Ag Day
Blue Mountain Eagle
CATTLE
Continued from Page A10
“It could get to 20 below zero
some winters,” Holliday said. “We
didn’t see many visitors on those
days.”
The cattle drive could be a big
tourist draw. Visitors would call
ahead of time to find out when the
AG
Continued from Page A10
can remove about 13 tons
of dust and gases every
year from the surrounding
environment.
• Almost a third of the
world’s total land area is
covered by forests.
• Hamburger meat from a
single steer will make about
720 quarter-pound hamburg-
er patties. That’s enough for
a family of four to enjoy
hamburgers each day for
nearly six months.
• Straight from the cow,
the temperature of cow’s
milk is about 97 degrees
Fahrenheit.
• Farmers and ranchers
provide food and habitat for
75 percent of the nation’s
wildlife.
• Americans eat about
125 pounds of potatoes a
year, about half from fresh
potatoes and half in pro-
cessed foods.
• Onions contain a mild
antibiotic that fights infec-
tions, soothes burns, tames
bee stings and relieves the
itch of athlete’s foot.
• Peanuts are not actually
nuts. Peanuts, like soybeans,
are members of the legume
family.
• One bushel of corn will
sweeten more than 400 cans
of pop.
• A family of four could
live for 10 years off the
bread produced by one acre
of wheat.
• Each American con-
cows would be coming through, and
motels would be booked. A photo of
the cattle drive has been hanging in
Washington, D.C., for about 35 years,
Holliday said.
“Three TV shows were made of
the drive,” he said. “One crew filmed
here for about a week, from start to
finish.”
Holliday said the early drives in-
volved about 100 cows, but that in-
creased to 2,000 head over the last
sumes, on average, 53
pounds of bread per year.
• Pigs can’t sweat. Pigs
have no sweat glands, which
is why they roll around in
mud to cool off.
• Heart valves from hogs
are used to replace damaged
or diseased human heart
valves.
• One acre (43,560 square
feet) of soybeans can pro-
duce 82,368 crayons.
• One bale of cotton can
produce 1,217 men’s T-shirts
or 313,600 $100 bills.
• Cotton is a food crop.
Almost 200 million gallons
of cottonseed oil are used in
food products such as marga-
rine and salad dressing. Cot-
tonseed and cottonseed meal
are used in feed for livestock
and poultry. And even prod-
ucts such as toothpaste, ice
cream, and the paper money
used to buy them contain
by-products of the cotton
seed.
• It takes just 40 days
for most Americans to earn
enough money to pay for
their food supply for the
entire year. In comparison
with the 129 days it takes
the average American to
earn enough money to pay
federal, state and local taxes
for the year.
• More than 96 billion
pounds of edible “surplus”
food is thrown away in the
U.S. each year. It is estimat-
ed that almost 27 percent of
our food supply is wasted.
• Grant County appreci-
ates its farmers and ranch-
ers.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
15 years. Cows lined both sides of
Highway 395 in three bunches for 10
miles, he said.
“The front of the herd usually got
home before the end got through John
Day,” Holliday said.
The work was divvied up into
three sets of four riders, with drovers
in front and back of each bunch. Over
the years, the Hollidays’ children and
grandchildren took part in the drive.
And there were plenty of volunteers,
but the Hollidays put a cap on the
number of riders at around 20 total.
“We had to be pretty selective
about who,” Holliday said.
The riders typically went home
each night and returned in the morn-
ing. A big meal was served at the Hol-
liday ranch on the final day.
“Something funny always hap-
pened on the drive,” Holliday said.
“Some serious, some funny.”
The drive was good exercise for
the cows, he said, but a few got hit
by cars. None were killed, but a few
were crippled up, he said.
One by one, the cattle drives came
to an end. For the Holliday brothers
— Ron, Darrel and Ken — the last
drive was in 2006. Ken is the only
brother with a divided ranch, but
he relies on trucks now to move his
cows, Darrel said.
“It has lived its life,” Holliday
said.
Ag history in Grant County
Leland Gibbs and his 4-H horse — a good project for
ranch boys along with a beef project in 1948.
Contributed photos
Lincoln Brome on Homer Barry Ranch in John Day in
1953. Homer says, “This is the grass with alfalfa for hay
on well drained land. I also like alternate rows for more
grass in the mixture.”
At Grayback Foresty we
provide family wage jobs to
our employees, in an
environment that promotes
integrity, honesty, and an
excellence in work ethic built
on a strong foundation that will
last many generations to come.
Sharon Carter and her 4-H heifer, one of the 24 in
Grant County in 1948.
Pioneer Feed
60561 Hwy 26 | John Day | 541-575-0023
43015
Supporting Agriculture for 10 years
and providing for all your animal needs.
42714
43017
Ranching is
hard work.
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Jeanette Hueckman, Agent
101 W Main Street
John Day, OR 97845
Bus: 541-575-2073
jeanettehueckman.com
1201797
A11
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