Farm Fest next weekend!

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Well, I have been busy getting ready for farm fest and our fall sale.... Farm Fest is a great way for us to market our bulls. I took some pictures of them this morning, and thought I would share here (I posted them on craigslist).
This first bull is a late September, so just a year, purebred sired by American Pride out of a Steel Force embryo dam we have. We showed him a little this summer, he was reserve champion in his division in the open show at State Fair. He weighed 1210 about two weeks ago and passed his BSE with flying colors:

This next one is an Uno Mas x Rocking P sire, 3/4 blood. He belongs to Bright Raven (Ron). Oct born.

This is a late November Iron Hide x Dream On embryo dam we have. 3/4 blood. He was shown at state fair, was champion percentage bull in FFA and reserve champion in his division at State Fair in the open show. He was also supreme champion bull Saturday at a little show down south (Lockwood)

This is a mid-Dec Macho x Beef Maker 3/4 blood bull. He is one of my favorites.

This next one is also a mid-december 3/4 blood, sired by Make It Rain out of a Macho half blood cow. His full brother won the open and junior state fair show in 2013.

This is a January Uno Mas 3/4 blood, who's dam won the cow calf pair show at our big district show this summer (Ozark Empire Fair).

This guy we just weaned a few weeks ago. He is a March Live Ammo x Steel Force dam (first calf heifer). He is a dark red, which I love.

And of course, just a picture of some pretty white faces!

Our bulls are younger this year than years past, seems we had a rush of heifers and no bulls in October and November!
If you are in the area, come see me. We can only have 4 bulls on display at at time, so it will be a random mix of those any one day....

 

[Franke]

Nice set

 

[Bright Raven]

Fire Sweep. I am the Raven now. Margonme has gone the way of the Woolly mammoth.

Farm Fest is a great event. I thoroughly enjoyed it last year. Lots of interesting folks in that area. I will never forget the old man who had the two sons.

 

[farmboy80]

Nice looking cattle! I really like Ron's bull. I'm going to try my hardest to make it up to farm fest next weekend. If I make it I'll come by and introduce myself.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Nice looking cattle! I really like Ron's bull. I'm going to try my hardest to make it up to farm fest next weekend. If I make it I'll come by and introduce myself.

Please do! Ron is going to try to make it to help, if he can squeeze away for a few days between calves! I always like meeting CT friends.

 

[Bright Raven]

Fire Sweep sold the first two bulls the first day. Lots of interest. Farm Fest is a well planned and organized event. Unfortunately, I missed it this year.

Fun story on my bull, she said a guy was debating. The guy behind him who had expressed interest earlier was clicking his pen. She told the guy you better make up your mind. He said "I'll take him" and wrote a check. Both bulls sold for asking price.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

And what a Farm Fest it WAS!!!!! We sold the first two pictured bulls Friday for my asking price (several guys came around several times, looking at lots of bulls... they came back and bought ours!). We brought the young 4 calves the next day (Dec and Jan) and sold two of those in just a few hours. Sold the Jan Uno Mas today, so all I am left with is the Iron Hide x Dream on late November bull and the red Feb one (he did not go). So 5 bulls sold, in 3 days! We are BLESSED beyond measure!
And to top it off, I got to meet Farm Boy and his family!!!! Wonderful person, great wife and kids!
Now to wash and clean everything up.... it is a lot of work, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE talking cattle and I get three days of it! Oh, we also bought a weed wiper on the special, so I will update how that works for us once I get it set up on the quad (8 footer)....

 

[farmboy80]

Enjoyed farm fest as usual. Always a great time. Glad I had a chance to meet and talk with you. Always good to put a face with the names. And your cattle always look good in the pictures you post but to get a chance to see them up close was awesome (even if it was just a small sample ). Thanks for taking the time to visit with me. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to doing it again.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Been awhile... thought I would post about Farm Fest. It started yesterday, sold our oldest bull (Broadway x Deception embryo, 11 months 1160 pounds). Stop by and visit if you are around!

 

[frieghttrain]

Been a while indeed! That closest bull is a good looking rip. How are you and the family?

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We are all great! Two kids out of the nest now, so life have changed quiet a bit. Our middle daughter took off to college to get a nursing degree, she comes home on weekends but I sure miss her most days. She was the work horse in the family. She did most of the breeding for us, so this fall when we start back at AI'ing everything she will REALLY be missed!
We are in a serious drought, and it is very regionally located, meaning our area is the SW corner is worse than the rest of the state. We normally stockpile fescue, and stay on grass until Christmas time, then feed hay through March when the grass comes back. We took a very small cutting the first of July (rain had already shut off, so not a lot of grass growth), and since then have only received 3 tenths of an inch of rain on our place. We typically get 8 inches a month. I have never seen it so dry and dead, especially for fall. Of course, no stockpiling this year, and we have been on hay since the end of September. Now, trying to find hay is not difficult, but getting it hauled in to the place IS difficult. So that is our current dilemma. I'll attach pictures of some of our ponds. Never seen them dried up (and look at the fields around them - brown and dead), and good thing we have well water at both places so we do not have to haul water!
Lots of new babies on the ground, and the cattle are healthy, so that is a blessing. I know by Christmas we are ALL going to be tired of feeding hay!

 

[wbvs58]

I feel for you FSR with the drought, hard to believe sometimes how the rain we normally can rely on just dries up. We have been in sever drought for a couple of years now and just coming out of winter are waiting for forecast good rains over summer with a La Nina developing so just hoping it comes to fruition. First storm is forecast for today.

 

[farmerjan]

Glad to see your update. I have heard of the pockets of drought, in different areas. We were HOT and dry here in July, then started getting some decent rains and 2nd cutting although late is very good. Friends in the Mass/Vt area are having a terrible time finding hay for their registered dairy goats and prices are high there already. Although you miss her, I hope daughter enjoys school and does well....

 

[ccr]

Fire Sweep sorry for the lack of moisture in your area. Looks like a good time to have an excavator clean out them ponds.

Last time we had a bad drought we cleaned out the pond and it help out a lot in later years when we were dry and also catching fish.