Back at the Ranch :: Blog from Ranch House Designs

Violeta Ranch Beefmaster Sale Trip

2012-01-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity to attend the Violeta Beefmaster Sale in Hebbronville, Texas, where I was on a mission to buy some cattle for me and Brandon. Brandon was already committed to judging a show that weekend so I was given the charge to handle buying the cattle for us. Wait. So anyone who is reading this is probably thinking - What? Brandon sent you to south Texas to buy cattle all by yourself. Nah...just kidding. I had the real professional Jim Williams there to help me. But I actually did the picking and bidding, and he did the advising and hauling.

My mom and dad bought a little place in Premont, Texas this year which has become their vacation get-away. Premont is a little town in south Texas that is about 30 minutes away from Kingsville. Home of "The Oasis" restaurant, alma mater of my uncle Terry Powell. And now home of V8 Ranch - South Texas Division.

So we began our trip on Friday afternoon, and after 3 hours of Mollie crying in the car we made it to the V8 Ranch South Texas Division. Mom agreed to keep Mollie Saturday while Dad and I went to the sale. Dad and I got up first thing Saturday morning and made the drive from Premont to Hebbronville, home of Violeta Ranch. Now when I say "Hebbronville, Texas", I say that loosely. Keep in mind that down here, towns are REALLY spread out. The ranch, who's address is Hebbronville, is actually 33 miles south of town, but that is how far they have to go to get to town.

Following the directions in the sale catalog, we arrived at the beautiful Violeta Ranch, owned by the Garza Family, and home of one of the top two oldest Beefmaster herds in the United States (Lasater and Violeta). We turned into the ranch entrance, and began a trek down several miles of dirt roads, and 3 gates, to finally arrive at the sale site. I'll be honest, at first we thought we were totally going to the wrong place. There were no signs, no people, no visible sale barn in sight, etc.

Then finally, after crossing through several pastures, we started seeing signs of life (Beefmaster bulls) and we knew we were on the right path.

To say Jim Williams was in a South Texas paradise is an understatement. As soon as we arrived we both just fell in love with the beautiful ranch setting, the brush country, and the Beefmaster cattle. The Garza family hosted a DELICIOUS south Texas lunch of carne guisada and pan de camp (camp bread) along with the best cakes and desserts you can imagine. Oh and the ice tea was also to die for.

The sale was a very comfortable and hospitable atmosphere. They sold 80 head (40 bulls and 40 heifers) of ranch raised, linebred Beefmaster cattle that as auctioner Anthony Mihalski described as "Buffal Bred" (i.e. Buffal Grass). Upon arriving, one of the things I got a chuckle about was the two little baby javelinas (wild hog) that were just milling around the sale. They had made themselves at home and greeted the sale-goers.

We also loved their beautiful working pens, including this fence which is made of solid wood.

After going through the cattle, Dad and I had marked about 16 heifers as ones that we wanted. We set our budget, then sat through 40 head of sale bulls to await the heifer sale. As the heifer sale began, I started bidding, and unfortunately found that nearly every heifer sold outside of our budget, which was $1500/head. We had about 10 marked as "definite must have's" but alas, they got too high for our pocketbooks. Ironically, the family sitting behind us (2 of the 5 white people in attendance) bought most of our favorites...and turns out they also have a ranch in PREMONT, just like Dad! Once the family saw that I was bidding, and getting outbid, on nearly every lot, they leaned over and asked me which ones I had marked, and promised not to bid against me. How nice.

I did end up getting 3 heifers, all of which were dunn colored, so I'm guessing maybe the buyers preferred the buyers preferred the solid red colored Beefmasters better. When we went to checkout in the ranch office, we were greeted by this amazing creature....

What an awesome deer! We were also informed by the ranch staff that this deer was actually part of the "B team" of deer on the ranch, and that there are some much bigger!

All in all, we had a wonderful time, and we definitely plan on going back next year. After the sale, we ended up staying the rest of the weekend, so we could go to the Falfurrias Church of Christ, which is a lovely church that my parents have been attending when they are down at the Premont ranch. Here's a picture of little Mollie all dressed up for her Sunday church. (This dress was given to her by some of our Brahman partners in Brazil, The Jacintho's, and we thought Mollie looked like such a little lady!

And finally, as we pulled out of the drive, look what else we saw!!!!!

This is a blue indigo snake, which eats rattlesnakes. It isn't poisonous so my dad loves to see these things on the ranch and refuses to shoot them.

New RHD Site: Wilkins Brothers Cattle!

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

RHD would like to introduce you to the Wilkins Brothers, where the family has been raising and selling show steers since 1978. The crew at Wilkins Brothers carefully analyzes their genetic selections in order to produce the best cattle, capable of show ring success and functionality in the pasture. They have extensive skills, knowledge and experience in raising club calves that they utilize to provide exceptional and personalized service to their customers. While their primary focus has always been to raise quality cattle, the brothers also strive to cater to the wants and needs of the junior exhibitor.

If you are in the market for a show steer, a group of bred heifers, or a club calf bull; please contact the Wilkins Brothers.

Don’t forget that their Pasture Bid-Off sale is next week on January 23, 2012. They are selling calves out of Heat Wave, Milkman, Untouchable, Walks Alone and Texas Rocks (Heat Wave Son). Initial bids must be in by dark and you will not want to miss out on this offering! Steers like this will be selling...

Check out their sale page for more information.

Winners Don't Whine, They Hustle

2012-01-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

As I returned home from the Fort Worth Stock Show today, I was delighted to see a copy of the new book called "Winners Don't Whine, They Hustle" in my mailbox. This is a new book written by a personal friend of mine, Dr. Chris Boleman. It is so exciting to me that one of my good lifelong friends and I both published books at the same time.

Last year, I had the pleasure and honor of working with Dr. Chris Boleman on another book project, the "Big Hands, Big Heart" book about Dr. Hesby. But actually I have known the Boleman's for MUCH longer than that. Believe it or not, we actually both showed together in the Texas Junior Livestock program. Chris is MUCH older than me. HA. I remember as I was a young girl showing in the TCCA that the Boleman twins, Chris and Craig, pretty much won every steer show you can imagine with their awesome Brangus steers. I distinctly remember the first time I met them, along with their parents Pat and Dr. Larry Boleman at a prospect show in Cleburne, Texas.

Later, when I started school at A&M, I worked for Dr. Larry Boleman for 4 years as a student worker in the beef cattle extension office. Best times of my life. And then even later than that, when I went back to work at A&M after grad school as the marketing coordinator for animal science, my office was next door to Dr. Boleman. So, to say that I love the Boleman family, well that is an understatement. It's a fact that if weren't for Pat and Dr. Larry Boleman, and Dr. John McNeill, I probably wouldn't be where I am today.

Through these relationships I also had the honor of meeting Dr. Tanksley, who is Pat's dad, Chris's granddad. A wonderful man who was a friend to all. A true Extension educator.

So all of this, I guess counts as a recommendation for the book. To be honest, I have been seeing this book promoted all over the internet for the past few weeks, but I didn't quite know what to expect. When I got it, I was hooked after the first pages. The book has lots of great stories about Dr. Tanksley, the Extension mission, and the special way that so many Extension educators can touch our lives. Then it has lots of great poems too that all relate to livestock.

This book is one of the best books I have ever seen to describe the mission and the heart of Extension educators. And anyone who's done anything in agriculture can attest that along the way, an Extension educator helped them. Whether it be a county agent, a state beef specialist, or a 4-H leader, the people who believe in the Extension program make a huge difference in the lives of farmers, ranchers, showmen, and more. Quite simply, I LOVE Extension programs and educators. And this book is one that describes one of the best: Dr. T.D. Tanksley. Oh man, it's a great one. I highly recommend it to anyone who's ever showed livestock in Texas, or the nation for that matter.

You can order it online at http://bolemanpublishing.com/onlinemarket/itemdetails.aspx?ID=167&PID=10662

And, a personal BIG congratulations to Chris (and to Randi, who probably put in just as much work as CTB did on this one) for publishing an amazing book that is sure to touch the lives of everyone who reads it!

Akau- WHAT?!

2012-01-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

It is always really exciting when we get to work with a new client. But sometimes, those clients take that excitement one step further and hand us something completely new and different. This year in Denver, you may just get to see this new and exciting in action. When Heart Brand Beef approached us about making a display banner for the yards, of course we said yes… but immediately after we had to ask – what exactly is this banner for?

The story of HeartBrand Beef starts in 1994, when the Akaushi breed of cattle were being transported between Japan and the United States – a little by accident. Today, that group of cows is controlled in Texas by the group named HeartBrand Beef, Inc. So what makes this breed so special? I must say, as a retired collegiate livestock judger, my first thoughts were not positive. My fiancée has been talking about this breed for some time now, saying how he wants us to start raising them. After one look my answer was no, no and again – no!

But, these breed is so much more than meets the eye. In Japan, cattle breeds are divided into dairy and Wagyu. Akaushi cattle fall into the Wagyu (or more beefy) breed. Fifty years ago the Japan Association of Akaushi started registering these cattle to keep a closer eye on their carcass figures, pedigrees and general worth to the rest of the beef industry. As a result of this close inspection, the cattle became extremely uniform and consistent throughout from genetic line to genetic line. Today, the uniformity of Akaushi carcass performance characteristics is superior to all Western beef cattle breed.

So in essence, my fiancée may be on to something. Here is a breed that can be crossed with breeds that excel in just about whatever, and will without question improve the outcrosses grading and yielding potential. The Akaushi cattle are doing what every other branded beef program in the U.S. has been trying to do for years, and does so with utter consistence.

If you can get over the initial “kind of looks like a range Gelbvieh/Limousin/Lion cross, the breed is wonderful! And the meat? I’ve heard is the best you will ever have. The most tender and flavorful cut of meat that essentially melts in your mouth! So, where can I sign up?!?! (Yes, so I suppose my fiancée wins this battle).

So we thank you, HeartBrand, for letting us help you promote your product… But I think we all can agree a cut of your meat might be the best form of payment ;)

For more information on HeartBrand and to read further history from what is on this post, visit their site: www.heartbrandbeef.com

Designs Designs Designs!!

2012-01-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

With only 12 days into 2012, we have been as busy as ever with new designs. Something new this year is the postcard option for Denver display bulls. Okay, so it's not brand new - but just take a look at the funky new twist we put on your basic 4x6 card...

But we haven't stopped there. Check out the Middleswarth Bull Sale Catalog...

Be sure to check out all of these promo handouts whole you're in Denver. But for those of us not lucky enough to be headed to the yards this year, we've got a few new designs you can appreciate too.

If you are planning an event or party, don't forget that Ranch House does invitations! This one is for our very own, Miss Kinleigh Jo Guidry.

To say RHD is keeping busy is an understatement, but with projects like these coming out of our doors, you can surely see why. If you are interested in printing anything that you see in this blog, or something completely different, let us know! Tricia and Joelynn would love to help you! Give us a call or shoot us an email tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com or joelynn@ranchhousedesigns.com

Bohrson Marketing Service - Canada

2012-01-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

As "the world's leading livestock advertising firm" (lol notice our new tagline) it is always exciting to work with clients outside of the United States. This week alone we have completed projects for clients in the United States or course, then Australia and Canada.

One of these projects included a web design and logo design for Bohrson Marketing Services of Carstairs, Alberta Canada. They are a marketing firm and needed a website, as well as a very cool logo that could be used in a variety of places like catalogs, flyers, caps and more.

So for this project, we created a primary logo mark, then 2 secondary logos that can be used depending on the clients needs. Here they are! Watch for the new website coming soon!

Charlie 1 Horse Denver Market Flyers

2012-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

While our stock show friends are going to the National Western, lots of our retail and western fashion industry clients are heading over to the Denver Market. Which means we've got a whole lot of action going on related to Denver this time of year.

One of our favorite projects for the Denver Market was working with Kaci Riggs of Charlie 1 Horse Hat Co. to create marketing materials to feature their new line of hats featuring the Sweetbirds hat pins.

We have been working with Charlie 1 Horse for the past 4 years, working on both print and web projects for them. Every time I design something for them I think, okay I'm going to start dressing like this and man, I'll be looking GOOD. But, alas, I don't quite think I have the look to pull it off ha ha. But seriously, these hats are awesome and adding the Sweetbird Studio pins make them even cooler. What a cool look.

Facebook Welcome Pages

2012-01-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

This week we launched one of our new services, which is creating custom Facebook entry pages.

Every business needs a facebook page. (Call us if you need help with that). But after you develop the page, a professionally designed Facebook fan page is the next step in your facebook marketing. These pages help you increase the number of "Likes" on your page and encourage people to visit your website.

So, of course, as our guinea pigs we did our own, which you can see here. When you first go to the RHD facebook page, if you're already a fan (which we hope you are) you probably didn't even notice anything different.

However if you aren't a fan, instead of seeing our wall, you see this entry page. It lists our logo, brief overview of our services, and a link to our website. It also has the arrow at the top encouraging people to like our page. Once you like the page, you get directed to our wall.

Second Guinea Pig: V8 Ranch. Here is an example of their custom entry page.

Oh, and this might be the best reason to get a custom facebook entry page....

Ever heard of facebook stalkers? ha.

Those are the people who creep your page to see what you're doing but never actually like your page. They might be your competitors, or a nosy neighbor. Facebook entry pages help eliminate that. Because now these stalkers have to like your page to actually see your content. HA HA

We would love to do a facebook entry page for you. Give us a call or email tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com.

Livestock Merchandising Book

2012-01-02T08:16:00.000-08:00

The paperback book is now ready! If you pre-ordered the book or just ordered it over the holiday weekend, the books will mail on Tuesday, January 2nd. Thank you to everyone for ordering online. This is a great book that is filled with tips and strategy on every phase of the livestock marketing and advertising process.

In this book, you'll find lots of great success stories and examples. Many of these come from projects I have completed through the years here at RHD but it also includes favorites and successful campaigns from several other leading designers and marketers who helped me with this book. If I say so myself, it is truly a book that features the best of the best in the livestock business. Here are just a few of the ranches and businesses that are featured:

LiveAuctions.tv
Cattle In Motion
Cattle Mail USA
J.D. Hudgins, Inc.
V8 Ranch
Pembrook Cattle
GKB Cattle
Purple Reign Cattle
Circle T Cattle Co.
Sullivan Farms
Conley Angus / Conley Cattle
Cates Farms
Matt Lautner Cattle
R.A. Brown Ranch
Showpig.com
Tusa Cattle
The Exposure Sale
Ankony
Limestone LLC
Top Cut Genetics
Teague Family Shorthorns
Bauman Cattle Co.
Wintex Farms
Bulls Eye Ranch
Duelms Prevailing Genetics
Dismukes Ranch
Express Ranch
Rosanky Cattle
Michigan State University
Studer Shorthorns
Ratcliff Ranches
Bushy Park Farm
Thomas Charolais
Cyclone Trace
Detering Red Brahmans
Leachman Cattle of Colorado
Great Shorthorn Revival
Habeger Show Cattle
Lautner Farms
Topline Angus
LaMuneca Cattle

Livestock marketing professionals and other designers featured:

Carlos Guerra
Martha Garrett
Julie French
Christy Collins
Brad Hook
Arin Strasburg
Joelynn Donough
Chris Rosa
Stephanie Cronin
Jon Fisher
Matt Lautner
Jim Williams
Bob Hudgins
Tim Lockhart

So, this really is a very comprehensive, informational book that covers everything you need to know about livestock advertising. Thanks to everyone who has ordered so far! If you would like to order, you can visit http://ranchhousedesigns.mybigcommerce.com/livestock-merchandising-paperback/

Best of the Barns Winners

2012-01-02T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well it is only January 2nd and it seems that the cat is out of the bag on the highly anticipated winners of the 2011 Best of the Barns competition! Congratulations to all of the winners!

If you haven't had a chance to see the official announcement of the winners in January's The Showbox magazine, you can also see the winners here. If you're wondering why some winners don't have a bio written about them, it's because they did not send it in. If you happen to be one of these businesses please send your stuff to emily@ranchhousedesigns.com so we can add you to the winners featured on the website.

We send a big congratulations out to all of the winners. The livestock industry is full of very talented businesses and individuals and we consider it our honor to run this contest to help recognize those who do so much for the industry we love.

P.S. Winners...trophies are here and ready to ship! Be expecting them by the time you get back from Denver!

Looking forward to 2012

2012-01-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

As we begin a new year, here is "Some Good Stuff" from our RHD client Carlos Guerra of LaMuneca Cattle Company. May God Bless You in 2012!!!!

I Have Learned

I've learned....that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... that just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

I've learned...that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned....that being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned...that you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned....that I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned....that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone
needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned....that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned....that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....that money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned...that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned....that love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned....that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....that life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned....that opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned....that when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned....that I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....that the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Project reminders

2011-12-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder to everyone that the first part of the year is always extremely busy for those of us in the livestock business. We are now booking projects that are due January 10 and after. If you anticipate needing ads for February, March or April publications, please let us know so that we can put your project into our production schedule.

