Category: Nebraska

Categories
Circle L NCBA Nebraska Nebraska Beef Nebraska Cattlemen Nebraska Sandhills New Year ranch life

2017! Our Year in Review

Happy Holidays from our outfit to yours.

2O17! Our Year in Review!

2017 at the Circle L Ranch

Cody & I Celebrated 19 Years of Marriage

Cade 15 Years old

Kason 13 Years old

Ryder & Reata 7 Years old

Cody and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary in the air. I got to be the pilot. It was amazing.

Our Family Favorites:

Restaurant: Ole’s and Taco Johns

Food: Beef and Cheese (And Herseys Chocolate Bars)

Activity: Riding Horses

Color(s): Red, Lime Green, Yellow, Pink

We welcomed these new members to our Ranch:

Goats (The kids wanted to expand some more on their Goat Business)

Adding Kids!!

Kason Kept a Puppy we raised (Blue)

“Blue” Kason’s project, I mean working buddy.

Colts (Cody wanted a couple projects)

Kittens (To keep the mouse population down)

A few Heifers and a couple Bulls!

We added this Longhorn to the herd this year. He is quite the character. We are excited to see his babies.

Cade’s Highlights:

He’s in 9thGrade.

He’s taller than Mom and almost his Dad

Plays Football & Basketball & Track.

He is active in FFA and 4-H.

He is active in FCA.

Has Excellent Grades.

Reserve Champion Breeding Heifer of the 2017 Morrill County Fair.

2017 Morrill County Fair Rate of Gain Champion-Steer

Bought a couple show heifers. (I can not wait for this adventure)

He is on his 2nd year of training his colts.

He broke his nose in football and had to have his tonsils and adenoids out.

His future plans include going to college in Ag, a few classes on mechanics and coming back to the ranch.

#12 Cade Loomis 2017 -2018 Bridgeport Bulldogs Picture Credit to Kevin Myers
Super Proud of these two young men. Pictured with Cole Faessler
#88 Cade in Bridgeport Football High School                    He had a great season.
Cade and his heifer at the 2017 Morrill County Fair. This heifer was Reserve Champion Breeding. She is expecting a baby in March.
Cade and Cody Cade is a great hand.
John Covalt and Cade. Cade bought a steer and a heifer from John. He is our 86(I think) neighbor. This steer was 4-H Champion Rate of Gain. He also received a purple ribbon. Cade had a great year with his red cattle.

Kason’s Highlights:

He’s in 7th Grade. (Hard to believe that he is in middle school.)

Plays Basketball and Football. But his favorite is football.

His future plans include playing Nebraska Husker Football and coming back to the ranch.

He is on his 2nd year starting his own colt.

He is training his own dog, Blue. He is doing a very good job.

Has Excellent Grades.

He also bought a show calf heifer. (I am excited to see what this business adventure will take the boys)

He broke is foot last year in football but we didn’t know it until this year when he started 7th grade football. He was on crutches and in a boot for 8 weeks. He is tough for sure.

Kason and his basketball team. These kids are a great group.
Kason showing his steer at the Morrill County Fair. He kept this steer out of his own herd. He got a purple on him.
Kason at the fair. I would say he has a pretty good thing going with his beef herd. Wouldn’t you?
Kason is a really good hand.

Reata’s Highlights:

She is in 1st Grade and love everyday.

Loves anything Horse.

Loves to Draw and Color.

She is getting tall.

Her future plans include being a rancher and a teacher.

Reata’s favorite place is on the back of a horse!
Helping Cody wrestle calves at branding.
Ryder and Reata showing Goats at the fair.
Ryder and Reata showing bucket calves at the fair. These two happen to be baby jerseys.

 

Ryder’s Highlights:

He is in 1st Grade and really likes it.

Loves anything that has to do with the Marines and guns and knives.

His future plans include joining the Coast Guard and then becoming a Marine. O, and he wants me to add that he will be flying helicopters!

O Ryder!! He keeps us on our toes for sure. Photo Credit: Kevin Myers
Ryder helping us move cows.

Fun Family Facts:

We hosted a whole school, K-12, for the Eclipse. We had over 200 kids and adults on the Circle L.

Just one of the photos of the Eclipse on the Circle L Ranch. It was AMAZING.
A photo of what the Circle L Ranch looked like heading into the the total Eclipse.

We attending a cold, fun Wyoming Cowboy Football game with some great friends. We had a great time.

