Labor Day Fun!

Sometimes, you just have to take time to go for a picnic up the Canyon!  Got rained out from taking showcalf pictures, so went for a picnic instead.   Tyler & Amanda Barker kids, Tom & Sally Ottley kids, Connor Sandstrom, and Austin & Lindsey Udy kids....Best crop we have!

Clipping & Picturing time

The Mountains of Elba...starting to feel a little touch of Fall in the air.Some good ones to choose from. Time to start thinking about the Steer Sale again.  Brought these calves in to give their booster shots. 

Posing from a distance, hope he'll still want to pose on picture day.  Hoping to get some more pictures to share with close-ups of what's to come for the Steer & Heifer Sale Oct. 12-Preview Day, October 14, Online Sale Day.

Fair Time!

Another Fair has come & gone.  The kids did well with their heifers.  The Cassia County Heifer Futurity Champion for 2013, Bowdrie received $250, 7 straws of semen donated by Genex, and a Clipping chute.  ZR3 Fat Butt Heifer Champion Bred Heifer Division.

Kamri & "Foxy Lady", a Naut II heifer, the judge said was one of the prettiest heifers he'd seen.  Maybe he was talking about the little blonde girl showing?!

Brodey showing the Champion Baby heifer,   sired by Black Jack, AY51 "BJ".  Daughter of "Sunshine" Cow/Calf Champion.

Haying Season

 Stackyards are filling up, and Haying Season is in full swing.

Well done!

Tanner Maxfield: Grand Champion Uintah Basin Jr. Livestock Show, Utah.

Ben Urricelqui: Reserve Champion Shasta District Fair, California

 

Randa Allen: Reserve Champion Showman, Lincoln County Fair, Idaho.

A great story: This calf below was born under extreme circumstances.  He was discovered over 2 miles away from the corral hanging halfway out of his mother, head swollen, tongue out and we weren't sure if he was alive,. Tom was gone at the time, so Kassie and a neighbor were able to get the cow to the corral and get it pulled.  He survived, but we didn't think he could see, or at least we felt he could only see shadows.  We kept him at the corral for the first 4 months of his life, and he was named Koda by the kids after the Bear on the movie Brother Bear because he was hairy and thick as a bear cub. Everyone gave him attention and he loved it.  We moved him to a pasture finally with his mother, but the only way to get him there was for him to follow our 11 year old daughter, Kamri with him on the halter.  Every day we would take him up to the creep feeder, until finally he got it figured out.  He grew well!  But we knew we couldn't keep him for our kids, he had to have a special home.  Enter the Allen Family.  When it was explained to mom, Romy his situation, she felt he might be the perfect match for her son Racin's first year as she wanted a gentle calf for him.  Racin is deaf, and so what a great team these two made...a blind calf with a deaf child.    

Romy shared this picture with us of Racin & Koda the week before the fair.  We surmise goodbye isn't going to be easy!




Racin & Koda in the Championship Drive..Well done, boys! Largest ribeye at 15.4, and ultrasound Carcass Champion, Lincoln County Fair, Idaho.   Club calf proved he yielded the Top Beef!

Cows to the Forest Permit

Up before the sun and gathering the cows to head to the forest permit.

4 dogs, 3 kids, Ruel on a 4 wheeler & Tom...a great crew to get the job done.

Armed with Raincoats...looks like we might need 'em.

Family Traditions

Being part of a family is a great thing. Especially when it comes to traditions. 

 Whether it be the Sunday afternoon baseball game with kids of all ages..

 Playing games when it's too cold or late to be outside...


Waiting for the campfire to get rolling for the Hot Dog roast...

Gathering around the patio on lawn chairs visiting....

The traditions at Barker Cattle Company are
many and establishing relationships between family and friends is a common occurrence. There are greater things in life that need to be accomplished than work.  We are lucky to get to integrate tradition and family time into our work and feel blessed to do it in a place we call home...ELBA. Many have said they feel an inner peace when they come to Elba.  We see it as home, but know that when we leave, we can't wait to come back. We are lucky to enjoy the green grass, dirt roads, fish in the creeks, hay bales to jump on, and beautiful mountains with canyons.  This is GOD's COUNTRY! 

Moving cows that need to be worked & posing for a picture at the end of the day.