The Feeding Crew

William, Toby, and Joseph

This time of year, Toby is extremely busy with the cattle. On a normal year, he will trail all of the cows home in December or January and feed the 900+ cows hay until March. This requires hours of transporting hay on pickups to three or four different locations on the ranch. Now that Matthew and Peter are older, they wake up early and help feed each weekend. They help drive pick-ups to the different feed locations, which significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to feed.

 

Recently, William and Joseph have joined the feeding crew. They get so excited for the weekend because they love helping Toby and seeing all of the baby calves. We are right in the middle of calving, so each morning there are at least 10 new calves born! This morning, I decided to join the crew. We took two pickup loads to one location, two loads to a second feed ground, three loads to a third feed ground, and one pickup load to the last location. It is always so much fun watching the new babies jump, run, and play in the sunshine. It was even more enjoyable to see the delight in all four boys' eyes as they helped on the ranch.

 

Meet Stickers. He is almost 20 years old! He has been on the ranch longer than I have!

Yum, Yum, Yum

Top feeding dog Daisy.

Newborn calf. Probably a day old.

Malheur County Fair

Matthew and Peter each entered a steer in the Malheur County Fair this year. This was Matthew's third year in 4-H and Peter's first year. Both boys did an amazing job showing their animals all week. 

Our fair week began on Monday, as I offered to plan and oversee the barn decorating. The theme for the fair was Sew It! Grow It! Show It! We received many compliments regarding the barn decorations.

Matthew and Peter showed their steers on Wednesday evening in the Malheur County Commercial Market Steer Class sponsored by the Malheur County Cattleman's Association. They showed again on Thursday morning in the 4-H Market Steer Class. They participated in the Beef Showmanship competition on Friday morning. Matthew and Peter received blue ribbons for all of their showings, and Matthew even earned Champion Junior Showman! 

On Saturday morning, the boys sold their steers in the Malheur County Fat Stock Sale. I am always amazed by the outpouring of support by the community members and business owners in support of the sale. Matthew's steer was purchased by the Warner Maag Family and Jamieson Produce, Inc. His steer will be donated to the Pioneer Nursing Home for the residents to eat! Peter's steer was purchased by Beef Northwest, Producers Livestock, and Rick & Sheryl Johnson. We are so fortunate to live in such a supportive community.

Peter and Emmett

Peter's steer was very stubborn, but Peter never gave up.
The judge commended Peter for his determination!

Peter (84 pounds) showing Emmett (1,298 pounds) who is boss!

Matthew and Ace

Sadie Thomas, Matthew, and Clay Siddoway

Matthew leading Ace

Peter selling Emmett.

Matthew selling Ace.

Matthew and Ace

Peter and Emmett

Weaning Time!

Fall is such a busy time at the McBride household. One of the major events that takes place in the Fall is weaning the calves from their mothers. This is a multi-step process that involves a lot of time and help. A few weeks ago, Matthew, Peter, Joseph, William and I had the day off while Toby was bringing a group of cows home to wean. As a result, we were recruited to help! Matthew and Peter did an amazing job helping to gather the cows and bring them to the feedlot while Willim, Joseph, and I blocked roads for the crew. It was so fun for William to watch the cows as they came into the feedlot.

Overall, it was a very busy and productive day. With all of the help, Toby was able to wean around process around 300 calves that day! I am sure missed our help when he weaned the other two groups!

Mama and Joe waiting for the cows.

Watching the Cloud of Dust

Here they come!

Moo!

Toby

Matthew

Travis

Peter and Fidel

The Crew

This is one tired, dusty boy!

Peter

Fidel

Matthew

Matthew