We're Engaged!

This past weekend I went back to Sidney for their Annual Octoberfest celebration. I rode back with two girls from Sidney who go to school in Omaha, so it made the long 5 hour drive go much faster than normal. Octoberfest is much like the Clarkson Czech Festival, focusing on German roots and traditions and of course a big tent with lots of people and beer! Little did I know that Tyson was planning something a little more exciting than partying in the Octoberfest Tent.

Saturday morning there is a parade in town at 10 AM. Tyson told me that after the parade we would go take mineral out to the cows, which is something that we do almost every time I come out to Sidney. Little did I know what was actually waiting for me to see in the pasture. The parade got over about noon, then we headed to the Octoberfest tent to have a brat and a glass of beer , before we headed out to the pasture. After we put out mineral, Tyson and I walked through the calves and cows that were by the windmill like we always do and we talked about our favorites and which ones Ty wanted to keep back as heifers. Then we hopped in his pick up and headed up to the top of the pasture to look for the rest of the cows that weren't down by the windmill. Once we got to the top, we walked up to the edge of the ridge and found this: 

Who would have thought that Tyson could be so creative?!?! : )

A view from the top of the pasture.

The preparations, 2 1/2 pick-up loads.

A few pictures minutes after I said, Yes!!!

Celebration Hugs and Joys!

Many thanks to Susan for the coming to take a few pictures to share with family and friends. My family enjoyed viewing the picture, since they couldn't be with us on this joyous day! Now let the planning begin! Stay tuned for future wedding details! : )

What happens if the Wind doesn't blow???

In the Nebraska there rarely is a day that the wind doesn't blow, so many ranchers depend on the wind to power a windmill to pump water for their cattle. Cattle without water for even a short amount of time can be extremely devastating to the herd. Well this weekend in Sidney the wind hadn't blown for a few days and the boys found their cattle thirsty and the cattle tanks destroyed by the cattle searching for water. They instantly had to fix the tanks and bring up water for the cattle.  When ranchers choose to raise cattle, they choose to dedicate their lives to providing proper food, water and home for them. Whether it's during the middle of a hot summer afternoon or a late winter night, ranchers must always do what is needed to raise their cattle.

Tyson and his favorite heifer. She loves to get back rubs and to be spoiled!

Thirsty cows and calves.

Pumping water for the cows while the windmill hadn't been running for a few days.

A mouth full of mineral and salt makes a happy cow!

Weekend on the Farm

While I was home this past weekend, my parents had to pick up a semi in Denver and a live-bottom trailer, so I came home from college to take care of chores while they were gone. Mom has calves that have been weaned and are being fed to be sold at the sale barn.

Calves eating grain.

Alfalfa hay fed to calves as well.

 Feeding the chores was a simply task, but the next day once Mom and Dad had gotten back from Denver, Mom and I decided to square bale my brother-in-laws hay for him while he was as work. When baling hay, you must be very careful not to bale the hay too wet, or too dry. Hay that is bales too wet can become molding, making it unsafe for cattle to eat, and if the hay is too dry the leaves can fall off and making the hay mere sticks and no nutritional value. Here are a few pictures from square-baling hay:

Mom started dropping the square bales out the back of the baler so my sister and I could go pick up the bales and stack them in the shed. Since it was a small patch of alfalfa we were able to use the four-wheeler with a small trailer to haul bales up to the barn.

Trying to juggle a 3 year old and 7 month old while trying to haul bales proved to be quite challenging. But since we used the four-wheeler to pick-up bales, one of us would drive and hold on to the kids, while the other would throw bales and stack them on the trailer. Trust me it was interesting! But we accomplished the task and surprised my brother-in-law when he arrived home from work.

Corn Silage

While I was home this previous weekend, I was able to head over to my sister Rachel's to check out how corn silage harvest was coming along for her in-laws family feedlot. Take a look at a few of the pictures.

Chopping.

Silage Inoculant is put on the silage to help it ferment effectively and to get better feed usage.

Silage chopping has just begun, so the pile is small but will soon be taller than the tractor and fill up the entire feed bunker.

Rachel is checking out a few ears.

The trail cut by the chopper.