Also we are currently operating on a 5 week waiting list for new websites, so again if you anticipate needing a website this spring, please go ahead and schedule the project now to assure we have time to do your project.

I always tell my cattle friends....you wouldn't wait until 10 minutes before the show to clip your calf. We need just as much planning to do a good job on your ad as you would to prepare your most prized animal for the show. Please keep these deadlines in mind and email tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com or joelynn@ranchhousedesigns.com to get your projects on our books for 2012.

December Video Blog

2011-12-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

Here's an update of what's going on at RHD.... P.S. I know I look awful in this video, it was a freezing cold day here and the video was taken at the V8 bull pens. :)

Denver Jumbotron and Show Broadcast

2011-12-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

Today we're offering a little shout out to our friends at Cattle In Motion and letting our clients (and friends) know about some advertising opportunities during the Denver stock show.

Cattle in Motion will be the official show broadcaster to cover all of the shows live on the Internet. I'm not all up on the details but I believe it is shows, sales, everything. They are offering some wonderful opportunities to get lots of exposure during this big event.

Their first opportunity is banner advertising during the live show broadcasts. They offer a choice of advertising for just specific breeds (i.e. if you're a Charolais breeder, you can buy banner ads only during the Charolais show), or a special price for the whole show.

I have worked with CIM on things like this several times this year. When they broadcast Brahman Junior Nationals I purchased an ad for V8 and for RHD and we got a lot of hits from people clicking on the banner ads while they were watching the show. We got so much exposure, in fact, I made a special deal with CIM for them to do an exclusive show broadcast of another big Brahman show in the summer and offer the banner advertising only to my clients, as a special thanks to the Brahman people who do business with RHD. That also had a great response and people got alot of hits on their sites.

Now the second option is pretty cool too....way cool actually. You know the jumbotron in the yards....well they are also offering ads on that. These ads will be like video type ads and also will play on the jumbotron, at a few of the bars on the grounds and at tv screens throughout the facility. Sign me up for one of those too Tim! :)

So, while this isn't really anything to do with RHD, we did think it is an amazing opportunity to advertise at a great price for the exposure. If you might be interested you can email tim@cattleinmotion.com.

Livestock Merchandising Kindle Book

2011-12-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Livestock Merchandising, my new book, is now available as a kindle book! How exciting to be on Amazon!

If you're a techhy person with an iPad or Kindle, you can download the book now. You can also get a good preview of the book on Amazon too and download a sample.

New RHD site: San Pedro Ranch

2011-12-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

San Pedro Ranch is located in Dimmitt County 30 miles South of Carrizo Springs, Texas. Five different soil types support a variety of wildlife, high-protein shrubs, forbs, and native grasses. The ranch is low fence and offers fair chase hunting opportunities in the winter for trophy and management bucks. The most scientific, state of the art wildlife management practices have given the San Pedro an outstanding reputation for producing some of the highest quality trophy deer in Texas as measured by Booneand Crocket Club.

Visit the San Pedro Ranch, and you will see approximately 300 head of hardy, gentle, registered Beefmaster cattle, genetically selected to thrive in a brittle, sometimes harsh, environment. Their own San Pedro Beefmaster bulls reflect such distinguished lineage as LBar 5502, Ranger's Pride, Casey, and Nolan Ryan bloodlines. Their heifers descend from cows who have consistently weaned a calf every year – even in difficult drought conditions.

Humane, ethical treatment of animals and conscientious care of the environment is a natural part of their lives at the San Pedro. Consequently, it was a seamless and logical decision to market our calves through the Grass-fed Livestock Alliance. Because they have selected so heavily for hearty, efficient cattle, their grass fed calves show favorable conversion ratios, high yields, and excellent grades.

At the San Pedro, they try to make the most of nature’s bounty by practicing holistic management – weighing each decision against the over-arching goal of improved native habitat and a healthier ecosystem. Please take a minute to browse their website and see why they love helping nature do what she does best.

The San Pedro Ranch represents a unique confluence of resources: geologic, riparian, biologic, herbaceous, and cultural.

The property sits on the southern edge of the Tamolipan and Chihuanhuan biotic Provinces on top of an ancient sea bed, covered with 5 different soil orders, 36 different plant communities, (many of which are transitional species) and inhabited over time by 4 distinct cultural groups. It is in the flight corridor of many migrating birds, including the Monarch butterfly and the black chinned and ruby throated hummingbirds. Because of careful attention to environmental conservation, wildlife on the San Pedro Ranch abounds with dove, quail, white-tailed deer, turkey, and other rare species such as the Texas tortoise and the Texas horned lizard. Everything depends on a healthy, diversified ecosystem, which in turn depends upon sustainable management practices.

By choosing management techniques designed to make the most of what nature provides in the South Texas brush country, the San Pedro Ranch (SPR) converts sun, soil, water, plant, and livestock resources, into a valuable food source – helping Mother Nature do what she does best.
The San Pedro Ranch represents a unique confluence of resources: geologic, riparian, biologic, herbaceous, and cultural.

The property sits on the southern edge of the Tamolipan and Chihuanhuan biotic Provinces on top of an ancient sea bed, covered with 5 different soil orders, 36 different plant communities, (many of which are transitional species) and inhabited over time by 4 distinct cultural groups. It is in the flight corridor of many migrating birds, including the Monarch butterfly and the black chinned and ruby throated hummingbirds. Because of careful attention to environmental conservation, wildlife on the San Pedro Ranch abounds with dove, quail, white-tailed deer, turkey, and other rare species such as the Texas tortoise and the Texas horned lizard. Everything depends on a healthy, diversified ecosystem, which in turn depends upon sustainable management practices.

By choosing management techniques designed to make the most of what nature provides in the South Texas brush country, the San Pedro Ranch (SPR) converts sun, soil, water, plant, and livestock resources, into a valuable food source – helping Mother Nature do what she does best.
The San Pedro Ranch represents a unique confluence of resources: geologic, riparian, biologic, herbaceous, and cultural.

The property sits on the southern edge of the Tamolipan and Chihuanhuan biotic Provinces on top of an ancient sea bed, covered with 5 different soil orders, 36 different plant communities, (many of which are transitional species) and inhabited over time by 4 distinct cultural groups. It is in the flight corridor of many migrating birds, including the Monarch butterfly and the black chinned and ruby throated hummingbirds. Because of careful attention to environmental conservation, wildlife on the San Pedro Ranch abounds with dove, quail, white-tailed deer, turkey, and other rare species such as the Texas tortoise and the Texas horned lizard. Everything depends on a healthy, diversified ecosystem, which in turn depends upon sustainable management practices.

By choosing management techniques designed to make the most of what nature provides in the South Texas brush country, the San Pedro Ranch (SPR) converts sun, soil, water, plant, and livestock resources, into a valuable food source – helping Mother Nature do what she does best.

Check out more on San Pedro Ranch

Book Update

2011-12-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

For the past few months I have been working steadily on my first book, Livestock Merchandising, A Complete Guide to Livestock Advertising and Promotion. Well...it's finally finished and to the printer as of today!

This book is 180 pages based on my experiences here at RHD and also at V8 Ranch.

The art and strategy of merchandising and promoting purebred livestock is one that captures the attention of many purebred livestock producers. Whether you are a seasoned producer, or just getting started, this contains the tools to create a brand identity, establish an advertising and promotion plan, or evaluate your current promotional efforts to improve sales and exposure.

Here are a few topics in the book:
• Components Used in Advertising Campaign
• Basics of Good Livestock Advertising
• Livestock Photography & Video
• Livestock Web Design
• Advertising at Shows and Sales
• Sire promotion basics
• Email Marketing and Social Media for Ranchers
• Determining an advertising budget
• The role of the showring in advertising
• Ethics in livestock advertising

And much more! The book is full of examples from my team here at RHD as well as other leading industry professionals like Christy Collins, Arin Strasburg, Julie French, Martha Garrett and more.

So how can you get one?
Hard Copy: Currently, it is being printed. So if you prefer an actual hard copy of the book, you'll have to wait about 3 weeks. We are taking pre-orders, but please note that they will not be available until after January 1.

E-Book: If you're one of those who just wants an electronic copy, you can purchase and download a PDF e-book here for $9.99.

For more advanced e-book users, it will also be available for Amazon's Kindle by December 15th.

Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement on the book! I hope y'all like it!

Planning on projects

2011-12-05T13:21:00.001-08:00

It's getting that time of year again! Just a reminder that we need as much advance notice as possible to complete projects. Right now we are booking projects for January. If you anticipate needing an ad, banner, sign, etc. in the month of January please contact us right away to get your project on our books. Thanks!

Schrag Family Event Sale

2011-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Join Schrag Shorthorns this Saturday in Marion, SD for the Family Event Sale. Offering Shorthorn show heifer prospects, herd sire prospects, bred females, embryos, flushes, and pregnancies. The sale features pedigrees stacked with proven cow families including Revival, Dream Lady, Augusta Pride, and Riders Rose.

And I can't resist posting this photo that Joelynn took at Louisville. Fits the "Family Event" sale name perfect! Here is Stock Show Momma Melissa Schrag, Cory Schrag, Sammi and Jaxson heading to the backdrop at Louisville. We can all see who's in charge here, and trust me....Melissa is a true cattle lady who knows her stuff!

We love this family!

12 Days of Christmas is Underway

2011-12-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

Well it's 9:30 a.m. and we have already started our fun filled "12 Days of Christmas" here at RHD...and we have our first winner. Hopefully today everyone can get a chance to see how the promotion will work.

1. First you have to be a fan on our facebook page. www.facebook.com/ranchhousedesigns

2. Each day (today it was first thing in the morning) Joelynn will post a Christmas trivia question, which was written by Santa Shanks. Each day there will a special prize. And here's a hint, we start small and the prizes get bigger each day! Today's prize was 250 free business cards.

The question was: "What is the name of Scrooge's dead Christmas partner?"
Answer: Jacob Marley (Scary fella)

Today's winner was the lovely and adorable Mackenzi Dorsey, who answered within 2 minutes!

For her Christmas skills, Mackenzi won the daily prize....which today was the business cards.

3. A little later in the day, we will also post a special 12 Days of Christmas coupon that can be used by ANYONE. All you have to do is print out the coupon and send it in or email it to us, or mention the coupon to claim the discount. And, in the spirit of Christmas, the coupons get better as the days go on too!

So what do you think? Fun huh? We love our friends and clients and we hope everyone enjoys this little fun way to celebrate the holidays.

SEK Genetics

2011-12-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

For the past few months we have had the pleasure and honor of working with Kristy and the rest of the SEK genetics crew on several projects, including producing their upcoming 2012 Sire Directory. As we began the project, Joelynn even got a chance to return to her old stomping grounds in Kansas to do a photo shoot at SEK to build an image database for their catalog and advertising campaign.

As we speak, Liz is working away fast and furious at putting the finishing touches on their new catalog, which will be ready at Denver. I took it home last night and did some final proofreading and it is always so fun to see the bulls and learn about the hottest sires in the business.

Here is one of the most recent ads we designed for SEK...and we even got Don convinced to updating the logo JUST A LITTLE BIT. :) The new logo will be in the catalog. It has been a wonderful experience working with this talented team and we are so excited to finish up the catalog so that everyone can see it!

Correct Naming of Show Awards

2011-11-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

Since my good buddy Jeff went off on his blog about how inconsiderate it is for kids to interrupt a judge while giving reasons to shake their hand.... I felt the urge to discuss a pet peeve of MINE.

Correct naming of show awards.

I saw an article like this many years ago in the National Livestock Exhibitor, written by Eldon Miller, and it has stuck with me ever sense. In general, there is a TON of inconsistency in how people list their awards. Here is a good list to use.

SUPREME CHAMPION: This is used to identify the ONE supreme champion of the entire show. An example like this would be when all breed champions go in the ring together to compete and the judge selects the winner amongst multiple breeds.

GRAND CHAMPION: This would be used to identify the one single champion of a breed. I.e. Grand Champion Angus Heifer.

CLASS WINNER: I know some would disagree with me, but I prefer class winner...not class champion. To me the word CHAMPION should be reserved for honors higher than a class.

Now additionally, I have a personal preference on how you represent championships.

For example, if you use a caption on a photo of "Many time champion", this would refer to an animal that has been selected as Grand Champion of the entire breed 2 or more times. This is not acceptable to use for an animal that you showed for 2 years that never won anything, but you decided just to call them a "Many Time Champion" since he was on your showstring. Be honest about the awards. If he won his class a lot, call him a "Many Time Class Winner" or "Consistent Class Winner" to accurately describe the accomplishments.

National Champion. This is another one to watch. The phrase National Champion refers to the ONE grand champion of the show. The grand champion. Not the reserve. Not the class winner. A Reserve Calf Champion is not a national champion. It might be a National Reserve Division Champion -- which is very impressive in itself, but still, not a national champion.

Finally, word order is important when dealing with reserves. For example:

Reserve Grand Champion Bull
Reserve Senior Champion Bull (Not Senior Reserve Champion Bull)
2nd in class is not appropriate to say "Reserve Class Champion"

Off the soap box. For now.

Celebrations: RHD style

2011-11-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

It's the season of love and good cheer! As the 2011 year dies down, RHD has been busier than Christmas elves with projects geared to helping our clients celebrate! There has been Christmas cards, thank you cards, wedding save-the-dates and invitations flying around like mad! But we love it!! Any chance we can get to help our clients celebrate is better than candy canes to us! Take a look at some of our favorite designs from the past few weeks....

We love the Goudeau Family so we knew this design was perfect for their fun attitudes!

Our very own Liz Tovar is getting hitched! These designs will make anyone want to get married!

Molly Jo really is the First Lady of RHD - and the cutest!!!

To have RHD help with your upcoming celebration, email tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com

Bovance $1000 scholarship available

2011-11-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

Just rec'd via Sara Kober....

BOVANCE ANNOUNCES SECOND YEAR OF SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST

Nov. 19, 2011 -- Sioux Center, Iowa

Bovance is happy to announce the second year of their youth scholarship program, which was won by Brent Sexton from Iowa in 2011. This $1000 scholarship is open to high school seniors and college students in their first or second year of undergraduate study in an agriculture related field. Students must write an essay between 750 and 1000 words based on one of the following questions:

1. How could genetic preservation and cloning help feed the world in the years to come?

2. If you have a particular cow or bull that has contributed greatly to your herd, or the breed, explain why
would you clone her/him.

3. How could cloning be used as part of comprehensive reproductive toolbox of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) services in a purebred or commercial operation?

4. How would you explain the benefits and safety of cloning to a consumer/friend who is questioning the value of the technology?

Entries must be received no later than March 1, 2012, with the winner being announced by April 15, 2012. The runner up will receive a free Express Tissue Bank on the animal of their choice (Value $300) and honorable mention entries will receive a certificate for $100 off a Genetic Preservation or Express Tissue Bank on the animal of their choice. All entry essays may be used in Bovance promotional materials in the future. For a submission form, please contact Diane Broek at 1-800-999-3586 or Melain Cox at 1-877-4-BOVANCE (1-877-426-8262).

12 Days of Christmas: RHD Style

2011-11-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

Did you know that here at RHD, we are a bunch of Christmas freaks. We love it. Especially Stacey. She would wear a Santa hat every day if she could!

So in honor of this special time, we are excited to announce a HUGE promotion we will have going on from December 1 to 16....The 12 Days of Christmas RHD Style!

2011 has been an amazing year for us. Each year we keep saying it was our "best year ever" and once again, we have been really blessed with our "best year ever" in 2011.

Our customers and our fans make our success possible, without a doubt. So we have come up with the 12 Days of Christmas, RHD Style, to reward and thank those who make RHD a success.

So here's how it works.

1. First, you must be a fan of our facebook page. Click here to join and "Like" our page.

2. Each work day, (no weekends) we will be giving away two types of prizes. First, we will have a daily Christmas trivia question. The first person to answer the question correctly will win the prize for that day. The prizes start small and build up to the grand finale prize on the 12th day.

3. While only one person wins the daily prize, each day we will also be posting a special "12 Days of Christmas" Coupon that ANY of our fans can print off and use for our services here at RHD. Each day will be different. You'll have 1 week to book a project and claim the coupon.

And we promise, the prizes aren't going to be chinchy little things like a free koozie. They are going to be stuff you will LOVE!!!!

Watch for the First Day of Christmas....Thursday, December 1st.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
and Remember..JESUS is the Reason For the Season!!!

LOVE Y'ALL!

Best of the Barns "Too Close to Calls"

2011-11-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

With just a few days left in our 2011 Best of the Barns voting, we have about 14 categories that are literally just too close to call!! In these categories, there are less than 20 votes separating the contestants! So I know you have an opinion on who the best of these are....go vote!

A few reminders, you don't have to vote for every category, you can just pick the ones that are important to you.

You DO however have to enter your email address, and your vote only counts once per email address. Yes, we do have some people who are trying to spam and vote for themselves 100 times. This is the only fair way to do it. If you don't provide an email address, your vote doesn't count.

