I am officialy fighting Day 2 of the Denver crud. I swear, no matter how many vitamins, medicine, or anything else you take to combat it, you just have to face the facts that at some point following your trip to Denver, the "crud" will eventually attack your body and dominate your immune system.
Denver was great this year, the weather was awesome and in my opinion, it seemed that there was a greater number of people and interest in the cattle, both in the yards and on the hill. I believe the display bulls were deeper in quality and numbers than they have been in the years past. It seemed as though each breeder and promoter stepped up their game and brought something that could be utilized within many different programs. It will be exciting to see which of these bulls stands out in the breeding seasons to come.
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| View of the Yards from the catwalk |
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| Looking West from the Yards at the Rocky Mountains |
The sales at the National Western this year were off the charts. Christy Collins and staff should really be commended on both of the sales they manged this year.The Embryo's on Snow sale grossed almost $700,000 and avg. $1600/egg. Eggs out of the Thomas Ranch donor Ms. Impressive and sired by Firewater commanded $6000/egg as the top selling lot. Duello Cattle and partners brought a strong to the Western Elite sale this year as well. The sale grossed just over $588,000 to avg. over $5000/lot on a strong set of donor quality cows, bred heifers and herd sire prospects. I am not sure what the gross was, or the avg. but the stands were packed for both the Bright Lights Maine Anjou sale as well as the Chi Hybrid Advantage sale. The Hereford Assoc. Mile High Night sale was equally as impressive. The event was so large, that the actual sale took place in Stadium Arena rather than the Beef Palace Auction Ring. It was really neat to see.
Denver is always a great place to meet up with old friends, network with potential new clients and see the best livestock that progressive ranches have to offer.
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| Lacey Caffee from LC Promotions |
There is every kind of cowman imaginable in Denver, from the person that is strictly looking for number driven bulls to decrease birthweight and increase growth in a calving operation targeted for feedlot production, to the person who is strictly selling show steers and needs a bull to make them stout and hairy...in Denver, there is every kind.
So, my final thoughts on Denver.....the cattle industry is still thriving. The warm cookies you receive when checking in at the Double Tree is still the best welcome to Denver. The Yards bar still has the best burrito in Denver, I still love red beers from the Hill bar(and have aquired a tast for their orange beer). Toby Keiths Bar and Grill is a cool, casual place to get a really good steak, eating at Texas de Brazil is still one of the highlights of a trip to Denver. Josh Abbott Band at the Grizzly Rose was really good....and packed. Make sure your auto insurance covers any damages to your rental car, and if not, get the insurance offered from the rental company. We may or may not have had an incident with our car that a certain rental car company did not notice upon return. The Denver International airport is not one that you want to be rushing through to catch a flight on time, however I don't suggest getting there so early that you accrue a $128.00 bar bill like some folks from Iowa did.
Hope everyone that made it out there had a great time and returned safe, and that if you did not make it or have never been, I suggest putting this trip on your bucket list.
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