The future - My wonderful brother!



Daniel with his first heifer "Miss Diamond" when he was four.



When I was ten years old my little brother, Daniel was born. Life changed that day, I remember it being a very exciting time and in no time I was feeding, changing diapers and rocking my baby brother to sleep! He taught me a lot, mainly a whole lot of patience but I cannot imagine my life without him and he is a large part of Lilybrook Herefords and probably the future of this place.

It became quite apparent from a very early age that the world of agriculture is in Daniel's blood. He was chasing cows almost before he could walk. Daniel would cover the living room floor with pens made of blocks and the cows he put in these pens were anywhere from a real toy cow to marbles, even to old tags that he spent hours washing. And if one of my family members even dared to knock over a cow or a block we were in trouble! I am told that my dad did the same thing back in Switzerland when he was a boy, setting up his farm and getting mad if people wrecked it.

Daniel and Miss Ribstone

So, over the past few years Daniel has become a big part in the operation, always eager to work with cattle. Not to mention he is very good at it, he stole my spot as the "gate man" probably when he was about six or seven, I remember being a little bit mad but I've gotten used to it and he does just as good if not better than I ever did. Daniel is a fabulous cattleman and may someday be better than my dad, when we're not sorting, Daniel can usually be found behind running the animals into the alleyway of the chute. It is wonderful to watch him work the cows, and sometimes even a bit scary but it gets better, the cows have learned to respect the young man!

We didn't hesitate to get Daniel started early, so he entered the show ring and had his first heifer when he was four, now he is almost ten and had five calves this calving season. So, he's being showing since he was four and now he is nine in his first year of 4-H.

I asked Daniel what his favorite thing to do and on the ranch is and he simply said, "sorting cows." His favorite time of the year for working with cows is the time that we preg test (check if the cows are pregnant) all our cows.

In Daniel's words, "washing my steer for the first time by myself."

Daniel is the most amazing little brother anyone could ask for and he has a passion for agriculture that hopefully will continue to grow over the years as he becomes more involved in the industry and continues through the 4-H program, he is part of the future! 

Having a little rest



Chinook Junior Stock Show 2011