Livestock Across Nebraska: Beef!

For part four of Livestock Across Nebraska I reached out to my friend Abby Miller who shows beef cattle! Abby graduated this year from Mead High School and will attending UNL in the fall for Animal Science

She has been showing livestock for about 7 years. She started with swine, then recently moved to cattle. However, her family has owned cattle for 8 years. Here is what she had to say!

My love for the livestock industry started with my summer babysitters when I was in kindergarten. They had a love for rabbits that rubbed off on me and my parents are both 4-H alumni, so they decided that enrolling me into 4H would be in my best interest when I was of age. They were right because I fell in love! I gradually grew my rabbit project, having up to 25 rabbits at a time because of breeding. Within the next couple of years, my parents let me have a market lamb, then hogs, and I realized my true passion was with livestock. Even though it broke my heart as a child, I loved the bond you create with your animals. People are right when they say livestock aren’t considered pets, that’s because they are my best friends! 

Although there are many obstacles that come with raising livestock, the largest has been time no matter how common it is. Whether it was trying to make schedules work as a kid to work with my animals (I don’t live on a farm so my parents would have to drive me to my animals), fit chores and extra shows around sports schedules, or trying to have enough time to make money to pay for the projects. 

The best part of showing is the memories you make with all the important relationships you’ve created. Whether its your animal loving up on you, the show barn water fights, or the looks of excitement on your friend’s/parent’s faces when you do well in the ring there are always great memories to be made. 

It is hard to stay on schedule 100% of the time because of conflicting events, however my daily schedule usually looks like this: 

7:30 Walk each heifer

8:30 Feed (if I have time, I will brush them while they are eating)

2:00 Rinse/brush 

2:30 Blow dry

6:30 start working hair on each heifer 

8:30 Feed 

On days I am free, I try to rinse 1-2 more times especially if it is hot. If I do this though, I also spend extra time working hair with conditioner to replenish oils lost from rinsing. My ideal schedule includes 4 hours tied with their heads up from 3-6:30 under fans because this helps with their patience, holding their head up while walking, getting used to being tied at shows, and keeping them clean. I didn’t do this with my heifers the past couple years, but I intend to this year. 

On show day, I shampoo/condition, blow dry, add light oils such as Final Bloom or Pink Oil, maybe some mousse for extra hold on legs, and do some final clipping. I try to do this as close to my class as possible to lower the risk of my calf laying down or getting dirty, but far enough that I’m also not risking taking a calf in that was only half dry. I attend more of the “Blow and Go” style of shows rather than shows that allow fitting. For feeding, I try to stay as close to the daily schedule as possible. I will add some show day fillers though (Winning Fill) starting a couple days before the show and on show day. The best tip I can give for show day is to invest in some wash rack pants!!! I usually would either go into the ring with half soaked jeans, or have to rush to change right before, but with the pants, all you have to do is rip em off! (As a bonus, they’re great at home during the spring when you want to wear pants while washing, keep bugs off etc. without getting hot) 

Making an animal look it’s best in the show ring starts at home with LOTS of practice. When you think you’ve practiced enough, practice some more because your calf WILL be nervous at the show because A) it’s a new environment and B) you will also probably be nervous and your calf will be able to sense that. I once saw a video of a girl who led and set up her heifer without even needing a halter…until you reach that point, keep practicing! While practicing, make it as similar to the show as possible. Go in circles, set up in the right order, make the correct turn directions, etc. Also make sure to always stop at different “spots” to ensure your calf is paying attention to you, not the spot. 

My favorite memory was probably from the very first year I showed, which was with a lamb. I was about 10 years old and my dad had never raised a sheep before, so we were pretty clueless. Going into the show, neither of us had any idea of how good or bad my lamb was. Throughout the show, the judge had been lining up placings from east to west in the ring. When my class went and he started placings, I was the farthest on the west side, which meant FIRST! I looked right at my dad who was beaming just as much as me. Who woulda thought in my first year, I could win my class! Or so I thought. It turns out, he has decided to mix it up a little and I wasn’t in first, but dead last! 

The best lesson is that only when things are going wrong, everything is going right. Livestock are never perfect and there will ALWAYS be issues. For example, my sophomore year I had probably one of the best pigs I had ever had in my career and all of a sudden one day, it couldn’t walk. After consulting my vet, he determined that the pig probably tore its ACL (pretty rare for swine). To add icing to the cake, I had JUST rehabbed my own ACL that year. What are the odds??? There will be many bad days that are incredibly discouraging, but always take a step back and remember that the storm will pass, and that there are SO many kids that would do anything to be in your spot lucky enough to have livestock, even if it meant 2x as many bad days. 

My best piece of advice is to ask questions, and after you think you’ve asked a lot of questions, ask more! My biggest regret throughout my 4H years is not asking enough questions and having to learn some things the long, hard way. People are always williing to help out youth if you are kind and respectful. Many lessons that take years to learn, can be taught in just a single question. My second piece of advice after asking questions, is reading. Before the Banner by Jon Gevelinger is a great resource!

Thank you for taking the time to do this Abby! I hope you all enjoyed reading it!