It’s just about time to get the market lambs for the Sonoma County Fair, something every 4-Her in the county is either in the process of doing or has already secured their lambs with their breeder of choice. And parents of these kids have had this timeline locked into their datebooks since the end of “Sheep Week” last August. It’s not easy picking the lambs let alone the right breeder. It’s important to find that breeder that you and most importantly, your kids, feel comfortable with. And it may take a couple years, some frustration but eventually you work with someone that you “click” with. Think of it in terms of sports….what I mean is, your kids can play, lets say soccer, for years but they really don’t progress or start reaching their potential until they have that one coach they click with. Breeders are no different.
I have made no secret that the Danger Twins experience last year with their Market Lambs were, well not one we care to ever repeat again. So the kids were a bit gun shy and unsure, even though they were participating in their 4-H club sheep project, if they dare try it again. And really, I don’t blame them one bit. I can’t say I’d wanna go through that, but as the Danger Twin’s have said before, nothing is perfect in agriculture! And they are so right! If the very people who give their lives to produce food for us gave up because of one bad season/harvest, none of us would be eating!
So somewhere along the way the seed was planted in the kids’ heads that showing cattle is where it’s at! I am all for them chasing and accomplishing their dreams, but I was hoping that they would at least get a little more height on them before they ventured in to the realm of showing cattle. Call me crazy but getting drug by a 165 pound lamb seems to be better than a steer that 1000 pounds plus!!!
I could tell that there was careful thought put into the ask when my daughter approached me and said “Mom, we’ve been thinking and figuring out how we can make more bang for our bug with our animals.” Ut Oh, I thought…what could this mean? I bet they want to get more expensive lambs, yeah that’s not gonna happen (I’ll tell you my theory on that later). But what came out of their mouths next, I never expected. “We want to show steers. We could make more money because they are bigger!” Now that does make some since, a steer is much bigger than a lamb, but there is WAY more work! And just as I was about to enter into a constructive dialog, weighing the pro’s and con’s of each, my daughter says “Mom I wanna upgrade.” So after careful discussion, we decided to give it one more year and that I was happy to revisit this issue and that I was not saying no, just not right now!
So until then, they will get their “cattle” fix out at the Sheep Spa where Miss Nancy lets the kids get up close and personal with the cattle!
So until next time, becareful when your kids say We wanna upgrade!
Mad shout out to our adoptive Grandma, Nancy Chaffin, for letting the kids get their cattle fix and helping us with the sheep spa! Your a ROCKSTAR!
~Lynnie
