January 30, 2013

2013 is off to a peculiar start with wild swings in temperature along with continued wind and snow.  Christmas and the New Year were quiet as everyone stayed here at the farm.  I was able to fly to Phoenix, Arizona on January 3rd for the Fiesta Bowl that evening which saw Kansas State University play the University of Oregon in a college football game to conclude the season.  The announced attendance was just over 70,000 in the University of Phoenix Stadium, which features both a retractable roof and field.  The following day we travelled 4 hours north and visited the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. 

All sale cattle were delivered before Christmas arrived.  We would also like to thank Bryan Fossay of Fossay Beef Farm in Woodlands, Manitoba for his private purchase of BIG-GULLY 517U BOUNTY ET 5Z, a flush mate brother to our World Hereford Conference Champion Horned Heifer Calf.  Thanks to Trevor Guillet of Outlook, Saskatchewan for his purchase of a PDHR 20J STANMORE 47R two-year old son out of a KSU BOUNTY HUNTER 611 daughter.  We would also like to thank Jack & Pat Beamish of Hamiota, MB for the purchase of 2 commercial bred heifers.

Our first calf arrived on January 28th and she is a flush mate to our WHC Champion Horned Heifer Calf.  The heifers that were synchronized last spring are to start calving February 1, so the next week will be very hectic.  On the 11th of January, the cowherd was brought into the yard for calving.  On the 12th and 26th of January, we administered Scourguard 4 KC and Vitamin A&D to the majority of the cows.  The final group of later calving females will receive their injections on the 18th of February.

We found out the results on the flushing of two cows at Sundown Livestock Transplants in Cremona, Alberta.  The first mating was HF 3L BEYOND 36N and BIG-GULLY 47R STAN’S BELLE 53T (daughter of PDHR 20J STANMORE 47R).  The other mating was C CRUZ 0248 ET and BIG-GULLY 8151 DOMINETTE 631Y (daughter of MH MONUMENT 8151).  Between the two flushes, 19 Grade 1 embryos were recovered.

I was able to attend the National Western Stock Show from the 16th to 19th of February.  We stayed with a college friend and judging teammate whose family owns a large feedlot northeast of Denver.   The Hereford bull show on Thursday was good, although the increased pen entries in the yards appears to be detracting from the overall depth of quality in the hill show.  The following day, Friday, was the pen and carload show.  This component of the Hereford events has dramatically increased in participation and quality the last several years and many outstanding heifers and bulls were exhibited.  The Hereford Sale on Friday night was changed to occur in the stadium and that allowed what was surely a record crowd to view the event.  Cattle sold for incredible dollar amounts and excitement was clearly evident with the purchase of cattle by major operations outside the breed such as Sullivan’s and Express.  Finally, on Saturday the incredible female show concluded the week with a set of heifers that, in my opinion, blows the socks off what we can currently produce in Canada.  It was a fun trip and I found a couple bulls selling later in production sales that certainly are of interest.

We still have a quality group of yearling bulls for sale and there are 5 two-year olds still available.  All bulls were within the top 20% of the bull calves within their respective year of birth and are from sound uddered females.  Several are very short-marked and there are sires suitable to use exclusively on heifers or both heifers and cows.  Please stop anytime that is convenient to view the bulls, their sires and dams in the yard. 

For those of you also calving, best of luck through the next several months and hopefully the local production sales in this area are successful and well attended through the early part of February.

As always, you are more than welcome to stop by and view our cattle.  We will gladly try and provide livestock or genetics that best suit your specific breeding needs.

December 10, 2012

We had an exceptional early fall for grazing and the cattle performed well in the great weather September offered.  The Big Gully Farm Cattle Judging Clinic & Contest we hosted on September 29th which was attended by approximately 30 young people from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.  Lakeland College also provided a great deal of help in carrying out the contest.  Pfizer Animal Health was a generous sponsor for the event.

Winter arrived early in the third week of October and we have received roughly 2 feet of snow this fall already.  Calves were weaned in late October with 40 steers and 20 cull cows being merchandised at roughly the same time.

We decided to pass on showing any cattle this year for the simple fact that we honestly didn’t want to because of the time and energy expended on the World Hereford Conference, but more importantly the jobs to be completed at home.  Subsequently, it has been refreshing to spectate or judge shows at the Manitoba Livestock Exposition, Farmfair International and Canadian Western Agribition this fall.  Quality of the Angus, Red Angus, Simmental, Limousin and Mixed Breeds cattle that I saw seems to be progressing favorably each year. 