Here are the categories that are in a dead heat:

Best Cattle Blog (Question 5)
Best Ranch Facebook Page (Question 6)
Best Ranch Website (Question 9)
Best Sale Catalog (Question 12)
Best Online Auction Service (Question 26)
Best University Animal Science Program (Question 29)
Best University Livestock Judging Program (Question 31)
Best Feed Supplier (Question 35)
Best Show Awards (Question 37)
Best On Farm Photographer (Question 40)
Best Educational Clinic (Question 45)
Best Video Production Company (Question 47)
Best Boar Stud (Question 48)
Best Sheep Magazine (Question 53)

Go to http://www.bestofthebarns.com/ to vote!

Thankful 2011

2011-11-24T07:47:00.000-08:00

This year's Thankgiving blog from RHD:

I'm Thankful For...
-the wife who says "it's hot dogs tonight", because it means she is home with me and not out with someone else.

- the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

- the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes because it means she is at home, not on the streets.

- the taxes I pay, because it means I am employed.

- the mess to clean after a party because it means i have been surrounded by friends.

- the clothes that fit a little too tightly because it means I have enough to eat.

- my a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means that I have a house.

- all of the complaining I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.

- the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and have been blessed with transportation.

- my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.

- the pile of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.

- aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I am capable of working hard.

- the alarm that goes off early in the morning, because it means I am alive.

"In everything give thanks" - 1st Thessalonians 5:18

- Reprinted from Abell Street Church of Christ House to House, Heart to Heart. http://www.housetohouse.com/
Originally written by Francse Shipp, Weaver, Alabama

Denver Sign Orders

2011-11-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

If you've been to any of the big shows this fall, chances are you noticed some of the awesome work of RHD in many areas. But one of our most popular services during this time of year is stall signs. We offer stall signs of all shapes and sizes and these are a necessity for every farm or ranch taking cattle to Denver, or any show for that matter.

We finally broke down and got some new signs for V8 Shorthorns for Louisville....and I couldn't believe how many people said how they loved the signs. They also commented on how easy it was to spot our stalls because the signs stood out so much. Now, if only I can get my dad convinced to get away from the handwritten signs we use in our Brahman showstring. I doubt that will ever happen honestly.

As we've been really hammering lately in our own ads, projects like these are where our practical expertise of the cattle business really give us an advantage. We know how to do the best livestock signs because, well, hmm, I've only hung up literally thousands of these in my lifetime as the official sign hanger (or assistant sign hanger to my dad) on the V8 showstring for the past 20 years.

I know Denver isn't quite on everyone's minds yet, but we are steadily working on Denver sign orders. Don't wait til the last minute because Denver projects are harder than normal show orders because we have the holidays of Christmas and New Years in the mix and that causes delays in shipping.

Probably the easiest thing to do is just fax us a copy of your show entries, and then we'll get to work. We also have a $500 package available that includes a banner and end panel signs. We look forward to talking with you and doing your signs!

10 Commandments of Showing

2011-11-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

While I was working on some stuff for my new book, my dad offered me to go through his collection of old articles about showing that he had collected through the years. It's like Christmas in November getting to go through all the old stuff. One of my favorites I came across...a clipping called:

"The Ten Commandments For Parents of Kids Showing Beef Cattle"

by Clyde D Lane, Jr., Extension Specialist at the University of Tennessee

1. Thou shall NOT feed, train, and care for the animal...for you are trying to teach children responsibility.

2. Thou shall forgive a child for making mistakes in the showring...for you have made mistakes too.

3. Thou shall NOT get mad when the child forgets items in the showbox...for one day you might forget the whole showbox.

4. Thou shall help the show management. They are doing a good job at a job you would not want to do.

5. Thou shall see that your child is on time for all show activities, for you would not want to wait on another.

6. Thou shall be sure that your child has the animals entered and the registration papers in order at the designated time.

7. Thou shall teach the child that winning a blue ribbin is a desirable goal, but making friends along the way is a much more worthy goal.

8. Thou shall NOT complain about the judge, for it is his opinion that has been sought that day.

9. Thou shall remember that livestock projects are teaching projects...not necessarily money-making projects.

10. Thou shall remember that the livestock project is a family project that should be enjoyed and supported by the entire family.

Christmas Gifts from RHD

2011-11-18T10:11:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or does it seem like it gets harder and harder to get gifts for those people in our lives that seem to have EVERYTHING already! Or, to find something unique? It never fails that year in and year out, lots of our livestock friends turn to RHD to help them come up with something really cool for Christmas designs.

Last year, one of our hardest kept secrets was the Christmas gift of a blog header design that Jon Blin gave to Crystal Young.

Barn banners are another really popular Christmas gift, like these shown here at Tusa Cattle.

In some cases, we have even done websites as a Christmas gift! The way we have found it works best is that you go ahead and book the website before Christmas. We will put up a special message like "Merry Christmas Dad...Welcome to your new web site to be designed by RHD" on the web site home page. On Christmas, you can tell the person to go to http://www.yourranch.com/ where they will see the special message. This is really cool and always is an exciting gift!

Another cool thing we have done is special photo collages mounted on canvas or gallery wrap. These are really neat too. We did one of these for the Klug family last year and they loved it.

So while it's never too early for Christmas gifts, there is a time when you can be too late. We need to get to work on Christmas items right away, preferably by December 1st.

Also if you are looking for some great unique items, visit these client web sites:

How well connected is your website?

2011-11-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

How well connected is your website? The number of sites that link to your web site is one of the factors that helps boost your search engine ranking. We offer a great directories package that will link your site on all of the following directories that are applicable to your business for one low price of $50.

Click here to add your website to our listings. We will add your listing to all applicable sites that you qualify for. For example, a Shorthorn breeder from Texas would qualify to be listed on all three sites....where a Hereford breeder from Oklahoma would be listed on Show to Win only.

Also, one of the many perks of being an RHD customer is that all of our website clients automatically get free links on these sites. If we can help you with a new website or give you a bid for a new look on your existing website, please give us a call.

PS - We say "many perks" because there are actually several. Be sure to ask us about our partnershp incentives to being an RHD customer.

New RHD Promo Video

2011-11-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

We are really proud to unveil our new RHD promotional video! Thanks to Ideal Video Productions for making this for us. Take a look and meet the RHD team, plus learn a little more about our services.

Want to see what we can whip up in 10 minutes?

2011-11-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, maybe we shouldn't have posted the blog yesterday about doing rush signs for Eby Ranch on their way to Louisville. I like a design challenge, but today was cutting it a little close!

So this morning, I get an email from our longtime customer Kyle Conley, saying they need a sire postcard for Louisville, and he needs it by Saturday. I immediately begin racking my brain trying to think of a printer I can use that can do a 1 day turnaround and overnight ship to Louisville. It's going to be tight, but we try to do anything we can to help our customers, so I got to work.

Fast forward to 2:50 p.m., when we receive the sire photo from Kyle and the bull information. I begin downloading the picture while Tricia calls up our printer - the lovely Donna at Tops Printing - and asks if they can do the project for us.

Donna's response: If you can have it to me in 5 minutes.

PANIC.

So I get to work. I called Kyle and said, I have to have it to the printer in 5 minutes, and you're going to have to trust me on this design ha ha!

So here we go....not too shabby for something that took me 5 minutes to design....

By the way, if you like the bull, they are selling something on him in the Angus Finals sale in Vegas. I know that sounds pathetic that I don't know the exact detail of what they are selling -- syndication possibly?? -- but keep in mind we were on a short time frame and Kyle and I didn't have that much time to chit chat. HA.

Christmas Card Pricing

2011-11-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

We have had a lot of customers asking about pricing for Christmas Cards, so we thought it would be easier just to publish the price list. We have two options for cards, our basic and our premium options. The basic options are printed on the clients choice of either matte or gloss finish. The premium options can be printed in matte, gloss, metallic shimmer, and also have special cutout shapes.

For these custom designed cards, we need 2 weeks for design, printing and shipping. So it's never too early to start planning.

For those clients on a shorter time frame, or looking for a less expensive option, try http://www.rhdinvitations.com/ and browse around. If we can help you with your cards just give us a call!

Denver Bull Banners Underway

2011-11-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

Does everyone have Denver bull banners on their mind or what? Seems like over the past 3 days we have gotten a ton of calls about Denver bull banners! And in fact, we've even got a few either already printed or almost approved and ready to be printed. Way to go everyone for being so ahead of schedule!

Here is one that is a 4x4 banner that Liz designed this week for TX Enterprises in North Carolina.

We have a great sire package that includes pretty much everything one needs for a bull promotion. Due to confidentiality we don't publically put all of the details online, but we are more than happy to discuss it with anyone who is interested. This package is good for bulls of all breeds, not just club calf bulls.

So we are getting excited! Creating unique ads and promotions for bulls is one of our favorite things to do here at RHD! Give us a call at 979-532-9141 and we would be happy to talk with you about how we can help you!

Christmas Cards

2011-11-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

If you read yesterday's post, you noticed we were saying how suprising it is that we've already been working on Denver bull banners for this year. Well, another one of those things that's quickly sneaking upon us is CHRISTMAS!

For the past several years we have done a ton of custom Christmas cards for our friends both in Wharton and for many of our club calf friends nationwide. One of our subsidiary businesses is Ranch House Invitations, in which we offer cards, party invitations, graduation invitations, shower invites, wedding invitations, save the dates, and much more.

We can work with you in a variety of ways. First, for the most affordable option, you can upload your own photos and order instantly online through our 2 catalog affiliations available here. You can have your photos ready, choose your design, upload, and order. It's easy and still very customizable.

The next option is to have RHD design your Christmas card from scratch. This option is a bit more expensive (averages about $2.50 per card) but gives you a ton of options like specialty cutout shapes, metallic finish, and more. For this option, just email us your photos and we will get to work on a custom design. For our clients in the Wharton area, we are happy to recommend any of our very talented local area photographers, or get one of our 2 staff photographers (Stacey or Joelynn) to take your photos for you for a small additional fee.

Here are a few examples of our cards from last year....

This was Rachel & Brandon's card, it was a custom design (of course with a Brahman on it) and was a 5x7 flat card with the shimmer finish.

The best card of the Wharton area for 2010!! This was the Gertson family card and it was a 5x5 tri-fold card. It included a shimmer finish, and we also did the family photography for this card.

Here's one we did for the Hoskins family of Beeville. They were running a little late, so they opted for a Happy New Year card.

The Locke family of Wharton used a 5x7 folded card so they could include a letter and recap from 2010. This was a great design that featured bragging rights on all of their wonderful grandkids.

John and Salina Locke of Wharton also sent out a 5x7 flat card with the shimmer finish. This card featured a custom poem written by John's sisters to announce the birth of their daughter in conjunction with their holiday card.

Another awesome design for 2010. This was Stacey's family card and it featured a 5x5 square design with a special scalloped cutout shape and shimmer metallic finish.

While this one is more ranchy, here's a custom card we created for the Scarmardo's to send out to their cattle industry clients. We can easily work up custom designs for any design preference. It doesn't always have to be red and green!

Call us today for pricing, 979-532-9141 or email rachel@ranchhousedesigns.com

Sire Promotion Packages

2011-10-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's already time to start thinking about sire promotion for 2012? Well, if it makes it seem any more real, we've already started on the promotions for two bulls headed to Denver. So it's definitely time.

As always we are offering a total package deal for sire promotions. We have offered this service for the past 6 years and it just makes the whole sire promotion project easy when working with one place to handle everything. And, in the spirit of competition, we think you will be very pleased with our pricing this year! We have worked hard to find top quality new vendors and 'beef up' our services so to speak to provide the most comprehensive sire promotion package we can offer. And, the pricing is actually LOWER than last year's pricing!

So, we can't divulge all the details, but if you have a bull to promote, you'll definitely want to give us a call!

Some Old Favorites

2011-10-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

Today at RHD we were doing a mass office clean out and decided that since our file cabinets were stuffed to the max (which is a great problem to have) that we should go through and clean out our old projects that were done more than 5 years ago and had a low likelihood of people needing to re-order.

But, I'm a big softie, and there were just a few projects that I couldn't bear myself to throw away. It seems like just yesterday I designed these and anxiously awaited for them to come out in magazines! It also amazed me at how far we've come in our design capability since then. When these ads came out, if you remember, these were far and away the BEST ads in any magazine. They stood out, they were different, and they got people talking. But by today's standards, while the design components are still excellent, we can do SO much more in terms of graphics.

These are a few ads that really were special to me because they were some of the first ads I did and always give me a smile when I think about where we started, and how far we've come! Hope you enjoy!

"The Old Lady Bingo Ad"

Anyone remember this one? When this ad came out, people were completely taken in shock! This was before people really knew about stock photo services and everyone kept asking who this lady was! We started lots of rumors...it was my grandmother, Matt's grandmother, Tyler Melroe's girlfriend....etc. It was a lot of fun and was one of the most talked about ads at that time.

"The Sweaty Tattoo Guy"

This is another one that appeared in the State Fair publications and this one was part of a 3 page foldout for Richey Brothers. This was the page that you first saw before you folded it out. We got in trouble over this oen! Not from Shane, but lots of people complained that it was too "edgy" for a youth publication because the guy was scary and had a tattoo. Even today, that sweat dripping off his face is sick.

"Third Place Ribbon"

This ad appeared in the Pacific Showcase and was a perfect ad for this young client who wasn't lacking in self confidence. It was simple and direct and lots of people loved this one. The only thing, unfortunately, one of his best steers got 3rd place at the California State Fair that year. Karma? Oops.

"The Road Sign"

This was our first ad to design for a show cattle client, and probably the ad that started it all. Looking at it now, you wouldn't think this ad was anything fantastic. Nice yes, but not something that would inspire you or change the way that every other livestock ad designer did ads. But this one did! This ad was the beginning of creating ads with large visual images OTHER THAN CATTLE. This is your classic Ogilvy design format, with the headline, text, photos, and call to action...but up until that point that design strategy had never really been adapted to the club calf arena. This ad was on the back cover of several major club calf magazines and it was described as so "Different" and "Cool" at that time.

"The Crazy Eye"

How many times have you seen this crazy green eye spring up in a club calf or show pig publication in the past 5 years. Well, here was the first time it was used and the design that inspired others. This was another part of the Richey's ad campaign that was so "edgy" for the time. Believe it or not, some people during this time (remember it was the early 2000s) thought this ad was too scary too! Ha!

"Bleedin Purple"

Bleedin' Purple is one of my most treasured ads because Bleedin' Purple was the first sire I ever represented at RHD and was the first sire ad and bull banner I ever designed. This whole project came about during the Arizona National Livestock Show while Matt and Phil were relaxin at Phoenix and needed a bull banner designed for Denver just a few weeks away. I FAXED the design proof to their hotel in Phoenix. Again, by todays standards, it isn't too fancy. But at that time, this banner and ad was all the rage. Notice the purple shavings in the bottom corner of the ad. That was because Matt had the bulls shavings at Denver died purple. Pretty commonplace now, but again, at that time, it was new and something that had never been done. I also loved this picture, I thought it was one of Dave Sinclair's best bull photos.

I hope you enjoyed these flashbacks as much as I did. Even though they are nearly 10 years old, they are definitely projects I am proud of today and help remind me of the many wonderful clients and bulls we have worked with in our rich history here at RHD.

More Pinterest Quotes

2011-10-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more of our recent favorite quotes that we'll post for your pinning pleasure :)

New RHD Site: Crestview Commodites

2011-10-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

Founded in 1942, Crestview Farms has been a grain operation since the beginning. They strive to take good care of their own land and the ground that their landlords have trusted us with for many years. They grow mostly corn, soybeans and wheat, and also grow hay for their cattle operation.

Crestview Commodities would like to help your farming operation by assisting you with your grain marketing. Whether you have 500 bushels or 500,000 bushels, Crestview Commodities will help you find the best deal available for your Corn and Soybeans.

They take pride in their daily work of providing food for the world, not only through their grain farm, but also our livestock operations. Farming is a challenge, but it’s something they enjoy each day. It’s a way of life they all appreciate and wouldn’t trade for anything. If you are a landowner, Crestview Farms welcomes the opportunity to talk with you about taking care of your land in the future.

New RHD Site: Ratcliff Ranches

2011-10-19T14:40:00.001-07:00

Ratcliff Ranches is a commercial and registered Angus and SimAngus seedstock producer and cow/calf operation. The Ranch, headquartered in Vinita, Okla., is always growing and changing its interests to fit today’s cattle market and consumer needs. With its 25,000 owned acres and an additional 10,000 leased acres, the ranch currently runs over 5,000 cows. The Ranch is comprised of five ranches located in NE Oklahoma and one ranch in SE Kansas.

Owned by the J.L. Ratcliff Family, the Ranch is committed to improving their genetics and utilizing cutting-edge tools, like the Pfizer 50K Genomic test as another opportunity to capitalize on an already solid genetic program.

Their goal is to provide ourselves, as well as beef customers, more pounds of beef with fewer head of cattle, which can only be achieved by selective genetics and disciplined breeding strategies.

Every rancher has a set of genetics, the difference between Ratcliff Ranches and the average rancher, is their genetic base and the determination they have to build the ideal genetic make-up of an animal.

In addition, they also have a commitment to animal health and humane handling practices. All of their cattle are on a strict Pfizer health protocol. Most are processed using the Blackwell facility, which is designed by Temple Grandin, who is well known for her efforts and expertise in humane animal handling practices.

