I don’t normally spend much time on book face.  I check it while on the dumper of a morning.  (Seems appropriate) and then maybe again of an evening.   I check text messages on occasion.  Messenger–no alert, so only as I think about it.  It is possible to say that I am kind of socially distanced.

Yet, in the last 24 hours, I have answered questions via messenger.  Responded to some book face stuff.  Actually held an intelligent phone conversation or two.  AND I instigated and then continued a long text conversation.  The other person didn’t know who it was texting her and then she got mouthy, yet she was simultaneously texting the Dragon Lady trying to figure out who it was texting her, but I had even sent proof of who it was….but…..  For the Waynokans that read this crap.  Mary held true to form and I will gladly let you read this text exchange. It was way fun!

I’m stupid for a lot of reasons.  I’m stupid for doing stuff for free.  I’m stupid enough to still roll the dice on this goat deal.  I’m stupid…. well….I don’t want to type that much.  No matter, I’m not as stupid as some of these dumb asses that you people keep electing.

Term limits.  Term limits.  Term limits.

However, as dumb as I yet may be, I still remember the Vanessa Angel scene from the movie “Spies Like Us”.  Happy thoughts for a child of the 80s.

So, according to book face, THE OG of livestock transportation, Mr. Bob May AND the OG of online goat marketing, Mr. Tommy Milligan share a birthday!!  I do not think that they are related.  However, my question is this…….

do they have the same hair stylist?

Recently, I had the smelly kid talk with 23 8th grade boys.  We have them in class 1st hour (Thank GOD! Later in the day would be brutal!)   I was blunt but DANG!!   That many bodies that don’t know yet how to properly use deodorant, antiperspirant, showers, soaps, toothbrush, etc.  I know that other teachers had spoken to them about this topic.  I get it.  However, they hadn’t got the message. I have ZERO problem being the blunt one that they remember.  I will gladly buy products if they need them.  I explained that most girls do not like breath that smells like that they had eaten turd sandwiches or BO that makes your eyes water.

Over the years, I have some wicked stories of helping keep BO levels down in a given class.  I’ve never embarassed a kid.  I have been guilty of “selecting” a couple of kids to wash a trailer out during class.  (Oh, and it is OKAY to have a water fight…..just use this soap so that there are bubbles.  The more bubbles, the cleaner the trailer.)  Coaches and ag teachers get to deal with this on a regular basis.  I will gladly deal with the smelly teenage male problems versus the other alternative.

Teachers may or may not get paid enough to teach a given subject.  They NEVER get paid enough to deal with the real life situations that parents fail to teach.

Let’s be real.  Shattuck is a lower to upper-middle class town.  It is a clean town that has civic pride.  Yet, there are some non-natives (mostly white) that one wonders what they do for a living.  As a whole, Shattuck cares more about work ethic versus the color of skin, religion or other factors.  And in true middle America fashion, they like all kids, regardless of parentage,  until the kids prove to be a POS.

I’m related to a large percentage of this town.  Yet, I know fewer and fewer of the kids until they enter our classroom.  Maybe?!   I can go to Dollar General to buy some toothpaste or deodorant.  I may not recognize any employee or the kid that is only wearing a diaper or the dude with the stained wife beater.  No matter, all Dollar Generals look like an earthquake just hit and knocked stuff off of the shelves.

My point….I have always known that Shattuck was a good place.  A place to raise kids.  That hasn’t changed.  What has changed is that more and more students need the basics.  Basic hygiene.  Basic work ethic.  Basic respect.  Basic nutrition.  The kids haven’t changed.  The parental units have drastically changed.

This is getting longer than anticipated.  We aren’t different from your place.  This is just observations from the front lines.  We are still loaded with great kids and great parents.  I am just being honest with some stuff that I am witnessing.

Speaking of smelling like a buck goat….I bet that the Bob & Tom show (Milligan & May if you prefer) could shake up a Dollar General if need be.  I leave you with that happy thought!

