Some people go to Hair Shows, I go to Grazing Conferences

On Monday, my dad and I took off on an awesome adventure to the south. Yes, the south being Louisville, Kentucky for the 2011 Grazing Conference, sponsored by DFA and Dairy Grazing Services. Yes, I went to a conference completely focused on grazing cattle. Something oddly enough, turns out to something I think is rather interesting. Boy, there is a lot to talk about when it comes to grazing cattle. A.Lot.

 This is seriously the face my dad
gave me as I explained my blog.

My dad and I have never actually gone on a multi-day trip, just the two of us. Once arriving in Louisville and checking into our hotel we decided to get some grub. Staying in downtown Louisville offered a large variety of eateries, but we picked the ever so popular “Hard Rock Café”. At dinner, I explained my blog to my dad, which is now refers to as my “blob”. I could see by the expression on his face he isn’t near as excited about my “blob” as some of you might be. 

The threat of the massive snowstorm turned out to be just as much as a flop in Kentucky as it was in Ohio. We were staying on the 14^th floor, so we did have a fun view of the city. The snow that did actually fall created a beautiful white blanket across the rooftops.

Since the conference didn’t officially start until noon, we decided to make the most of our morning and head to the Louisville Slugger Museum. I looked up the directions and it turned out it was only about 9 or so blocks from our hotel. Louisville has this really neat skywalk system called the Louis Link. Thankfully, as I was asking directions from the Starbucks baristas, they let us in on the nifty Louis Link. It made me feel like I was in hamster tubes going from building to building as we walked. It was a nice way to stay dry and slightly warmer. My dad only took a light spring jacket, which was the main source of several jokes along the way. I was dressed like I was going out snowshoeing, while my dad was dressed for picnic in the park. So, the Louie Link let us see a side of the city I wouldn’t have seen from my typical 5’2” view.

As we walked through the tubes of the Louis Link, my dad spotted the handle of the giant baseball bat the stands in front of the museum and factory. I had been to the Louisville Slugger Factory once in high school, but I don’t really remember much about it. Our tour consisted of a family of 4, plus dad and I. We walked through the factory, got our tiny little souvenir bats and took a few photos inside the museum. Since there weren’t a lot of people in there, my dad let me take a few more silly pictures than he typically would have let me take. Enjoy these fun filled photos. J

Dad and I by the big bat. Love his
spring jacket. It started to snow
a lot harder as we walked. 

Shoeless Joe Jackson's Bat. I first
learned of this man as a yongster watching
one of my favorite films "Field of Dreams".

I didn't know Louisville Slugger made gun stocks during WWII.
A new fun filled fact I  just learned. 

I was really excited to see this! I wish I could convince my buddies
Kat and Brecken that we could make
these as our High Ball costumes. 

"What are you looking at?"
Ok, I made dad take this one.

Once the conference started the fun really began. Let me tell you. In all seriousness, I really did learn a lot at the conference.  I am kinda a nerd and really enjoy learning about why something works or why something won’t work. I also enjoyed listening to other farmers talk about their operations. That is something I really enjoy about my job in general, farmers love telling people about their farms, and I love listening to their stories.

The real excitement came when it was time for door prizes. As I turned in our raffle cards, I made sure everyone knew that “The Smith’s are Winners”. This of course turned out to be true. My dad was one of the second names called and he won a Leatherman tool. Hey, you can never have too many of those. The next set of give-a-ways I was hoping I wouldn’t win. They were gift certificates for $200 worth of semen. Granted, to almost anyone else at the conference, that was quite a prize, but really, what am I going to do with that? I know my desire to start a beef herd could have started with that prize, but I didn’t want it. After a large variety of items I have no use for were given away, a $100 visa gift card was up for grabs. I watched as they pulled my crinkled up raffle card out of the pile and I knew it was mine! I was so excited. The only raffle prize I could really use and it was mine! Yes! My dad and I weren’t the only winners, Mike Van Winkle won the “Grand Prize” of a visit from a grazing consultant to come evaluate his farm and give him a few pointers. A day with a grazing consultant will add to Mike's "Year of Awesome.", no question. He said he was going to take the consultant to breakfast at Burger King.  Knowing Mike, I wouldn't put it past him. He was given a day with a grazing expert and he treats him to some greasy hash browns and a crossantwich. Have fun, Mike!  

Overall, the conference was a great time. I met some really interesting people and learned a lot while I was there. Sometimes I guess Awesome comes when you least expect it. J 

Dad and I with the conference sign. Dad did not want to take this picture. 

Dad, Mike and Dave. Yeah, Dad wanted to take this one. Mike was really excited about all of the free stuff he was given at the conference.