Ratcliff Ranches encourage you to visit them anytime you are in the area. Their door is always open!

2011-10-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

By now, basically everyone at RHD has become addicted to Pinterest, thanks to a recommendation from Brandi Bourg. What is Pinterest? It's a virtual pinboard where you can share recipes, DIY tips, interior design, crafts, fashion, photography, quotes, wedding ideas, home improvement ideas, books, and more. It's a brand new addiction for all of us ladies on the internet!

You can "pin" and "re-pin" things from others on Pinterest, and it's a great way to collect ideas of things you like, and things you WISH you had time to do ha ha.

One of the things we really like about Pinterest is all of the inspiring quotes. So, we decided since we have the capability of creating graphics, we are going to ~~waste more time~~ contribute to the Pinterest community by creating graphic versions of a few of our quotes so our friends and followers can re-pin. Here are two of our favorites....first, the Code of the West, which are part of our guiding principles of how we do things here at RHD.

And our second one, in honor of Dr. Brandi Bourg, since she's the one who got us all started on this. We thought this one was a good one for her. This quote is also hanging in the house of my good friend Salina Locke (who's a nurse) and who's husband is a rancher. If I can find one for my house I'm getting one too! :)

So enjoy, and watch for more, and start pinning away.

P.S., If you're not on Pinterest, and want an invite to join, email rachel@ranchhousedesigns.com or liz@ranchhousedesigns.com and we'll send you an invitation from our account.

Web Turnaround Time for September

2011-10-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

It probably seems like us posting these numbers get old....since every month after month after month it's always so fast. But we still like keeping our current clients, and also potential future clients, informed about our service time.

For the month of September, we did 409 web site updates. These were done in an average time of 1 hour and 20 minutes from when the client sent it in to us!

All of our web sites come standard with unlimited updates of text and photos, because we believe it is extremely important to keep your web site current...even if it's just a little text update. So keep sending the updates in, and we'll keep punching em out....quickly and accurately -- it's what we do best!

What makes a great livestock ad?

2011-10-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what makes a great livestock ad? Since 1999, we've designed some of the cattle business's most memorable and well known livestock ad campaigns for the various clients we have the honor to work with. Rachel Cutrer shares the RHD philosophy on the four most important components of making a great livestock ad!

Thanks to Ideal Video Productions for working with us on this project!

Georgia National Fair

2011-10-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Lots of the RHD team will be out and about this week and next at different shows, sales, and events.

We are really excited to be represented at the Georgia National Fair by our RHD Rep Reba Hicks. Reba Hicks represents Alabama and the southeastern U.S. She attends Auburn University (WAR EAGLE!) and is a senior majoring in Animal Sciences.

More than likely, Reba will be around the Chi cattle, since she is a past member of the Jr. Chi board and was their national queen.

You can't miss Reba since she's always wearing a big smile, has a friendly word for everyone, and is unmistakeable with that red hair!

So look for Reba and feel free to talk with her about any of the projects going on at RHD and how we can help you. We're always booking new web sites, with pricing starting at $400. She can also tell you about some specials to help you save money on your print advertising campaigns by using RHD for all of your print+web services.

We'll also be "un-officially" represented at the Georgia National by dear old dad, Jim Williams, who'll be there judging. And we can always count on him to give a good word for RHD.

Also this week, Joelynn will be at the State Fair of Texas, so watch for her. Though you'll have to look for her in disguise, since she'll probably be behind the camera.

New RHD Site: Burns Farm

2011-10-04T13:22:00.001-07:00

For more than 50 years, Burns Farm has been producing registered horned Hereford that excel in both phenotypic and genotypic qualities. Their goal is to produce cattle that make a profit for them and for their customers. All of the cattle have complete performance and carcass data.

Raising and marketing of beef cattle has been a part of the family heritage for decades. The site in Pikeville, TN was settled by Randel and Helen Burns in 1947. Their registered Hereford cow herd started with the initial investment in two Hereford heifers purchased at the Duck River Hereford Association sale in 1953 as a 4-H project for Phillip. Later, Hereford females were purchased for Joe. The brothers worked together for decades to cultivate and develop reliable, efficient, and easily manageable cattle that will work in virtually any beef cattle operation. Phillip and Joe are both recognized cattlemen, proudly serving in multiple cattle associations over time. In addition to many other appointments, Phillip served as the president of the American Hereford Association and Joe has served on the board of directors for the Tennessee Cattleman’s Association and the Bredley/Bledsoe Farmers Coop. Joe is currently an Animal Health Inspector for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Phillip’s children (Joe, David, and Sarah) and Joe’s sons (Walter and Sam) were blessed to grow up with exposure and involvement in the cattle industry and specifically, Herefords. David currently serves as manager for the business. Burns Farms historically ran all sales by private treaty. In 2009, they held their first annual bull sale and in 2011 began their female production sales. Extensive individual records have always been kept for the cow herd, both registered and commercial, with rigid culling for predictable performance. There is focus on use of genetic and estimated progeny difference information, phenotypic evaluation, and optimal nutrition to promote growth and development of high quality bulls and cows. Burns Farm is proud to offer ready-to-work Hereford bulls, as well as excellent females, both Hereford and black baldies. Thank you for coming to the site, please contact them with any questions or interest.

Book your Louisville stall signs TODAY!

2011-10-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

The North American International Livestock Expo is just around the corner. With that said, if you haven't booked your stall sign designs yet, now is the time. We will be taking new banner, sign, pedigree and end panel projects until October 10th.

Here are some samples of our sign and banner work!

Fischer Cattle Company End Panel

Purple Reign Pedigree Signs

Reimann Ranches, 4x8 Denver Bull Display Banner

The American Shorthorn Association, 4x8 Banner

Email tricia@ranchhousedesigns or joelynn@ranchhousedesigns.com today to book you NAILE signage! To view more samples of our work visit the Stock Show Signs web site

Bookin' Blogs!

2011-10-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ranch House Designs does so much more than just your every day website or print ad. We also pride our designers in helping businesses generate interest through their blogs! With numerous headers already created by our talented team, we would love to help boost the look of your blog!

Here is a new blog client of ours. Little House on the Horizon is blog all about young people trying to build their lives through ranching. It's really a neat blog that I suggest everyone check out!

Blogging is a simple way to connect with those around you, while still keeping a level of personal style. We love being able to help design new customer's pages - not just because designing is what we do, but because it is so interesting to learn what our clients are doing in their lives!

To book your blog header or page design, email joelynn@ranchhousedesigns.com

New RHD Site: Whitestone Farm

2011-10-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

A world-class breeder of Registered Performance Angus Cattle, Whitestone Farm has been an industry leader for 30 years. Their premium genetics have been sold across the nation and in more than 15 countries worldwide.

Whitestone Farm actively inventories 1,200 head of registered Angus and is comprised of some 2,200 acres of leased and owned land. Located just outside the village of historic Aldie, Virginia, the farm implements a fine-tuned breeding program which continues to perform year after year.

Whitestone's philosophy is simple: to raise quality Angus breeding genetics that will work in all segments of the beef cattle industry. Although Whitestone embraces and accepts new technology to enhance their Angus breed, their farm still uses the same tried and true practices that they have for 30 years. The result is superior Angus, bred with a personal touch.

Their Brand of Quality and their commitment to customer service has enabled them to retain loyal customers and friends for decades, as well as secure new customers each year. Over the years Whitestone has sold hundreds of bulls to commercial and purebred breeders throughout the United States and Canada. They have also sold and/or leased numerous bulls to major AI stud companies worldwide. Whitestone's vast customer base is built on trust and the confidence that Whitestone genetics are a sound investment.

At Whitestone, Bulls Are Their Business. They welcome your visit, and look forward to exceeding your expectations

New Web Site: Bollum Family Shorthorns!

2011-09-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Bollum Family Shorthorns is a 5th generation family farm located east of Goodhue, Minnesota where the original Bollum’s settled in 1863. Shorthorns were used here from the very beginning because of their dual purpose traits. A pure beef herd was started in the late 1930’s as Henry and Curtiss began showing purebred cattle as part of their 4-H projects.

The cattle operation today consists of 75 purebred Shorthorn females and 40 commercial females used as recipients in the farm’s Embryo Transplant program. While their careers took them away from the farm during the week, their father continues to manage the day-to-day cattle and cropland responsibilities. Weekends are busy as the rest of the family comes back home to farm. Their collective goal has been to produce sound, functional cattle that will be profitable for purebred and commercial cattlemen alike.

Don't miss Bollum Family Shorthorn's Harvast Round-Up Sale on October 16th. This year's offering looks better than ever!

Baby Joelynn

2011-09-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

We couldn't resist posting this adorable photo of Joelynn Donough. Who would have thought that one day this adorable little girl with the camera around her neck would be helping photograph at Denver!! We loved this picture and had to share.

Oh, and we couldn't resist these two either. Apparantely this was Joelynn's "go to" outfit for shows. Not judging. My very own go to outfit at that time included turquoise Rockies, a holstein print shirt, and a leather velcro collar with fringe and conchos. I'll try to find a photo of THAT gorgeous outfit.

New RHD Site: Midnight Genetics!

2011-09-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Midnight Genetics located just south of the red river in Howe, Texas. Though this is only their second year of operation, the genetic base and sow herd has tripled in number and quality. The crew at Midnight Genetics strive to produce hogs with a productive, useful built that will provide the look of quality that no judge can ignore. With recent champion banners coming for the 2011 National Western Stock Show, that quality goes without saying.

Whether you are in the market for hamps, crossbred, yorks, berks or even chesters, let Midnight Genetics help you with you next champion. They breed to farrow their 25 litters for late summer, through September so they are ready for any winter or Texas Major. The herd's genetics are based primarily on Mike Clay genetics and most lines consist of Warfare daughters. But come see for yourself, success can be found with Midnight Genetics!

Click here to visit this site!

New RHD Site: Circle T Cattle Company

2011-09-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Circle T Cattle Company is proudly owned and operated by three generations of the Thibodeaux Family!

Located in Church Point, Louisiana, they are known as "La place de bons voche"....the place for good cattle! The family are bonded order buyers of calves, yearlings, recipient cows, replacement heifers and stocker calves. They are also proud to raise registered red and grey Brahman cattle. The Thibodeaux family strive to produce cattle that are genetically sound and phenotypically superior. One of our proudest moments was exhibiting the 2011 International Champion Red Brahman Female, CT Lady Rhineaux Ray 8/9.

Circle T Cattle Company functions as family. Every member of the family has their individual responsibilities that join together to make our business a success. Just as the cattle business is a way of life for them so is the Cajun way. This hard-working Cajun heritage is extremely important to the family, especially since only a few generations ago, the Thibodeaux’s still spoke French. These family values and way of life has been passed onto the current generation. From constant prayer to minding their manners, this crew has been a great success both in and out of the ring.

Give them a call or stop by the ranch and see what’s new at Circle T. Check their sale listings page for current cattle listings, and if they can help you in any way, let them know!

RHD Partners with Showtimes Magazine

2011-09-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ranch House Designs, Inc. is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Showtimes Magazine, a nationwide junior livestock publication owned by Brian, Lisa and Laurie Reid of Colorado. The Showtimes Jr. Livestock Magazine was established in February 2007. Celebrating their 5 year anniversary in spring 2012, the publication now has a circulation of just over 8,000.

Since RHD started in 1999, many people have asked us why we don't start a youth livestock magazine. There were three primary reasons we did not ever pursue this venture. First, we felt that the market already contained many credible show publications, including many that RHD maintains a close professional relationship with including The Showbox or Purple Circle magazine. Cherie Carrabba was my first "boss" in this field and continues to be a mentor to me. I would never in my life dream of starting a business to compete with the person that taught me the foundation of what I know.

Second, we enjoy the option of being selective on who we work with, and having a small enough client base to maintain our elite level of service and personal attention. We felt that if we were to pursue a monthly magazine, that our work would become too generic and that we would lose that exclusivity that people enjoy by working with us. We like being able to choose what clients we work with, and being able to devote the extra time needed to make their projects the best.

Third, we have always believed that you pick a FEW services and be the ABSOLUTE BEST at providing that service....instead of providing mediocre service on 50 products. It's kind of the mentality of I'd rather have 5 of the best donor cows in the world than 500 sale barn cows.

However, we do feel that we are able to offer our clients incentives and benefits by forming strategic alliances with the best service providers in the industry. For example, we do not offer online sales but we enjoy recommending our clients to Live Auctions or Cattle in Motion. We do not offer livestock videos but we recommend folks like Maximum Exposure.

With all that being sald, we are very pleased to announce a new partnership between RHD and The Showtimes. Since 2005, RHD has worked very closely with this outstanding publication through web design, editorial, and advertising. Quality and integrity were the two biggest factors in our decision to align with this publication. We have admired the work of the Reid family for their excellence in junior livestock coverage, and also their business integrity. When browsing through their publication, you'll find page after page of motivational, uplifting, encouraging articles designed to instill good old fashioned American values into youth readers. We love it! The magazine is published 6 times a year, entirely in full color. All show results are in full color as well. Each issue contains several extremely interesting stores including youth spotlights, judges articles, and more.

Ranch House Designs, Inc. will represent The Showtimes Magazine and also frequently provides the magazine with editorial content and advertising collaboration. This new teamwork partnership also brings several benefits to Ranch House Designs clients. If you're a client, watch for our October mail out which will contain exciting details of this new venture!

Christy Collins

2011-09-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

This week's partner spotlight is someone I greatly admire: Christy Collins.

I can't remember exactly when this memory occured, but I know it was probably at least 15 years ago. We had a Shorthorn bull that we raised here at V8 Ranch named "Bonfire." Well, okay, that reminds me. It would have been like in 1997ish because we named him that while I was a student at A&M because he was out of my old show heifer. People who attended the Illinois State Fair around that time might also remember him from the notorious "Illinois State Fair Bull Fight" in which Bonfire tore down the showring, and blew up the lassie queen's skirt as she hopped over the fence. HA! Truthfully, the story on that was that he had never been shown before - he was never intended to be shown. But Don Cagwin, one of the owners, kept insisting we start showing him. So he was halterbroke and stuff later in life, and showed, and won Louisville. Good foresight by Mr. Cagwin.

Anyway, that story does have a relevant point to this topic. My dad knew Bonfire was the best bull we had raised at that time, and so Don Cagwin purchased an interest in the bull as well as several other promiment breeders. Now keep in mind this was BEFORE I started doing advertising. I will never forget my - almost stalker-ish - excitement when my dad told me that we were possibly going to hire CHRISTY COLLINS to do the pictures of Bonfire. THIS was when I knew we were talking BIG TIME here! Christy Collins to do our picture!!!

Well, actually, that deal never panned out on working with Christy - not her fault, we just went another direction. But, we felt it was a huge honor that Christy would even consider taking on our bull. I had seen her photos and ad design throughout all of the magazines and I was interested in advertising - though I never really knew to what extent at that time - and I was so excited at the possibility to get to work with her.

Later that year, my dad saw Christy at Denver, and mentioned to her that I was interested in web design. She offered that if I wanted to come job shadow her to learn about ad design, I was more than welcome. Um, hi, I should have DEFINITELY done that. But, I didn't. (Note to young professionals, if Christy, or me, or anyone else you hold in high regard ever makes you that offer, TAKE IT!)

Well though the years, I have continued my great admiration for Christy's work. Not only is she, in my opinion, the greatest club calf bull photographer ever, but she is also one of the best ad designers, catalog designers, sale managers, everything. No matter what she does, she does it with professionalism and CLASS.

I absolutely love it when I get to do an ad using photos taken by Christy. Probably my all time favorite would be the Heat Wave photo. Which I just realized you can order a really cool poster about Heat Wave. While we worked with Lautner Farms, I probably used that image in over 250 ads. I still smile every time I see that Heat Wave photo. Invincible's photo is probably another one of my all time favorites. Paddy O'Malley, Irish Whiskey, Habanero, all greats.

Despite all of her professional success in advertising, probably the thing that I admire most about Christy, is that she lives the cattle business every day. In a recent email conversation we had, we both were talking about how we would actually prefer to be working in a cow pasture than being in front of a computer on most days. She "gets" it. I "get" it. I think that's why we are both so successful in working with ranchers, because we know that business. Heck I am saving every penny we make from RHD right now to use to buy hay to get through winter. I'm sure Christy has done the same through the years. But, we both knew we wanted a viable business to help us remain involved in the cattle industry, and her camera and my computer helped us get there. She blazed the trail that I, along with many other young women, have been able to follow.

I don't mean for this to seem bragging, but lots of young ladies tell me that they look up to me, and aspire to have their own "Ranch House Designs" one day. That makes me so happy to be a positive role model for young ladies in the cattle business. Whenever I go to do guest lectures at schools in animal science classes, all the students think that I was the first person to start this niche of professional advertising in the livestock - and maybe more specifically - the club calf business.

But they are wrong. Christy Collins started this career path for many young ladies to follow, and today, she is still at the top. There's a quote on the front page of her new web site that says "Beginning is easy. Continuing hard.". I love it. I'd have to say, Christy, you have succeeded!

