This is a little bit of a hodge-podge Family Farm Friday....try to stick with me. I didn't have time to organize my thoughts as I spent the week writing a 20 page (single spaced) memo so that I could be out of the office today at OSU HOMECOMING! WOO HOO!
Anyway, last weekend, I attended the American Ag Law Association conference in Austin, Texas. 
There were about 150 or so attorneys in attendance, which I find to be really uplifting to know that there are so many people who are interested in and committed to representing agriculture. The conference had lots of great sessions including talking about negotiating oil leases or wind leases on your property, how to defend an animal cruelty action by HSUS or PETA, estate planning for agricultural families and how to best serve your clients. After a weekend of this, I was inspired and excited about the opportunities that I might be able to develop over the next year in my own practice!
And so after two days of pretty much non-stop legal talk, I loaded up in a car and headed to BFF's house in College Station. The drive from Austin to College Station is about an hour and a half through rural Texas. I can imagine that during a regular year, the drive is beautiful. It was pretty, but you could sure see how dry everything still is, and see areas that were part of the huge wildfires that struck a couple of months ago.
But I have to say, there is something about just getting out in the country and driving. Rolling hills, a cool fall breeze, farm houses, Red Dirt music on the radio.....it's good for the soul. I just enjoyed the "me time" and sort of decompressed. And then when "Carry On" by Pat Green came on the radio, I rolled down the windows and belted it out. Not a bad Saturday afternoon.
And, of course, I stopped along the way to snap a couple of pictures to talk about on the blog with y'all this Friday. For the past few weeks, we've talked about agriculture on the east coast and on the west coast, so today, we'll chat a little bit about agriculture in southern Texas. Specifically, let's chat about eared cattle.
I should back up---do y'all know there are different breeds of cattle? Sort of like dogs--german shephard, lab, poodle--there are cattle breeds too. You've probably heard some of them like Hereford or Angus. Well Brahman cattle (which some refer to as "eared cattle" for slang...you'll see why in a minute) are a breed that is especially suited for warm, humid climates. They come from India, and have more sweat glands than other breeds of cattle. They also (at least according to my college animal science professor) give off less internal body heat than other cattle breeds, which also makes them better suited for warm climates.
You can recognize Brahman cattle by the large hump on their back and their big, floppy ears. I pulled off to the side of the road and got these shots to share.
And that, folks, wraps up our three-part fall tour of agriculture across America. Hope you've enjoyed it!
There were about 150 or so attorneys in attendance, which I find to be really uplifting to know that there are so many people who are interested in and committed to representing agriculture. The conference had lots of great sessions including talking about negotiating oil leases or wind leases on your property, how to defend an animal cruelty action by HSUS or PETA, estate planning for agricultural families and how to best serve your clients. After a weekend of this, I was inspired and excited about the opportunities that I might be able to develop over the next year in my own practice!And so after two days of pretty much non-stop legal talk, I loaded up in a car and headed to BFF's house in College Station. The drive from Austin to College Station is about an hour and a half through rural Texas. I can imagine that during a regular year, the drive is beautiful. It was pretty, but you could sure see how dry everything still is, and see areas that were part of the huge wildfires that struck a couple of months ago.
But I have to say, there is something about just getting out in the country and driving. Rolling hills, a cool fall breeze, farm houses, Red Dirt music on the radio.....it's good for the soul. I just enjoyed the "me time" and sort of decompressed. And then when "Carry On" by Pat Green came on the radio, I rolled down the windows and belted it out. Not a bad Saturday afternoon.
And, of course, I stopped along the way to snap a couple of pictures to talk about on the blog with y'all this Friday. For the past few weeks, we've talked about agriculture on the east coast and on the west coast, so today, we'll chat a little bit about agriculture in southern Texas. Specifically, let's chat about eared cattle.
I should back up---do y'all know there are different breeds of cattle? Sort of like dogs--german shephard, lab, poodle--there are cattle breeds too. You've probably heard some of them like Hereford or Angus. Well Brahman cattle (which some refer to as "eared cattle" for slang...you'll see why in a minute) are a breed that is especially suited for warm, humid climates. They come from India, and have more sweat glands than other breeds of cattle. They also (at least according to my college animal science professor) give off less internal body heat than other cattle breeds, which also makes them better suited for warm climates.
You can recognize Brahman cattle by the large hump on their back and their big, floppy ears. I pulled off to the side of the road and got these shots to share.
And that, folks, wraps up our three-part fall tour of agriculture across America. Hope you've enjoyed it!
1 comment:
Growing up, I called (and I still do) those cattle...bunny eared camel hump cattle. My papa always knew exactly what I was referring to!
BOKG
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