The Stonewall Courier (Aspermont, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 13, 2014 Page: 4 of 6
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4 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014 | THE STONEWALL COURIER
The 501
If cows had Olympics Rio Rita takes the gold
A ny calf born this week on our farm is going to
L-\ be named Olympus or Olympia, per the gender
JL JLnot for Sochi 2014 but in honor of a different
brand of Olympics. The cattle brand.
It’s the Winter Cattle-Feeding
Olympics challenging events that
revolve around cows and humans in
coldest winter, and I do mean revolve.
Picture yourself following the
branded end of headstrong alpha cow
around and around a big bale of hay,
close on her heels as you remove the
bale wrapping for the very nearby
hungry herd, snow everywhere.
On our farm, that’s how it happens.
The lead cow is the one-eared long-
horn Rita.
Think of her as a gold medalist. She
does.
Think of me as the token human. I do.
Why go to the trouble to march three times around
each bale to remove the netting? Rita could rip it off
with her horns. But protocol must prevail. After all, it’s
the Olympics.
No, I haven’t timed us yet. How was I to know I’d be
reporting on these games? I just now came up with the
name.
What’s more, the march around the bale is really
more like an opening ceremony than a competitive
event. When it comes to feeding cows, each day starts
with some sort of opening ceremony.
One way to kick things off is to create a parade
around the arena by distributing cubed feed automati-
cally from one of those nifty dispensers mounted on a
truck bed, like leaving a trail of really big breadcrumbs.
But we don’t have one of those dispensers. So it’s always
just me and Rita and the ritual hay bale march.
The music? Yesterday I found myself singing “Here
We Go ’Round the Mulberry Bush” no worse than some
national anthems you hear only during the other Olym-
pics.
Moving right along, my favorite cow-feeding story is
borrowed from my distinctly non-cowboy friend Jerry,
who, perched on the back of a truck (or maybe it was a
trailer), was assigned to open sacks of feed for a whole
herd of hungry cows while his brother-in-law drove.
Poor Jerry, not having trained for the event, frantically
tried to determine which end of which string to pull
to get the first sack to open. Meanwhile, the cows were
in stampede mode, wild-eyed and snorting, pressing
in, thinking of the sacks as pinatas. Jerry finally must
have pulled the right string. He survived to tell about
it. Picture his brother-in-law watching in the rear-view
mirror, smiling.
Whatever the opening ceremony, the cows munch
away afterward and don’t even watch the events that
feature humans stuff like ice breaking, feed-tub wres-
tling and off-road driving through mud, snow and ice.
All it would take to publicize and market the Winter
Cattle-Feeding Olympics would be an organized winter
competition somewhere snowy, starring a herd of iconic
longhorns and some expert cattle feeders who’ve honed
their skills in the sport.
Rounding up the humans would be the hard part.
They’re all feeding cattle.
Hanaba Munn Welch is a regular contributor and columnist for
Blackburn Media Group newspapers.
HANABA
MUNN
WELCH
BILL
From Page 1
and congressional leaders
from West Texas played key
roles on the bill’s creation
and passage.
“We are fortunate to
have strong West Texas
representation on the farm
bill conference committee
in Congressmen Mike
Conaway and Randy
Neugebauer,” Verett said.
“They understand why this
bill is so important to our
area and to the state, and
have been actively working
for agriculture, which is the
cornerstone of our regional
economy.”
However, Verett
said, PCG officials are
disappointed that Texas
Senators Ted Cruz and
John Cornyn chose not to
support the Agricultural
Act of 2014.
“This bill saves billions
of dollars while achieving
meaningful reforms, and
is the best we could expect
in today’s budgetary and
political climate,” Verett
said. “Our farmers need
some assurance that they
will have the tools they
need to continue to grow
our food and fiber.”
Plains Cotton Growers
will join with Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension, Texas
Tech University, and other
ag-related organizations to
AGENT
From Page 1
FFA, Including show
animals, leadership events,
career development events,
public speaking, rodeo,
4-H mounted drill team
and offices ranging from
chapter to area level.
One of the AgriLife
Extension Service’s
responsibilities is
organizing and promoting
the state’s 4-H program.
Choate said she would be
focusing in the first few
months on reaching out to
the community about 4-H
and re-energizing that
program.
“I’m most concerned
PUBLIC NOTICE
Application has been
made with the Texas
Alcoholic Beverage
Commission for a BF/
Beer Retail Dealer’s
Off-Premise License
& Q/Wine Only Pack-
age Store Permit by:
BRUCE TODD
BENSON, DBA,
OASIS LIQUOR
STORE, 15654 U.S.
HIGHWAY 83 in
HAMLIN,
STONEWALL
COUNTY, TEXAS.
with reaching out to the
community, getting to
know the kids and adults
alike and focusing on their
interests so we can make
this program really take
off and shine in Stonewall
County.”
The county had been
without an Extension
agent since May when
Cody Myers resigned to
start a new career with
Global Energy. A potential
candidate last September
was passed over when it
was discovered he had not
submitted his resume for
commissioners’ review.