Back in the late 80s, a crew of us would load up, head to Enid and make the 2 hour trek to Oakwood Mall.  We could eat really good chinese food at the Combo King, buy some new shoes, catch a movie and then grab a double doozie cookie.  It would be a complete day.

Malls across the country continued to prosper through the 90s.  But then, slowly they began to have empty storefronts.

In the early to mid 2000s, as mall popularity began to decline, goats began to increase in popularity.  Are goats the cause of the decline of shopping in malls?  IDK.

All I do know, is that I woke up this morning craving a double doozie cookie.

I feel that I should write something but just not sure what?!

I do think that covid is a real deal.  I do think that it has been over-hyped.  I am scared for those that have to fight it and don’t have the immune system to fend it off.

Personally, as a person that is on the front lines of dealing with the general public, I am not afraid for my health.  In all honesty, if I could be inoculated with it and get it over with, I would consider it.

It is scary how many kids can NOT properly read a tape measure.  I’ve got a couple of classes pissed that I haven’t let them in the shop yet.  But, we are going back to the basics.  “Measure twice, cut once.”  Sure, that is an age old slogan that has withstood the test of time.  In reality, a tape measure is the most expensive tool in a shop.  A mis-measured cut costs cutting gas/saw blades/grinder blades PLUS material and most importantly TIME.  I’m going to have some pissed off students but we are not done with the measuring classwork.  In reality, it’s better that they are pissed versus me being pissed.

One thing about teaching a goat how to eat….sometimes, they just need to miss a meal.  As show animals, we try to feed goats items such as corn, soybeans, barley and high fat feeds.  In reality, the good LORD put a goat on this planet to eat stuff that other animals did NOT want to eat.  A goat is a browser by nature.  Walk a bit and take a bite or two.  High protein/high fiber diets that work when taking a bite or two.  As a show animal, we keep them confined to smaller pens and a controlled diet.  Plenty of protein, HIGH fat and not as much fiber as always needed.  In reality, they have to be taught to eat this stuff.

I don’t care what brand of feed that you feed, it is NOT what you feed but how you feed it.  Clean, fresh water plays a bigger part than your chosen brand of feed.  Basic nutrition.  In the show industry, we get caught up in the “hot topic” feeds.  Yet, clean water and a high quality feed (no matter the brand) will always work.  Management is so important.

I always ask new feeders about their goals.  “To make a premium sale” is the most common stated goal.  My favorite–“I want to work hard enough and become the showman required to make a premium sale.”  There is a difference.  Worth ethic and management are the proven phrases.

I had several people text me this past week about the edited for TV version of Blazing Saddles.  “It will air from 8:00 to 8:07 pm.”  I do enjoy that.  However, I do despise that so many people can be easily offended and not realize the straight up humor of a given situation.

Have a good day and a better tomorrow.  We need ALL the horseshoes and shamrocks that we can gather.

This could be a long post….but it won’t be.

There are always things going on, right in front of you, on your screen.  Things are what they are, but yet….dang, I should have seen that one coming.  I would like to write about the behind the scenes, here or there, but I can’t, or won’t.  However, I did sit on a 5 gallon bucket full of potential product.  Oh, the fun!

I got stung by wasps twice tonight.  I asked the Dragon Lady to get some benadryl from the front of a Kansas dude’s trailer.  She was only kind of pissed when she realized that there was not any benadryl in those iced down medicine boxes.  I feel better, kind of.  Those BL cans helped.  Kind of.

I may have mentioned before, but just in case…..I hate doe goats.  I sent a set of doe kids to Milligan to sell.  He did.  The buyers are going to be pleased.  I didn’t care what they brought.  I just wanted them to go to good homes.  A couple of them are really good.

Politics.  My GOD!!   It is as bad as it has ever been.  Gross!   I am not a Trump fan…BUT….I trust him with the economy and the military.  That other dude has been in office almost as long as I have been alive….AND I do not trust him with making the class breaks at a county show.  This biden his time dude was a vice president and didn’t accomplish 2 squirts of owl crap.  AND NOW, he is going to make a good president?  Simple logic and common sense…..come on people.  I get that you don’t like Trump but at some point, there has got to be some common sense.

