I learned a long time ago that most
people can be divided into one of two camps. My wife taught me that
lesson the first time we went grocery shopping together 45 years ago.
When we came to the condiment aisle she had a preconceived notion that
our mayonnaise needs would best be filled by Best Foods. But I was a
Miracle Whip guy. Right there in the store she informed me that Miracle
Whip was for poor, homeless, bums while I told her that Best Foods was
for rich, overeducated snobs. My taste buds have not been tickled by
Miracle Whip since that day.
As with checkers, it's the same with commercial cattlemen, most can be divided into either Black or Red.
The
bigger band of black brothers and sisters are more apt to own a tractor
and do some farming, while the others bet it all on red and only raise
cattle. Blacks are more apt to golf, while the Reds usually have a
roping arena on their place. The Black contingent are more likely to
have radio ear tags in their cattle, use a calf table and either freeze
brand or apply no brand at all. Reds still do it the old-fashioned way
with real branding irons and a hot fire. A Red's branding smells like
oak or mesquite with a hint of cow manure; a black's branding smells of
disinfectant. If there's a red hided animal in a Black's pasture you
know it's the result of a recessive gene, but if there's a black hided
bull in with Red's cows you know it belongs to the neighbors.
Commercial
cattlemen who prefer black hided cattle are more apt to retain
ownership, while Red's calves are sold on the video or are at the local
auction market. A breeder of blacks can tell you the birth, weaning and
yearling weight EPD's of every one of his bulls, whereas a red breeder
can tell you the price of eight weights in Kansas. Blacks own all their
land while Reds lease theirs, usually from the feds. The Reds know that
BLM stands for the Bureau of Land Management but to a Black a BLM is a
bowel movement. So you see, there's not much difference after all.
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