Working Ranch Blog

No, I am not talking about the spur clanking, gun belt toting figures like the characters of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood (Still some of my favorite movies). Rather I am talking about that cowboy who wears their orange proudly, knows the official state song of Oklahoma always ends with “State”, and knows exactly how to say “Go Pokes!” Last weekend I graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Animal Science. Four years of hard work, writing papers, making myself get up for 7:30 English, and many long nights of building friendships came down to a two hour commencement ceremony. Where do I go from here?

For starters, I am spending a few weeks at home, “relaxing” with my folks, and helping my father with our various cattle duties. I say “relaxing,” but I am just not very good at putting that to practice. My father owns a cattle auction in Searcy, Arkansas where we run an average of 600 head of cattle every week; good numbers for our area. Some times that number runs close to 1,000 and on weeks like this, where it never stops raining, we may only reach 300. All of the recent rain here in Arkansas makes getting cattle loaded out of sloppy pens difficult.

My father is on the road many days. He must meet with producers in the area to look at their herds and calf crops and give them marketing advice. This week we covered 300 miles in two days, looking at six different herds, although, I am sure this is my dad’s favorite part of the job. When he meets with producers, he tries to give them an idea of the value of their calf crop and marketing strategies that most benefit their operation. We offer advertising for larger groups of cattle, as well as online video sales for a larger marketing audience. Dad works with producers by giving advice on management techniques, like pre-weaning vaccinations, culling strategy, and replacement selection, which will improve the value of the calf crop at weaning. As part of my “resting” time, I have been his chauffer for the last few days, but it works out because he is trying to teach me a little bit about the eye of a cattle marketer.

Being home for only a week has reminded me of one important thing; my cow-horse keeps me sane. She is a 2003 solid bay breed-stock paint and I am not sure what I would do without my horse. I bought her my freshman year at the University of Arkansas after a class where I started her training. Since then we have been working together, and she is a natural at being around cattle. Even if she is a pain in the rear sometimes, you would not believe how much of a relief it is to be working with my horse again (since I could not afford to take her to Stillwater). Everyone has that one thing that helps bring them back to sanity and my horse is definitely that thing for me.

I am only a few weeks away from moving to Dalhart, Texas to start my job in the feedyard. Stayed tuned to hear more about that experience. Just as I have my horse, do you have something that keeps you sane or brings you back to reality? Share it with me. Shoot me an email (rjlgoodman@hotmail.com), or find me on Facebook and Twitter. Until next time, ARranchhand.

CattleFact: Livestock marketing has been a part of American history since the time when cattle were shipped by rail to the terminal markets of Kansas City and St. Louis. Since the 1930s and 1940s, local livestock auctions have been a part of the local economies all over America, providing a competitive marketing option for producers that is close to home. –Livestock Marketing Association.