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Dear Customer, Friends and Family,
It’s New Years Day. 2008 arrived in Tlell with a big wind and a little rain. Blew over 100 km/hr last night, same as it has been doing a lot this past fall. Some things never change although this is working up to be colder and snowier winter than in the past few years. Already I have two complaints that there is no Christmas letter on the web site so I have elected to do a year end report of the “state of the ranch” here at Tlell.
Some people will do anything to get in the local paper. Our first calf on Jan 2nd made the Observer as the New Years Baby for 2007. A natural calf from a first calf heifer. We waited with anticipation of our own home grown embryo calves to be born. Last year I told you about the embryos we collected in April 06, some of which we froze but we also had transferred 9 directly into cows in Tlell. Well, five of these resulted in 3 bull calves and two heifer calves being born in first two weeks of January. These were followed later in the month by the main cow herd and in total 34 live calves were delivered but unfortunately one backwards presentation was born dead. And this year we were split 50/50, 17 bull calves and 17 heifer calves!
After the embryo calves were born but before the cow herd started, Leslie and I attended the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado. I was on Canadian Hereford business to meet with the American Hereford Association as well as a group representing US, Argentina, Uruguay and of course Canada, who are working on the development of a Pan American Genetic Evaluation for Hereford cattle. This is all done with a service provider from Australia, so a real international effort. Leslie and I were able to take in both the Purebred cattle show on the hill as well as the more commercial bull marketing down in the yards and also enjoyed some of the trade show which runs at the same time.
Mom and Dad are both in good health. Mom went to Hawaii for three weeks last winter while Dad elected to stay home and calve out cows. Go figure! They both went to Rupert for a week in early December to take in Caleb’s wedding and shop for all those must have supplies unattainable here on the Charlottes.
I attended a three day meeting of the CHA board in Calgary in late February. Being chairman of the Herd Breed Improvement Committee meant more responsibility and a few more hours of work but I enjoyed the challenge. This will be my last year on the CHA board, culminating at the CHA AGM in Medicine Hat in August 08 as I will not stand for re-election in September at the BCHA AGM.. Nine years on the National board has been educational and enjoyable and all made possible by my family filling in for me while I have been doing Association business. It is time to step back, allow another BC director to participate at the National level and concentrate a little more at home.
The Bull test at Fort Fraser graduated its twelfth annual class of bulls in late March and Tlell bulls did fine. Jamie’s bull finished with a 3.87 lb per day gain over 140 days to place second in the Hereford pen. More importantly, we had a good run with the bull sales. Vanderhoof, with over 100 bulls consigned, sold over 80 head and we were honored to have the Buyers Choice Bull, meaning a majority of buyers voted to have our bull start the sale, and he sold to a new Hereford breeder and ended up as Top selling Hereford Bull on the day. Five days later at Williams Lake Bull Sale and Show there were sixty Hereford Bulls to show and sell along with over 160 bulls of other breeds. All four of our bulls won their respective classes and we ended the show with Reserve Senior Bull Champion, Bull Calf Champion and Best Group of Three Bulls in the Show. The next day when the auctioneer’s hammer came down our two year old was top selling Hereford bull at Williams lake for 2007 and Jamie’s yearling from the test centre was the top selling Hereford yearling bull.
End of April saw both kids successfully finish their respective school years and move to summer jobs. Jamie went to work as a guide running trail rides in Jasper. What a summer job for a horse lover who likes to cowboy. A crew of young people all with same interests and a world class backdrop. She has lots of stories about people, grizzlies, elk, unbroken horses, breaking said horses, driving a team in town, driving the stock trailer with company truck, backing into the bosses girl friend’s car, providing basic health care and nutrition to 70 horses and many more tales not for publication. I can’t imagine a better job for her to grow with.
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Dane made the decision to find new employment this summer. He had worked for West Coast Fishing Club for 3 years but wanted to move up to a more exclusive operation. He went after an opening in Sandspit involving Cartwright Sound Fishing Carters, which runs only two 24 foot cabin cruisers and limits of 4 guests per boat. This meant learning some new skills with the bigger boat and less support staff at the dock but this is home fishing grounds for Dane as he fished this area outside of Skidegate Channel with his friend and mentor Mike. Dane also has lots of stories but mostly of fish; springs, sharks, halibut , cod, snappers, seals, sea lions, whales etc…..oh what a boring way to spend a summer!!! LOL And for this he was also well paid!
