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Ohio’s Country Journal
From page 1
Five years ago, after getting his offfarm career settled, Steve finally acted
upon his long-standing interest in club
calves and switched the farm’s focus
from commercial cattle to show-quality
animals and breeding stock.
“I figured if I’m going to go out and
look at cattle, I’m going to look at good
ones,” Steve said.
So far, the plan seems to be working.
The farm sells about 90% of its calves as
either show calves or yearling breeding
stock, with a few of the lesser quality
animals still going to the stockyard. Of
the high-quality calves, about 70% are
sold as club calves and 30% as breeders.
“Those numbers aren’t fixed though,
because some kid might buy a heifer and
show it, then end up making a cow out
of her,” Steve said.
While some of the calves are sold as
regular beef projects, the farm specializes
in spring-born feeder calves and prospect
projects that are sold at 2 months of age.
“The feeder calf shows are getting
popular because they’re only a twomonth project versus an all-year project,”
he said. “In southern Ohio we’re seeing
feeder calves at shows outnumber fat
steers sometimes three to one. Kids are
involved in a lot of things, and their parents are now part-time farmers instead of
full-time farmers, so they’re shying away
from the full-year project.”
On April 14, White, along with two
other consignors, will host the third
annual White on the Dutch Spring
Pasture Sale, where calves are shown
alongside their mothers in a sectioned off
pasture on the farm to potential buyers.
Thirty head will be sold priced to sell on
a first-come, first-served basis, and the
other 20 will be sold by silent bid.
Between 200 and 300 people typically
show up for the sale, Steve said.
“You meet a lot of new people. There
might be eight people in a family who all
show up with one kid who’s buying his
first 4-H calf,” he said. “They make a
family event out of it, which they should
do when a kid is just starting out.”
If need be, buyers can choose to leave
their calves on the farm until July 15. All
calves kept at the farm remain there at
Steve’s expense and risk.
“If they buy one in April and something happens to it before July 15, we’ll
give the kid their money back,” Steve
said. “The arrangement is good for some
kids and calves, because if you wean
them that early, it can be stressful. Some
kids take their calves to their fairs’
weigh-in, then bring them back and put
them back on the cow until they have to
have possession.”
Steve also puts calves in other sales in
the fall throughout Ohio. Last year, he
sold calves to people in five states —
Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio and
West Virginia.
“We try to work with each family as
much as we can throughout the show
season, but some of them are getting to
be pretty far away,” he said. “But people
appreciate just calling them two or three
times and asking how things are going,
giving suggestions and maintaining personal contact in case they ever do
need anything.”
The farm has a track record of selling
award winning cattle. In 2006, winning
calves from the April sale included the
Ohio State Fair grand champion prospect
steer, champion feeders in Fayette,
Muskingum and Adams counties, and
reserve champion animals in Fayette,
Clinton and Darke counties.
“That’s where it really feels good,
when you see young people being successful, not only showing my cattle, but
showing cattle in general,” Steve said.
In an effort to keep on top of the
game, Steve continually travels the country and studies pedigrees to produce the
best possible offspring. He considers his
May breeding season his most stressful
time of the year.
“Heat checking and hoping they
stick,” he said. “Everything has to come
together just perfect to get them bred, or
you won’t have the rest of it to
worry about.”
Most of Steve’s cows are artificially
inseminated, and he does some embryo
transfer work on his own cows and in
partnership with other people.
“You do some guesswork and hope
for the best,” he said. “In the club calf
business calves can be so inconsistent
because the cattle are crossed so much,
but everyone’s got the chance for a great
one, and that’s the fun of it. You never
know which cow will cross with which
bull to get that magical click. It’s like
buying a lottery ticket.”
During the winter, White keeps his cows split into groups of eight to 10 on different 10- to 20-acre pastures so
they don’t tear up any one field too badly, and to avoid the spread of potential disease problems between the
whole herd. Pictured here in early March is a group of cows with calves that were born Feb. 14.
MID-MARCH 2007 25
White and his young ones check out a young one of a different variety, a calf born just minutes earlier on the
family farm in Adams County.
White on the Dutch Farm does some embryo transfer work and one of the farm’s recipient cows is pictured here
along with a 2-week-old bull calf that White thinks is “going to be a good one.” The crossbred calf is only oneeighth Shorthorn, but has a strong Shorthorn look.
Cows are heat synchronized for
breeding and calve from mid January
through mid March. They calve either in
the field or in a barn, depending on the
weather. During calving, Steve checks
the cows as soon as he gets home from
work at 4:30 p.m. The cows also get
checked every night at 10 p.m., 2 a.m.
and 5 a.m., either by Steve, his dad or
part-time helper Jade West.
For his efforts, the Ohio Cattlemen’s
Association (OCA) recognized Steve as
the 2007 Young Cattleman of the Year.
The award is presented to an innovative
beef cattle producer who is 39-years-old
or younger and has significantly been
involved in the promotion of the beef
industry and in community activities.
Steve is currently an OCA member and is
on the board of directors for the Adams
County Cattlemen’s Association.
Steve and his wife have two young
children — Darrington, 5, and Denton, 2
— and enjoy raising them on the farm.
“It’s a great family life,” Steve said. “It’s
a great way to raise my kids. They love
getting out on the four-wheeler and checking the baby calves and giving them names
they can’t remember the next day.”
Although Darrington’s current
favorite is a calf named Shadow.
With his off-farm commitments
and limited pasture space, Steve is
content with his current herd size,
although he may do some more embryo
work down the road. He also hopes to
install some feeding pads, add trees for
windbreaks and make other conservation improvements.
“If you want to save it for the next
generation, you have to think ahead on
stuff like that,” he said.
Although he’s pretty content with
how he cares for his cows.
“My theory is you take care of the
cow and she’ll take care of the calf,”
Steve said. “My cows may tend to be a
little bit too fat, because I focus on that
theory a little too much.”
For more information about White on
the Dutch Farm and their spring sale,
visit www.whiteonthedutch.com.
Dutch Creek meanders through the Adams County
Farm, hence the name White on the Dutch Farm. Every
year, the farm holds a Spring Pasture Sale, where cowcalf pairs are placed in sectioned off pens in a field
just to the left of this barn, so potential buyers can see
the calves up for sale. This year’s sale is April 14.