I did NOT bash anybody in that previous paragraph.  AND if I did, and if I did, it was Trump that I sounded negative toward.  Simple facts.  Common Sense.  We have NO chance with the democratic ticket and a fighting chance with the Republican ticket.

Like a stock show, I just want a fair shot.  That’s it.

This stuff is not an opinion….it is fact!

In 1920, there were roughly 2 billion people on this planet.  Of those 2 billion people, roughly 20+% were full-time farmers/ranchers.  Almost 80% of the population were hungry and/or living in poverty.

In 2020, there is over 7.6 billion people on this planet.  In the United States, less than 2% of the population are full-time farmers/ranchers.  There are MORE people in prisons than there are full-time farmers/ranchers.  AND only 10% of the population are hungry and/or living in poverty.

Now, combine those stats with the fact that we have less arable ground.  Did the Earth shrink?  NO!  But we have less ground to farm or graze.  Why?   Baseball fields, softball fields, football fields, golf courses, urbanization, cemeteries, truck stops, quick stops, etc.    How about roads?   EVERY dirt road and black top road is prime farm ground.  Think about it!   We don’t build roads on crappy ground.

So…. we have fewer acres to grow crops/livestock AND have a $h!tload more people to feed.  Yet, we have the SAFEST and most abundant food supply that the world has ever seen.  We produce enough food to feed every person on this planet.  Why don’t we?  Economics and politics are the two limiting factors.

I know, at this point, you media savvy tards are now thinking about e. coli, salmonella, etc, outbreaks.  You know what?  You dip$h!ts weren’t thinking about that when you walked up to a McDonald’s counter and ordered your normal meal deal.  You truly ARE NOT worried about getting sick from your food!  It can happen …..But you weren’t worried about it when you ordered from a taco wagon or a fast food window.

“If you have a full belly, you have lots of problems.  If you are hungry, you only have one problem.”

I had a crappy weekend dealing with goats.  But, I am in a good humor and hope that you are as well.

I did NO physical labor between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm.  Yet, my donkey was dragging.  Today was the first day of school.  THANK YOU LORD!!   It is amazin’ how tiring it is to stand in front of people all day, and talk.  It will flat wear you out.  It was a good day but I am going to have to work myself into standing and talking shape.  Fortunately, I am in working in the shop shape.  So, as soon as some upperclassmen pass a shop safety test, we will go to work.  We just won’t be doing what they want to do.  Back to basics.  Hunh?!?!   They will be pleased!

Kids will be kids.  It was interesting to listen to a class talk about picking homecoming t-shirt slogans during class meetings.  A junior boy wanted the slogan “Junior Lives Matter”.  The adults in the room said, “No.”  Wise move.  Although, it is common for the kids to use a spin of current slogans/ads/songs for these shirts.  Yet, this class of kids consisted of a couple of average caucasians, some redneck white kids, a hispanic or two and a couple of mixed race (dare we say, part black kids).  All good kids.  I enjoyed the fact that they could openly talk and joke about this.  Let’s be real.  The current situation is going to be a part of this generation’s history.  Right or wrong.  It is here.  Well, until somebody decides to erase the history books.  Hunh?!?!

One of the girls in this class recently returned from a family visit in Oregon.  She allowed that the deal in Portland is every bit as bad as what we see on tv.  I don’t know?  Just all kind of makes one go “hunhh?”  Why is this happening?  What good is it doing?

For Ellis County, this was a diverse class of students.  They discussed, joked and talked about all of the stuff that has happened since we last had school in March.  Not one argument.  Yes, they even talked politics.  Some of these students will vote in this next election.  Hunh!?!

On a different note, and not necessarily a goat note—the biggest RICHARD move in the online bidding world, is that Pr!c$ that waits until the last minute to bid.  DAMN!  Just bid, you don’t need 4+minutes to make up your mind.  Pretend you are at a Pfeiffer wether sale and Steve Bonham is on the block–you don’t have 4 seconds to make up your mind.  Wait 4 minutes and they have sold 6 more lots.  I’m just saying ….. and I’m right!   Once in extended bidding time, move the time to 2 minutes.  Get on with it!  In the words of Donnie Baker—“State Law!!”

