http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:30:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 en hourly 1 http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/804/is-it-really-the-end-of-july/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/804/is-it-really-the-end-of-july/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:30:48 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=804
The weather has been extremely warm, making it a challenge to get our barrows walked. The past few nights we haven’t been able to start walking hogs until close to 10pm and it is still pretty warm. My wife and I spent our 17th wedding anniversary walking hogs with the kids in the moonlight, a full moon nonetheless……she said it was the best anniversary ever!

Earlier this month, my kids showed at our County fair. Overall, my kids had a great time at the fair.

Alex showed in the breeding gilt show and ended up Champion York and Reserve overall purebred breeding gilt. She ended up 3rd in showmanship and was reminded a valuable lesson…No matter how severe the weather is, showing livestock is fun and she should be having fun in the ring. The judge told her she was placed 3rd because she didn’t smile or look like she was having fun, it wasn’t because she couldn’t drive her pig where it needed to go, it was obvious she had spent a tremendous amount of time working with her pig at home—as soon as he told her that she lit up a big smile and she realized she was just going thru the motions because she was hot, tired and the heat was getting to her. She knew that her mom had taken photos of her in the ring and she wanted to see them. When she saw her facial expression in the ring, she said “Oh, I didn’t know I was doing that.” To be honest, her mother and I didn’t realize it either because we too were focused on the pig, not her. My point is this, showing should be FUN! Be sure to tell your kids our story, so they can learn from it too!





My son is the young man in the middle of this group. He showed his meat chickens and a single fryer at the fair and learned a few valuable life’s lessons. He learned that despite the best of planning we can’t always plan for variables which we have no control over. We couldn’t take his pig to the fair because she hurt her foot the day we were to leave; he didn’t show a pig at our County Fair this year, it wasn’t anyone’s fault-it just one of those things that can happen. His meat chickens must have had a disagreement just prior to the fair as they had all of their feathers the week before when we sorted them off but we realized that they must have been busy establishing a “pecking order” because they were missing important feathers when we were getting them ready the day before the fair. The good news is he had a great time at the fair!

Despite breaking his arm, Cameron has had a great summer! He decided he was going to plant a garden and try his hand at the farmers markets “eat local” program, except he never went to one farmers market all summer. He sat up at the end of the driveway with a piece of plywood which he spray painted advertising his produce. He is all sold out of sweet corn, is still selling green beans and is getting really close to having his tomatoes ready. He will be delivering fresh chickens to his customers at the end of this week.



This is one of my kids’ favorite barrows this summer named, Hollywood. In order to get on the favorite list at the Vaughan house, the barrows have to do a few things: must love marshmallows, stick their tongues out often, love to be brushed, always lay on their side when you scratch their belly, and they shouldn’t try to get out of walking by trying to out run you in the walking arena! ]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/804/is-it-really-the-end-of-july/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/801/update-from-mineral-point/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/801/update-from-mineral-point/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:24:49 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=801
On July 11th, our family all went to the Madison airport to see our German foreign exchange student, Natalie, off. She, with her mom and grandma were heading home back to Germany. Natalie spent approximately 11 months with our family. She was a great kid and a pleasure to have here.

I got to do a clinic at the Simmental Junior National in Des Moines on July 16th. Had a very large turnout. My nephew, Jon Gevelinger, helped me with the clipping and fitting clinic. After the clinic, Jon, Kylie Willard, and myself judged the fitting competition. There were 14 teams and we placed a very competitive group of kids. We placed the top three teams and they announced the winner Friday evening at the banquet. Thanks Jon and Kylie.

Saturday the 17th, I went to Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan to watch Lauren in a gymnastics tournament She finished 3rd overall on the floor and vault. Lauren and her teammates performed well and seemed very focused.

After the competition, I went to Indiana to look at cattle and back to north of Milwaukee that evening to clip a county fair steer on Sunday.

We are just wrapping up most of our county fairs. We had 4 Grands, a Reserve, and a 2nd place, so we had a pretty happy group of young exhibitors.

Just 2 weeks until the State Fair starts. Good luck to all, then we’ll start gathering calves for the 2010-2011 season.

Bob May ]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/801/update-from-mineral-point/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/796/2010-ca-state-fair/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/796/2010-ca-state-fair/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:12:53 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=796
W-D also wants to acknowledge Kyle Mendes for exhibiting the FFA Champion Duroc and Kendall Vierra with the FFA Champion Crossbred.

In addition, our nephew Aaron Kerlee showed the 4-H Champion British Steer. Aaron has had his steer for the past year and been feeding Honor Show Chow feed. Aaron also participated in Round Robin at State Fair and won!!!

