Cattle barns on the ranch are usually quiet places, but the barns at Canadian Western Agribition are loud.
The cattle, many of them accustomed to the show circuit, are quiet, engrossed in standing, ruminating and sleeping.
The din is created by a bevy of fans that keep the cattle cool, and a cacophony created by hair clippers, industrial-type hair dryers and blowers, the conversations of buyers, sellers and assorted hangers on and the shocked shrieks and giggles of show novices who step in manure.
In the background are announcements from show rings and auctioneer patter from sales rings.
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There is also constant movement. The cattle are big bovine islands in a sea of foot traffic, school tour groups and the constant ministrations of show fitters. Essentially it’s organized confusion.
At the end of it are hundreds of exhausted cattle producers who put hours, days and actually years of effort into breeding, developing, grooming and showing their best to the Agribition world.
The ones who do it all, at this show and any other, are serious players in the purebred cattle industry. They’re proud of their animals and breeding programs and willing to put their money where their mouths are.
Show and sale participation doesn’t come cheaply and in these tough times, attendance must be carefully weighed. These ranching families deserve a tip of the Stetson for their efforts.
They’re so busy that we’d like to help them out with a chore they might not have had time for: choosing names for the next crop of unforgettable cattle.
The herd letter for 2008, used for registration and tattoo purposes, is U. The coming calves are going to need good names if they are to be unrivalled in competition.
The 2007 year letter, T, was easy: Terrific, Tremendous, Tonnage and Tsunami may be appearing at shows in the future.
But U? Not as ugly as you might think.
The top calves: Unparalleled, Unequalled, Ultimate and Unbeaten. Ubercow and Uberbull might work as well, if one wants a Teutonic influence.
Ultra and its derivations might also suit: Ultragreat, Ultrareliable, Ultraexclusive and so forth.
To reflect specific character traits, there’s Unflappable, Unconformist and even
Ululant, for the calf that won’t shut up.
Names suited to physical appearance include Umber, Unblemished, Unbranded, Unspotted, Undefinable, and perhaps, though hopefully not, Unconscious.
Unreceptive and Uncocked, as well as Underfoot, Uncontrollable and Upholstery, are likely unsuitable names for breeding stock. However, Unchaste might underscore a point.
