On Saturday, David and Tommy met with Jimmy Byington and his family at Lazy Boys Charolais Farm in Jonesville, VA.  The contrasts to cow size, calving ease, and number of cows needing assistance during birthing was very striking.  Ireland’s dominate breeds are Charolais and Limousin with average cow size being 1800 lbs and 50% of cows need help to deliver calves that average around 110 lbs.  Jimmy’s cows are roughly 1200-1500 lbs in size and average birth weight is 83 lbs, and rarely require assistance calving.  If he has to pull a calf then the cow is on the list to cull as soon as possible.

David and Tommy were able to stop in at the Lee Farmer’s Cooperative and the Ewing Livestock Market to compare prices and look at our systems.   Prices on inputs for farmers seem to be very similar, but livestock marketing is very different in Ireland.  Leeman Field had several events in celebration of Memorial Day Weekend and they were able to see team roping and an antique tractor pull. Afterwards, we traveled to Big Stone Gap, VA to enjoy an evening of music by the band Black Lilies at the Gathering in the Gap Music Festival.