MICHELLE KUNJAPPU Lancaster Farming Staff GETTYSBURG (Adams Co.) To the audience who will watch the bullriding drama played out at the Farm Show rodeo, the cowboy riding the bulls will be the center of their at tention. To Dave Martin, how ever, the bulk themselves are the stars of the show. Martin, a stock contractor for more than 30 years, will supply bulls for the High School Rodeo, Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. The Farm Show will also host a rodeo Friday evening Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. He has supplied the High School Rodeo’s bulk for at least 10 years, and produced rodeos in the Farm Show arena several times since 1975. For the participants’ protec tion, Martin takes younger bulk, IVi to 3'/2 years old and weighing 1,100 to 1,400 pounds. He plans to take the 24 bulk for each of the 24 bullriders the morning of the rodeo, and return them to the farm after the rodeo. In the days preceding the event, “we set up the chutes and the pens behind the chutes and try to get everything cleaned up” besides having a prerodeo round up. “We catch the stock about 10 days before the rodeo,” he said. “We bring them in and pen them up, because they can be elusive.” He wants to keep them close by so there are no surprises or last-minute chases through the pastures. noncorrosive Delnn valve is self cleaning & simple to operate> • 12” In diameter & 8" deep. • 3 gallon capacity- 6 times that of other bowls! • Fast recovery- 3 gallons per minute at 40 psi. • PVC construction- guaranteed unbreakable, inhibits bacterial growth. • With nonrestrictive splash guard. • Cleaner- water fill located at bottom. • Bottom drain- for easy cleaning. • Adjustable water level. 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During the winter, employees find other jobs, but in the sum mer months five to ten people help Martin drive truck, feed stock, and set up and tear down for the rodeos. During a show, 30 people may be involved which in cludes judges, timers, secretaries, clowns, and bullfighters. Martin’s fiance Carol Hoffman also helps at the operation year- Randall G. Renninger Certified Public Accountant Specializing in agriculture and construction industries “We help business people discover ways to cut costs, save taxes, and be more profitable” Call about our FREE seminars 535 W. Orange Street, Lancaster, PA 17603 (717) 299-6480 ♦ Fax (717) 299-6390 Custom fabrication of Galvanized Barn Equipment Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 11,2003-A37 Cattle of the Plummer line are usually white with black ears and Dalamation-like spots. Plummers are a fine-boned, smaller animal, with the males weighting about 1,350 pounds. Good bucking bulls usually have Brahma and Longhorn blood, a “mainstay” in bucking bull breeding, said Martin. “A purebred brahman usually doesn’t buck very well, but if you get a good one, it’s really good,” he said. “They need a little extra care, they not really suited to cold winters, so most of our bulls are a quarter to half Brahma.” Some of the best crosses in clude Brangus (Vs Brahman and 5 /s Angus) which are black, slick haired, have floppy ears, and, as rule, do not have any horns. These cattle are called “muley,” or “slick-headed.” Another preferred crossbred is the Braford, (V» Brahma and 5 /« Hereford) cattle, which “usually come out red with a white face with black stripes what we call brindle,” he said. Martin also has Simbrahs, or Simmental and Brahma cross breds. The breeding program hap pened a bit by accident. “I started in the ’7os with a farmer in East Berlin (a nearby town), who was boarding a few bulls. “Some of his cows got bred by accident, but it actually worked out because we got some really round. The bulls may be bought or farm-raised on Martin’s opera tion. He was fortunate to be able to purchase “Johnny Rotten,” a bull of one of the most famous bucking bull bloodlines. The “Plummer” bloodline was named after breeder Charlie Plummer, Sayre, Okla., who spent 40 years breeding bucking bulls. (Turn to Page A3B)
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