So many questions regarding what to feed.  What is the best feed?  What additives do we need?  Which additive will do this and what will do that?  What drench do we need?

It isn’t what you feed, it’s how you feed it.  Make sure you use a high quality feed (regardless of brand).  There are numerous different brands of feed that will work.  The feed needs to have a proper calcium to phosphorous ratio and it needs to have ammonia chloride in the ration.  Clean water, a consistent high quality feed and consistent feed times is more important than brand.  Make sure that they have access to salt.  Hay is also needed, in small quantities.

There is no legal miracle feed additive.  Some additives work real well on one animal but not on others.  From an ag teacher point of view, it is hard for me to recommend many additives.  It can be hard to justify spending hundreds on a bucket or two of feed additives, when the animal didn’t cost much.  However, if I think a given additive will help, I’ve been known to just buy it myself.

The most common asked question that I hear, that you hear or that we see on book face is….what additive will give more top shape/butt, make muscle, give muscle pop, etc.?   To start with, muscle needs to be in the genetics.

Regarding additives, talk to breeders and other trusted advisors that have experience.  The more fat cover that a given animal has can determine what feed additive is needed, if any.

Same can be said for drenches.  Over the years, I’ve used Refresh, gold dust, 4Sure, Gatorade, my favorite has always been Crusade but the most consistent and best drench that I have ever encountered–water.  Yes, straight water.

Luckily, while sitting in teacher meetings, I took a look at my driver’s license.  Thank goodness!  My CDL expires at the end of this month.  So, I headed to the DMV to see what hoops I need to jump through in order to get it renewed.  Well, they are booked up with appointments until mid September.  But there is a 30 day grace period.  If I want to come without an appointment, I need to be there by 8 am and no later than 10:30 am as they won’t deal with walk-ins after 10:30.  I must wear a mask.  I have to have an original birth certificate or a valid passport PLUS I have to a proof of residency (some document with my physical address on it…an electrical bill or hey, yeah, a farm tax # will work.

All of this to get a new ID card that is replacing the ID card that this same department issued to me just a couple of years ago.  I’m fine with it all.

I just wish that we needed this much documentation when it comes time to VOTE!

People, have a good one and a better tomorrow.  We start school today.  Hopefully, we can stay in school.  And for whatever it is worth, I hope the Big 12, ACC and SEC pull off this football season.  It is just a matter of principle.

The best oatmeal raisin cookies come from…..RUSM?…..Subway.  Yes, a sandwich shop.  Chewy, yet not overpowering with cinnamon. A raisin in every bite.  Dang good cookies!

I knew that the buck collection a couple of weeks ago went way good.  Took 3 bucks, all 3 bucks jumped 3 times each and everything looked good.  Then, I got the bill.  A couple of hundred straws of juice adds up quick!   I guess I won’t have to make many trips to REI to collect bucks for awhile.

I can’t watch a movie or a tv show without researching while watching.  I don’t miss any of the show.  I learn while watching.  If you are a Yellowstone fan, check out the bio on Teeter.  I mean true Hollywood royalty.

I wonder if they eat Dot’s homestyle pretzels on the set of Yellowstone.  I’ve never heard somebody order a couple of “yellow jackets” like Lloyd and Rip.  Yellowbellies, yes.   I just guess that there were some Dot’s pretzels nearby.  The only pretzels that are better, on this planet, are the spicy one’s that the Dragon Lady makes.

To add to the randomness……my favorite actress is Mariska Hargitay.  Yep, Law & Order: SVU’s Olivia Benson.  Google the dam on her maternal side.  Hollywood royalty!  Jayne Mansfield.   One of Mariska’s first gigs was a bit in a music video– Ronnie Milsap’s “She Loves My Car”.  And randomly enough, this was the first “country” video to ever be shown on MTV.  Yeah, remember when the Music Television Channel showed music videos?!?That dude had some great songs–Smokey Mountain Rain being the best.  

