Each year, we are introduced to new families and have the privilege of working with repeat customers. Many times throughout the year, we hear this… “This is a dumb question, but…” Stop asking dumb questions. Now, before you think I’ve lost my mind to be writing this, please hear me out!
It always makes me chuckle that parents put so much pressure on themselves to know everything about the project within the first 26 minutes of owning an animal. I completely get why they do it! There is a significant investment at stake and when we don’t know about something, we worry. Maybe you don’t worry, you just want more knowledge. That doesn’t make it a dumb question…it’s just called a question.
Ask questions…often.
I know About Dumb Questions
At this point, I always find myself telling people, “There are no dumb questions.” However, that’s really not true. I’m not sure why I always rat myself out on this blog for thousands of people to read, but this one will likely give you a chuckle. Here is the story of perhaps the dumbest question ever asked.
We were still in High School and my friend Darrell and I were walking through Macy’s (West coast version of Dillard’s) at Christmas time. They had all of the beautiful trees decorated and I was admiring them. We’d hung out with a bunch of kids from Texas at the National FFA convention and I had it in my head I was going to Texas for college.
Before I go any further in this story, I should tell you that at this point in my life I had a really bad habit of speaking what was in my head without actually thinking it through…at all. I’ve gotten much better over the years, but this will illustrate that I had a large margin for improvement.
I told Darrell, “When we go to Texas, we are going to have a big beautiful tree, like these. Wait…do they have Christmas in Texas?”
You know how they say- That comment stopped him in his tracks?
Well, it did…right in the middle of the store. He’s 6’4”, so he has a long stride and was usually slightly ahead of me when we were walking somewhere. He stopped, like right now, turned to me with a face that said, “you can’t possibly be serious” and actually said:
“Of course, they have Christmas in Texas, it’s not a different country.”
Darrell Hansen
I said something lame like “it seems so far away.” If you’d like another story where Darrell looked at me like I was the dumbest person in the world, check out One Day You’ll Forget Your Cattle.
Ironically, my brother went to Texas Tech and then A&M. He married a Texan and we’ve actually spent Christmas in Texas…as Jack Sparrow would say, “Funny ‘ol world, isn’t it?”
I share this story to point out that yes, there are dumb questions, but yours aren’t dumb…Let’s explore some common questions that we wish people WOULD ask.
Learning the Hard Way
Some of us are visual learners, some auditory. I think the category they missed was the “hard way” learner. Unfortunately, I’ve found myself squarely in this category many times. Asking those “dumb questions” that you are afraid to ask will help you to avoid many situations that are tough to get out of like entry errors, feeding errors, clipping errors and daily care errors.
I can promise you if you are unsure…the people you bought your livestock from would much prefer you ask a question than make a mistake that is hard to fix.
“I didn’t pour my steer because I didn’t want him to get dandruff.”
Well, I can see that logic. But because he was itchy from lice, he’s rubbed all of the hair off of his tailhead and you are done for the show season.
“I tied my steer with his head up on the way to the show…all 5 hours of the drive.”
We want our show livestock to perform at the highest levels…eat, drink, move soundly etc. Ask someone who is successful, how they haul their cattle? Where do they tie them? Do they turn them loose? How do they bed the trailer? Ask questions.
“We show tomorrow morning, so we will get to the show by 6:00 tonight.”
If you want your livestock to look good, you need to let them acclimate to a new environment, rest from a haul to a show, and have time to fill up after the trip. Plan ahead enough to You can find more tips for timing at a show here.
“We thought he was getting too heavy, so we quit feeding him.”
Unless you are very savvy at feeding cattle, you should ask questions about feeding…constantly. Don’t assume you know and don’t assume that because you did something with one calf that you should do it with the next calf. There are SO MANY factors that go into feeding. Please, please, please ask questions. That is the only way you’ll learn. Once you think you know, ask anyway just to double-check yourself. The trick is to be sure the person you are asking the questions of are truly knowledgeable.
“We wanted the first calf to be really good so we bred our heifer to a club calf bull.”
I can’t tell you how pleased we are to field questions about what bulls our customers should breed heifers to this time of year. We’d much prefer you ask than end up with a visit from the vet because you bred a heifer to a bull that is hard calving. Here’s the thing, you don’t know what you don’t know. Ask someone who has been successfully raising cattle for their opinions.
We do it…ALL-OF-THE-TIME.
That’s one of the best things about building a reliable network of friends in the industry. What bulls are working? What bulls are low-conception? Where do you need to protect a bull? (Meaning, what possible downfalls might a bull have?) For example, if a bull makes really good calves, but you hear someone say, “you may need to protect him on rib”. That means: Don’t breed him to a shallow ribbed female, because he isn’t going to add body to his calves.
While we are on this topic, can I just ask you to please stop making breeding decisions based on a cool picture in a catalog or on Instagram? Some guys have 50 new bulls in their line-up every year. Do you actually think they will ALL go on to make an impact on the industry…in a good way? If a bull is zoo-bred and out of an unproven cow, you may want to wait a bit to see how his calves do.
To the point of using a proven bull, I can tell you I’d much rather spend $100 to buy semen on a proven bull than $25 on an unproven bull. In the grand scheme of things, the cost of semen is very low in comparison to the cost of running a cow, getting her bred, etc.
If you have just a few cows to breed every year, it is in your best interest to ask reputable breeders about bulls you are considering.
It is not in your best interest to breed each of them to a different, unproven bull each year. Which bulls are consistently producing champions at major shows? Which bulls are standing the test of time?
Are they owned by reputable people? You want to know that semen quality is good. You want to know if the conception of a bull is poor.
If a bull was used extensively last year and very little this year, there is a good reason for that.
So…Stop Asking Dumb Questions
Confidently ask the questions that are going to set you up for success. If someone thinks you have dumb questions, perhaps you need a new mentor. Asking questions will get you to success much more quickly. Don’t worry about what other people think. However, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE listen to those who answer your questions. It’s quite annoying to have someone ask a question only to ignore the advice I give.
Never stop asking questions. Especially when you are passionate about it! Whether for your hobby or your livelihood, always seek more knowledge.
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