Bastrop Fire Relief

2011-09-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days we have had lots of friends from around the nation asking us if we knew of any people that needed help with the Bastrop fire relief. Until now, we did not have any information, but yesterday we got an email from Dr. Davey Griffin at Texas A&M with some information about how we could help the family of a former meat judging team member at A&M who lost his family's home in the Bastrop fires. Here is the information. If we hear of any other relief funds or projects we will post them here too.

"At this point, we are assessing our situation and leaning on our Faith in God. We have many needs but so do many others. Our fellow church members, our neighborhood, and many, many friends have lost so much. The first thing we need is prayers.

Also, a special fund has been set up @:

River Valley Christian Fellowship
494 Highway 71 West
Suite 140-154
Bastrop, TX 78602-3731

Checks can be mailed here. Leave the memo line blank and insert any note you wish.

Again, we have many, many families who have lost everything. Anything sent to this fund will be distributed to those in need. Thank you for your concern & God Bless!

Show Champions

2011-09-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

In keeping with our new thing of spotlighting our industry partners, this week are sending a big shout out to everyone at the Show Champions crew!

Show Champions has revolutionized the way we think of livestock show photography!

I remember being a little young Shorthorn exhibitor at Denver years ago, and the way we viewed our proofs was on these long photo film print outs that Mrs. Browarny (Allan's mom) would thumbtack to the wall. You walked up and flipped through all of those rows of photo films. Actually, this wasn't too long ago. I'm sure many can close their eyes and picture this same exact set up as you walked around to the Browarny booth in the hallways of the Denver show ring.

Wow...fast forward to present day. We all know how the Show Champions set up is now! From the days of thumbtacking proofs to the wall, to nearly instant show proofs available both online and at the show on computers. Now, you walk up to the computer, find your image, buy it, and walk away with your pictures on a memory stick!

As a designer, we love it when Show Champions pictures a show because we get the opportunity to browse and purchase their Hot Shot images. These are AWESOME for ad backgrounds! It is also extremely convenient to be able to proof, order, and instantly download pictures online. This is so helpful to us as designers on tight deadlines. Usually the Show Champions crew has the show pictures up online just a few hours, if not sooner, after the show occurs. This means that we can download your pictures for you and have them up on your web site in no time after the win occurs!

As a livestock showman, I also love it when Show Champions pictures a show because I know the quality of the photo will be great. Their photos are consistently high quality, the calves are set up correctly, and the pictures are awesome.

I have also had the opportunity to become quite good friends with Allan and Dave, as well as many other Show Champions team members. Allan has personally done on farm shoots at our ranch for the past two years. (I think he knows I'm a sucker for his pictures and that I'll pretty much buy every shot he takes ha ha!). Though my legs and arms were extremely sore from running around the pasture as Allan's official ear getter.....to me this in itself was a huge honor to get to work with this esteemed photographer. We also collaborated with Allan on a special client photo shoot for Ganadera Karla Mary in Panama. Allan took the photos then we designed the GKM special donor and sire catalog for the 2010 World Brahman Congress.

So as always, we just want to say Thanks to the Show Champions crew for being so great to work with, and for the outstanding service you provide the industry.

New RHD sites: Tounget Farms and Half Circle M!

2011-09-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

It is always a great feeling when we get to showcase some of the best genetics in the nation. These two new website clients are no exception!

If you looking for any great Pigs in the Texas Area be sure to check out Tounget Farms out of Bronte, Texas! This crew loves raising showing pigs. "We feel the hard work and passion that we have is a great example for out kids and helps bring our family closer."

Visit the Tounger Farms site, they would the chance to get to know your family and help you achieve show ring success!

Half Circle M Ranch is located in Wharton County near the Texas Gulf Coast.

After showing cattle for many years, the ranch decided to branch into the breeding and raising aspect side of the cattle business. In 2007 they started our herd and now proudly raise Simbrah, Simbravieh, and Braunvieh cattle.

If you’re looking for your next winner, look no further than Wharton, Texas. Half Circle M welcomes visitors to the ranch and would love you to show you around.

More than a web site...a web PRESENCE

2011-08-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

While visiting with Victor Guerra of LaMuneca Cattle Company recently, we discussed how today businesses need more than just a web site, they need a WEB PRESENCE.

The days of just putting up a web site and then forgetting about it are over. With the trend towards more viral, constantly updated online material, it's time to really take a good look at your web presence and bump things up a level. And as always, RHD is here to help our customers.

First, yes, definitely you need a web site. That's a must. With the affordability, speed, and ease of getting a new web site going, this is a no brainer. Having a web site costs very little, especially when compared to print advertising. Your web site cost for one year will usually be at or less than what you pay for one full page color ad. Web sites are instantly updated, allow for unlimited photos, and unlimited updates.

In addition to just having a web site, the top marketers will use a total online presence, of which a web site is just one component. Besides a web site, here are some other tools to use for your online marketing efforts:

A blog - These are currently the "cool" thing to add to a web site. Everyone has a blog! The best blogs out there are the ones that are very frequently updated. While a blog usually won't replace the need for a web site, it gives a lot of advantages. One, blogs are a lot more casual. You can post things on a blog that you would probably never post on your web site...like funny photos, quotes, text messages, pictures taken on your camera phone, videos taken on your phone, etc. Most people can also update their own blogs through the easy to use web-based blog software. You can actually even update your blog from your cell phone. Blog sites like http://www.blogger.com/ (the one we use) are free, and easy to set up. RHD can help you in this area by designing matching blog graphics to go hand in hand with your web site. We can even do the initial set up of your blog, have it all ready to go, then just turn you loose with it.
A Facebook page - I swear any day now I figure that even my dad will get a facebook account. Everyone has them. Businesses should create a facebook page where friends and fans can like and share with your business. This is also free. Through your facebook page, you can also use facebook advertising, which is also extremely affordable and extremely targetted. For example, you can place a facebook ad to target everyone who lists "showing cattle" as a hobby. You can also target by states. So to take it even further, you could place a facebook ad that only appears to people from Texas, age 18 and under, who list showing cattle as a hobby. Again, while these pages are very easy to set up and maintain, sometimes you just don't have the time to do it, or have other priorities. This is where we can help once again. RHD can set up your facebook page for you, design custom graphics, then turn it over to you to handle the updates. And, if you don't even want to do the updates, we can do that for you too!
A Twitter account - Twitter and Facebook are different, and it's important to understand that. To me, twitter is more news, information, and discussions with people that you most likely don't know, and never will know. For example, last week I re-tweeted a twitter post by Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Pretty sure if I asked to "friend" him I'd get a big IGNORE. But with twitter, you can follow, or be followed by, just about anyone in the world. For me, Facebook is more for connections with my friends that I actually know. Like know well enough to go to lunch together. My personal rule for accepting friends is that you have to be someone I know well enough to know to have a real live conversation in public. For my stock show friend invitations, my rule is that I would at least say "hi" to if we were standing in line together at the Louisville Freedom Hall concession stand.
Patricipation in the online community - It's all about social interaction! So get involved! Don't be afraid to hit that "like" button in facebook, or to re-tweet something. Or better yet, post comments on some of your favorite blogs and join in on discussions on message boards. These are great ways to interact with others in the online comunity. Remember that comments should be relevant, useful, polite (even if you disagree with the posts), and not self-promotion.

Now of course, we're all strapped for time. And these four tools are just a few of the thousands of ways you can build your online presence. We recommend trying one or two out, until you feel comfortable with them, then maybe try adding more. As we always say, if you're going to put yourself out there on the web, you have to stay involved and stay current. Nothing is worse than a blog that hasn't been updated in a year. So, make the commitment, and give it a try. And remember, we're here to help along the way!

New Modern Livestock Merchandising Article

2011-08-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

We have a new article available that would make great editorial for upcoming magazines and publications. This article is called "More than a website: A web presence." and it discusses websites, blogs, Facebook, twitter, and participation in the online community.

All of the Modern Livestock Merchandising articles are now available for instant download at http://ranchhousedesigns.mybigcommerce.com/modern-livestock-merchandising-articles/.

The stories are priced starting at $50 and include both a word document as well as a camera ready PDF that is already designed and ready to be placed in your magazine.

Maximum Exposure Photography

2011-08-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Another professional business that we love working with is Maximum Exposure Photography. We began working with Mark Sneed and Kyla Copeland in 2007 when Maximum Exposure was a relatively new business. Through the years we have greatly enjoyed seeing the professional development, expansion of services, and high quality photos the Maximum Exposure team provides.

Maximum Exposure is known for creating those eye catching, bright, natural cattle photos that everyone love to see. Here's one of our favorites from the ME team.

Over the past few years, this team has expanded into providing video services in addition to their photography. This makes Maximum Exposure a very popular choice for many show steer and club calf clients because you can get your photos and videos done by the same team. This convenient service has made ME a success. They also offer show photography, and marketing services such as ad design and catalog design.

Here are some ways that RHD is proud to work with Maximum Exposure to help our mutual clients!

Maximum Exposure takes your photos, RHD puts them on your web site. If we had to estimate how many photos we've gotten from Mark and his team through the years...wow, I'd have to guess it would be over 10,000 images. Maybe more. Mark is great at this. All you have to do is tell the ME team that RHD does your web site and they will be glad to send the photos over to us. Many times when we get the files from ME the files are already named with the calf's tag # and sire. This makes it a breeze for us to update your web site.
Maximum Exposure takes your videos, RHD puts them on your web site. We love it when our customer say they had Maximum Exposure take their videos, because we know the videos are going to be high quality, and they'll already be uploaded to YouTube for the client. This way the client doesn't have to pay additional video hosting fees, or worry about trying to email a big video to us. Maximum Exposure and RHD will work together on your behalf to get your video out to as many people possible.

We also work a lot with the ME team on sire photos, in the same situation as above, where they take your bull picture, email it to us, and we design your ad.

Through the years, we have worked with Maximum Exposure on so many projects, it's unreal. We both take a lot of pride in helping our customers get the best possible photo, web site, and ad. If you are looking for someone to help with your photography, take a look at http://maximumexposurephotos.com/.

EZ On Vinyl

2011-08-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

We are always excited when and new or existing client calls and wants us to build their website. EZ On Vinyl has been no exception!

The EZ ON Vinyl hot wire fence clip is a unique, innovative and revolutionary new product that makes for easy and simple installation, use and safety of with wire electric fencing that is applied to vinyl post and rail horse and livestock fencing. This new patented product targets the specific market of horse and livestock vinyl fencing of both existing and new fencing enclosures.

The inventor of EZ ON Vinyl clips understands the advantage and disadvantage of vinyl fence. Though PVC fence is esthetically pleasing and tends to increases the property’s value, its shortcomings are amplified when livestock lean against or dislodge the rails. EZ ON Vinyl clips used in conjunction with electric wire, light cable or tape eliminates this problem and keep your horses and livestock safe.

EZ ON Vinyl clips are designed specifically for the PVC posts and provide an effective long term solution to the issue of livestock and PVC fencing.

The value proposition served by EZ ON Vinyl fence clips can save the owner both time and expenses. This is attributed to minimal cost both of product acquisition, ease and minimal time required for installation, as well as being able to save on veterinary bills since there is less likelihood of the animal coming into contact with the fence and causing injury.

Click here for more information

Texas Drought Photos

2011-08-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Brandon and I were on a photo assignment from my mom and dad to get some pictures of the ranch's pastures to show some of our northern friends about the drought. She posted several on the V8 Ranch facebook page of the pastures and stuff but while we were doing the ranch photos, we decided to take some pics of Mollie vs. the drought.

When I came up with the idea to take Mollie's picture in the drought conditions, my husband said his typical response of "you are crazy". In fact, he and my granddad have this acronym they use on the ranch for problems that occur due to "W.A.C.".....standing for Women Are Crazy. Ha, that's another blog topic. And, as you can see from her picture, I guess Mollie agreed with her dad. I'm pretty sure she is thinking, "Mom, REALLY? Why are you making me do this?"

But, I insisted on taking these photos. Because years from now, when we tell Mollie that she was born in the worst drought of modern Texas times, we can show her these photos and help her put it into perspective. When I think of drought, I think of these poor helpless pioneers in their dresses and bonnets during the dustbowl.

Then, I am reminded of the fact that our drought is worse than the drought Texans faced in the 1930s. So Mollie is living in the modern day dustbowl. So we thought it would be a good illustration to photograph Mollie standing next to the big cracks in our pasture. To put it in perspective, Mollie is nearly 5 months old and weighs 15 pounds. As you can see, the cracks are bigger than her.

I know it is somewhat hard to see, but here she is standing next to the cracks that we had just put her whole body into in the pictures above.

And here is one where you can see, her legs and feet fit easily into the cracks.

This picture shows one of our fencelines on the ranch, where the cracks in the pasture are causing the fence posts to lean over and be crooked.

These are at a different spot on the ranch, but you can see these cracks are wider than my hand.

Here is a section of what we call our "springer pasture." I was getting scared to drive across this actually.

More pictures of some smaller cracks on the ranch.

We are located about an hour south of Houston, and I know there are lots of folks out there worse off than us, especially further west. Many of our customers and friends at experiencing weather-related issues due to drought or flooding this summer. While I think we are in a rough situation at V8, every day we continue to be THANKFUL for all the many things we DO have. We are so much more blessed than most, and we try to keep this in mind. We have all of our customers and friends in our thoughts, and continue to be optimistic for the future!

More Restaurant Work

2011-08-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

We've recently become a huge fan of Scheller's Cafe in Glen Flora, Texas. Unless you're from this area, you've probably never even heard of this little gem of a town...population 210. MAYBE.

Well in this great little town you'll find a post office, our youth fairgrounds, a few antique stores, and a great restaurant called Scheller's Cafe. This restaurant is one that I'd match right up there with any restaurant in Texas. It's got a great atmosphere, great food, and hand-dipped Blue Bell. The menu is what you would consider white table cloth, but it's so casual that you can go in your boots, pants with cow-poop on them, and you get treated like you're a "normal" person. ha ha

On some of our recent visits with the owner, we got the opportunity to design some new restaurant information cards / coasters for the cafe. Since they are a small cafe, they had been doing most of their graphic design work at home with Microsoft Word, a home printer, and a pair of scissors. On our visit to treat Megan to her special lunch, we hand delivered the new cards.

See if you can guess which one we designed?

Of course, there's nothing wrong at all with DIY advertising materials. However I think most people would be suprised to find out that getting us to do custom graphic creations and printing like this is much more affordable that you realize. Do you have a project that could use the RHD touch? Let us give you a bid!

Megan Cullers = Awesome!

2011-08-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

This summer we were so honored to have Megan Cullers as our summer intern! And today is her official "last day" (until we can beg her to come back next summer) and so we just wanted to say a special THANK YOU to this wonderful lady! (Megan is the red head in the picture)

Megan started with us in May, when she came back home to Wharton from being at Abilene Christian University, where she is studying to be a nurse. Or actually I think it is something a little more advanced than a nurse, but it's in the health care administration and nursing field. Trust me, she is SMART.

Megan immediately became such a big part of our team here. She brightened all of our days with her sweet smile, her kind personality, and her great attitude. She was always coming up with new ideas, fun things to do, and ways that we could do things better here at RHD.

She was a HUGE asset to The Brahman Review. During the summer she helped us ad over 1500 new subscribers to our mailing list! HUGE! She is a one of a kind, go-getter, and we love her!

Last week, we went to a special lunch at Scheller's Cafe in Glen Flora, Texas to celebrate and honor Megan as a way of saying "Thank you" for the great job she did here! We had a great lunch, and each of us treated ourself with a hand-dipped Blue Bell ice cream cone!

Megan, we just want to say THANK YOU for everything! We're going to miss you so much. You have a job here during Christmas Break, Spring Break, Next Summer, or anytime you want :)

Cattle In Motion

2011-08-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here at RHD, we are so fortunate to work with so many great professionals in the business. From time to time, we like to showcase some of our professional partners and tell others about how RHD and these businesses work hand in hand to give our mutual customers the best possible exposure and service.

Cattle In Motion is one of our preferred partners for online sales, internet auctions, and cattle video.

We work with them on numerous sales throughout the year with clients who are using their online sale service. Cattle In Motion was started in 2002, when they began filming cattle and giving breeders across the country new ways to market their products. CIM Auctions was created later in order to help livestock customers sell online. CIM Auctions gives qualified buyers with broadband access the chance to purchase cattle from anywhere in the world.

Here are some ways we work hand in hand with the CIM team.

Integration of your online sale through CIM and your existing web site. In the month of August 2011 alone we are currently working with four of our clients who are having sales with CIM (Heritage, V8, JDH, Schneider Brahmans). When we know you are having a sale with CIM, we can easily link your web site sales page to the special page for your internet sale in one easy step.
Integration of your videos to your web site. The CIM Team is so great to work with whenever they film video footage for our mutual clients. Basically they will work with RHD and the client to showcase the video in any format you prefer. Some of our clients like to post their CIM videos on You Tube. We can link or embed from your YouTube video to your web site. Others, like Heritage, prefer to link the video to CIM's video player directly from their web site. Whatever you prefer, we can do.