It’s time to wrestle a monster.  Not a Dragon.  I’ll try that as well, but I know how that will end.  It won’t involve nunchuks, fuzzy handcuffs or other cool toys.  It will end with 2 letters—NO.  And I will be right back to watching shows while googling info about badass oatmeal raisin cookies.

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.  Still covid free–you and me!!

This may very well be the final Kelln Livestock blog.  This is just an analogy but it seems to fit current times.

Let me begin by giving a brief description of my farming operation.  Most of Ellis County, OK should have never been broke out and farmed.  A lot of it was put into CRP back in the 80’s.  Some of it is productive when it has moisture.  There is some irrigated ground (norm mine), but there just isn’t enough water to bring the yields.  Just enough to keep a crop going and not dying.  Profit is a once in a 5 year deal.  Break even 2 others and hope the other 2 aren’t complete losses.  It would be better to go to Vegas once a year.

Last night, we got 4 tenths of an inch.  That is the second biggest rain that we have seen since May 15.  That isn’t enough.  However, there was no wind and it wasn’t hot today.  The plants were actually able to get some usage from this rain.  At this point, I’m just trying to make a hay crop.  We need some decent protein, high TDN hay for cows and does.  That’s it.  A 1″ soaker would make a crop.  This rain will keep it alive another week.  We have a chance.

Big operator?  NO!  I am dealing with 500 acres of pasture and/or cultivated ground.  I deal with 10 cultivated fields.  They range from 130 acres to 1.5 acres.  The 130 and a 40 acre field are share cropped (I don’t have to farm them–yeah!).  The others are used for grazing or hay.  Wheat or triticale in the winter, cover crop mix or hygear (hegari) in the summer.  Right now, I have 50 acres of hygrear that is going to make a crop (maybe a bale an acre).  There are 30 acres of cover mix that NEED a good rain.  25 acres are grazed smooth.  The rest is done.  No grazing, no hay AND no weeds.

What, no weeds?  Really?  Really.

We have a lot of lawn around the house and barns.  The Dragon Lady waters, mows and weed eats.  She normally mows once a week.  It looks good.  I normally have to spray the lawn with 2-4D once at the first of April and maybe, just maybe, one other time.  Not this year.  With the lack of rain, she has been mowing twice a month.  Yet the weeds keep coming.  I have sprayed the whole yard twice and spot sprayed two other times.  And, it needs it again.  WTH??

I don’t have a weed problem in the places with no water or care.  I haven’t farmed them because nothing is growing.  Yet, the weeds are anywhere that a sprinkler has been used.  Yep, the sprinkler has been used to keep the grass alive–not thrive, just stay alive.  Yet, the weeds (pigweed, mare’s tail, goat heads, etc. ) have taken hold and are making a run for it.  The native buffalo grass is just hangin’ on.  The non-native bermuda grass is good where it has water and not good where there is no water.  But, the weeds.

Here we go!!!

Look at the maps of voters.  These riots, marches, protests are only in certain areas.  They match up exactly with the 2016 presidential election voting map.  Hunh!!   Areas of high population that are used to having what they need but yet not providing for the rest of the country.  Weeds.  Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland, New York, parts of Cali, you already know the list.  The weeds of 2020 are thriving where everything is provided for them.  But these protests are not happening where they are relying on a rain to exist (for example–an hour south of Springfield, IL or anywhere near Tulare, CA)

We are decades past being racist.  We really don’t give a rat’s ass about religion as long as you don’t tell us what to believe.  What you do sexually…I don’t have to like or agree with as long as I don’t have to witness it or be told about it.

I am now a believer that the worst perversion is politics.  It isn’t race, religion, economics or sex.  This democrat or republican line is shaping up to be the worst in history.  This isn’t healthy.

I’ve sprayed democrat weeds…yet, they are still growing.  Why?  They aren’t all completely democrat.  I planted republican seeds but they aren’t all growing.  Why?  They still needed a stimulus check in order to sprout.