I attended Young Cattlemen’s Conference. It was a 9 day trip that started in Denver and ended in Washington, DC. It was quite the eye opening experience. We tour McDonalds headquarters, Chicago, and the our capital. You can read more about that here.

This was highlight of the Year for sure. I am beyond humble for the experience of being in the Western Horseman. Thank you for all the support and thank you Jennifer Dension for the opportunity

I was featured in the June Western Horseman magazine!

Circle L colt class. He is a cutie.
Have you ever been to the White House? If you answer is no, you should get it on your list. This trip was amazing and I am thankful that I was one of the Nebraska Young Cattlemen to attend.
Young Nebraska Cattlemen Hank, Adrian Smith-U.S. Representative, Jacob
Young National Cattlemens Hank, Deb Fischer-United States Senator, Jacob
Jeff Fortenberry- U.S. Representative Nebraska
John Bacon-U.S Representative Nebraska
The twins doing twin stuff. Like doing tricks off the back of Bozo.

 

 

We are really just a ranch family that has a lot of love. Just look at this picture. It pretty well sums up what we are. Crazy.Funny.Together.
You didn’t think I could post this post without a few Circle L Ladies in it, did you? These ladies are what make our ranch work.

Cody keeps busy with chores, riding colts and day working.

Cody was Top Hand at a local ranch rodeo.

Raised 20 puppies this year.

Raised over 12 baby goats this year. They are super fun.

Favorite Family Bible Verse:

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. (Matt 10:27 NJV)

Favorite Family Game:

Horse Racing- Marbles and UNO

 

 

The Circle L blog page went under construction this year. I moved it from blogger to wordpress. I am liking it better and I hope that you are too. My goal for the blog is to be friendly, provide you with stories, recipes, tips and love. Make sure that you sign our guest book.

With that, here is the top 5 blog post of 2017.

Circle L Ranch Blog Top 5 2017 Posts:

  1. 19 Lessons Learned from 19 Years of Marriage to a Cowboy
  2. Beef Fact Friday
  3. I Am Adopted
  4. Cowboy Boots Go to the City
  5. Why I’m Not Scared to Eat Beef That Isn’t “Antibiotic-Free”

We had a pretty good year, we know 2017 would not have been nearly as fun without all of our wonderful friends and family. So thanks for cheering us on, praying for us, lending a hand, and providing us with love and laughter all year long. Sending you lots of joy, peace and love this season and for the next year, 2018! We would love to hear from you!! You are always welcome. 
 ~Cody, Naomi, Cade, Kason, Ryder, Reata 

Categories
Beef Natural Resources Nebraska water Wildlife

Fun Fact Friday~Beef & Water

A Circle L calf beside a lake provides a classic picture of what God has planned
for us, raising grass for our Beef.
A little Fact/Fiction questions today on the Circle L Blog!!
 
 
Fact or Fiction?
410 Billion Gallons of water are used in the USA per day.
It is Fact. Nearly half of those billions of gallons are used for production of electrical power.(Ref. #1) Humans (Yes, that is us.) we use 80-100 gallons of water a day. (Ref. #2)
Fact or Fiction?
Processing Beef is taking all of our water supply.
It is Fiction.
 
It takes about 441 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of boneless beef. This number is the total of what the animal drinks, the irrigated pasture that the animals may graze, the crops that they animals may consume and the processing of the animal.
According to a study published in 2011 in the Journal of Animal Science, the amount of water used to raise beef today compared to 30 years ago has been reduced by 12 percent.
According to previous research, it takes 226 more days for grass-finished cattle to reach market
weight than grain-finished cattle. More days on grass may mean greater environmental impact. For example, compared to grass-fed beef, grain-fed beef uses 76 percent less water.(Ref. #1)
In my opinion, we the people seem to be using a lot of water. For instance, a 5 minute shower uses 10-25 gallons of water. And it takes 39,090 gallons of water to manufacture a new car.  ( Ref.#3)
Raising beef requires the use of our natural resources that God has given us like land, water and energy. Thank you to all the farmers and ranchers who raise beef with fewer natural resources, including water, than we have ever before.
One thing we do on the Circle L Ranch is that we work with our soil and water conservation district to manage our soils and water. We also use windmills and other natural water sources to water our Circle L cattle and all of the wildlife that roams our ranch.
Happy Friday, Friends! I am headed to the Rapid City Stock Show to attend a feed meeting. What will you be doing this weekend? Watching the Super Bowl?