This year we also worked with CIM on a partnership broadcast of the Kickoff Classic Brahman Show. We paid for the broadcast service, and CIM did the rest. They also provided us with highlights videos to post on our web site. We got so many compliments from this service that we plan on doing it again throughout the years at different shows.

We've worked with CIM since they opened their doors in 2002. On every occassion we have been so pleased at their professionalism, high quality product, and the fast service they provide. Never once have we had a client sitting waiting around to get their videos from the CIM team.

We are honored to work with many professionals in the business, like Cattle in Motion. We invite you to check out their web site at http://www.cattleinmotion.com/ or call (888) 554-VIDS, to send your auction around the world.

1st Birthday Party Invitations

2011-08-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

These little boogers were so cute we just couldn't resist posting them! Here is our latest creation from Ranch House Invitations. These are custom party invitations for special little girls' 1st birthday party.

For this project, Lyndsey's mom came in to our office with her idea for the movie star theme, the cute wordig for the cards, and the pictures of her darling little Lyndsey to go on the card. We sat down together and created this custom design that is simply stunning!

To make the invitations extra special, Lindsey's mom chose a special shape, and added a "shimmer" finish to give the card a metallic look.

When it was all said and done, these cards cost around $2 each.....making a very affordable way to give your child's party that special unique touch.

Our invitation division handles all kinds of invites and announcements. We can do wedding invitations, party invitations, graduation invitations, and Christmas cards. We can even take your photos for the cards if needed (if you live around here!)

Check out http://www.ranchhouseinvitations.com/ for more of our custom and catalog designs.

Video: How to book a website with RHD

2011-08-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

We've joined the video blogging world! A few weeks ago we worked with Ideal Video Productions on a promo video for RHD (still to come) and then we also worked on a special video blog with Coleman Locke of J.D. Hudgins. After my own little video blog with Ideal made the cattle.com top 25 videos of July (I ranked #17 by the way). OH, and I would like to point out that my video was added on July 25, meaning I only got 5 days in the "July rankings" category. Not too shabby for a video that had been up for 5 days.

Anyway, we got a huge response from our video interview and so we decided to start a video blog as well. Now I have to say, this video blogging is HARD! For someone who is very modest like me, it's very hard to get used to the thought of yourself being on You Tube for the whole world to see.

I would also like to preface this video with the fact that literally 30 minutes before we shot this video, I was at the big V8 Ranch grass fire of 2011. So...so much for a nice hairdo. My first thought was to cancel the video blog since I smelled like smoke, all my makeup had melted of, and the hair was in a pony tail. But then I figured, what the heck, I wear a pony tail 99% of the time anyway and usually don't wear much makeup at all, so this is probably more close to an accurate representation of my normal attire as you can get.

We hope you enjoy these! We're still working on our general corporate wide promo video, and we will continually be adding new short little video tidbits little by little. Thanks for watching! More coming soon!

Best of the Barn Opinion Question

2011-08-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

Opinion question for everyone.....

As you know Best of the Barns Nominations are now open (now through October 15th). So far we have gotten over 600 nominations!

Problem is....in some categories, we only have one nomination!!! I guess everyone thinks the same business is clearly "the best semen distributor" and such.

So, here's our question...
If the same business/person is the only one nominated in that category....should they automatically be named the winner?

You're getting hotter!

2011-08-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

I may not be originally from the state of Texas, but I have lived here long enough to understand and respect the effects of a drought. The past three summers, I have watched cattle turn a green field into dust in order to survive and prosper. I have toughened to the heat and have educated myself on what is happening this summer as the drought turns into one of the worst in history. However, I am still a Yankee... and today was downright scary.

As the sun marked noon, Rachel came into our office asking if I had my camera with me. She said a grass fire started on one her family's lease properties, and it might be something neat to picture. We arrived to something I had never seen before; a grass fire engulfing a row of trees on their fence line. No, this was nothing compared to what others have experienced in the western part of this state and beyond, but I'm from Pennsylvania. We don't have grass fires. In fact I don't even think there is a burn ban going on up there. Rachel made the point that there was really nothing for us to do but watch as the little grass that was left in the neighboring pasture went black in a matter of minutes. How powerless? These pictures show how the crew at V8 fought the flames and fought for the livelihood of their precious pasture. Even as I was shooting, more and more trees went up in flames and more grass smoldered.

The crew was able to control and extinguish the flames with the help of a few fire departments. We are so thankful that no more damage was done, but this truly makes me have even more respect for Mother Nature and the effects of dry and hot. If you are not living in a draught stricken state, you are lucky. For those of us in Texas, it looks like we are just getting hotter!

Breeder Spotlight: Schrag Shorthorns

2011-08-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

This time of year has to be my all-time favorite. State Fairs are underway, cooler weather is just around the corner, Texas calving season and most importantly- it's about to be sale season! Growing up in the Shorthorn breed, this time of year meant watching for all the new breeder ads and what genetics were being featured for their upcoming sale. This year is no different, except I get to see it from a new perspective.

Year after year, one of my favorite ads to look for is Schrag Shorthorn’s. To me the name has always been synonymous with banners and high quality females. So, when Stacey Shanks finished with their upcoming ad for their Family Event Sale, I was extremely excited to see it- and share it!

With genetics that produced National Champion after National Champion, there is no question why the list of their offspring’s’ revenue looks the way it does. Schrag Shorthorn Farms is continuously dedicated to the production of outstanding cattle that work for any breeding program.

From everyone at Ranch House Designs, we with Schrag’s only the best of luck with their upcoming sale and during the fall show season!

Pasture Ads

2011-08-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

One of the things we pride ourselves on at RHD is originality, creativity, and making sure that each and every project we do gets our fullest attention. As we were finally getting around to looking through some of the August show publications, we started noticing that many of the ads looked the same. Generic pasture shot background. Same old fonts. Same old style. Now of course, we'll give it to various designers that since most all of the sale ads in the show publications are for "Pasture Sales" the easiest and quickest ad design to do is to throw together an ad background with...guess what....a PASTURE.

So, we did a little informal survey here. We gathered up the August issue of every different show-oriented publication that we have here at the RHD office. Then we went through and quickly made a rough count of how many ads looked the same by using a stock photo pasture picture background. Guess how many ads we found that used a stock photo pasture background.....122.

You know what I'm talking about, the colorful, pretty pasture scenes. And don't get me wrong, the reason I have these to upload is because I've used them in ads we've created before. The stock photo above was actually a cover shot from a Lautner Farms catalog 3 or 4 years ago. I'm not saying to NEVER use a pasture scene background. I just wouldn't want to use it 122 times in one month.

We realize that when you hire RHD, you do pay a premium. During tough economic times it's easy to say, oh, I can't afford the extra $50 to $150 to hire RHD to do my ad for me, when I can get it free. And we can totally relate to that. One thing to consider is that even though you may pay $50 to $150 for the ad design, you do get a lot of extra perks too. For example, you get access to our email list and email blasts at a discounted rate. You also get mentions and uploads on our blog, our facebook page, and our twitter account.

But for reasons just like we've described here, it's worth paying a little extra to have a professional designer that's going to devote their full attention to YOUR ad. We can guarantee when you hire RHD, your ad will have a unique, original look. And, there's no chance in the world that you'll be one of the 122 people who have a generic old pasture shot as your background.

If Someone's Gonna Brag on My Daddy....I'm Gonna Brag Right Back On Them

2011-08-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit, but I haven't been able to watch much of the Matt Lautner TV posts over the past few weeks, because we are so busy at work, and I just can't make time to log on to You Tube and watch. I was honored to do a guest phone-in interview for the MLC TV show last week while driving home from work one day....and that was a lot of fun.

However, since my favorite judge was judging the Illinois State Fair steer show this past week, I tuned in to watch the Matt Lautner TV video of the champion drive....http://youtu.be/LEoJGjl5j9I

I have to say that I greatly enjoyed watching this video clip. Doing something like this type of production isn't easy, and isn't free either. There is a lot of time and effort and technical support required. I wanted to commend the people involved in this effort for doing a service that many can enjoy.

Years ago, Cherie Carrabba used to tell me how she wished we could get cattle shows broadcast on TV like they do the dog shows. The challenge is the down time, and that shows can drag on and on.

I like this format of showing the videos in short segments. I think the MLC team did a good job of keeping the videos short enough that they don't get boring, but also long enough to show the important highlights. We worked with Cattle in Motion on a similar project last week where they broadcast the champion drive highlights from the Kickoff Classic. The Cattle in Motion videos had background music, as opposed to commentary. (Oh and by the way you can see my handsome husband showing the reserve grand champion heifer in this video....which is owned by us!) After we posted those videos we had a ton of great response from people saying how they greatly enjoyed the Brahman show video highlights especially with the music like "We are the Champions" playing in the background.

To me, the commentary is where you could get into some trouble, if you had someone doing the commentary that didn't do a professional job. Clearly there are things that may be said or overheard around a makeup ring that wouldn't need to be broadcast on the internet.

In this video I watched, Chris Terembes and Matt Lautner (the hosts) gave the perfect commentary I thought. He obviously knew the inside details about the different steers but he presented it in a way that provided factual information like sires, dams, breeders, showmen, parents names, etc. It gave a bit of a personal touch so the viewers could know what was going on, but they avoided saying any personal opinions. Hats off to Chris and Matt for doing such a professional job. I also know from my experiences with the Cattle.com videos in Denver a few years, it's not as easy as it looks to be on the videos or tv. Chris and Matt did an exceptional job of making sure there wasn't a lot of downtime, they spoke clearly, they were easy and pleasant to understand, and they were very professional. And trust me, when there is a video camera rolling, it's easy to get nervous.

The MLC TV clip also gave ample time to allow the viewers to listen to the outstanding judge's comments too. So in my opinion, this particular clip had a perfect mix of introduction, commentary, judges comments, and good views of all of the steers in the lineup. Again, I give it a great review!

If I was a sponsor of one of these segments, I would also be very pleased at the sponsor recognition. I'm not sure how much MLC is charging for these, but they did a great job of recognizing the sponsors numerous times, and I also noticed the sponsor name was built into the video's title. All extra incentives to the sponsor.

I thought this was a great example of Matt and his team pooling together the combined resources of lots of people in the show steer circles to produce something all of us could enjoy. Thanks again to this crew and I'm looking forward to watching more.

TMAC Show Steers, Wyoming

2011-08-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a design we just completed today for Travis McIntosh, Wheatland, Wyoming. We've been working with Travis since 2007 and it's always an honor to design his fall ad.

More Junior Nationals Highlights: A memorable All American

2011-08-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

You may remember that a few weeks ago, we posted a blog on two of our clients that had great success at their junior nationals this summer. Well, I was talking about the features with one of my friends from college. He said, “what is the point in the junior associations?” I immediately reacted with hostility, narrowed eyes, and fast talking. But I think all I really should have done was let him read this post. Unlike my last blog on the winning juniors, I let the exhibitors tell their story. Because, really, no one knows the story like they do.

Both are from the All American Brahman Show. Our first young lady purchased her heifer from V8 Ranch. Our second purchased her champions from, once again, V8 as well as Heritage Cattle Company.

Kelli Lucas. Champion Grey Brahman Female 2011 ‘All American’

“I am the fifteen year old daughter of Reggie and Carmie Lucas. We live in Deville, LA and I will be a sophomore at Buckeye High School this year. I am a straight- A student and a member of the National Beta Club. I attended my first livestock show when I was 2 weeks old to cheer on my brother and sister while they were showing catle. Obviously, I’ve been around cattle all of my life. I’ve shown Beefmaster cattle and marker steers since I was 9 and Brahmans since I was 11. Recently, I started showing market lambs. My life revolves around my animals and I love every minute of it! When I get older, I would like to attend LSU to become a Pediatrician or Oncologist
.
I got my heifer from V8 Ranch in Boling, Texas. Her sire is JDH Avery Manso 159/7 and her dam is Miss V8491/6. She was born on March 28, 2009, so that makes her a little over 2 years old. Her name is Miss V8 174/7, but we call her Birdie.

I love the cattle at V8 Ranch, but I love the people even more! They are always so welcoming. Mr. Jim knows his cattle and can answer any questions we have in the drop of a hat. Most importantly, he tells the truth about them. I want people to be honest with me, and Mr. Jim is. This is why I love him! I plan on continuing to go to V8 to buy cattle to build up quality in me herd of Brahmans. With this said, their cattle are obviously great!

Amie Ferguson. Champion Showman, Champion Grey Brahman Bull, and Champion Red Brahman Female 2011 ‘All American’

“I am the 17 year old daughter of Robert and Malinda Ferguson of Roanoke, Louisiana. I am going to be a senior at Notre Dame Catholic High School, which is located in Crowley, Louisiana. I not only show Brahman cattle, but I also rodeo. My events include barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, and cutting. I have repeatedly qualified on the state level in these events, beginning with my 8th grade year. Last year, 2010, I qualified in Girls Cutting for National High School Rodeo Finals, which was held in Gillette, Wyoming.

I always loved cattle and couldn’t wait until I could be of age to show. One of my first shows was the open show at Houston. I showed at the early age of 5. We entered our own cow/calf pair and ended up winning a class. I was so excited about that show. I remember hauling the trophy up and down the aisles of the barn with a big smile. I couldn’t wait to show in the junior shows, so I entered every pee wee showmanship around. I also entered open shows whenever possible. We met a lot of people at these shows. One day, my dad visited with Mr. Judd Cullers of Heritage Cattle Company. He mentioned to Mr. Judd that I wanted a red Brahman heifer. Mr. Judd mentioned that he had some, so we planned a trip to Hungerford, Texas to visit his ranch. We ended up buying Lady H Armi 836. This cow became a part of me. Mr. Judd stressed the importance of working daily with my heifer and that is exactly what I did. Every day, I practiced showing and setting Armi and all of a sudden, I started doing better in showmanship. Then finally at my state LJBA show, Armi and I did it. We won showmanship. Not only was I excited, but so were Mr Judd and the entire Cullers family. I had many more trips to get great calves that came from Heritage Cattle Company. On one of my trips, I spotted this awesome looking red heifer, which to this day, still amazes me. I am referring to Lady H Elizabeth Rojo 50/9, aka “Lizzie”. Lizzie has won many division championships, including Houston, but the biggest win for me with her is the 2011 All American Red Heifer Champion. I am very grateful that the Cullers family was there to share that great moment with me.

Another ranch that we visited for my show calves is V8 Ranch in Boling, Texas. The Williams family has a tremendous amount of respect in the Brahman business. Dad was interested in buying a gray bull, so we decided to go to V8 Ranch to look. I never was a fan of showing bulls, so dad knew I would be very selective on one. We spotted Mr.V8 918/6, also known as “Blue”. I loved him. I started realizing at home while I worked with him that he may be showmanship material. I decided at my 2010 district show to try him in showmanship. Mom was not sure about my decision, because he was a bull. When I made my first round into the showring, he started to act up, but I was able to control him. We ended up winning showmanship, which also awarded a scholarship. We also won the gray bull show and went on to win the state supreme championship. Although these wins were big for me, my dream was to win the “All American” showmanship, and in 2011 at Fort Smith, Arkansas, my dream came true. I remember, as I was grooming Blue’s tail, how nice it would be to win. And sure enough, we did. Mr. Jim Williams described me and Blue as being picture perfect.

As I mentioned earlier, my dream was to win showmanship at the All American. After I won the Red Heifer and Gray bull show, I was speechless. What a show!! Truly this All American is one that I will remember always. Great thanks go to the Cullers family of Heritage Cattle Company and the Williams family of V8 Ranch. Without these great breeders, I would not have had such a memorable show.”

As you can see from the two ladies we have featured, junior associations play an intricate role in developing young leaders, creating friendly connections between exhibitors, making dreams reality and truly molding the future of our industry. To my friend who made the comment stated at the beginning of this post, THAT is the point.

To view more of these winning genetics, visit www.v8ranch.com and www.heritagecattle.com

Text us to receive e-mail updates.

2011-08-11T13:51:00.001-07:00

We are excited to announce a new way for our friends to get e-mail updates from us.

Text RHD to 22828 and we'll be glad to add you to our list.

Time to start thinking e-mail blasts!

2011-08-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

If you've visited the RHD home page lately, you'll notice the list just keeps on growing for upcoming sales. As RHD Rep Ashley Middleswarth said, though it doesn't feel like it, fall sale season is just around the corner. Maybe we'll get some cooler weather soon!

E-mail blasts are a must for any cattle producers with a sale this fall. Our e-mail blast list includes over 15,000 contacts who have voluntarily signed up for our services asking for information from RHD. And this list keeps growing every day. We take a great amount of pride in the professional way we offer e-mail blasts through RHD, including:

We limit what can and cannot be sent out on our e-mail list. We realize how annoying constant spam can be, and that is why we only distribute e-mail blasts that are relevant and pertinent to our subscribers interests.
We guard our list very carefully, and only allow our RHD customers to use it. As you all know customer loyalty and customer appreciation is #1 to us. Well I guess maybe 1A and 1B because Service is also #1. The only people that we allow to use our e-mail blast database are our own customers. Meaning, only the people we do a web site for or a print ad for. Some joe blow off the street can't call us up and get to use our list. We feel this is just one of the many perks of being a RHD client.
We carefully tailor what e-mail blasts go to who. Clearly we wouldn't send an email blast about a cattle sale to someone who's a pig breeder, or vice versa. This just goes back to our responsible list management and targetting.

