Page 15 - WCA September Ketch Pen 2020

Tradition & Tech
Ranching is synonymous with tradition. We have some, but ironically, one of the strongest Bar U tradi- tions is the adoption of technology. You can find Dick today on his ATV, doctoring with his CO2 powered
vet rifle, piping books on tape from his iPhone directly through his Bluetooth hearing aids. The Bar U has kept electronic records since 1988, and adopted EID tags in 2005. Even the former ranch fitness regimen of moving handlines has been replaced with used K-Line over the last couple of years.
The Bar U’s E-Z Ration feed truck
A remote-controlled bale wrapper allows us to easily ensile and get the most nutrition out of late cutting feed hay. This winter it will be fed through our second E-Z Ration hay processor, relieving the first of it’s long tenure as a safe and efficient way for one man to deliver mixed-quality winter feed across the scab rock. This time, the processor and scale bed were built onto a custom stretched Stewart & Stevenson military truck. Paul’s tour as volunteer fire chief has included con-
verting several military surplus chassis into fire trucks, complete with DIY driver-joystick operated front nozzles.
This insatiable draw to ranching tech is likely the result of simple genetic predisposition, accelerated by too much Tool Time in the 90’s. But it’s awfully hard to find the flaw in giving ourselves the ability to feed cows or fight fire across pretty much every inch of this dry, rocky ranch!
Cattlemen & Community
For us, and we hope for you, 2020 hasn’t been all bad. And there is a lot about the decade gone by to cele- brate, such as the 10th anniversary of the Beef Counts program, of which WCA is a founding partner. A Bar U calf was the first to be donated to a rollover auction in the fall of 2010. Since then nearly $1 million worth of beef has been donated to people in need. That is definitely a positive impact to stop and take stock of! Please join us in the goal of topping that $1 million mark at the Beef Counts rollover auction in Toppenish September 22nd.
Edgar and Elsie Coon with “Pop” (Dick Coon)