Our fall internet sale went well and the support of viewers, bidders and buyers is greatly appreciated.
Cattle were sold to breeders in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Oregon and Idaho.

I attended Canadian Western Agribition and the purebred cattle display of 1700 head was up 10% from last year.  The Polled Hereford show was particularly strong and the presentation of the Hereford cattle overall was probably as good as it ever has been.  The Hereford sale was strong and breeders seemed pleased with the traffic at the show.  One major drawback of Agribition seems to be the increasingly embarrassing facilities that exhibitors have to contend with during the week. 

This fall we have been able to purchase a horned heifer calf from Triple-A Herefords in their Queens of the Coteau Sale.  We also purchased a Robin Hood sired polled bred heifer from Brost Land & Cattle.  We were able to purchase a Global sired polled heifer calf from Standard Hill Polled Herefords in the sale. 

Our new Wilson trailer also arrived in early December.  It is a tri-axle 28 X 8 foot model with three compartments.  It has backup lights, roof vents, an adjustable front divider, 54 inch side door, lighted nose sign and tie loops.  It will be a tremendous asset to us and I was excited for it to arrive.  We have already been able to sell our past trailer that was tremendously dependable.

I have culled the cows aggressively the past two falls at a rate of approximately 20% and with the conception success and bulls we utilized this spring, I am confident and excited for what should be a high-quality and deep calf crop.  Calves are set to begin arriving around February 1st for duration of roughly 68 days.

We hope all of you enjoy the holiday season and have an exceptional start to the 2013 year.

As always, you are most welcome to visit anytime or please let us know if we can be of assistance to you.

August 14 , 2012

It has been exactly a month since we headed to the World Hereford Conference in Olds, AB.  The stay in Olds went fine with the excellent weather and facilities for the cattle.  The junior show was on Monday, July 16th with excellent participation, cattle quality and foreign junior interest.  The open show was Tuesday, July 17th with over 300 head of cattle exhibited.  We exhibited 12 head including a heifer calf, yearling heifer, first calf cow/calf pair and a mature cow/calf pair in the female show.  In the bull show we displayed two yearling bulls, a polled two-year old bull and three mature bulls.  Among the cattle there were 4 class winners and we managed to exhibit three Division Champions (Horned Senior Heifer Calf, Horned Mature Cow/Calf and Horned Mature Bull) and a Reserve Division Champion (Horned First Calf Cow/Calf).  We were satisfied to have Grand Champion Horned Female with BIG-GULLY 611 HUNNY 553U and her March 2nd heifer calf BIG-GULLY 47R STANS LASS 553Z.  The cow is sired by KSU BOUNTY HUNTER 611, while the calf is a daughter of PDHR 20J STANMORE 47R. 

On July 30, we pregnancy checked all the cows and were very pleased with the very high conception rates on AI and hand-breeding services both among mature cows and heifers.  Our calving season will be extremely busy beginning around February 1 for a couple of weeks and should be complete in early April. 

August 2nd was the annual North West Hereford Zone field day hosted by Tom-Lyn Ranch (Tom & Marilyn Hougham) of Frenchman Butte, SK.   It was cold and rainy for the better part of the day, however 60 bull calves, 12 heifer calves, 15 bred heifers, 9 yearling bulls and 1 mature sire were still displayed.  We exhibited 8 bull calves winning the Senior Division and Overall Bull Calf with BIG-GULLY 47R STANMORE 466Z.   He is a mid-February son of PDHR 20J STANMORE 47R.

Haying has progressed slowly with frequent thunderstorms and showers, however the quantity of forage is excellent and pastures are in exceptional condition.  Once haying is complete, I will hopefully have more time to make some cattle visits. 

Plans are coming together for our Big Gully Farm Internet Hereford Sale in early November.  We are aiming to sell 6 heifer calves, 6 bred heifers, 5 bull calves and 2 black baldy heifer calf show prospects.  The sale offering will include 1 polled bull calf and 2 polled heifer calves. 

Furthermore, for the second year I am organizing the Big Gully Farm Youth Cattle Judging Clinic and Contest to be held on September 29th at the farm 12 miles north of Maidstone, SK.  It will be sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health and include three age divisions along with cash prizes for the highest 5 individuals in each age category. 