We have also integrated social media coverage as a standard part of our e-mail blasts. We will tweet your email blast to all of our twitter followers and also post your blast on our facebook page, which currently has over 3,000 fans.

So, if you're an RHD client, and you want to take advantage of our highly successful e-mail blast service, give us a call at 979-532-9141 or e-mail rachel@ranchhousedesigns.com. If you're one of our many clients that we are already designing your sale advertising for....you can also take advantage of our bundling services to receive discounts on print+web+email blast work.

Too TALL to Kick Off?

2011-08-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been nothing short of amazing. I (Joelynn) am finally back in the office and feel like I’m getting the hang of things, but more importantly, have had the chance to travel to amazing places and events, meet some of our industry’s leaders, and hear from extremely influential people in their given field. I have 100% been enlightened and look at our industry from a totally different perspective. Look for that blog post coming soon ;)

One of the events I had a chance to attend was the TALL dinner in East Bernard, Texas on July 27^th. For those of you who do not know what TALL is, it’s an organization for Texas Agriculture Lifetime Leaders. A group, or class, of 26 people from across the state of Texas is chosen to travel to different ag industry sights from Amarillo to the gulf. It is a bit challenging to explain, but essentially, it is some of Texas’s finest agriculture leaders learning more about the industry through first hand experiences in each field. The group had just left J.D. Hudgins before coming to the dinner. The following night, they each got to ride in a police car in Houston city. Like I said, it covers everything. Pretty cool!

What was so neat was to hear what each of the class members did within the industry. From dairy to wine to fisheries, each had their own view of agriculture and what was important. It was most definitely one of those nights I would like to relive from a different perspective… maybe a classmate perspective?

The following week brought the Bluebonnet Kick Off Classic Brahman Show in Brenham, Texas. Wow! What an event! I love cattle shows, there is no denying that. But Brahman shows are becoming my favorite. Humor is easy to find around the barns, but so is the care and sportsmanship that is easily noticed in the show ring.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the ring, be sure to pick up a copy of the Fall Brahman Review to see some of the really cool shots Stacey Shanks got too!

Though I may still be a little tired from my travels, I am so excited to get working on new stories and clients that were picked up over the past two weeks. Congrats to the TALL Class of 2011-2012 and to everyone who exhibited at Kick Off!

What's in a Name?

2011-08-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

This past week, at the Bluebonnet Kickoff Classic show, I was visiting with Sandy Osbourn (formerly Husfeld) and got to meet her beautiful little baby, Ruby, who is named after her grandmother.During this conversation, Suzanne Lindley informed Sandy and I of how important it was to name your child with a respectable - preferably Christian name - becase after all, you never hear of a lawyer named Shaniqua. (We both got a chuckle out of that lovely advice!)

Also recently the show cattle world the little angel Charlie Tusa into their family of friends, who is named after Charlie Wilson. Then most everyone knows that my little Mollie is named after my own grandmother, Mollie Williams, who was actually named after Mollie Hudgins, wife of J.D. Hudgins.

So I thought, this was a fitting time to also share a little bit about how I got MY own name, Rachel Ann.

If you look in this month's Texas Monthly (August issue), page 96, you'll be in the middle of their cover story called "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowgirls." A wonderful article depicting the importance of women in the Texas ranching industry. The author quotes Dale Evans as saying "'Cowgirl is an attitude. A pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights, and makes no excuses."

Though I consider myself more of a cattlewoman, and not cowgirl, I loved the article and I know a whole heck of a lot of women who depict that fiery cowgirl attitude, though they probably never have rode a horse.

Rachel Ann Hudgins, my namesake

So, on page 96, about in the middle of the page, there is a few sentences that describe a pioneer woman that is very special to me.....Rachel Ann Northington Hudgins. The great lady I was named after. The story says:

"At one time, fifty of the Texas ranches in operation by the same family for more than one hundred years had been founded by women. Rachel Ann Northington Hudgins, for example, was the founding mother of five ranches in Wharton County. She purchased her first land in 1882, nine years after her husband died."

The ranch they are referring to is J.D. Hudgins, Inc. Rachel and her four sons established the ranch, and her son, Josiah Dawson (J.D.) took over the business after Rachel's husband Joel died in 1873. Rachel Hudgins was a small framed woman with a spirit as big as Texas, as they say.

My great uncle, James Forgason, always inspires me as he tells me stories about this great Texas lady. Nearly every Sunday morning after church, he gives me a hug and and always, every single time, he says...'Oh, you would make that little lady you were named after so proud!"

I know there is no way I could ever live up to that namesake, but it's true, knowing I'm named after someone so great gives me something to aspire to. It makes me feel like it is my responsibility to make that name proud. I bet that's how little Charlie Tusa is going to feel as well, when he hears all the stories of what a wonderful young man Charlie Wilson was. And hopefully, that is the same feeling I will be able to help give my daughter, Mollie, who's named after one of the greatest ladies I know.

So what's in a name? Oh it's hard to say, but, as Mrs. Lindley said...I bet I wouldn't be the hard working, Brahman cattle loving woman I am today if my parents had named me Shaniqua.

The RHD Team

2011-08-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'd like to take a moment to brag on our wonderful team here at RHD! I thought it would be nice to put more faces with our names, so you know who you're working with here at RHD.

I (Rachel, blonde in this picture) am the sole owner and founder of RHD, and have been since 1999. Our design division includes me, Stacey, and Liz. Stacey is pictured on the left. She's has two sons, is originally from Louisiana, and is also a great photographer. Liz started here as a student worker in 2008 and handles most of our catalog projects and is the editor of The Brahman Review. She recently got engaged and is getting married in 2012. We do all of the original designs on every project - both print and web. Every new project is going to come through one of us....or possibly Christa.

Christa is wearing the red necklace in this picture. She joined RHD in 2008 as a member of our updates team. She then moved up to web division manager, and in the past few months, she has also started working on design projects too. Christa has a 1-year old daughter, Kinleigh, and her husband Jason is an ag teacher. She has a B.S. in animal science from Texas A&M.

The other members of our web division are Carole and Jessica. Carole is the red head. She has two beautiful daughters and married her high school sweetheart, Tim. Carole is a great cook, and is probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met! Jessica, the blondest of everyone in our office, just took on a full time job here too, after working here for 4 years. She loves to shop, makes everyone laugh, and continually brightens our days with her crazy stories and cute outfits.

Then we also have 2 project managers, Tricia and Joelynn. Tricia is pictured here, with the turquoise necklace. She and her husband Lance have 4 children. Tricia is quite possibly the coolest person I know. She has a B.S. in ag journalism from A&M, and she loves anything and everything Aggie. She also writes for our local newspaper. She loves running, and has done several races and half-marathons. Most everyone who works with us is going to be in contact with Tricia in some way or another since most all new projects go through her. She (and Rachel) also give all of our project quotes and estimates.

Our newest staff member is Joelynn Donough. Joelynn is a Pennsylvania native who grew up showing Shorthorns, Maines and sheep. She graduated from Texas A&M with a B.S. in ag communications too. She is a great writer and a great photographer! If you have noticed, she's been posting quite a few blogs lately. She was a member of the A&M livestock judging team and is ready for the fall where she's judging several shows and showmanships here in Texas.

Then finally, we also have Stacey Forgason, who technically 'retired' from RHD in May, but still helps us on several freelance projects. She is a great contact for invitations and projects with The Brahman Review. Many of you still e-mail her for advice on invitations or about Brahman Review subscriptions, and even though she's not in our office, she always still helps everyone out, or forwards your emails to the appropriate person. :)

And, don't forget, we also have a STELLAR set of talented folks throughout the nation who represent us as RHD reps. This team is able to give information and pricing on all of our services.

Now that you've met our team here at RHD, I ask that you take a minute and look through your contacts for us. If you have any other people listed as a contact for RHD other than the ones listed here, please remove them from your address books. If you have recently received a quote from someone you now realize is not part of our RHD team, please let us know so we can make sure you have accurate pricing from one of our representatives.

LIVE! From the 'BCSC'

2011-08-02T16:05:00.001-07:00

Howdy! From College Station, Texas; home of the 12^th man, the Chicken and the Beef Cattle Short Course. This year marked the 57^th annual ‘BCSC’ and let me tell you, it has been better than ever.

In a nut shell, the BCSC is a three day cattlemen’s paradise with sessions catering to anything imaginable pertaining to the industry, a trade show stocked with the latest and greatest ‘new’ things for beef cattle, and some amazing food.

While walking through the trade show, I was extremely excited to see some RHD design work! Our clients like R.A. Brown, Broken Triangle, Texas Red Angus Association, and the ABBA had informational booths on display amongst the over 150 vendors. It was also great to run into several of our clients who were attending the conference. Two of our clients - Donnell Brown and Bob Hudgins were speakers. We also work with Dr. Ron Gill on his web sites and it was great to see him.

I really enjoyed Bob Hudgins speech on the utilizing the global marketplace. On a side note, I’ve always been a bit of a traveler… but after listening to Mr. Hudgins session, I realized I need to do a whole lot more with my life and travel much further away from home than just California.

However, my favorite part of the BCSC thus far has to be listening to the famous Dr. Temple Grandin speak about animal handling. If anyone hasn’t seen her HBO documentary, I strongly suggest renting it, just to see the amazing feats this woman has accomplished. The movie depicts Temple to a ‘t’… even her attitude. After telling a photographer on multiple occasions to stop picturing since it distracted her (no, it was NOT me!!!), she made the whole house laugh and left us speechless as she finished with a standing ovation.

Tomorrow marks the final day of the 57^th annual BCSC. With that said, I can almost collect my notes and thoughts and start working on stories for the upcoming Brahman Review. I do know for sure that readers can expect a change of pace and mindset for a few of these stories… but I also can promise the same entertainment and level of ‘yankee’ as always before J

The politically correct way to copy ads

2011-08-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

About 10 years ago, I learned a very valuable lesson regarding ad design from my dad, that has stuck with me throughout my career....which is, there is a right way to copy something, and a wrong way to copy something.

We raise Brahman and Shorthorn cattle. There was a Shorthorn bull at the time named "Tomcat", I think he was owned by the McFarlands possibly. There was the coolest ad on this bull in the Shorthorn Country and it had a headline of "Every barn needs a good Tomcat."

We all thought that was just the catchiest headline and such a neat name for a bull. We wanted to use it too. So here is what my dad did. HE CALLED THE BULL OWNER. He asked the man if he would mind if we named one of our Brahman bulls Tomcat, and if he would mind if we used the exact same headline, because it was so good.

The Shorthorn bull owner said sure, no problem. He was actually flattered we thought it was so cool. So we named our bull Tomcat, and used that headline. What that lesson taught me, amongst the many other life lessons I've learned from my dad, is that there is a RIGHT way to copy someone, and a WRONG way.

People copying our work is nothing new. It's happened to us for 10 years. We work hard to come up with creative concepts that are really cool for our clients, so it's no suprise that people want to copy them. And with the readily available backgrounds, fonts, and stock photos on the internet, just about anyone can copy someone else's work.

It seems like our new magazine, The Brahman Review, has become a source of design inspiration for a lot of people. Here is one example of an ad that we did in January 2011. Seen anything similar to it lately?

Here is another example of an ad we did in July 2010 with the headline Consistency: The Best Measure of Success. Does anyone recognize that headline from a magazine cover this spring?

I would put money on the fact that if either of the two club calf breeders who copied the above ads would have called up Reese Ranch or V8 Ranch and said: "I really like that ad you had, would you mind if we used that same background?" "Or, I love that headline, can I use it on my club calf ad this spring?" ...that of course both of these people would readily say sure, no problem. Actually, I copied the Consistency headline from Julie French at Belle Point Ranch. But I asked her permission first! And you know what, she said sure, use it!

People in agriculture like helping each other out. Especially if they are in a totally different industry than Brahman, these clients wouldn't mind at all. It's just the fact of when you do it behind someone's back, and try to claim a concept as your own, that's pretty downright sorry.

Among the many things that make RHD different - and better - is that we're the original. Who wants to be a knock off? What client wants to know that their ad was actually someone else's ad 6 months ago that a designer copied? We constantly look for new design ideas, new fonts, original backgrounds, creative and powerful headlines, and layouts that are different. Because that's what we are: DIFFERENT. And I guess, truth be told, I would be more upset if no one was copying our work.

Showbox Fall Sires Issue

2011-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

In Texas, our cows get bred in the fall. This simple but very true statement makes a huge impact on any club calf bull owner's marketing plan. If you're trying to sell semen in the southern market, the best place to advertise in the fall sires issue is The Showbox. The Showbox is the #1 magazine in the south for marketing fall calves and those who raise them.

Do you have a bull you think would be great for Texas producers? If so, let us help you with your fall sires ad. The Showbox ads will be due August 15th to that magazine. We're ready to help you, let's get to work. Call us at 979-532-9141 or email rachel@ranchhousedesigns.com for sire advertising.

If you'd like to place an ad in the fall issue of The Showbox, call 936-544-2787.

Movin' Up the Career Ladder

2011-08-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Who knew back in May 2007 (over 4 years ago) that when little Jessica Hobbs joined our staff as a recent high school graduate that she would become such a HUGE part of RHD!

We are excited to announce today that Jessica has accepted a promotion here at RHD to join our staff as a full time member of our web division.

Over the past 4 years, Jessica has done just about anything and everything here at RHD. She started out working as our student worker in our old, old office (the very first one with the lime green sherbert walls). After about a year she moved up to a web site updater. She has steadily expanded her knowledge of web design, HTML and CSS through the years and is now one of our advanced web designers. Recently, she has taken the responsibility of being one of our online shopping cart specialists where she works with customers to set up their e-commerce stores.

Anyone who's done a web site with us has probably had the pleasure of working with this lively, lovely, fun loving member of our team at some point or another. She is a fanatic at web site updates, but she has a great personality that makes working with her a joy.

So congratulations to Jessica on your recent promotion!!! We're proud of you and excited for your career success!

Best of the Barns Awards 2011 are about to begin!

2011-07-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of the year again. Summer is coming to a close, schools are about to re-open, some relief from the heat is in sight, and most importantly show season is about to be in full swing!! With that said, it is time once again for the Best of the Barns voting to take place. As many of you can remember from last year, Best of the Barns highlights... Well… the best of the barns! With categories like ‘Best Junior Livestock Magazine’ and 'Best Cattle Blog’, industry leaders were given exposure and recognition for all of their hard work.

This year marks the Second Annual Best of the Barns, and the categories have gotten even better! With the edition of over 30 new nomination areas, voters can really pick their favorite for everything! Some of our new categories include ‘Best Sheep Judge’, ‘Best State Fair’, ‘Best Livestock Judging Program’, and even ‘Best Purebred Cattle Marketing Firm’. Also, this year we have added an open nomination area. If you think we missed a major category or topic, tell us! Create a category and cast a nomination!

Nominations will be opening Monday, August 1^st and will last until October 15^th. After we have collected all the nomination forms, we will post the final list for voting. From November 1^st until December 1^st, you will be able to cast your vote on the categories’ favorites. The winners of each category will be featured in the January edition of the Showbox.

To view some of the categories before nominations can be cast, visit www.bestofthebarns.com and remember to ‘like’ Best of the Barns on facebook!

.CO Domains

2011-07-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

28Over the weekend I read a twitter post about how Google had recently purchased g.co and the importance of short links to web site URLs. I'd been seeing the .co domain names pop up here and there but after reading the article I went ahead and purchased ranchhouse.co (rhd.co was $4900) and a few others to have access to.

Then after working with the Ideal Video team, I noticed they are also using a short url of idealvideo.co - compared to their full URL of idealvideoproductions.com.

I'd be interested to hear Jeff's (Cattle.com)'s take on the .co domain names too.

So, anyway, clearly shortening your URLs is an item that is going to be necessary for the future. If you would like us to check into registering some shortened versions of your URL, just let us know.

Successful Summer for RHD clients!

2011-07-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Junior Nationals session has officially come to an end. This year, Ranch House Designs’ clients SHINED! We are so excited for our juniors and congratulate them on their successes. With that said, we will be featuring some of our clients and their genetics that really rose to the top this summer.

The first two juniors we will be highlighting come from the Junior National Hereford Expo and the Shorthorn Junior National Show.

Middleswarth Hereford Ranch from Torrington, Wyoming, has been a leader in the Hereford ring for decades. The family prides themselves in breeding durable, quality cattle with genetics that are progressive and performance driven. When the youngest daughter, Jessica, stepped into the ring this year at the JNHE, that quality shined.

First, Jessica stuck her steer, sired by Purple MB Womanizer 14U, to backdrop in being awarded grand champion steer. But then, during the owned heifer show Jessica and Middleswarth’s DelHawk PURPLE Bliss 1027 was honored with Reserve Champion Horned heifer. This was a February 15 2010 heifer sired by NLC 146 Pistol Pete 717et.