We are witnessing why the founders set up a government of checks and balances.  Yet, checks can be written to change the balance.  We are witnessing why the electoral college was developed.  A small, well populated area should not dictate the greater good.  We are witnessing why we have a national anthem and why you MUST stand for it!   I’m sorry that some cops did bad things.  But that does not replace how many gave all to give you the right to….RUSM??? kneel.  White, black, brown—-it does NOT make sense!

Two words—COMMON SENSE!

This isn’t racism.  This isn’t a religious doctrine.  This isn’t an economic struggle.  This is nothing more than an attack on common sense and the fact that we have become a lazy society that is willing to believe what we see on Socially Transmitted Diseases such as book face or twitter or the forevermore worthless tv news.

Antifa & blm are direct results of a lack of common sense.  The weeds found an opportunity and started growing. Trump got elected and will probably get elected again.  Why?  The majority was sick of the lack of common sense from the other side.  We no longer vote for a favorite. We now vote for the lesser of the evils.

The two party system is broken and useless. Both sides are liars.  Crooks.  Cheats.

Every AMERICAN citizen needs to sit back and ask themselves this question—What do I provide on a daily basis to make America great?

That’s it.  One simple question.  If the answer is nothing, well…..then don’t blame the ones that can answer in the positive.

As for me and my house—I can answer this question.  Tammy and I (along with help from our kids) provide some bad ass beef, wicked goats that taste like beef, along with vegetables and eggs combined with a true passion to help others do the same.  And for our main jobs–we teach.  We teach about food, health care and my favorite topics—COMMON SENSE and WORK ETHIC.  Throw in some lessons about self respect and respect for others.  I don’t have to believe as you, but let me believe as I choose.  We will also answer questions about the power of GOD and that we really don’t care if you believe or not.  But don’t tell us what to believe. Nor will we tell you how to believe.

I do not trust a politician at the state or national level.  Too many $s.  But, I do trust some more than others.  The system is broken.  There are NO arguments from either side that the system needs work.  So, let’s fix it.  The constitution provides the framework.  Let’s vote and fix it.  It’s that simple.

This summer, I have sprayed weeds.  Tammy has mowed grass.  I have farmed to rid the ground of weeds.  I  have let livestock graze grounds–they ate what they could but not the weeds.  I have sprayed weeds again.  I have used selective herbicides so as not to kill the grass.

No matter what I do, the weeds will not provide grazing for the livestock.  The weeds will not provide income from their harvest.   We can teach the grass and crops how to grow, but if the rain nor sprinklers provide enough moisture, the weeds take over.  Or, nothing at all grows.  Either way, no economic or sociological benefit for any.  Yet, when we water the crops/grass, the weeds show up.  They weren’t desired or nurtured. But, yet, here they are.  And now that they are here, they provide no benefit to a community, state, nation or society. But they sprout in a rather loud fashion.

If you are the owner or manager of a piece of ground, at some point, you do a burn down and get rid of whatever is costing you money or time.  I have yet to use roundup on the yard.  Why?  Because it kills every plant.  Common sense.  It would have been cheaper and easier.  But, I haven’t used it.  Why?  I don’t want a dead yard or dead fields.

If you proclaim to be a democrat, I deplore you.  If you are a republican, change your thinking.  We do NOT want to spray roundup on everything.  Personally, I identify as a republican conservative that understands why some don’t agree with me.  I will GLADLY tell you that I am a Catholic, Christian, German, Irish, Okie, friend of Texans and Cajuns, regardless of religion, race or whatever else stuff we need to label.  I have also been called a work-a-holic and an A-hole. THIS makes me an AMERICAN!  I don’t have to agree BUT you damn sure better respect my thoughts as I will yours.

Bring your fight to me.  I’m game.   I’m not perfect.  You ain’t either.  I understand & know how to help others as well as how to feed them.    Can you say the same?

I would bet that most of the readers can answer yes.  If not, ask yourself the question—Why not?