Here’s another photo of the two best FFA members in the world with their proud mama! I’m not biased either! 🙂 The strange this is they actually smiled and it was very early that morning.

Good Morning from the sunny Knolltop. I’m excited because it’s actually going to be springlike the next couple of days. That’s something to get happy about!!!!!

I guess spring has sprung around here because every spring “Bud” decides to wander around the neighborhood every morning. While enjoying our blueberry pancakes and sausage this morning, we looked out and our neighbor was walking up the road with Bud in tow. Apparently he went to visit “Patty” the neighbor’s horse. I went out and took care of him, but I’m sure this won’t be the last time I have to deal with a wandering horse with the personality of a farmer who’s been stuck on his farm all winter.

So, I see from the comment section that I am not only self appointed as the official Burton-Fellers blogger…Dallas himself has put their success in my hands. That is very scary.

So here is the sale report of the Branson Sale, in case anyone cares about the minor detail of sale averages, gross sales and stuff like that. This is the sale report that I sent to Dallas…upon his begging of me to write it because he was sick. When I looked this morning on the Holstein World website to see if he used what I wrote, I find that he edited my report…….reminder: that is the last time I write anything for him. Mine was way better. HA!

Bringing elite Holstein genetics to Missouri made the 2008 Branson Limited Edition Sale one of the best sales in the business. Within seven short days, the Holstein industry witnessed two of the biggest sales of the year, if not in history; Butlerview and Branson adding investor spark to the already hot Holstein cattle business.

Last weekend, in the luxury resort location of the Big Cedar Lodge, Dallas Burton and Ed Fellers combined an enthusiastic crowd, a top cattle fitting crew and an unstoppable sales force and the results were the highest averaging Branson Sale ever. On 48 lots, the sale averaged $16,448 with a gross of $789,500.

Holstein investor, Robert Goldmann and long time friend of Dallas Burton took home the two top selling lots in the sale. The top seller at $81,000 was lot 5A, a January Baxter calf out of Ralma Goldwin Carmel consigned by R-Z Holsteins of Wisconsin. Goldmann also picked up lot 2 selling two months fresh, Ralma Shottle Dragonfly-ET for $60,000, consigned by Harvey Schoon of Minnesota.

Other highlights of the sale were lot 1, Regancrest G Beauty-ET, now Iowa bound purchased by Mark Butz for $40,000 and consigned by Debra West of Wisconsin. Mark also bought her first choice Ramos female for $13,000, consigned by David Jons of Kansas. Markwell Holsteins of Washington, spent $49,000 on a first choice MAS female out of Ralma Goldwyn Carmel.

Buyers from fourteen states were represented as the very active sales force of Scott Culbertson, Steve Berland, Ray LaBlonc, Bobby Griggs and Les Terpstra worked the phones before and during the sale. A sale like this doesn’t happen without generous consigners offering up the best in the breed for an expert sales staff to present quality cattle to eager buyers.

Good Monday morning fromt the overcast, 20 degree Knolltop!

It was a busy weekend here. On Friday night we watched Luke’s AAU team play basketball, they won one and lost one. Then on Saturday we had a “normal” day on the farm and then that evening Luke had two more games. They won both of those and it was another late night….and then the time change hit us and I’m still recovering.

Yesterday we went to church and then JW and I had a Michigan Junior Holstein Association meeting which was very productive. Those kids are a great group! We’re busy planning for our annual meeting on March 28th at our Michigan Spring Show in East Lansing and then we are also planning a trip to the National Holstein Convention at the Wisconsin Dells in June.

Now on to another week of life. JW starts baseball practice today and I think he was a little nervous. I can’t believe baseball season is here already…of course it could have something to do with snow on the ground.

Then over the weekend was the Branson Limited Edition sale by Burton and Fellers and since I’ve appointed myself as the official Burton-Fellers blog….yes, Ed and Dallas are officially worried now…they just don’t know how to take me…..I will have their sale results later….because absolutely everyone wants to know what happened at the Branson Limited Edition Sale. For example, everyone is dying to know what the high seller was, the low seller, what cow kicked over the potted flowers around the sale ring, if the auctioneer sounded good or if he had a cold, if the coffee and donuts were fresh that morning or did they go cheap and buy the day old donuts, did the sales force have matching outfits, which hat did Ed wear, you know, all the important stuff!

Better get to the barn.

Good Morning from a very windy and cold Knolltop. The wind is from the west and my kitchen is on the west side of the house….so you know today is a great day to bake something just to warm up the kitchen.

We arrived home from the great FFA convention and as expected we were extremely tired and faced a full afternoon ahead. Not only did we have our routine of supper and chores, but as JW headed out to work for a while for the neighbor and we headed to the barn to milk, Luke went to his basketball game. He had two games last night and we made it to the second one. We got back home at 11 pm….way too late for this dairy farming family!