It truly was a family earned win and older sister Ashley could not have described the excitement better. “What an incredible surprise, we are still having the reality of it set in.” Ashley also happens to be one of our RHD Reps.

The Middleswarth family has been raising banner winners for years. This is partially because of the family’s love of the showring, but more importantly because of their operation’s philosophy. They are dedicated to the betterment of the Hereford breed and the cattle industry as a whole. With this in mind, there is no more deserving family then the Middleswarths. To learn more about this crew and their operation visit www.middleswarthherefords.com

The Shorthorn Junior National Show is an event that is very near to my – and Rachel’s – heart. We both exhibited cattle there back in our show-days. Naturally, when I heard of our clients’ success, I was very excited. But ironically, I did not expect one of the champions to be shown by one of my childhood show pals!

Ben Weikert, of Gettysburg, PA (my homestate!), knew he purchased something special when he and his twin brother, Owen, bought CYT Dream Lady Solution ET at Cyclone Trace’s ‘CYT Shorthorns Upfront Sale’.

“CYT always has such a deep and competitive set of show heifers and they put on such a wonderful event. When Owen and I saw Dream Lady, we knew that she was the heifer we wanted to end our junior show career with.”

But, I don’t think the two quite dreamed it would end with such a bang. At their final junior nationals, Dream Lady was named reserve grand champion owned female. The two know that this was a moment they will forever remember, but say it could not have been possible without their new encouragement team.

“We would like to thank John Haige and our new family at CYT for their generosity and support in campaigning Dream Lady and helping Owen and I reach our dreams in the show cattle world.”

For more information on the CYT Shorthorn Upfront Sale or to view some of the Cyclone Trace genetics, please visit www.cyclonetrace.com and remember to “like” Weikert Show Cattle on facebook.

In the history of our business, we’ve had the honor of working with the top beef cattle ranches in the United States. Because of our backgrounds in the cattle business we are so excited to share in the success of our clients. We really feel like we are a part of each and every operation we work with. We are the clients, we try and cater to their needs and get to know them on both on a professional and personal level. Congrats to the Middleswarth Family and the Weikert brothers!

Look for more junior national champs to come!

Carlos Lee's Grand Slam

2011-07-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

The team at RHD has had the honor of working with Brahman breeder and Astros baseball player Carlos Lee for the past 7 years on his marketing and advertising campaign for his ranch. Ganadera Karla Mary is one of the best Brahman ranches in the world and we are extremely honored to handle their print advertising, web site, sale catalogs, sire & donor catalog, and more.

Last night, Carlos hit a grand slam at the ball game, which made him tie for the record of # of career grand slams with Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth!!! Amazing! We are so happy for you Carlos on that great news and huge accomplishment!

The coolest thing about working with Carlos is that yeah, he is a pro baseball player, but he's and his wife and family are just normal and down to earth people. When I went to visit his ranch in Panama a few years back, he was out there every day working on the ranch and calving out cows....just like all of us do. And, here's a picture of him showing one of his prize-winning Brahman cattle.

We just wanted to say congratulations to our friend on this great career accomplishment!

How to Pronouce "Cutrer" - Ideal Video Blog

2011-07-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a very fun filled day at RHD as we were shooting a video with fellow Aggies Blaine and Wade Fischer of Ideal Video Productions.

We'll post more when we have the final official video, but let's just say it was a very fun day where everyone here at RHD got some camera time and got interviewed. Personally, I don't think I have worn that much makeup since my wedding. I almost didn't recognize my own self ha ha.

After we wrapped up the regular filming I had the honor of being one of the guests on the Ideal Video Blog.

When Blaine emailed me this morning with the link, Brandon and I watched it at home real quick, and before we could start watching it he said "Let's see how many times you do that stupid little giggle like you did in the Denver videos."

Well I am PROUD to say that I did not do the stupid giggle NOT ONE SINGLE TIME in this video lol.

Thanks to Blaine and Wade for having me on their blog, and watch for our new video coming soon!

A tribute to my friend, Jeff Schroeder

2011-07-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight while washing baby bottles I pulled up cattle.com on my iPad and read Jeff's blog talking about how exactly 10 years ago tonight he registered simsteer.com, the online cattle game that essentially served as the springboard for many of Jeff''s excellent online ventures.

I then started thinking back to 2001, and got sentimental. I bet you didn't know this, but Jeff and I have been friends since 1996. We were both elected as Area FFA officers and met at the Texas FFA Camp at Trinidad, Texas. I'd estimate that there were probably about 100 high school students there, which at the time, were considered the cream of the crop from Texas FFA. Of all of the people at that camp, maybe like 3 or 4 actually stood out to me as people I remember today. Jeff was one of those. Funny how fate puts those people in your life and at the time, you have no idea how they'll become your friends later down the road.

We continued to cross paths occassionally while we were both students at A&M. I remember Jeff e-mailing me when I had just started doing web sites and talking to me about working together on web design and graphic design. This was when he had just started SimSteer.

Over the past 10 years, I've been able to work with Jeff on so many projects for lots of different clients like R.A. Brown, The Showbox, our Denver videos, and many more.

I just wanted to say a big congratulations to my friend, for his vision to create sites like Simsteer.com, cattle.com, and for all of the success he's found. Jeff, you're one of the best supporters of the cattle business and I'm proud to call you my colleague and friend.

Attention All Bloggers!

2011-07-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Are you a blogger? These days you ain't nothin' unless you have your very own blog! Well, if you're gonna blog, you need an good looking blog don't you? In the past month it seems like we have been working on tons of blog designs. So if you're a blogger, maybe we can help you.

We can do a couple of different options. The easiest and most versatile for our customers is if we design your blog graphics, then send them to you for your use. You can choose whatever template you want, customize your colors, etc.

Are you a Crystal Cattle fan? Who isn't! Check out this popular blog, in which we designed the graphic at the top for Crystal.

Black seems to be a popular color for blog templates, so most of our blog graphic designs have a black background. Here is another recent blog headline design....

We've also done graphics for these popular blogs:

http://tusacattle.blogspot.com/

http://rinckerlaw.com/blog/

And lots more!

So if you're a blogger, and want to spruce up the look of your blog, let us help! 979-532-9141 or tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com

Welcome, Brianna Bathery to the RHD Rep team!

2011-07-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Meet our Wisconsin Rep: Brianna Bathery

Brianna is the 22 year old from Salem, Wisconsin. She describes herself as personable, outgoing, and motivated. Brianna has spent a majority of her life with livestock and has grown a passion for all aspects of the industry. Some of her past involvements include the AJSA, APHA, and 4-H. When not at a stock show, Brianna enjoys spending time with her family, working on her jewelry-making business, sports and helping out around the farm. This fall, she will be entering college as an Ag Marketing Communications major, which is something she is very excited for! We are so excited to have Brianna as a member of the RHD team! Look for this talented rep at Calgary Stampede, the Wisconsin State Fair, Minnesota Beef Expo, NAILE, National Western Stock Show and the World Beef Expo

Welcome, Rebecca Hamilton to the RHD Rep Team!

2011-07-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Our rep program has been doing so well, but we still had two major regions that needed to be represented. That was until this morning.... Are you in Texas? We've got a rep for that! Are you in the northeast? Well, we've got a rep for that too!!! Meet Rebecca Hamilton!!

Rebecca will be representing RHD in both the northeast and the Texas region. She is currently a senior Animal Science and Agricultural Communications double major at Texas A&M University. Rebecca was born and raised in Woodbine, Maryland but came to school in Texas to broaden her knowledge about agriculture, and to learn how production practices differ from region to region. She grew up showing Shorthorn cattle. At Texas A&M, Rebecca was a part of the livestock judging team and COALS. Look for Rebecca at fall shows in Texas, the Maryland State Fair, Louisville, the Pennsylvania Farm Show as well as other spring shows and jackpots in the northeast.

We are so excited to have this aggie on the team! Welcome Rebecca!!!

The Showtimes Magazine

2011-07-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

While I was skimming through Facebook in the McDonalds drive thru line today, I noticed Brian Reid updating his status that the summer issue of The Showtimes Magazine was now online. So as soon as I got back to the office I sat with my delicious grilled snack wrap and browsed the magazine. (You can check it out at http://theshowtimesmagazine.com/view-online

All I can say is W-O-W! I've always been a fan of Brian & Lisa's venture, but I loved this issue in particular. This magazine was started a few years back, and as anyone can imagine, starting a new livestock magazine is a big risk. There's a lot of time involved, a lot of resources required, and at the time, people felt like the show cattle publication market was pretty well established. Then here comes Showtimes, and it's totally different! Then there is Lot One, which I also love, and the new Drive magazine, which is also great. Here are 3 new publications for the show cattle industry that are really changing up what we used to typically think as a show cattle publications (i.e. only full of advertising).

I love The Showtimes articles (especially the one about Marti Habeger Show Mom), the Hall of Fame, the Faces & Places, the Christian motivational article, and the show results in color! I also really enjoyed their State Fair Preview section where it talks about what are fun things to do at the different state fairs, like concerts and stuff.

Hats off to the Reids! Y'all are doing a great job with the magazine. Count RHD in for another ad this fall :)

Meet our newest RHD Rep from Canada: Michelle Allison!

2011-07-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Michelle Allison will represent Ranch House Designs in Canada and is from Brandon, Manitoba. She is part of Leveldale Polled Herefords, a purebred operation, with her husband and in-laws. Michelle graduated from Assiniboine Community College in 2009 with a Business Administration diploma, and is currently attending college again for an Agribusiness Diploma. She’s studied photography for a few years and does the cattle pictures for the farm and on the side for friends and family. She works at various bull and female sales across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as helping with the sales that LPH is part of. Michelle attends various Ag events, such as Manitoba Livestock Expo, Manitoba Bull Congress/AG Days, Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, Canadian Western Agribition and will be at the 2012 World Hereford Congress! She also enjoys summer jackpots and breed field days that happen throughout Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Michelle looks forward to talking with you about what RHD can do for you!

Meet our newest RHD Reps!

2011-07-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our RHD Rep program has been hitting some grand slams! Let’s meet some of our newest team members….

Joshua and Katie Ramsey

Joshua, Katie and Caleb Ramsey live in Alamogordo, NM. They run a Shorthorn and Club Calf cow herd in Oklahoma and New Mexico. They have since become a part of Essential Show Feeds team by selling premier livestock feeds. They spend countless hours helping youth with their projects and getting ready for the show ring. Katie grew up in a farm in South Dakota and attended South Dakota State University with a degree in Animal Science and a Master’s Degree in Agriculture Extension and Education from New Mexico State University, Joshua graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Ag. Economics and Ag. Business. He also is the Operational Supervisor for his family’s business, IGT Enterprises. “We are very excited to be a part of the RHD team as a representative because of the customer service RHD provides. From website design to business branding, RHD has played an integral part of J3 Cattle Company”

Cody Tebbenkamp

Cody was raised on a diversified grain and livestock farm near Corder, MO. He attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he resides today. While in school, Cody was on the livestock judging team in 2003 and also worked for then Governor Matt Blunt while in his final semesters. He has shown Maine- Anjou cattle and steers his whole life throughout the Midwest and at Jr. Nationals. Currently, Cody works for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a Distract Coordinator for the Soil and Water Program in Jefferson City. However, he still finds time to raise Maine-Anjou, club calves and farm back in Corder, while also helping fit cattle for customers that purchase calves from him throughout the year.

Christina Wernicke

Christina has been active in the 4-H program her whole life and currently serves as a 4-H leader. She has always enjoyed sharing her creative ideas to help businesses and individuals achieve success.

Cassie Link

Cassie Link grew up on a grain farm in Abingdon, Illinois and could not imagine growing up anywhere else. Upon high school graduation, Cassie attended Joliet Junior College and then transferred to Western Illinois University, where she graduated in May with an Ag Business Degree. Her fondest memories growing up were spent at shows and said she is happy to remain actively involved in the beef industry. In March, Cassie participated in a Study Abroad trip through the school of agriculture at WIU, where she had the experience of visiting an Angus ranch. She loves promoting agriculture in a positive manner and educating the public about the truth that surrounds an industry that everyone relies on.

We are so excited to have all of these individuals on our team! Look for them at upcoming shows and events!

Search engine optimization workshop

2011-07-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, all of us ladies here at RHD got super dorky high tech and attended a special workshop on search engine optimization. We were SO super dorky high tech, that we actually hired a SEO specialist to come down to our office for the day and give us in depth hands on training.

I had to laugh to myself, because when I first started doing web sites in 1999, it was so easy to submit sites to search engines. Basically there was this little button at the bottom of Yahoo's page that said "suggest a site" and bam, there you go, that's all you did. I remember spending a few nights a month just "suggesting a site" to Yahoo to help get all of our then Two Girls Web Design clients high up in the rankigs.

Well, as we learned in the search engine training....a lot has changed since then! All of us here at RHD were just mesmerized by how much we learned about search engine optimization. The best news for us is that the special consultant we hired complimented us on our great designs (duh) and let us know that our sites are being designed very efficiently for favorable placement in search engines.

But what we learned was so much more! The SEO specialist gave us tons of in depth information that totally helped train us in how to "optimize" sites for search engines. He also gave us a great resource for submitting sites to directories and gave us some very suprising information on what search engines favor and what they dislike. Some of this was actually shocking regarding purchasing links and stuff like that.

Now I'll be the first to admit, though we certainly learned quite a bit at the workshop, I still consider Jeff at cattle.com to be the livestock SEO guru! :) So we're not making that claim at all. But we definitely did learn a great deal of skills at this special workshop that can be of benefit to our clients.

With every site we do, we design the sites to be search engine friendly, and this is avilable at no charge to our clients. However we now are offering a premium search engine optimization service based on keyword analysis. It's an in depth process where we work with the clients one-on-one to optimize the site to an even higher level. If this is something you'd be interested in, let us know.

We should also disclaim that even though we are probably the second most knowledgable people about SEO in the livestock business (behind Jeff of course), that even this can't guarantee any certain ranking in a search engine. However if anyone has an aunt who works at Google, we'd like to talk to her, ha ha.

Meet Joelynn!

2011-07-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to introduce you to our newest staff member here at RHD....Joelynn Donough.

Joelynn Donough joined the RHD staff last week as a project manager specializing in agricultural accounts. She is also a creative assistant for advertising and editorial direction of The American Brahman Review publication.

This Pennsylvania native has been active in the livestock industry since day one. Her family raises club lambs, but her heart has always been with cattle. She was a member of the national junior Shorthorn and Maine Anjou associations and hopes to one day move her small herd of cows to Texas. Joelynn is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she was a member of the nationally accredited 2009 livestock judging team. She received her bachelor’s in agricultural journalism and communications in 2010. Joelynn also attended Butler Community College in Kansas on a livestock judging scholarship before transferring to Texas A&M University.

After graduation, Joelynn worked for ShowChampions USA, Inc., the world's most well known livestock photography company (and personal favorite of Ranch House Designs!). While with ShowChampions, Joelynn traveled across the country, picturing major stock shows and on farm sessions.

So how can Joelynn help you? Well, she's a great photographer. Don't be suprised if she stops by your stalls at the major stock shows and takes a few snapshots that we could put on your web site. She can also help our clients who need sale photos and who need candid farm snapshots or scenic photos for their web site. She's also a great writer. She'll be working with lots of our cattle clients to help come up with great advertising ideas for your print materials.

She'll also be representing RHD at all the major livestock shows and beef industry events. So feel free to email her if she can help you in any way....joelynn@ranchhousedesigns.com . Welcome and we are so happy to have you!

RHD Rep: Caci Nance

2011-07-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Meet our newest RHD rep...Caci Nance from South Carolina. This lady is totally on the ball and super active in her career, farm, and beef industry activities.
Caci is a 20-something farm wife from York, South Carolina and joined the RHD team in 2011 as an RHD rep for the southeast. Caci is extremely active in the beef industry in many roles. She is an independent beef sales rep for Southeast Select Sires where she works with cattlemen across South Carolina. Caci and her husband also serve on the South Carolina Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Racher committee and she is the volunteer director of the South Carolina Beef Ambassador program and ANCW Region II Consumer Education commitee chair. Agriculture is the Nance family's life! They, along with their in-laws, run their family farm which consists of a 100 cow dairy, 250 head cow/calf operation, and 500 acres of row crops and forages.

Look for Caci at NCBA and ANCW events, the National Beef Ambassador Competition, and lots of events in South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia!

RHD Rep: Ashley Middleswarth

2011-06-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Meet Ashley Middleswarth, an RHD Rep from Torrington, Wyoming.....

Ashley is a sixth generation Hereford breeder from Torrington, Wyoming and represents Ranch House Designs, Inc. at Hereford events throughout the United States. Middleswarth graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2008 with a degree in agricultural education. She enjoys the multitude of opportunities associated with her role in Middleswarth Hereford Ranch and is excited to incorporate that into her new role with RHD. Look for Ashley at all major Hereford events including the National Junior Hereford Expo, Denver, Western Nugget in Reno, American Royal, and Ft. Worth. She also represents us at events out west including Wyoming State Fair.