CENTER, N.D. – While the Brown family stays busy preparing for its registered Angus bull and female sale, as well as beginning of calving season, the unusual weather with variable temperatures has been challenging.

Colder weather and several inches of snow with temperatures dropping into the single-digits at night moved into the region earlier in December. However, that weather varied with warmer temperatures that climbed above freezing on Dec. 13-15, which caused the new snow to start melting.

“It has been a challenge keeping the bulls clean with the up and down temperatures,” said Justin Brown, who works with his dad, Paul, and brother, Kelan, at the ranch located west of Center.

The Browns have been laying down bedding straw almost every day to not only keep the bulls warm in the cold temperatures, but also to keep the bulls dry from the melting snow on warm days.

Justin would prefer the weather stayed cool, 20-25 degrees, instead of the “up and down” temperatures, because the cattle keep eating well when it is cool.

“Yesterday (Dec. 19), it was 41 degrees and windy. These temperatures have been up and down, and this weather isn’t the best for cattle. It stresses them, and we have to bed them on warm days, too, because they lay down and get wet,” he said. “It is key to keep the bulls dry. When they get wet and it is 40 degrees out, they are actually colder than when it is 20 below and they are dry.”

Meanwhile, Justin has been checking off his to-do list for the upcoming sale.

The Browns will have their bull and female sale on Sunday, Feb. 13, at 2 p.m. CST at the ranch.

First on their list was getting the bulls clipped. They clipped the bulls on Tuesday, Dec. 14, and on Saturday, Dec. 18, they took photos of each bull.

“We had some good friends come down and help us get the bulls ready for their pictures and they were pretty clean,” he said. “But it is going to be tough to keep them clean if the temperatures fluctuate so much.”

Mckayla Hagen of Branded Image & Promotions came out to take photos on a cold morning that ended up much warmer by the end of the day. In the afternoon, the sun came out and temperatures rose to above zero with no wind, making for some nice photos.

“She has been taking photos of our bulls for the last four years, and she does a good job,” Justin said.

The Browns had more than 30 of the bulls photographed, along with seven females.

To take the photos, Justin explained they set up a large corral for the photos, and lay down straw. Then they have each bull walk through – one at a time.

Sometimes, it can be tricky to get the best photo. They wait patiently for each bull to be in the perfect position before the photo is snapped – the right leg in the right place, for example.

“We have to be patient and wait for each one to be in the right position before we take the photo because we want the best photo of each bull,” he said. “If you want to represent your bulls well, to show your bulls to new and existing customers, you need to present them well.”

The Browns are also having a new website built. They expect it will be ready to go live in a couple of weeks, and it will feature the bulls and females in the sale.

“We’ll be putting photos of some of our highlight bulls and females on the new website, as well as using them for advertising for our sale,” he said.

Justin is also starting work on the sale catalog, which takes time.

While starting work on the catalog, Justin has become excited about their February bull and female sale.

“I really feel this is the best offering we have ever had, especially on the female side. We always let our best bulls go, but on the female sale, we want to keep the genetics to keep our cowherd going. But we are to the point now where we can offer these front-end females.”

Justin said they clipped four of the best replacement females they have ever offered in our sale.

“They are backed by some fantastic cows and I’m excited to see their photos,” he said.

Justin knows the females will draw interest and he expects there will be phone calls on them. One female is a maternal sister to the Brown’s high-seller last year.

“These females come from cows that offer fertility, longevity, and a nice phenotype,” he said.

In addition, the Browns will be offering some bred heifers that will be summer-calvers at the sale.

“They are tremendous, too. It is going to be fun to watch all of them,” he added.

The sale will be at the ranch, but for those who can’t come out, the sale will also be on the DV Auction site.

“We love to have people come in person so we can visit with them and learn more about their program and their family, but if not, they can bid over the internet,” Justin said.

On Jan. 4, the Browns will finish clipping the rest of the bulls in the sale.

“After that, we’ll invite people to come and look at the bulls and the females in the sale,” he said.

Justin also planned to send in some DNA samples from the bulls before the end of December, as prices are expected to rise for samples in 2022.

The cow the Browns bought in Montana is getting shots in preparation for flushing.

“We are taking her to TK Vet Service on Dec. 30, to have her done locally,” he said.

The Browns finished working their heifer and steer calves on Dec. 4. Their tattoo gun broke, however, so they ordered another one and plan to tattoo the rest of the calves when they receive their booster vaccinations.

In addition, a couple females on the Brown’s ranch will be calving soon.

“One female I bought last year is expected to calve on Dec. 30. She is bagging up and looks like she will have a Christmas baby calf,” he said.

Several ET recip cows are due to calve on Jan. 12. Two days later, the bred heifers will start calving, and some heifers always calve early.

“It is going to get real busy. After those calvers, the cows are due to calve in February,” Justin said.

Meanwhile, the Browns want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

“We are getting ready for Christmas, and won’t be doing a lot except watching for new calves,” he added.