Closing Up Shop

We got him from a local breeder. He was a good one - fleshy and thick, with a moderate frame, solid feet and a docile temperament. He was only five years old, but a bull's productive life is short. Older bulls can carry a venereal disease, trichomoniasis, which causes spontaneous abortions and is impossible to detect 100%, so we had to let him go. Our grazing cooperative only allows bulls four and younger, so this season he stayed home with his own group of cows.  

He’s the kind you can load in a trailer out in the open - responsive to handling and eager to do what you ask. He knows it’s less work that way. Honest; that’s what he’s been. He cycled grass and fathered plenty of good beef. His contribution to the herd will live on in his progeny.

We know it’s a business – all about debits and credits, but that doesn’t mean we go about it without compassion. This fellow has had a good life. Summers spent with adoring females. Winters spent in agreeable companionship with hand delivered feed. And finally, he’ll make lots of meals of high quality protein.

We dropped him off at the auction yards in town. The end of the line. We watch him go with respect and thanks for his good work.