Stampede Success

Once again I entered art in the Creative Arts & Crafts competition at the Calgary Stampede. We went in in Sneek-a-Peek night to go see how my two drawings did. This year was the first year I had to enter in the Open category because I am now to old to enter in the Junior division so I wasn't expecting to do as well as I did. 
Here are the photos I used as a reference and the artwork I entered.

A close-up picture of my cow Hunny.

My ink drawing that won second place in its class. 

A picture of one of my purebred hampshire rams, Prairie Winds 4X.

My pencil sketch that won first place in its class.

The Western Oasis is one of my favorite places to visit during Stampede, its so quiet and there is so much beautiful artwork on display. I will definitely continue to enter and can't wait for next year's show!

PWH at the Vermillion Fair

This past Wednesday Prairie Winds Hampshires travelled to the Vermillion Fair for their sheep show. We arrived late Wednesday night to the fair grounds and got the animals settled in the sheep barn. 
Thursday afternoon the show started with the Trimming and Lamb Judging components of the Junior Show. I participated and won 1st in the Senior division of both Trimming and Judging. The Open Show was later in the afternoon and we placed at the top of both the ewe and ewe lamb classes. 
The Junior Show's conformation classes were Friday afternoon and I did very well with my animals. All the ewes I brought to show were part of my purebred flock and I was proud to showcase the Hampshire breed.

Reserve Champion Ewe Lamb

Reserve Champion Ewe

 My Reserve Champion Flock and the Grand Champion Flock on the right.

I had an awesome time in Vermillion and will definitely be back next year to show again and enjoy the fair. Thank-you to everyone involved with the Fair and the Sheep Show for your hospitality and putting on a great event!

Summer Synergy 2012

Since Tuesday we have been in Olds for the 2nd Annual Provincial Sheep Show and Summer Synergy. This year I am just a lucky spectator and happy to not have to be working in the heat. Yesterday the sheep participants competed in sheep judging, marketing and trimming components of the show. They also took part in a felting workshop and made a craft. Today was the breeding project show and the members of the Standard Sheep Club did very well. Tomorrow the market lamb,showmanship and costume classes will take place and the Synergy competitors will find out if they have won a scholarship.

4-H on Parade 2012 Sheep Show Schedule

This weekend we will be packing up and heading into Calgary for 4-H on Parade, the annual regional super-sized achievement day for 4-H members of many clubs with a wide range of projects. My brother will be showing his ewe lamb, yearling ewe and her lamb and showing and selling a pen of three market lambs this year. On Thursday night we will take in the lambs and get the stall area decorated, but the actual competitions don't start until Friday.
The sheep stalls and sheep show ring will be located in the Producers Tent which usually is home to Ag-tivity in the City during Stampede time. The market lamb sale will take place next door in the Agriculture Building's Pavillion.


Here is the schedule of events for the Sheep Show:


Friday June 1
2:00-3:00 Lamb Trimming Competition
3:30-4:30 Lamb Judging Competition
Also most of the members will be grooming their sheep in preparation for the show so if you want to see a lamb getting a bath this is the day to come!
Saturday June 2
9:00-10:00 Market Lamb Classes
10:15-11:45 Pen of Three Classes
1:15-3:00 Breeding Ewe Classes (ie. Ewe Lamb, Yearling Ewe, Mature Ewe and Breeding Flock)
3:30-4:30 Showmanship Classes (ie. Junior, Intermediate, Senior)
Sunday June 3
11:00 Market Lamb Sales followed by sale of the Charity Lamb


A complete schedule of events can be found at http://ag.calgarystampede.com/events/509-4-h-on-parade.html#schedule.


I encourage everyone to come down to Stampede Park to see this event especially on Saturday because this is the day when most of the shows involving animals happen (sheep, beef, dairy, heavy and light horse) and the lifeskills projects will also be on display. 4-H on Parade is great for those who are interested in learning about agriculture but missed out on Aggie Days or don't enjoy how busy the grounds can get during Stampede. If you do stop by make sure to come over to the smaller white Producers Tent to see/pet the sheep and ask the members questions about their projects.

Rams

Today I sold two of my ram lambs. Before leaving we completed a manifest and tagged them with the yellow CSIP tags required for transportation and gave them a dose of dewormer. We loaded the boys in the trailer and took them to their temporary new home where they will be eating grass in their own pasture until the breeder is ready to let them out with his ewes in late summer/early fall. 
The buyer likes the Suffolk breed so we made sure we saved some good ram lambs that had Suffolk bloodlines. Both rams were from our mainly Suffolk commercial strain of ewes but one was out of a Hampshire ram and the other a Suffolk so there was a little bit of a difference in their appearance in terms of wool covering. We noticed there was also a bit of a size difference as one ram was tagged 1Z (our first lamb born) and 53Z (our fifty-third lamb born), in this case the lamb born earlier was larger than the lamb born later.
We also hauled the five older rams over to my grandmas to be put on pasture. All five are purebred Hampshires and three of them are for sale. We also have purebred Hamp ram lambs at home still that are also for sale, pictures coming soon!

Rain is a Good Thing

This past week we have seen a lot of rain. It is kind of depressing to look out the window and see dark, cloudy skies and not be able to do much outside but the rain is great for all types of plant life that we rely on to feed our animals. The rainfall that comes during the spring, summer and early fall waters our pastures, crops and land for hay; directly allowing us to produce feed for our animals to eat year-round. 


During a break in the showers we loaded up my small cow herd and hauled them to my grandmas where their pasture is. We don't have enough pasture land at our place for the sheep flock and cow herd to graze on all summer so most of our animals spend their summer at my grandmas farm where there is plenty of grass. We spend quite a substantial amount of time there too rotating animals around between the pens, watering and making sure that they are all happy and healthy. 


In a few weeks some of our sheep will go over there to be let out on pasture too. First the cull ewes, wether and some of the ewe lambs will be sorted out of the flock and be sold. Then on May 12 the remaining ewes, rams and 4-H lambs will be shorn for summer and upcoming shows. Sometime after that we will give all the lambs still on the farm their second round of vaccinations (boost) and their CSIP tags that are required for transport so they are able to go join their cow friends where the grass is truly greener than at home. 

Taking Over the Web

AGvocacy is spreading all over the web and I've found another great example on youtube.


For everyone wanting to get an inside look at the ag. industry check out Meet Americas Farmers Youtube Channel for great videos of agvocates from dairy and beef cattle, swine, sheep, poultry and crop growing Americans. Yes I wish there was a Canadian version too, but these videos are great to watch for those interested in learning more about the agriculture industry in North America.