Sarena, our trusty assistant in the clinic, who had been with us for 4 years, had applied to join the RCMP and gave her notice this spring. After the Bull Sales we had a trained AHT working at the clinic for a month but mutually agreed that it was not in the best interest for either party or the clients to continue the engagement. In July we welcomed Tracy Duke into our employment to train as a veterinary assistant including both front office and back room jobs. We have been very pleased with her progress as she absorbs all the required knowledge needed to fulfill this commitment. Tracy came to us with great people skills and has lived on the Islands for a number of years. To help keep her focus she has just committed to a big mortgage in Miller Creek. She already knows many of the clients and has fit in real well. Brianna Abbott, who completed her grade twelve last spring joined us in the early fall to work the kennels four hours a day as well as do chores in the Feed Store. This also has worked out very well and we will miss her when she goes back to school next September. In October Leslie also hired a lady with over ten years experience working in the Vanderhoof Co-op hardware and feed store. Our second Tracey, this one with an “e”, works part time in the Feed store but gives us the flexibility to be away more and not have to pile all the work on Ron who has been with us for many years.
While breeding cows in May, Leslie was helping bring cows up to the breeding corral using her young horse Tucker. Cows were in corral and I was shutting gate, Leslie and horse were standing quietly when suddenly he unloaded. He bucked so hard he bounced her up off the saddle horn at least three times before dancing all over her on the ground. He then continued to buck across the yard into a fence and threw himself on the ground. End result was a trip to the hospital for x-rays and a very sore neck and back for over a month as well as Tucker (that’s now Tucker with an F) looking for a new ranch to call home. He went off island on a cattle trailer back to the trainer who couldn’t quite “get the buck out of him”. Fortunately Leslie’s ego has healed along with her back and neck and we are going through this winter with two very trusted horses on which she and Jamie went out for a beach ride today.
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About the same time Leslie got dumped we purchased a new Susuki 4X4 quad for farm use. Seriously, 1000 km later and its only been to beach a handful of times and its great for feeding cows, moving pastures or checking fences and cattle. Doesn’t leave a mark on the meadow and it’s fuel efficient and really easy to operate. I know, the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys!
With the departure of our vet, Dr Perry (who has finished her internship at Urbana, Illinois and is now doing her residency and working on a PhD in Missouri), Leslie decided to convert our rental property from long term rental to more short term stays. She aimed at tourists and business travelers looking for a central location to stay while on island. This has gone quite well the first year with several referrals from Ron who also runs a cottage for rent along with word of mouth and some signage and web advertising.  To add to this part of her business she is in the final touches of a complete rebuild of Grandpa’s house, complete with roof, windows, floorings, furniture and lots of paint as well as more electric heat and electric range. Left to do is countertops and sinks but it will be ready for the summer of 2008.
In the first week of June I attended the Beef Improvement Federation meetings in Fort Collins at Colorado State University. This was more meetings re the Pan American Genetic Evaluation but I also attended the conference. This is a gathering of the top scientists in North America involved in Beef Production research. Most of the papers presented this year involved the advances in genetics resulting from the sequencing of the bovine genome which was done as a cooperative project involving Canada and the US. Very exciting things are coming real soon to a corral near you if you are in the cattle business. The ability to predict the actual genetic potential of a beef animal will soon happen very accurately at a very young age using DNA and performance testing of your animals may become a thing of the past.
We had another International student from Angiers, France join us for silage making this summer. Goulvan Frances was an agriculture student between his first and second year who stayed with us for six weeks, worked on the farm, observed in the clinic, improved his English and toured the islands a little. Silage making was slow with many rain outs and for the first time we closed one silo for two weeks, then opened it back up to finish it due to another commitment. In the end we had a huge grass crop and the feed that’s going out to the cows this winter looks great.
Early August saw Leslie and I attend Hereford Week in Canada hosted by the Maritimes in Truro, Nova Scotia. The Junior Bonanza cattle show was held at the same time as the CHA AGM and Leslie and I took the opportunity to explore a little of the east coast. We arrived three days early and toured from the Halifax airport down to Lunenburg. Went to the Maritime museum there and checked out the water front and spent the night in a two hundred year old hotel. The next day we traveled to the North Shore, explored the old fort at Annapolis Royal then went west exploring the coast along the Bay of Fundy to end the day with a scallop feast in Digby. Leslie did more touring while I attended three days of board meetings in Truro, watched the tidal bore and visited quite a few antique shops. We finished off our week with a group tour of Peggy’s cove and the Halifax harbor ending with a farm tour and barbeque at Windsor. It was a fun relaxing week even if I kept thinking of that final silo at home, waiting to be filled.
Jamie came home from her summer job to get our show string ready for Smithers fair. She had them whipped into shape in record time and we took a full compliment of animals over on the ferry. Yes, it’s now official; a return ferry fare with stock trailer and two adults is now over $1000 as BC Ferries continues to raise our fares on an all too regular basis. Unfortunately we did not have a host of Hereford cattle to exhibit with at Smithers but we sure appreciate the fellow breeders who did show up for the weekend. Jamie left us at Smithers to drive back to Jasper for a weekends work, and then back to school in Olds for the last year in her Ag diploma course.  Dane finished fishing on last Wednesday in August, was on Thursdays ferry and in class at UNBC by Tuesday morning. He started his fifth year working on his degree in Natural Resource Management but also covering prerequisites for Vet School as he has now decided to apply to Saskatoon.