 

Categories
2015 WSRRA Bridgeport Nebraska Ranch Bronc Riding ranch bronc riding. Double A Feeds Ranch Rodeo ranch rodeo Rodeo WSRRA Representative

Double A Feeds Ranch Rodeo & Hubbard Feeds Ranch Bronc Riding

It is Wednesday, July 22 which means in 3 days, Bridgeport, Nebraska fair grounds is going to be full of cowboys and cowgirls.  You see, I am the producer of the 8th Annual Double A Feeds WSRRA Ranch Rodeo and Hubbard Ranch Bronc Riding.  
I am inviting each and everyone of you to come to Bridgeport.  I plan this ranch rodeo with all my might.  I start the year prior.  I try to improve it every year.  This year marks my 8th ranch rodeo.
This year women’s and open teams, will be competing for a Championship Buckle.  I am especially excited for this years rodeo.  
This year will will be adding more Bronc Riders!  Over twenty to be exact.  Hubbard Bronc Riding is a WSRRA tour stop. Which means that Hubbard Feeds has added $2000.00 to the prize money and that WSRRA Bronc Riders get double points.  Come watch some good old fashion bronc rides. 
I take ten Open teams.  This year I have cowboys from Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.  I know that these teams will not disappoint you.  If you want to watch some handy cowboys please join us on July 25.
I would like to take this time and thank all of those that help me make my event successful.  Being a ranch rodeo producer is sometimes a challenge, but it is something that I like to do. I could not put on a ranch rodeo without help.   
My goal is that when July 25, 2015 comes to an end, I will have not regrets.  I want to see smiling faces.  I want to see the stands full.  I want to reward the hard working teams with a buckle and I want to send two teams to the  WSRRA National Finals. I will be sending a Open Ranch Rodeo and a Women’s team to the WSRRA National Finals. 

With that, I am inviting each of you again to come to the 8th Annual Double A Feeds WSRRA Ranch Rodeo & Hubbard Ranch Bronc Riding.

I was Spotlighted on the WSRRA Blog: WSRRA Event Spotlight: Double A Feeds Ranch Rodeo & Hubbard Ranch Bronc Riding

To learn more about WSRRA please see
http://wsrra.org/

I would like to thank the following people:
Darrell Kraupie, Sue Chaulk, Terryn  and Tom Drieling, Kerry Weed, Todd Micheal, Cody Loomis, Ty McBride, Aaron Vivion, Cary Leithead, Tyrell Oliverius, Cade Loomis, Cassie Leithead, Kason Loomis, Lindsie Leithead, Greg Devrous, Dr. Dean Cline,Tom Drieling, Kylie Bowman,Glen Amateis, Marya Bilby,and all the WSRRA officials  .

I would like the following businesses:
Bunkhouse Trailer Sales, Wolf Auto, Buckaroo Business, Twisted X Boots, Equibrand, Hatch Tack, Buckaroo Business, Tom Balding, Moore Maker Knives, Kings Saddlery,Cactus Ropes, Cactus Saddlery, Hubbard Feeds, Fast Back Ropes, Bridgeport EMS, Bridgeport Vol. Fire Dept.,Morrill County Fair Board, Morrill County Fair Foundation,21 st Century Equipment, Ozark Saddle King and everyone behind the chutes.

And THANK YOU TO ALL MY TEAMS & BRONC RIDERS.  I could not be a producer with out all of you.

Read the Rodeo News Article: http://therodeonews.com/associations/western-states-ranch-rodeo-association-wsrra/

THERE ARE STILL COWBOYS AMONG US
YOU JUST CAN’T SEE THEM FROM THE ROAD.

Categories
Beef Circle L Fun Fact Friday Nebraska Nebraska Beef

Fun Fact Friday from the Circle L!

Fun Fact Friday from the Circle L!

I decided that every Friday I would post a fact.  I am not limiting myself to what I share.  My hope is that we all will learn a thing or two!

My fun fact for today:

Nebraska has more cattle than people.  Cattle outnumber us 4 to 1!  According to Nebraska Beef Council cows number 1.94 million, versus Nebraska residents who number just 1.8 million.  

I am proud to be living in a BEEF state. I am thankful that I have an opportunity to raise Nebraska Beef.

Happy Friday my friends.  Have a good weekend for the Circle L!