Everyone is going full tilt again this morning. JW has already gone to do chores for the neighbor and is back now and he and Luke and Jake are moving some hay while Sarah and I clean up the house. Actually I just want to take a nap…but that won’t happen for a while. After chores tonight, we will go watch Luke play two more games of basketball. Although it’s late at night when we get home, it sure is fun to watch those boys play!

The FFA convention was great. I had a wonderful three days hanging out with the kids. Like I mentioned before, their enthusiasm is infectious. I just absolutely loved being with them all…every single one of them! The kids won several awards for public speaking, conduct of meetings, outstanding juniors, creed speaking and star chapter awards. They collected a lot of hardware!

As much as these kids were fun to be around, I think the hotel staff was glad to see every blue cordroy jacket leave the building. It’s not that they were bad, they were just kids being kids and having fun. But kids being kids having fun can be a little loud and disturbing for hotel guests that want a good night’s sleep.

This is Ella, she is one of my BFF’s and the mother of some of the most talented kids I know. She and I do 4-H together and our kids are in FFA, but different chapters…we just had the benefit of hanging out at the convention together. This is Sarah, Ella’s daughter who competed in the public speaking finals. She’s one smart cookie and has a lot on the ball. She does absolutely everything she can and does it well.Luke had the benefit of hanging out with some very pretty girls and took full advantage….well, not really. But he and Sarah (left) have been good friends for a long time and his very special friend is on the right.
The kid playing the fiddle is Matt, Ella’s son, Sarah’s brother and JW and Luke’s buddy. Matt is a boy who I love to pieces. In fact, I told Ella if anything ever happened to her, I wanted Matt! He is an extremely talented young man who plays several stringed instruments proficiently. He’s an amazing athlete as well and is very involved in 4-H too. He has a very competive nature which drives him to success in everything he attempts. Matt also has an opinion and isn’t afraid to share it and that’s another admirable trait. A teenage boy who is convicted is a very persuasive individual. Mark my words, Matt will go far in life…very, very far!

Good Morning from the home of my great Spartans…the place I called home for five years of my life…the place where I learned so much…oh and got a degree too….Michigan State!

We are on our last day here at the convention and it’s been a great trip. You just can’t beat hanging out with 2000 FFA kids. Their enthusiasm for life is infectious and they are so refreshing. Although I spent a lot of time keeping track of kids and going to bed late, I didn’t have to wake up at 3:30 am to milk cows, so really going to bed at midnight and waking up at 5 is not all that different.

Well, I don’t feel like I’m making sense and more coffee is calling me….along with several kids…..

Stay tuned for complete convention coverage…. after I recover!

Well, presently I’m greeting you from East Lansing where I’m chaperoning 20 students at the Michigan State FFA Convention.

We left early this morning and when we got here the kids competed and are done with that part of it for the day. Then we went to a general session where our wonderful advisor Mr. Everett was honored with an Honorary FFA Degree. He didn’t tell the kids he was getting the award and when his name was announced they all cheered really loud and then chewed him out afterward for not letting any of us in on it. I’ve got pictures…I’ll have those posted when I get home.

Right now I have to go, one of the students wants to use the computer and I need to get back to the other kids….we’re just about to leave for another session.

Pray for me! I’ll need it!!!!!! 🙂

Good morning from the Knolltop. It’s balmy here! When we went across the road at 4:30 this morning it was 45 out and the temp is climbing…yes it smells and feels like spring and I love it….but I know it won’t last.

Because no one else on the web has decided to report on it, I will give a tidbit of the Butlerview Parade of Perfection Sale that happened last weekend in Elkhorn Wisconsin. The sale averaged $19,845 on 124 lots and the sale gross was….are you ready…..sit down for this one…..$2,460,800.00! Amazing isn’t it?

There were buyers from 23 states and Canada and the high seller was Lot 8 at $190,000 purchased by Triple Crown Genetics, Kingsmill Farm & Gene Iager.

The next highest consignment was Lot 1 at $155,000 purchased by David Ludwig of Illinois and the third highest was Lot 46 at $96,000 and Mike Garrow & Gerald Todd went home with that bargain.

Apparently it was a high intensity sale with well over 800 people in attendance. I just wish I had pictures to go along with this…those are to come later this week. My photographer hasn’t checked in yet.

Good Morning from the Knolltop. It’s rather warm here…25 when we went across the road at 4:30 am. I think we’re in for some warmer weather but then it’s supposed to get cold again. So, can we say March is coming in like a lion or a lamb?

Yesterday was a busy day for all the Harts. As soon as I got in from milking, I put breakfast on the table and Sarah and I dashed to Pittsford for her quiz bowl competition. I watched her team win a round and then I came back to see Jake’s game. It was a barn burner…they were ahead the whole game and in the last 8 seconds the other team scored…it ended up a tie because there is no OT in junior pro….yes they might as well go kiss their sister.

