As usual, I can’t blame this screw up on anybody other than myself.

     There has been several things happen recently that has made me feel old.  First and foremost, seeing some of my former students kids wearing FFA jackets.  

Here are a few other truths that hit you in adulthood.

      A lot of what we accomplish in our day to day life depends on our attitude.  I am well aware that most of the time my attitude seems pretty negative.  However, my actiions are positive.  For example, if you read this or listen to me talk about the financials of the goat industry, I seem/sound like I want no part of this business.  Yet, my actions (or lack thereof) show that I am not getting out of the business.  And those of you that know me, understand that I am not going to do this deal just because I enjoy raising goats.  I don’t enjoy does, but I do like the babies, bucks and the people in the industry.  I don’t enjoy losing money (and although it costs me a lot to raise a goat, I’m not losing money) and there are tax benefits of raising an animal such as a show goat.  

      The point—There is money to made in this business.  But, there must be an investment to start with.  Don’t go try to buy a cheap goat, then breed it to another cheap goat and expect to sell a $10,000 goat.  Won’t happen.  Why?  Well, think of it this way.  If you breed one POS (that would be Piece Of Shit) to another POS, why would you expect to get anything other than another POS.  Doesn’t matter what species you are in.  Even human propagation.  The breeding of POS’s will result in more POS’s.  

      Do your homework.  Make an investment.  Have a plan(s) breeding, marketing, showing.  Put in the work.  Reinvest your income into facilities and breeding stock.  Keep at it a couple of years and then it will work.     

      I had a really good day in the industry today.  I went to work.  Then, met my mom for lunch, then headed to the TX and OK panhandle for business.  I got back to the store before closing.  I looked up at work and I had a goat industry GIANT show up this evening.  He came to the house and looked at babies.  Duke then showed him his wethers, then we headed out west to look at Taylor’s wethers and BARROWS.  Then we went to supper.  Wives, kids, friends, etc.  I love it.  There was as much talk about daughters moving off as there was about goats.  I was pleased that Duke and Bree both were able to show their wethers like it mattered.  It wasn’t like he was going to offer any feeding or showing advice, but I like to let others see things.  We aren’t going to a show this weekend or next, but at least both kids were on their game.  Oh, and Britt’s hogs look nice.

      Got a message today that a Joe Dirt wether was 3rd in class at Denver behind the res. grand.  Had another message that a class winner was out of a Freak On A Leash daughter.  It sounds like there was a good set of wethers at Denver this year.  People will drag to a top notch judge.  I would have liked to have gone, but it just didn’t work out.  

     Here’s to all of you out there that keep a positive attitude about things.  Hats off to those of you trying to raise a good goat.  And I raise a glass to all of you that are trying to help a kid find a good path in life.         

       I’ve got the same questions that everybody else in the show goat world has–How much 900 is too much?  How tight can I line up 191?  Where is the next great one?

I can answer all of these questions with a very solid I don’t know.  What I do know is that I could just stay at home and show kids sired by Joe Dirt, Rumour Has It and Rainman and we would get along very well.  I could use these bucks, not spend money, and things wouldn’t be all bad in the goat world.  But, I know that I won’t be satisfied with that.  I’ve got to wonder, wander, got to look, got to try to find something else.  Got to go all over the place to find that next magical piece that just “clicks”.  I’ve got the itch to do some traveling, some looking, and making new stories.  

     Speaking of all over the place, this wind that shows up every other day around here seems to blow crap all over the place.  There are some monster tumbleweeds that show up in the morning, but when I get home of an evening, they’ve headed back across the road.  The combination of wind, months of no precipitation and several weeks of butt-ass cold has made western OK and the TX panhandle a dry, desolate area.  Drought over–NO, I don’t think so.  

     I’ve been cruising the internet this evening looking for possible buck combinations.  No TV on, but the iTunes are playing.  My musical collection is all over the place.  Right now, there is a song called “Return To Sender”  by the King–Mr. Elvis the Presley.  Tomorrow, Big I has a birthday.  As the numerous voice memos have called it–he will turn the DOUBLE NICKLE!  Congrats!  Keep it skinnt.  Get Bent.  Stay out of trouble.  Keep Calm.  