At the very end of August Leslie was paid by a professional photographer to trailer her three horses up to North Beach, near Tow Hill and spent the day doing a photo shoot of the horses running in the surf. Even Tucker with an F went running in the ocean, without a rider of course. The photos will be sold for calendars etc and some can be viewed at the web site rkpress.com. Check out the horse pictures and you can find Leslie on her big red roan appaloosa Zip.
We vaccinated and dewormed calves the weekend before Jamie left and then weaned the works as soon as we returned from Smithers Fair. They were just settled before I left for a BCHA AGM meeting in Salmon Arm on the second weekend in September. Back home to halter break ten bull calves for Bull test centre and more work on the 8 Bred heifers going to a sale in Olds, Alberta in mid October. The fall is just a blur as we shipped the ten bull calves to the test centre along with 7 cull cows and three heifer calves and a flush cow. All went out on the cattle liner which brought in a load of square bales. Oh, and Tucker with an F went on the truck too! Five days later we were loading our trailer to run bred heifers to a purebred female Sale in Olds Alberta. Started out with a ferry which sat in Skidegate till a storm blew through and the seas died down from over 5 meters. Then off to stay with friends at Fraser Lake and another day of driving to get to Alberta. Doesn’t everyone have friends that welcome you and your 7 bred heifers to spend the night? Besides some issues with the brakes it was an uneventful drive in both directions. The sale was a learning experience as we sold our three best heifers into Saskatchewan and Ontario but had to rely on our good old repeat local customers to purchase our remaining heifers so it was back to BC with them to be delivered on our way home. Nothing like doing a heifer transfer between stock trailers at sunset in the Costco parking lot, hugs and thank you’s all around, then back on the road to deliver more cows. Brother Mike and his son Kenny both flew out to Calgary to help with sale set up and take down while Dad looked after the home fires.
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Home from one trip to do laundry, pay off one locum and get second set up for our marketing trip to Farmfair in Edmonton. We took five head to show and delivered a long yearling bull to a new customer on our way off island. Trip both ways in November had its moments as we tested our new snow tires and four wheel drive on more than one occasion. Again, Mike and Kenny flew out to join us for the show day and of course Jamie commuted up from Olds between her classes to show cattle for us. The calf market, which was dismal this fall, seemed to affect the turnout of farmers to view the cattle at Edmonton so that was a down side of the trip. On the positive side the cattle traveled well, we won some ribbons and sold a good heifer calf to help offset the costs. Again, these trips are all possible because of friends we can mooch off of along the way for a bed for us and a bale for our cattle. Thanks again, Trevor and Janice.
We started the process to purchase 17 acres of the old Gerlof place 4 miles south of us back in February. Actually, it is the lot immediately north of brother Mike’s place. The paper work went through in late November so with Mikes 67 acres, and cousin Terry Husbands 16 acres plus ours we now have about 100 acres fenced for pasture. There is lots of room for improvements so we will be building more cross fences and maybe even a little more clearing.
Slaughter regulation changes became law in Sept so we could not have any farm gate meat sales this fall. We did however sell two calves locally plus retained ownership of three heifers at a feedlot in Fraser Lake. Along with the cows we shipped earlier in the fall these would normally been sold locally as meat. There is still protest from consumers as we have no viable alternative to meet the government’s requirements locally in Tlell so maybe things will still change in the future but I am not holding my breath. If my pockets were deeper I would set up a direct challenge to the system but lack the enthusiasm to take on the government and the system while having so many irons in the fire already. We did however process three head for the family.
I made a quick trip to Calgary, while family slogged it out in the slaughterhouse, to consult on internet opportunities for the CHA and discuss with the staff and other breeders just exactly what information we were going to recommend to the board be published on the net about animals and breeders within our breed.
Dane arrived home for Christmas on the 13th of Dec and Jamie followed on the 19th. Both had good fall terms. Dane completed five courses with 2 A’s 2 B’s and a C+. He will be ½ class in BioChem short of his prerequisites for Western College of Veterinary Medicine by the end of April but has applied anyway. Some classes can be excused, we will keep fingers crossed. Jamie put in a full fall, attending classes while working part time, first feeding and preparing show cattle for another purebred breeder and later in the fall working weekends processing cattle at a 10,000 head feedlot at Strathmore. I suspect Jamie will get a job this coming summer using her Ag Diploma while Dane will return to fish guiding for the summer. I expect this will be Jamie’s last year at school for a while as she wants to take some time off to work. Says she has had enough of the class rooms for a while but has not given up on her dream to go to vet school some day.
Feeding started here in late November as we stretched the fall pastures to their limits. Cows are all settled in for winter and getting bigger by the day. First calves are due next week and it’s that time of the year to consign bulls to the spring sales. Days are getting longer, can spring be far away.
I hope this letter finds you all healthy and happy. From our herd to yours, we wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
Love to all,
Don, Les, Jamie and Dane Richardson
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