Cattle are now sorted into sale groups, heifer calves, bull calves and the remaining steers/heifers have been put down into the Gully for grazing during the remainder of the summer. 

As always visitors are always welcome to stop and view the cattle during the best couple months to do so in August and September.

Sincerely,

May 22, 2012

We completed calving for the 2012 season over one month ago already.  It was a very mild winter in terms of weather with very little snowfall to speak of as well.  The cows are in excellent condition and the use of Inforce 3 seems to have helped the calves remain healthy.  A significantly higher percentage of our cows calved earlier this year relative to the last. 

On April 14 we synchronized 37 yearling heifers to breed on April 24.  The A.I. sires we utilized were C CRUZ 0248 ET, SLDK VENDETTA V-9 ET, PDHR 20J STANMORE 47R, C FANTASTIC 2165 and MSU TCF REVOLUTION 4R.  Mature cows were A.I. bred on natural heats beginning on April 24 to correspond with February 1, 2013 calves.  In addition we put in 11 embryos on May 2 to correspond with February 2, 2013 calves.  These embryos included matings to SLDK VENDETTA V-9 ET and BIG-GULLY 611 BOUNTY 517U.  On May 5th we processed calves and castrated 38 of the 58 bull calves from the 2012 crop.  Cows were taken to pasture on May 8th and heifers followed on May 10th.  All of our natural sires are currently in the pasture and will likely be removed the third week of June so calving is complete the very beginning of April next year.

Plans are also coming together for the 2012 World Hereford Conference in Olds, AB.  The cattle to be exhibited in Olds were slick sheared April 12th and 19th.  We are securing a crew to help us and finished submitting our entries for the open show.  We are hoping the event will be well attended and that cattle will be presented in a high-quality fashion for those who are present.

We recently acquired a new herd sire WCC/CC 1009 GREAT DIVIDE 102 from White Cattle Company in Buffalo, WY.  We are excited to utilize this yearling bull on a set of our heifers and mature females.  He is a March 5th yearling and weighed 1345 pounds on April 19th when he arrived.  Two yearling heifers have also arrived that were purchased in Colyer Herefords annual production sale during late February. 

We still have 7 yearling bulls available for sale and are more than happy to have visitors anytime.  It would be our pleasure to tour you through our farm and cattle at any point this spring or summer. 

Sincerely,
Lance Leachman

March 15, 2012

The mild winter has been a great help with calving to this point.  We are at the 2/3 mark with a higher percentage of females calved out relative to last year.  Unlike last year though, we stand at roughly 1.5 bull calves for each heifer calf.

I was able to attend the National Western Stock Show in Denver during mid-January.  Similar to last year the pen and female shows were exceptional and the bull show wasn’t quite as impressive.  The crowds, new exhibitors and enthusiasm were tremendous.

We recently purchased a yearling bull at the 2012 Nebraska Cattleman’s Classic.  His name is WCC/CC 1009 GREAT DIVIDE 102 and he had caught my eye on the hill at Denver.  He was the Champion Horned Hereford at the Classic and went on to be named Supreme Champion of 11 breeds at the conclusion of the show.  He was raised by White Cattle Company of Buffalo, Wyoming and is a March born, horned son of CRR ABOUT TIME 743.  We are excited about the exceptional birth to weaning spread, power, balance and unique calving ease, birth weight, and carcass progeny differences he can contribute. 

At the end of February, I also attended Colyer Herefords sale in Bruneau, Idaho and purchased a pair of yearling heifers.  One is a polled Nitro daughter with maternal grand-sire Pure Gold.  The other is a horned Gran Torino daughter with maternal grand-sire Rambo.

The calves at home appear to be doing well with a large number of twins born already.  We are administering Inforce 3 on the calves and putting in CCIA tags at birth to help minimize labour and concerns post-calving.  The cows are in excellent shape and seem to be milking very well.

We have been fortunate to privately move several bulls in the past months and would like to thank Greg Frankl, Calvin Grabler, Little Willow Creek Ranch, Ken Hofmann and Dale Janzen for their purchases.  We have no remaining two-year olds, but several yearlings still for sale.

As always if you are in the area and have some free time, please don’t hesitate to stop to visit and view the cattle.