In the interim, Holly
McLaury, administrative
assistant for County Judge
Ronnie Moorhead, was
PUBLIC NOTICE
Application has been
made with the Texas
Alcoholic Beverage
Commission for a BF/
Beer Retail Dealer’s
Off-Premise License
& P/Package Store
Permit by: BRUCE
TODD BENSON,
DBA, OASIS
LIQUOR STORE
NO. 2, 15652 U.S.
HIGHWAY 83 in
HAMLIN,
STONEWALL
COUNTY, TEXAS.
GO HORNETS!
GO LADY HORNETS!
host educational seminars
regarding implementation
of the farm bill.
The bill includes a
transition program for
cotton in the 2014 crop
year, since enactment will
come too late for USDA
and the private sector to
offer the new Stacked
Income Protection Plan
(STAX).
Crop insurance continues
to be the backbone of the
farm safety net for cotton,
and the bill includes several
important improvements
in the crop insurance
program that will allow
farmers to better tailor
their crop insurance to the
appropriate risk.
appointed to coordinate
4-H youth activities and
tend to the duties of the
county agent.
Because of the county’s
relatively small population,
Choate will serve as
the lone agent for both
divisions of agricultural
and natural resources
and family and consumer
sciences.
“I love working with
youth and enjoy serving
my community,” she said.
“I believe in hard work
and a job well done, even
if it means long hours, late
nights and weekends.”
Kay Ledbetter, a writer for the
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Service, contributed to this
article.
WEATHER
From Page 1
been a trend for hotter
summers in the last several
years, and that’s likely to
continue.
“That’s not good for
drought conditions,
because that means more
evaporation and more
water demand,” Nielsen-
Gammon said.
The recent wet fall has
been followed by a fairly
dry December and an
especially dry January, he
noted.
“The thing about the
dry winter is that we’ve
had some fall moisture
issues already,” he said.
“Depending upon how
much rain we get in the
spring, that basically
determines how rapidly
things dry out in the
summertime. Even with a
normal rainfall, summer is
a time in just about all areas
of the state when we’re
water-stressed because
evapotranspiration is so
high. So we’re going to
hit the summertime dry
conditions earlier than
normal, unless we make
up this winter moisture
deficit in the next couple
of months.”
And making up that
winter deficit in February
and March seems unlikely
at this time, he said.
“We still don’t have a
good jet-stream pattern
to bring us plentiful
moisture, and there’s no
sign of it developing,”
Nielsen-Gammon said.
Reports of up to 10
inches of snow across
most of the northern
Rolling Plains two weeks
ago brought some much-
needed moisture to
that region of the state,
but along with it came
subfreezing temperatures
with lows in the single
digits.
Wheat in this area was
in poor condition due to
drought stress, yet livestock
was in fair condition with
continued supplemental
feeding. Some producers
were breaking ice daily,
while others continued to
haul water to cattle due to
the drought.
On the web
More information on
the current Texas drought
and wildfire alerts can be
found on the Texas A&M
AgriLife Extension’s
Agricultural Drought Task
Force website at agrilife.
tamu.edu/drought.
PUBLIC NOTICE
CITY OF ASPERMONT
TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
The City of Aspermont will hold a public hearing at 6:00 p.m. on February 18, 2014
at the City Hall, 411 S. Broadway, Aspermont, Texas, in regard to the submission of
a Disaster Relief Fund application to the Texas Department of Agriculture for a Texas
Community Development Block Grant Program (TxCDBG) grant. The purpose of this
meeting is to allow citizens an opportunity to discuss the citizen’s participation plan, the
development of local housing and community development needs, the amount of TxCD-
BG funding available, all eligible TxCDBG activities and the use of past TxCDBG funds.
The City encourages citizens to participate in the development of this TxCDBG applica-
tion and to make their views known at this public hearing. Citizens unable to attend this
meeting may submit their views and proposals to Tammy Gibson, City Secretary, at the
Aspermont City Hall. Persons with disabilities that wish to attend this meeting should
contact the Aspermont City Hall for assistance. Individuals who require auxiliary aids or
services for this meeting should contact the Aspermont City Hall at least two days before
the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made. For further information,
contact Tammy Gibson, at the Aspermont City Hall, (940) 989-3585.
Youth Sipport
For $10 per week, you can advertise your business on
The Stonewall Courier’s Youth Support page!
Call today to place your ad! (888) 400-1083 or
stone wallcourier@ gmail .com
We
proudly
support
our local
youth!
Basic Energy Services
940-989-3591 •Aspermont
Backing our
local youth!
GIBSON CARE
CENTER
1000 N
BROADWAY
(940)
989-3526
Lipham Asphalt & Paving
P.O. Box 518
505 S. Broadway
Aspermont, TX 79502
Phone: 940-989-2183 tel:940-989-2183
Fax: 940-989-2185 tel:940-989-2185
LIPHAM
We support our youth!
(940)989-3555 local youtk!
Roger, Johnnie, Brandon and Lacy English
RASS
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Hodgin, Wayne. The Stonewall Courier (Aspermont, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 13, 2014, newspaper, February 13, 2014; Childress, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741382/m1/4/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Stonewall County Library.