Farm Field Trip

For my farm field trip, I visited the Udy Cattle Company, or UCC, in Southeast Idaho. The main buildings are settled in a small pocket of hills that stretches to open fields and grazing pastures. Although going on the third generation, UCC, is a relatively new operation. George Udy, and his son James, work together to produce quality livestock, along with James sister Sharee. The Udy’s raise registered Black and Red Angus cattle, registered Herefords, and a herd of mixed stock of the three. George and James have worked hard to make their cattle operation visually appealing, and yet completely functional. Themed in red and white, all the buildings on the property share this color combo, and they even have the characteristic old red barn to fit the theme. The sale barn is located on your right when you drive up, while opposite of it stands a grassy area tastefully broken up with trees and flower bushes. The cattle pens are located farther down behind the barn dubbed as the artificial insemination barn or AI barn. When working, moving or leaving, the cattle alley ways between the AI barn, Calving Barn, and Wash Barn, can be completely closed off. This makes it extremely easy to move cattle with a few people and also provides extra sense of security when no one is there.

Horses are still a main part of the Udys operation, but are primarily used in the summer months to check cattle in the mountain pastures, and for rounding the cattle up to bring them back to the main ranch. The rest of the time, four-wheelers take the place of horses. When I asked the reason behind this, George explained that four-wheelers take up less space than horses, don’t require to be fed, and don’t have a will of their own to work against you when you least need them to. Feeding the cattle consists of a flatbed trailer loaded down with four bales weighing a two tons each. Pulled by a green John Deere tractor, the cart can be towed through the snow, mud and everything else mother nature throws at them. Technology has allowed the Udys to decrease their time feeding and saddling horses, and has given them more time to spend on other necessary jobs.

While ranching is often put into a romantic lighting, there is a lot of hard work that is rarely talked about. Let’s take a brief tour of a typical winter ranching day. It starts out before the sun comes up. Rain, snow, or sunshine, the cattle must be fed. On the day I was able to help feed, it just so happened to be a snowy, windy day. By winds I mean 40+ mph winds. Ever wonder why ranchers wear so many layers? I’m convinced it is to add extra weight to themselves so they don’t get blown away. Being a rather small lady myself, I had a hard time trying to pitch hay off of a moving hay cart, with winds constantly punching my down and snow blowing in my face. Not to mention the unpleasant feeling of having hay in places it shouldn’t be! After the cattle are fed in the fields, a tractor and grain cart mixer are used to feed the young heifers and bulls that are going to be sold next year. These special few, are located in convenient pens near the barns. 

Udy Cattle Company Bulls. Photo by Natalie Mingo

While feeding the cattle, the Udys keep a close eye on the cattle to make sure that none of the cows, calves or bulls are sick. Typical signs of a sick cow are; drooping head, sunk in eyes, gunky eyes, scours, limping, standing away from the others during feeding time, and abscesses. Depending on what the symptoms are, determines what needs to be done with the sick cow. If it is a calf, some of the doctoring can be done in the fields. For full grown cattle, they must be rounded up, and brought into the barns where the cattle shoots are to doctor them. When a calf or cow is sick, the Udys use antibiotics to help the cattle recover. Along with the antibiotics, vitamin boluses are given to the cow, to help them retain a strong immune system.

While the winter still provides enough work for a full day, the main work starts at the beginning of the year when the calves start being born. When calving season starts, the Udys bring all the soon to be mothers, up close to the barns. With regular sorting, the cows that will be calving in the next few days are closely watched to make sure the births go smoothly. This allows UCC to have a high mortality rate and to ensure the calves are healthy, strong, and claimed by their mothers. Many of the cows that are ready to calve are brought into the calving barn. After the calves are born, the mothers and babies are moved to small holding pens to ensure the calves are eating properly. All the stalls are cleaned daily and kept fresh for the next round of calves being born.

Calving takes up the most time in the early spring, but the Udys also have an annual bull and heifer sale in March. The cattle that will be sold are professionally photographed, and put into a catalog, while also being posted on the UCC website. The sale is the biggest event of the year as it requires the most time to set up, and preform. George and James like to take care of their buyers and do a full lunch for everyone attending the sale. The whole family gets involved with making food, washing cattle, setting up the sale barn and advertising the cattle. It is one of the biggest events in the small town we live in. Buyers come from all over the country, and can even bid on the cattle through the telephone. Last year, cattle were sold to Canada, down to Texas, and from California to Georgia. It really makes sense why UCC’s moto is “Your Source for Quality.”

Being able to visit UCC, really allowed me to see what being a livestock producer is all about. It takes a lot dedication to get up early every day, and to go to bed late. The Udys are very skilled in what they do and are constantly looking into new ways to improve their operation. Working cattle comes naturally, and through experience. Being taught through books may help one know how to run a business and how to doctor an animal, but nothing can prepare you for working cattle like hands on experience.

Thank you Udy Cattle Company for your hard work and time you take to teach those who are trying to learn the trade!

"Udy Cattle Company-Your Source For Quality-Rockland, Idaho-home." Udy Cattle Company-Your Source For Quality-Rockland, Idaho-home. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2015.

Mingo, Natalie M. “Winter Feeding.” 2015. Print.