We are in West Virginia for our fourth and final week speaking across the state at Extension “Dinner Meetings.” Here we are at our first night this year in Belington speaking to a crowd of about 50 producers. Tonight we speak just north of Harman in Dryfork. Come see us!

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Here’s Richard and Garland executing a perfect “T” to the gate easily putting the herd through the gate.

And here’s another “T” putting them into the barn lot. They aren’t too fussed up are they?

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February 7:

I worked with that old cow I was telling you about [at our talk February 5 in Westphalia] twice the next day. We made a lot of progress. I walked her into the lot again but didn’t pen her. I didn’t have time to load her, so I left her stand in the lot, left the gates open, and walked away.

She is one of those that is going to take a little more time because of her past, but I will get her. I’m committed. And what a great learning opportunity she is.

February 11:

I got the cow caught on Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t easy. She was pretty tough. Like I told you before, she was wild in the pasture and mean in the corral, real sensitive. The other problem with her is that she had been without any herd mates for a couple of months and had escaped the corral the last two times in it by jumping out. The corral is one of those good designs that is made up of wire cattle panels, four strand rusty barbed wire, and old boards.

Anyhow it took about 1 and a half hours to get her in the corral from the field. We had a couple of times she started to go sooner, but she wasn’t ready and I knew I couldn’t make this cow to do anything until she made up her mind she was ready to.

After a half hour in the corral, and a couple of tense moments when she thought about jumping out again, she loaded fine. I had to back off and work her outside the corral. I just tried to be careful, really watching her as to how much pressure to put on or take off. I called the owner of the cow and told him I had her on the trailer. He couldn’t believe it. He told me he just knew we were going to have to shoot her to get her off the place.

Thanks for your help.

Richard and I drove to Westphalia, Missouri in torrential rains this afternoon to speak at the final of three nights of the Livestock & Pasture Seminar Series organized by the Osage SWCD, Fatima Young Farmers, and University Extension. It was a great group of people who seemed very interested in learning more about low-stress stockmanship.

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