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Mission Statement:
To provide
leadership, service
and educational programs
for the promotion of
North Carolina Angus cattle. |
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North Carolina Angus Association 2010 Spring Tours
DAY TWO
submitted by Suzanne Brewer, Executive Secretary
 Jim Scarlett met us at the motel and led us to H & D Angus in Snow Camp. Jim welcomed everyone and introduced Henry Vines and his wife Donna. Jim said that Alamance County for years was primarily a tobacco and textile county, but that things have changed in recent years.
Henry and Donna were both born in the city, but now enjoy the country life. They bought this farm and moved here in 1982. They have two daughters also living on the farm and helping in the chicken houses. Henry worked for Burlington Industries until 1992 and grew tobacco for several years, but sold his allotment before the “buy out”.
They farm 175 acres of pasture and hay land, a lot of his pasture is Max Q fescue and it takes about two years to get established. In 1992 he put in his first chicken house and in 2001 Henry bought his first Angus cows. He showed us a cow he bought from Bette Laursen, Goose River Farms and talked about how he liked her. We saw a group of heifers, of which part will go back into his herd and four will be on the Spring Fever Sale.
Henry is also known for his excellent bulls on the Butner Bull Test. He spoke about an 878 son who gained 5.6 pounds per day, but didn’t pass the breeding soundness exam. He brought the bull home and used him extensively for breeding. In April of this year, he had the second highest selling bull in the Iredell Select Bull Sale. His bulls are fed 16% feed with extra cottonseed hulls. Heifers are fed 2% of their body weight.
Henry & Donna have a Breeder Poultry operation, their eggs are used for hatching. The chicks are 21 weeks old when they arrive (weighing about 4 to 5 pounds) and should start laying around 25 weeks of age. There is one rooster to ten hens. The chickens usually lay until around 65 weeks. I was amazed at the automation of the feeding and watering systems. Henry says it only takes a few days for the roosters and the hens to figure out the difference in their feeders. The fans are thermostatically controlled to keep them comfortable year round. There are 6,500 to 7,000 birds per house. They have a special room where they eggs come into on a conveyor and are picked up three times each day, sorted and placed in tray for twice weekly pickup.
Even though this is a cattle tour, it is always interesting to see some of the other sides of agriculture. Thank you for taking the time to show us your poultry operation.
Next stop is Jim and Donna McCauley, Clover Paddocks Farm in Burlington. Jim and Donna have been members of the North Carolina Angus Association for several years and have both been active in the Association and Donna was instrumental in the formation of the North Carolina Angus Auxiliary. Jim has served as President, on the board and numerous committees; he served as Spring Fever chairman for several years.
Clover Paddocks Farm is a picture perfect, rolling landscape kind of place on this spring day. Known as the Fogleman Farm, Jim has leased the farm since 1995 and it is now for sale.
We viewed a lot of eleven bulls, three breeding age and the rest yearling. There were several 004 calves from a bull they raised and sold last fall. Jim buys his hay and said he fed over 300 big bales last winter; he also bought 48 tons of brewer’s grain in the fall and just finished feeding it. He has fed 20 pounds per head per day. He fed with a front-end loader and says the cows came running when they saw you coming. The only problem he saw was trying to re close the bag to keep it from molding. Jim says you can’t feed just the brewer’s grain; you also have to feed hay or stockpile fescue.
We leave Jim & Donna’s and head to the Clinton McPherson Livestock Building in Snow Camp for lunch. We enjoyed deli sandwiches while hearing the history on the new livestock facility building. Truly a work in progress, (planning alone took several years); the roof is on and they are working on the stalls. Henry Vines, Jim Scarlett, Jim McCauley and Steve McPherson all members of North Carolina Angus and Alamance County Cattlemen, have been instrumental in seeing this dream become a reality. They have an annual field day where they raffle off a John Deere tractor and they have an earth roast in November. The Alamance Cattlemen’s also give scholarships each year. Thru fund raising, grants and donations they are building in stages and paying for them as they go; when completed the facility should be paid for.
