Well hello there, I see you have found the barn’s latest creation, Told Straight from the Halter, a blog from a cattle perspective written for us by my owner because of course, us bovine can’t type. You can even visit with the cow who has been here the longest, Roxy, in the Ask Roxy column of the blog; she would love to answer your questions!
So, let’s start with the basics since I am sure you are all curious. My name is Grace, I am a purebred Angus heifer and I come from the Indiana/Illinois border to Day Cattle Farm, located in Central Illinois. I occupy the pen second closest to the fan on the show calf side of the barn where the breeze is nice and I get all the attention I could ever dream of. My sidekicks for the show circuit are quite similar to me, being purebred Angus heifers as well, but we all have our own differences. In the pen left of me, Harmony comes to us from where the hills roll, down in Tennessee. To my right, Mira and Tinkerbelle continue to live on the farm where they were born. And just passed Mira, four potential show prospects are learning the ways of life and just how to handle the rope; I know we’re all excited to see what is in store for their careers. Also across the hallway are cows who have many stories to be told.
But for now, let’s talk about me; like I said my name is Grace and I am the oldest heifer on the show side of the barn. I started my showing career this past February showing at the Gibson County Preview Show and the Illinois Beef Expo. The rest of the crew joined me in June for the Central Illinois Angus Preview Show and Illinois Junior Angus Field Day. All four of us held our own in our competitive classes and I even worked with my owner, Sierra, to take home the 2nd Place Intermediate Showman title. I rested up and pouted a little while Sierra was gone receiving her State Degree at Illinois FFA Convention but I was happy to see her hurry back to me so we could make an appearance in Kentucky. Here, Sierra and I joined the Four Corners Farm crew at the All American Angus Futurity where I was a class winner two days in a row. The next week I soaked up the fan and went to the local county fair with Harmony and I took home Champion Angus Female honors and Sierra and I worked towards the Senior Showman win. From there I rested and rested and took lots of baths to prepare for the National Junior Angus Show in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Tinkerbelle, Harmony, and Mira joined me on the 10 hour journey to a week full of hot weather. This hot weather meant sometimes three baths a day and lots of fan time. Sierra competed in many contests but never forgot to spoil me every single day. Mira andTinkerbelle showed on Wednesday because they are bred and owned females for Sierra and her brother,Chayton. Harmony showed on Friday with the younger half of the owned show and Saturday was my turn. I had never had so many heifers in my class but we stood in the middle of the top half of the class and Sierra and I gave the judge a reason to compliment us on our showmanship skills. I was excited to head back to Illinois hoping for cooler weather but I should’ve known better; however, coming home was worth it. I showed the following Tuesday at Sierra’s Section 16 FFA Show with Harmony and Mira where I received the Champion Angus Heifer title and Harmony had Reserve Champion Angus Heifer while Mira placed second behind Harmony. After we got home from the FFA Fair, Sierra headed to the American Angus Headquarters to compete for the Angus Ambassador title and I couldn’t be happier to call my owner an Ambassador finalist. Now is a good time to say a special shout-out to
practically Sierra’s twin, Kelsey, for being there to help show Mira and Harmony and also helping take care of us at home and on the road when she comes to visit us. When Sierra got home late Thursday night, she slept a few hours to only wake up early again for another show day. This time, the Moultrie-Sullivan County Fair where I took home Champion Angus Female honors once again and Harmony and I won the Angus Heifer pair class. We finally headed home for two baths a day and a lot of fans due to the heat advisory we were in. Now, we four continue to prep for the Illinois State Fair and listen to the sounds of little bawls coming from the two newly weaned calves. Stay tuned for more stories from me and all of my barn mates about what is happening around the farm and don’t forget to check-in with Roxy to ask her your questions!
Yours truly,
Grace
toldstraightfromthehalter 
I hope your stint at the Illinois State Fair will be cooler than the rest of the summer. And please if you go to DuQuoin, please say “hello” to all of my family and friends.
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We will be down at DuQuoin and will definitely say hello!
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