Our nephew Kyle Kerlee won Round Robin last year at our County Fair and participated in the County Best at State Fair, where he also won this year’s Golden Bear. Congrats to both boys!

We are expecting the arrival of our son any day now. We are all very excited to meet him and will keep you posted with that news.

]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/796/2010-ca-state-fair/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/793/happy-summer/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/793/happy-summer/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:49:09 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=793 Events Calendar for an event near you!

]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/793/happy-summer/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/791/hope-you-have-a-happy-4th-of-july-2/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/791/hope-you-have-a-happy-4th-of-july-2/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:23:20 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=791
]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/791/hope-you-have-a-happy-4th-of-july-2/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/788/bobs-blog/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/788/bobs-blog/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:09:58 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=788
It’s been a very good spring and early summer in large parts of the country. Water is in abundance in a very large area of the Midwest, too much in many cases, we’ve had trouble getting hay made at all here. The only good haying was just before Memorial Day… lots of grass though.

The clinics this spring have been great. I went to one in North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, several in Wisconsin and Iowa. Most always the kids and parents ask lots of questions. Hopefully, they are as informative as the participants want and need.

I went out west show calf shopping in late May and found what I thought were some really good cattle, so well see in the fall.

Flew to St. Louis for my 3rd VIP event. I met up with the Purina folks and the ambassadors of each species. We had eight 1-hour sessions on Tuesday, June 15. I was teamed up with Dave Guyer to discuss selection. Hopefully, we made it very informative, but also had a lot of fun doing it. Dave makes it a lot of fun. That was great.

On Day 2, I was teamed up with Kirk to do clipping and fitting again. It was very enjoyable. Kirk and I have been friends since we were pretty young and competed against each other then. Our families are still competing against each other and are still great friends. The VIP ended at noon that Wednesday June 16th and I flew home that evening. On Thursday + Friday, I clipped on customer’s cattle that were headed to the Maine Junior National.

Got to judge the Iowa Summer Beef Expo on Saturday, June 19 in Des Moines. There was a nice set of cattle there. The top end was very nice, had great ring help in Nicole Rathman, Mandy Kolehows, and Bailey Core.

I hooked up with a longtime friend in Paul Clapp, had supper, and headed home. I got to spend most of Sunday with my kids for Fathers Day. Perfect! They got me a couple Will Ferrell movies for a gift.

Brock headed out with the truck + trailer to Spencer, Iowa that afternoon for the Maine Junior National. Lauren and I hung out. Early next morning, Lauren and I left for Spencer and I dropped her off and went on to look at some cattle in the area. On Tuesday, Brock and Lauren each competed for team fitting on their respective teams of 3. There were 13 teams total in the intermediate division. Lauren’s team ended up 5th and consisted of Lauren, Kennedy Core, and Kylie Elder…‹ great job girls! Brock’s team ended up 2nd, and‹ his team was made up of Brock, Bailey Core, and Cole Clanton. Their team had won this contest for five years in a row and was beaten by P.D. Miller, Skyler Miller and Taylor Dorsey. Great job, guys! You did an awesome job.

Very noteworthy was the way the Maine Junior National was run. It was fantastic, and I think the cattle from top to bottom were the deepest I have seen in the last 8 years. The kids, Lauren especially, were not ready to go home after 5 days (their dad was). They made some great lasting friends at those events ‹ five days well spent. What a great family event.

We’re done A.I.-ing cows and got the bulls out. Brock’s working on growing State Fair hair and Lauren’s got softball and her steers for the fall.

Well until the next blog, good luck with your projects for county and state fairs. Hope you achieve your goals. If you do, be thankful, if not, push forward, your day will come. ]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/788/bobs-blog/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/784/are-you-ready-for-fair/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/784/are-you-ready-for-fair/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:43:48 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=784
I have looked at several families’ animals and have been making feeding plans for them. Based on what I have been seeing the weights are good, some need to be softer, others may need muscle shape. I can tell that everyone is working hard and taking excellent care of their projects. If you need advice on your project or have feeding questions for the final weeks before your fair please email or call me, send me some photos or even a short video. I would be more than happy to help!

Last year, I mentioned the importance of demonstrating what I like to call “good swineman-ship.” Each year, fair visitors will stop and ask us questions about our pigs, I remind my kids not everyone lives on a farm and many Americans are more than one generation removed from the farm and that means this might be the only time they see livestock except what they see in the news or on T.V.