My niece McKenzie and I hanging out in the ranger before heading back up to the feedlot.

Arthur Barbeque

Every year the Pinnacle Bank in Ogallala has sponsored a free barbeque at the Arthur County Fair in Arthur Nebraska. A few Pinnacle staff members load up grills, hambergers, buns, pickles, chips, cookies, lemonade and ice tea to feed around 350-400 people before the 4-H sale. Since I have been interning with the bank all summer long I got to go along and help with the barbeque. (post of my internship experience coming soon)
A big part of my summer internship wasn't just about banking, but about relationships with the community and customers as well. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone in the community. 

This year Pinnacle Bank fed around 360 hambergers and had many compliments as people moved through the line. Here is a few pics of the event.

The young 4-H kids helped hand out the food.

All the 4-H kids are excited for the sale to get started!

Long line of hungry people.

Summer as an Intern

This entire summer I have been interning at Pinnacle Bank in Ogallala, Nebraska. My internship is set up through the University of Nebraska Agricultural Economics Department and the Nebraska Bankers Association. A student must be an Agribusiness-Banking and Finance major and be accepted into the Nebraska Bankers scholarship program to be eligible. The student receives a scholarship every year and has the opportunity to be placed in a bank between their junior and senior year in school to fulfill their degree program. The Nebraska Bankers work hard to connect the student to a host bank, but once the connection is made it is completely up to the student to set up interviews and discuss summer employment.

I was fortunate to have worked with Pinnacle Bank in Columbus so I had a connection within the company and got a very good reference from the president at that branch when I inquired to do my internship through Pinnacle Bank in Ogallala. After a short interview and discussion the Ogallala branch president decided he would take me on as a intern for the summer.

I started my internship around June 1st and was immediately thrown right into the daily operations. Beings that I had previous experience at a bank, my initial training was minimal. Here's a list of some of the things I got to take part in as part of my internship.
- Teller and cash operations
- Created loan documents
- Analyzing Financials (Web Equity Manager)
- In House Real Estate Appraisals.
- Farm Inspections
- Commercial Real Estate Analysis
- Home Loan Preparation (disclosures)
- Entity Documentation.
- Loan Officer's Meeting
- Regional Board Meeting
- Daily Reports
- Community Involvement (Rotary, Chamber Events, County Fairs)
- New Accounts

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful opportunity and experience all the different areas in the bank. Everyone that I have worked with has been absolutely great to work with and very kind and helpful in explaining their duties in the bank. Everyone one that I have met, including customers and fellow community members have been extremely nice and welcoming. I hope that everyone a the bank has enjoyed the experience just as much as I did.
After this summer I have no doubt that I want to be anything but an agricultural loan officer, and hope to have the opportunity available after graduation. But all in all I will still need a job, so I would enjoy anything that was agricultural related.

Once again a big THANK YOU to all the staff at Pinnacle Bank, Ogallala and to the Nebraska Bankers and Agricultural Economics Department for making this an enjoyable summer internship. 

Farming and the Weather

With all the adverse weather in my area lately I decided to write a quick post about the risks in farming, mainly the risks associated with Mother Nature.  Every year farmers take a gamble with mother nature, they all hope for plenty of rain at all the right times and to avoid the severe weather; but Mother Nature doesn't always work that way.  Farmers are dependent on the weather everyday, one can get an abundant amount of moisture all year long, but that one final severe storm that brings baseball size hail just a week before harvest can be devastating. Some farmers are fortunate to have irrigation and can help control moisture to their crop, but it never seems to be the same as rain water. Plus with more restrictions in irrigation areas and higher energy cost irrigation can become quite an expense and a lot of work.

The following are just a few photos of how bountiful mother nature can be to crops, and how devastating it can be as well.

A gorgeous gravity irrigated corn field.

And the ugly, a corn field that was hit with golf ball size hail in mid-July.

 

Another angle of the field. The ears on the cornstalks were only partially developed once the corn hit and the ears will have damage. The corn will still be able to harvested, but the kernels will be damaged and not of very good quality.

I hope this post helps to relate the constant worry, stress, and gamble that a farmer may experience everyday while they tend to their growing crop.