Sincerely,

June 28, 2011

Canada Day is approaching and some sustained warm and sunny weather is here after a stretch of dearly needed rain.  We will process cattle in mid-July and create pastures for the top bull calves, the top heifer calves and send the remaining of cattle into the Gully on native pasture for the remainder of summer.

We are preparing for another fall internet sale, so settling on the heifer calves, bull calves and bred heifers to be included is the next step.  In addition cattle that will go to Agribition will start to be prepared. 

The local 4-H Achievement Days and Regional Shows wrapped up the first week of June.  Dad and I attended the Saskatchewan Hereford Association Annual General Meeting in Swift Current on June 11.  While in Swift Current we saw a small, but very functional herd at Marty Flicek’s along with a heifer calf that he purchased in the internet sale.  We then went to Doug Mann’s farm and viewed a well managed and high quality set of cattle including Hereford cows & calves, commercial Red Angus influenced recips & ET calves, bred heifers and mature bulls.   We were pleased with the “611” sired first calf heifer and her “47R” bull calf along with the “611” sired bred heifer that Doug and Wanda purchased in the internet sale.

Locally I have travelled to Larry & Rick Flicek’s at Neilburg and saw a large number of very good Angus heifer and bull calves.  Then I went to Fred Sirett’s to look at his cows that were exposed with “C NITRO 0248 ET” that we own in partnership.  I saw the yearling polled bull “Hemi” at Stephen Myer’s, along with a yearling bull purchased from Crittenden’s that were both very impressive.  Stephen also purchased a polled heifer out of “Beefman” in the internet sale that appears to be doing well.  I also went to Darren Tyler’s at Cut Knife to see a great set of Hereford X Simmental commercial cows along with a few purebred Simmentals.  Darren had purchased a yearling bull this spring that we intend to show in the fall.

Dad has been able to make some stops at Tom Hougham’s in Frenchman Butte, Jamie Lutz’s in Warner, Alberta, and Churchill Cattle Co. in Manhattan, Montana. 

The remainder of July is busy as I hope to attend the American Junior National Hereford Show and see a “PURE GOLD 1117” daughter show that was purchased by the Meteer family of Blue Mound, Illinois show.  Late in July, Saskatoon hosts the Canadian Junior Hereford Association Bonanza.  The North-West Hereford zone will also have their annual field day on August 11.

As always if in the area, you are welcome to stop and view that cow herd and the calves from both proven and new sires.

Sincerely,

            It was a very busy fall here at Big Gully Farm.  We have nearly completed delivery of cattle from our fall internet sale.  Thank-you very much to all those who registered, viewed, bid and purchased during this inaugural event.  We were extremely pleased with the internet format and the participation it allowed.

Lloydminster Stockade Roundup was the first week in November and we exhibited three head at the local show.  BIG-GULLY 611 BOUNTY 517U was named Grand Champion and half-brother BIG-GULLY 611 BOUNTY 131X was Calf Champion

The 2010 Canadian Western Agribition ended up being the highlight of our lives in cattle production.  We exhibited 7 head at Agribition this year, with a senior bull, bred heifer, three bull calves and two heifer calves.  It was the 150th Anniversary show of Herefords in Canada, along with the 40th Anniversary of Agribition itself.  BIG-GULLY 611 BOUNTY 517U was Grand Champion Horned Hereford and received a Bronze Bull sculpture, awarded by the American Hereford Association, which is typically given to only National Western Stock Show Champions in Denver.  Moreover, BIG-GULLY 611 BOUNTY 131X was the Bull Calf Champion.

Agribition concluded with the RBC Supreme Beef Challenge.  517U qualified to participate through Stockade Roundup and Agribition.  A total of 43 bulls from 13 breeds and 10 shows comprised the Supreme bull show.  A panel of 5 judges evaluated the entries and then designated a top 10.  The event concluded with 517U being Supreme Champion for 2010.   It was the biggest highlight we have experienced and are very thankful to the producers from all breeds who expressed their congratulations to us.  We had excellent help from Cory and Kristi Blaser of North Dakota and J.D. Morris of Indiana in getting the cattle ready.  Currently, 517U is in stud at Alta-Genetics to draw semen for domestic and international use.   

We still have a variety of yearling bulls and small group of two year olds still available for sale at the farm.  Visits are always appreciated.