Please take the time to tell your story, be honest with your visitors and share specifics about how well your family has been taking care of your animals at home. This continues to be very important as there is a lot of negative media about swine production and agriculture. It is important for the public to know what good care you give to your projects at home and what they are seeing on the TV definitely does not apply how all animals are raised.

Around our house, the weather is either hot and humid or raining and humid! Do you remember the old saying about corn “knee high by the 4th of July?”… Well, our corn is tasseling now. Alex celebrated her 14th birthday over the weekend at a softball tournament. The birthday girl had 2 big hits—one should have been a home run, but ended up as a triple (she stopped at every base to look where the ball was instead of running!). Cameron is counting the days down to getting his cast off his arm this week.

We had sad news earlier this month, our older dog died—he had been my daughter’s faithful pal since she was a very little girl. The same lady where our older dog came from had one pup left in a litter and we went up to look at her. We ended up bringing her home, her name is Ash, and so far she has been a real joy. So far, she has demonstrated she is smart and has good puppy manners. She has been up to the local gas station/coffee shop with my Dad and has been to several softball games. We joked about teaching her to bark at the umpire when he makes a bad call!



Have a great week! ]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/784/are-you-ready-for-fair/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/777/the-big-move/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/777/the-big-move/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:07:10 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=777
We still have a lot of work to do, but this was a major step in the right direction.









]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/777/the-big-move/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/770/top-5-reasons-you-should-go-to-the-world-pork-expo-according-to-my-kids/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/770/top-5-reasons-you-should-go-to-the-world-pork-expo-according-to-my-kids/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:25:07 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=770
My kids absolutely loved their experience at the World Pork Expo and have come up with a list to share with you.

Top 5 reasons you should go to the World Pork Expo according to my kids:

1). The food! You will find the best pork bbq on the fairgrounds. Cameron hunted out the bbq teams and had the best ribs, pulled pork and sausage straight off the smokers. My wife and I joke that these kind people took pity on him because he broke his arm at school a few days before we left to go out to Iowa. Also, the Louisiana group cooked delicious Cajun meals everyday-we had crawfish etouffee, shrimp gumbo, and jambalaya.





2). Farm Toy Show! If you collect toy farm equipment, this is the place for you. Each year there is a super collection of farm toy vendors who bring out the best, hard to find, and must have toys for the carpet farmer or collector in each of us.

3). The Junior Show and Breed Shows–My kids are grateful to participate in programs like the National Junior Swine Association and Team Purebred. These programs are designed to offer networking among young swine enthusiasts as well as educational and competitive opportunities to promote the swine industry. They met new friends and reconnected with old friends from all across the US who all share an interest in agriculture. We had a great week, Alex and Cameron had Reserve Champion Hampshire Gilt in the Open show and placed 2nd in class in the Junior Show.



4). Trade Show—here you will find things that you never know you needed. My kids came back with their bags filled and their arms so full of stuff that we wondered where we were going to sit in the vehicle on the way home. In all seriousness though, every product associated with swine production (that I could think of) was there—it’s a great way to ask questions about each product in person and network with other producers about their experiences.



5). The Iowa weather. This past week we saw temperatures in the 90’s with humidity in the 90% plus. There was severe weather warnings every day of our trip. You never know what to expect with the weather in Des Moines, one day we were in sweltering heat and we were soaked with sweat and then would be a “super soaker rain” (that’s what my kids call it) then we’d have to put on a sweatshirt because the temperature would drop and cool off, then take it off in a few hours when it got hot and muggy again. On the day we arrived, I thought we might see a tornado, the skies looked ominous. Here is a photo my son took of some weather moving in. On the day we left, we had to drive thru standing water as high as my running boards on our vehicle—the kids thought it was cool and my mother in law not so much!

On the schedule for this week is the Honor Show Chow VIP event. Hope to have some photos to share with you next week!

My tip of the week: We have been reaching temperatures in the 90’s be sure to keep your pigs cool. I tell my kids Cool pigs = Happy Pigs. Our pigs have fans on them inside of an old bank barn during the day so they stay nice and cool. Refrain from exercising your pigs during the heat of the day, we walk pigs in the early morning and after it cools off in the evening. Also, with all of the rain we have had recently, if you keep your pigs outside you will need to worm them. Good Luck!!

]]> http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/770/top-5-reasons-you-should-go-to-the-world-pork-expo-according-to-my-kids/feed/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/764/catching-up-with-ryan-2/ http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/764/catching-up-with-ryan-2/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:04:00 +0000 admin http://www.honorshowchow.com/ambassadorblog/?p=764






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