Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 11/26/2010 07:13 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 11/28/2010 08:28 PM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
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Bovine Beauty Pageant (aka: fall round up) ~ By, Charity Maness
While most of us view the day after Thanksgiving as a day of rest and relaxation, not so for the Rasmussen family. This family boasting a long lineage of cattlemen, six generations to be exact, come together each fall and each spring and intermittently throughout the year when dad Clayton needs a helping hand with the family business, which today included finding 100 plus head of cattle on over 1200 acres of land rounding them up and bringing them in for branding and vitamin vaccines....
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Imagine my surprise as I drove somewhat lethargically, due to large amounts of turkey and pie still in my system, the soft winding road of Little John Road in Copperopolis and found myself treated to what this city girl thought was a bovine beauty pageant. The cattle varying in shapes, colors, and sizes gracefully and sometimes playfully paraded down the side of the road followed calmly by cowboys ranging in age whistling and hooting. Curiosity getting the better of me I pulled to the side of the road and snapped some shots. That’s when I realized, as with all pageants, the organizers of the event make the actual event look so much easier than it really is. Horse and man worked as one communicating via a squeeze of the knee or a light kick of the boot heel coaxing the cattle in the right direction. One wayward calf made a break for it and the mounted cowboy was off and running…the calf didn’t get far and was quickly reunited with its mother. This dance of horseman and cattle was repeated for miles, the final destination a corral at the end of the road.
The Rasmussen family like most cattle ranchers in the area, allow their cattle to ‘free’ range throughout the year. Due to the lack of available irrigation waters in Calaveras County they move their cattle to higher grounds in the late spring where grass is more abundant. Each spring and fall they round up their herd complete with new calves, brand or ear tag their cattle and give them vitamin vaccinations.
While some ranchers use artificial insemination to insure the quality of the herd, Ginger Rasmussen quite proudly tells of her sons Jeff, Kyle & Greg’s careful research and purchase of some “nice bulls” with “great genes” to improve their herd naturally.
Intrigued by the obvious concern for the cattle in their care; the open range, the lack of antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, and the natural breeding, as a consumer I thought this form of raising beef would be a monetary plus. I was wrong. While we shop the stores for range fed beef and pay top dollar, the reality is the small rancher regardless of the treatment of their cattle, can only sell their cattle the majority of the time at fair market value.
The ranchers in the foothills also have to compete with ranchers in the valley that have access to irrigation for their fields allowing more cattle per acre and a faster weight gain. They also face loss due to predators and cattle rustling, yes cattle rustling. With the current economic recession cattle rustling is making a comeback, in the last fiscal year, 1,761 head were reported missing or stolen statewide even though, if caught, the criminal faces a possible felony conviction.
Yet, not once did I hear the Rasmussen’s complain about the issues that plague the small rancher, instead they joked with each other about their finicky horses telling stories of sneaky pre round up horse swapping leaving the last one to the ride stuck with the horse that “hurts your rear end” and laughing when the cattle stopped to graze instead of move, obviously ignoring the round up crew.
As the cattle came through the fence, Ginger and Clayton’s three sons and some family friends brought the days round up to an end. Now the hard work can begin. Sorting, branding, tagging, castrating….etc. And this all on a day the majority of us use to relax.
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