As I sit at my desk and write this letter, another winter storm is blowing across the Sandhills. Being a “young buck,” these storms do not bug me as much as I know they will when I get older. Oddly enough, I welcome them. Not so much the cold, but the weather in general. When I was younger, my mother often found me outside studying the incoming clouds and weather. Probably not the best idea I have ever had, and I often got welts from hail stones, but for me, it was worth it. I was and still am fascinated by the weather. There was a point in time when I considered being a meteorologist. Looking back, I am glad I stuck with the ag industry; it is definitely home for me.
The 2023 Heart City Bull Bash was an absolute ball! The weather truly could not have been better, and Main Street of Valentine was packed. This was my first time attending the Bull Bash, so I decided to take some time and walk through all the vendors and exhibitors. My thoughts?? I am so proud and humbled that I get to call this community home and these people are my neighbors. Everyone was very kind and welcoming. I want to thank the committee and the people that put on such a fantastic event. You all did an excellent job, and I cannot wait to make attending Bull Bash a tradition in my family.
This is your last reminder to get your scholarship applications for this year. The last day to submit an application is February 28th. We have had numerous donations to the funds this year, and we could not be more thankful as well as proud to provide this opportunity.
We are on the downhill slide with bull sale season, and we hope everyone has had a successful sale this year! We noticed that averages are up this year at the sale barns this year, so be prepared if you are still needing to purchase some stock. The sale schedule for the remainder of the month includes The Cattleman Cut, Bowlin Cattle, and Ravenscroff Red Angus. Good luck to all these breeders; we look forward to an exciting sale day for you all.
As we gear up for spring, the Sandhills Cattle has a few events in the works that we are excited about. Coming up in April, we will have our Steers For Students Program. For those of you who do not know, our Steers For Students program is focused on teaching our youth about the meat grading and processing process. Jim Penny from Husker Meats in Atkinson has graciously offered to help us host this event, and we cannot thank him enough for all he has done. The steers donated from Atkinson Livestock, H I Cattle, Hall & Sons Cattle, Lackaff Cattle, and O’Kief Cattle are currently in Feller Feedlot near Wisner getting fed out. We want to thank these members for donating their steers to this program. Without them, this program would not be possible. These members never get a bill from us, so if you are interested in helping with this program, please consider donating towards the feed cost for these steers. Any help is appreciated.
The next event we have in the books is our 2023 SCA banquet/convention. This year's “convention” will look different from the past. The board decided to scale back and have more of a banquet-type event where we can listen to speakers and bid on items for the scholar's auction. The goal of this banquet is to provide a laid-back environment for our members to enjoy but also so provide funding for our scholarship program. We plan on holding this event in Valentine, so please consider attending and supporting us along with the local youth.
The last event for the summer will be our 2023 Golf Tournament. This year we are proud to collaborate with the Cummin County Feeders in eastern Nebraska at The Indian Hills Golf course. The tournament will be held in mid-July. Please consider coming out and supporting this event.
As calving season continues, we pray the weather holds out, and you are blessed with a great crop this year. Please let us know if we can help, and as always keep us in mind when you need advertising or something listed.