I will be heading out this week to the National Western Hereford Show in Denver.  Hereford shows are the 13th, 14th and 15th of January.  Besides The American Junior National, Denver is easily the largest, deepest and highest quality Hereford show available to attend and evaluate cattle.  Several Canadians are taking cattle and will surely fair well.

Best of luck with the beginning of calving and enjoy 2011.

Sincerely,
Lance Leachman

April 6, 2010

Calving is near complete with excellent results to this point. We now have “MH MONUMENT 8151”, purchased from Mrnak Herefords, at the farm for spring breeding.  We are impressed by his structural integrity, center body dimension and performance.  He also meets our genetic profile needs for growth, milk and ribeye area. 

Thanks to the follow bull buyers this spring:

Lloydminster Bull Sale
River Bridge Ranch, Maidstone: Big-Gully 47R Stanmore 753W
Poplar Dell Hereford Ranch, Edam: Big-Gully 611 Bullion 178U
Jamie Flicek, Neilburg: Big-Gully 611 Bountiful 580U

Private Treaty
Darcy Frankl- Bar D Farm, Raymore: Big-Gully 611 Gold Bounty 70W
Calla Frankl, Raymore: Big-Gully 47R Stanmore 111W

I would also encourage you to access a blog that entails current agriculture issues every day across Canada and the United States.  The blog is maintained by Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN and can be accessed at:  http://purduephil.wordpress.com/

As always, we would welcome your visit to see the newest set of calves, herd sires and yearling bulls for sale.

Sincerely,
Buddy, Frances, Lance & Tyler

February 15, 2010

We are excited to have recently purchased a coming two-year old bull from Mrnak Herefords in Bowman, ND.  “MH MONUMENT 8151” was a member of the 2009 and 2010 Denver Reserve Champion Hereford Carloads.  He ranks in the top 1% of the breed for weaning, yearling, M&G and $CHB.  He is also in the top 3% for REA and top 5% for milk.  His sire, “MH MONUMENT 3147”, was the natural calf of a Denver Champion female and has been highly influential in the Mrnak production sale offerings.  The mother of “8151” is a Dam of Distinction sired by the renowned OXH MARK DOMINO 8020.  We feel that “8151” should transmit tremendous weaning pay-weight, while maintaining the carcass merit, skeletal integrity and udder quality our current sires are contributing.  Additionally, his pedigree is somewhat of an outcross, but one we have been interested in for several years.

As a reminder, the 91st annual Pride of the Prairies Lloydminster Bull Sale is approaching and we hope you considering attending to bolster your spring sire inventory.  The show is held at 12:00 Noon on Sunday, March 7th at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds.  The sale begins at 11:00 am on Monday, March 8th.  We are consigning three excellent sons of KSU Bounty Hunter 611.  Of the three two-year olds, one was 2008 Agribition Calf Champion and another is among the highest-quality we have produced.  The trio is featured on the sales page with more information.

You are welcome to stop anytime to look at our consignment bulls along with our yearling heifers, bull calves and heifer calves.

Sincerely,
Buddy Frances, Lance, Tyler and Pam

January 26, 2010
             
            We hope everyone has had a positive start to the New Year and calving season so far!

We recently attended the National Western Stock Show in Denver to take in the Junior, Carload/Pen, Bull and Heifer shows, along with the Mile High Nights Sale.  The Hereford events were very impressive with regard to both livestock quality and attendee enthusiasm.  A tremendous set of cattle were displayed by other Hereford breeders from across Canada.  Of the bull and heifer shows, the females were particularly strong in both the Polled and Horned Divisions.  The Horned Reserve Champion female (Reserve Champion Spring Yearling), Champion Spring Heifer and Reserve Champion Spring Heifer were all paternal half-sibs to KSU Bounty Hunter 611. 

The 91st annual Pride of the Prairies Lloydminster Bull Sale is approaching and we encourage you to consider attending this event to complete your bull inventory.  The show begins at 12:00 Noon on Sunday, March 7th at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds.  The sale commences at 11:00 am on Monday, March 8th.  We are consigning three excellent sons of KSU Bounty Hunter 611 to the sale.  One two-year old was 2008 Agribition Calf Champion and another is among the highest-quality bulls we have raised.  The trio is featured on the sales page with more information.

As always, your visit to our operation would be greatly appreciated.  We have many bull calves, bred heifers and heifer calves available for purchase.