Happy 21st Birthday, Sunshine!

Some may find it strange that every March I mutter a "Happy Birthday, Sunshine" on March 13. Who is Sunshine, you ask? Well, just the greatest maternal mama and foundation of our herd at Shady Oaks Farm. You see, Sunshine was my very first 4-H project, an open heifer we purchased from Bieber Red Angus. I know her birthdate so well because I had to memorize first for the 4-H heifer project, then later as I showed her in cow-calf classes.

Sunshine had a prolific life at our farm. In subsequent years when attending the Bieber production sale, I'd daydream that I'd run into Craig, Ron, or even a cowhand and we'd have a lengthy discussion about the merits of A515 (Sunshine's tattoo/ID), her mother and father, and how she is working for us.

Sunshine was more than just a number for us on the farm. She's raised top-gaining sons for the Focus On Efficiency bull sale/test. She's produced females that had longevity in our herd. Her daughter was my 4-H heifer in 1999, and I won Reserve Champion Red Angus heifer with her (her name was Madeline). It was quite a feat to raise your own champion. And all thanks to Sunshine.

I remember cold mornings in August while at county fairs. My friends and I would pile on top of her back and snuggle (and she'd let us). Nothing really got her riled up. She always looked for grain or a scratch. She weighed in at 1550 lbs., without any help of feed. She was an easy-keeping cow that continued to be productive well into her teens!

My parents didn't tell me the day they took Sunshine "to town." I don't think I could have handled it. But her memory lives on. I think I'd credit her with the reason we're in the Red Angus business. She gave us no troubles and we admired the entire breed because of her (and a few others). To this day, I'll be studying pedigrees in our herd and say something like, "She's the great-granddaughter of Sunshine," and then lobby to keep that bloodline in our herd. It's amazing the kind of impact one animal (or person, for that matter) can have on an operation.

Learn more about Sunshine's performance stats here.