      I’m also watching these California online wether sales that are happening tonight.  I don’t know who took the pics, but somebody did a heckuva good job.  It looks to me like there are some solid goats out west.  There seems to be more interest in quality genetics out there lately.  With the northern market, California market, Georgia and continued demand in OK and TX, the show goat market looks like it will continue to trend UPWARD in 2014. I don’t know if there will be record highs set this year, but I will bet that good ones will continue to sell very well.  VERY WELL!   Common ones– not so much.  (How appropriate is it that “The Gambler” is playing right now). My experiences in this business has proven to me that you CANNOT try to play it cheap.  The more you spend, the more you make.  Spend money on feed, spend on hay, spend on facilities, spend on advertising and spend on high quality genetics–then cash checks.  However, you MUST have a budget and work within that budget.  No matter whether you are buying breeding stock or show stock, know what you can spend and DON’T take the cheap route.  Buy the best that you can afford and then work to improve your situation.  In the breeding game, it can be rough for a year or two or three, but if you do it right, it will pay off.

        Has country music ever been as bad as what it currently is today?  Very few of these artists today have “real skills”.  They sound, and look like failed rock/pop artists.  Garth, George, Shania, etc haven’t done much new in years but are still popular.  Of course, rock music isn’t in much better shape.  KISS, AC/DC, etc haven’t done anything new but are still selling out concerts and songs on iTunes.  Originality goes a long ways.  The next new sound will make a pile of money for artists, producers, record companies, etc.  The next outcross buck in the show goat world that hits–well, there will be cash all over the place.   We are all just waiting.  

      Monday at work was fairly uneventful.  Monday after work became more exciting.  I had ordered a gun last week.  Al called and told me that it was in today.  I called Tammy and told her and Duke to pick it up after school.  They did.  Plus, he had gotten .22 ammo in stock.  So she bought several bricks.  

      Tammy and Duke got home just about the same time that I did.  Duke was grinning like a turd eatin’ possum.  Of course, he had already unboxed the gun.  It was cool.  A Henry .22 Golden Boy with the octagon barrel.  If you’ve got a new gun, then you have to go try it out.  We headed to the pond to sling some lead.  

     On the way there, Duke stopped to check a trap that he had set last night.  We have had a black and white stink cat living underneath the big red barn.  I had seen him once.  And he has been wasting GARP’s dog food.  So, Duke set a live trap for it.  Guess what?  He trapped the stink cat.  Now, there is the dilemma of getting the stink cat out of the trap without getting sprayed.  I snuck into the barn, off to the side of the trap and aimed the new gun at the stink cat.  One shot–dead skunk.  Left him in the trap for later disposal.

     Duke and I then proceeded to try out the new gun.  Ooohh—weee!! That thing shoots smooth.  Big fun.  Not the biggest gun or the highest priced gun that I have, been this thing is already near the top of my list of favorites.  

     Now, it was getting dark.  Time to get chores done.  I had to go into the loft of the red barn to get some alfalfa.  Whew!  Let’s just say that the barn has a maliferous odor about it.  We’re going to have to let it air out a bit.  We’ll empty the trap at a later date.  

     Had a flush done this past summer with the help of Schneberger.  We had the K9 doe bred to Rumour Has It and flushed.  There were 7 grade 1 embryos in the flush.  They put 2, 2 and 3 into 3 recips.  They were due the 10th.  We had 2 on the 9th, 3 on the 10th and 2 on the 11th.  All 7 are alive and well.  Hopefully, they grow out and make it worthwhile.

      Here’s the thing about flushes and ET work–although not a huge number, those 7 kids out of K9 is basically the same as 3-4 years of production out of her.  It takes management and dollars, but when a flush works, it can be a beneficial tool to any program.  I personally think that I am still only interested in flushing proven does.  The jury is still out as to how productive this flush will be for our operation.  Thanks to Jared for helping us out on this endeavor.  If they are typical of the K9 kids in the past, they will look green, stringy and borderline shitty until they are about 10 weeks old, at which point, I will have banded them.  Then, they will blow up and get good.  We’ll see how smart I am at this game.  It will either work or it won’t.  If it doesn’t, we will wish it would have.  

Have a good day and a better tomorrow.

P.S.  for all of you loyal “Word of the Day” readers on the oklahomashowgoats.com message board.  I know that you have been deprived of a “word” for quite some time now.  I don’t know if the word is dead or not, but I can tell you for sure that there is a “Voice Memo” of the day.  Tommy and Big I have discovered the Voice Memo feature on their phones.  The word of the day is HILARIOUS.  When you see a text voice memo from Big I that is titled “Children, gather round”, you know that it is going to be good.