A big Texan Easter
My boots had hardly hit Kansas soil and they were moving again. First to Monday’s classes, in Livestock and Meat Evaluation we were assessing lamb carcases. These were very different to any that I had seen back in Aus, and goes further to explaining the lack of popularity of the lamb product in the US. Beef Systems class continues to connect students with the ‘movers and shakers’ of the US beef industry, this week was no exception with a presentation from Anne Burkholder – better known as the woman behind the ‘Feedyard Foodie’ blog. She presented on sustainability, responsibility and the art of balance – you can find her blog here: https://feedyardfoodie.wordpress.com/
Wednesday was an early start to catch my flights to Dallas and subsequently to Houston, two delayed flights later, I landed safely in Houston. How I ended up in Texas is quite the story, and is testament to the incredible global industry that is the beef industry. At NCBA in Phoenix I started a conversation with Gene, a Santa Gertrudis breeder from Texas, both of us ‘never meet a stranger’ and the invitation to visit was extended and accepted. Gene picked me up from the airport in Houston and we travelled out to Baycity, to the Wendt Ranch.
The afternoon was filled with inspections of both ranching and farming sides of their operation. It was great to see some semi-familiar, Brahman influenced and Santa Gertrudis cattle, and to see and learn about crops new to me, cotton and corn. It was also a great chance to hear about the recovery efforts since the impact of Hurricane Harvey; back in Australia, our family farm has felt the effects of bushfire in recent years, so I have a great deal of respect and admiration for what this family have achieved in their recovery efforts in such a short space of time.
The following day was filled with working cattle, I somehow scored the boss’ horse – and after at least an 8 year hiatus from riding, was definitely a ‘P’ plater driving a V8!
We brought cattle into the home yards, split calves from cows and worked each group – vaccinating, drenching and tagging. In the afternoon we worked a different set of yards, putting CIDRS (Controlled Internal Drug Release) in heifers to synchronise estrus for breeding; I had learned about this earlier in the week in Dr Greiger’s Reproduction class, and it was excellent to be able to see the practical side of this learning.
The next day started with refilling feeders in the bull pasture, before moving onto inspecting corn and cotton crops with Gene. Monitoring growth to determine if re-seeding is required due to initial seed depth and current moisture availability. Ever having seen corn or cotton grow, I was full of questions! I was surprised to learn that cotton requires the use of a growth restriction product to ensure manageable harvesting plants, and that corn will never have an odd number of rows of cornels around – fun facts!! I was also able to see the damage caused by feral pigs to cropping land, and understand the immense consequences of this pest.
Easter Saturday was crawfish boil day! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but crawfish are like small yabbies, boiled with herbs, spices and veggies for a delicious meal! I’m not sure if it was the food, the people or the location – but it sure was an incredible and memorable afternoon!
Easter Sunday was a big family day, church followed by a big texas bbq lunch with the Kubecka tribe – tribe is the right word, there was over 80 of them!! But each one made me feel like family, and I am truly blessed to have had experienced Easter here in Texas.
A high energy Easter egg hunt and an intense game of croquet (there is lots of room for improvement in my game!) rounded out the afternoon, making my big Texan Easter unforgettable!!