After the game, my parents and Jake and I went back to Pittsford to watch Sarah’s team lose their final round and then we came back just in time for Sarah’s game, which wasn’t a barn burner in the least, they lost by 20. Then it was home for the normal dinner and chores and then Luke had practice while JW went cosmic bowling with his friends.

While all this was happening, a few miles to the southwest, friends and family flew in from all over the country to celebrate with Bobby’s nephew, Brant and his new wife Jenny as they took their vows. I’m sure it was beautiful and now they are officially married and probably having the time of their life on a great honeymoon.

And at the same time across Lake Michigan in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, history was in the making as the Butlerview Parade of Perfection sale was in full swing with nearly 1000 on hand to watch grown men pay thousands and thousands of dollars for four-legged, black and white animals that provide us with natures most perfect food and provide passionate Holstein breeders with the fix they need to saturate their God-given hunger for a high quality cow.

Isn’t it amazing what can happen all in one day?

It’s snowing pretty hard here on the Knolltop. They didn’t predict this much snow, but it seems to be piling up at a pretty good rate!

It’s been a slow week on the sports front. With JW’s team all done and baseball not started yet, we are in a lag for games. But tomorrow it will pick up with Jake and Sarah’s games and Sarah also has quiz bowl. And tonight our varsity team will play Pittsford in the district finals. It’s anybody’s guess who will win, it will be a great match up.

And yes, I’m in mourning from my Spartans losing last night to Wisconsin. I don’t even want to talk about it.

I think I’ll put one of my columns in today. It was one about auctions, in fact the president of the Michigan Auctioneers Association wanted it to reprint in their magazine. So, I’ll post it here for those of you who don’t get the Farmers’ Advance.

Truth from the Trenches
By Melissa Hart
It can be a useful tool, a fun event, a way to pass time or a huge spectacle. It can make money, lose money, give you an adrenaline rush or invoke sadness. You have high hopes when you begin, a sense of satisfaction when it’s done or an emptiness over dashed hopes. People flock to them, participate in them, enjoy them and spend lots of money at them.
What am I talking about? The auction of course. I’ve been to my share of all kinds of auctions and yet they are something you never get tired of attending. The auction is an amazing event. It’s a wonderful tool for the dispersing of so many things and yet, with the right offering it can turn an ordinary sale of livestock into a glamorized event of a lifetime that if you missed out you feel like you’ve missed Christmas.
I received a catalog in the mail for the Butlerview Parade of Perfection sale that will be happening the first of March. When I opened it up, I realized I was holding a keepsake. The graphics were well done, the concept of the layout was brilliant and the editorial content was priceless. It captures the whole essence of why anyone would drive across the country, cattle trailer in tow, to purchase an animal at this sale.
Here’s how it reads:
You see the gavel start to fall and you can hardly believe it. This is what it’s all about. There is nothing more exciting than the challenge; nothing more powerful than the generations of excellence stacked neatly in a row; nothing more uplifting than putting your fingerprint on the generations that will follow. You see the breeding of the future and the echo of the past. You see the power in the ring as they lead her out and the satisfaction of a life-long ambition. You sign the sale receipt and you own her past and control her future. You know what once was, still is.
When I read that I realized how powerful the breeding, raising and merchandising of livestock really is. It’s more than job or even a livelihood, it’s a profession that can lead you down a path you never thought possible. When you invest your life in animal agriculture you invest not only your sweat and hard work, but it challenges your brain power, your creativity and every ounce of determination in your being.
When you stand back and look at an offering of high quality livestock and the genetics, you are not only looking at animals, you’re seeing the years and years of a man’s work and tenacity. And then put it around the framework of an auction spectacle and you’ve got the culmination of many years of toil, trading hands and going back to work for someone else.
On the other hand, you may walk up to a farm yard with keepsakes lined up neatly in a row. Antiques of all kinds fill the yard of the century old farmstead and you’re there in hopes to take home a bargain or maybe a treasured item. Values are put on priceless tools, chairs, toys, crystal, wedding china and collections of antiques. Things that once provoked a fond memory for one small child are now headed for a different location to be the center of someone else’s world.
At that estate auction you may purchase a simple little bell that hung on a kitchen door to alert the farmwife of her farmer coming in for dinner. That small farmstead alarm may also be the one sound a grandchild remembers hearing when she awoke out of her sleepy state to remind her she’s laying in Grandma’s feather bed. That bell may exchange hands for a few dollars, but is priceless to that granddaughter.
Auctions can help launch one era while bringing an end to another. Auctions bring relief to some and delight to others. Auctions make money for some, provide entertainment to others all while serving as a means to and end and a beginning.
Is there anything better than a good auction?