After lunch we headed to Triple Tree Farms, Steve & Tammy McPherson. Steve is the fifth generation on this farm and said he’s 47 years old and has been in the cattle business for 46 year, having received a cow for his first birthday. They raised commercial cattle until his son Heath began showing in the mid 1990s. Son Jason lives nearby and Heath, his wife Lisa and granddaughter Hallie Jo live in Iowa. Heath was involved with North Carolina Junior Angus, served in leadership positions and also on the National Junior Angus board.
Steve, a Past President of North Carolina Angus is also a poultry farmer and one of the sellers on the Central Carolina Performance Breeders Bull Sale in December. They will sell around 25 bulls, mostly two year olds and a few heifers. In recent years Steve has used Ohlde genetics in his herd and recently purchased OCC Ulrich 814U as his herd sire. Steve has started selling grass fed beef at farmer’s markets and through other venues.
We leave Steve and Tammy’s and go just down the road (he has a gator path) to Wolfe Wines. After making wine as a hobby for several years, in 2007 the Wolfe’s decided to build a winery. Steve’s mother Yvonne McPherson painted a mural inside the winery of nearby county scenes. The winery is host to several music events, their website is:
Last stop on our 2010 spring tours is Scarlett Farms. Jim Scarlett, Vice President of our Association planned our tours for this year. He included not only Angus producers but other operations as well. Thank you Jim for a very interesting tour, “good friends, good food, good cattle” and excellent stops. Thank you to everyone who hosted a stop, attended the meetings and tours, we’re looking forward to 2011 tours in the Eastern part of the state, Russell and Elaine Wood will be the planners.
I learned earlier in the tour that Jim didn’t always have Angus cattle, but has become a very dedicated supporter of the breed. Jim worked for Western Electric after college and met and married a preacher’s daughter, Elaine in 1969. Jim and Elaine have two children, Julie and Brent and 3 grandchildren. Brent and Julie were both very involved in Junior Angus and showed cows in both state and national competitions. Jim named several good friends they’ve made over the years through Angus activities.
Jim was injured in a vehicle accident in December and thanked his friend, Jack Whitman for helping with the cattle since that time.
Scarlett Farms started with a crossbred heifer calf that he bottle fed, then to Simmental-Angus cross and in 1987 they started raising and showing registered Angus. This year they will have 57 cows bred and Brent has just rented more grassland. Jim likes the Traveler 71 bloodline because of their milking ability. He showed us his consignments for the Spring Fever Sale. Most of their cattle are sold off the farm, Brent is the bull seller and Elaine sells freezer beef. Jim says he wouldn’t sell a bull he wouldn’t use himself, which may be the reason for repeat buyers. He says lots of bull buyers are torn between genetics and looks, we go look at a bull with genetics in mind, but lots of time the fleshier, better looking bull is the one sold.
Jim has arranged for a prime filet dinner at the Mountain View Ruritan Club nearby. Complimented by homemade cakes, the grilled filets were just right. Jim and Elaine’s son Brent was our speaker. Brent and his wife have a large animal practice in Asheboro. Brent’s topic was “Can We Do Better?” First we need to decide the overall goal of our farm. Proper identification, profitable breeding management, advance disease management and surveillance and improving the breed were some of the highlights Brent touched on.
When we consider our goals, we need to consider the area we live in, our environment and marketability. Proper ID is always important, whether commercial or registered. Breeding records, performance data, vaccination records, calving records are all made easier if all animals have their own distinct tag. Pregnancy exams are another way to make the cows work for us, Brent said that any open cows needs to be culled. How many of us will say “she’s a good cow, let’s give her one more chance?”
Again, thank you to Jim for making the arrangements for the 2010 North Carolina Angus Spring Tours. See you in 2011 in Eastern North Carolina. |
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This
site is sponsored by... |
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NC Angus Association, Inc.
Suzanne Brewer, Executive Secretary
3942 North NC Hwy 150 • Lexington, NC 27295
Phone/Fax: 336-787-NCAA(6222) • Email:
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