• Lord of the manor….

    ….THF Jackpot, (below) winding up this year’s tour of duty.  His calves from last fall are far enough along now that we can safely say they’re the best we’ve seen so far. It’s almost as though he was saying “don’t forget about me” in response to all the attention we’ve showered on the English bull, TDA Churchill. Jackpot was sired by Rotokawa 243. It’s going to be fun watching the competition play out!  (Picture by Church Matthews)

  • By the light of a smart phone….

    ….we were working after dark last night and the last job was moving our herd bull, Jackpot, from his herd and back to the bull pasture.  We also wanted to get tail hairs to confirm a calf’s parentage.  The whole job was done smoothly, with only Duane Ard’s smart phone for a light. (and we only used that to confirm we’d gotten a good sample in the dark) There aren’t many bulls, not even Devon, that I would be comfortable pushing around in the dark.  But they don’t come any better behaved than Jackpot! Duane also grabbed a quick picture with that smart phone of a Thistle Hill evening sky.