Friday, November 18, 2011

A Grazing Plan, by Stan Tixier


A rancher saved to help his son
Enroll in their State College,
He reckoned he could use some help
And educated knowledge
On how to utilize his range
And feed his cattle better,
And so he sent his boy to school
And then wrote him this letter:

"When you get home, I want you to
Devise A GRAZING PLAN,
And calculate the way that we
Might run the most we can,
Our cow herd's looking sorta' poor,
I think they should be fatter,
So your assignment once you're back
Is figure what's the matter."

The lad came home, degree in hand,
Computer programs too,
It shouldn't take him very long
To ponder what to do.
He rode the range for several day
To see what he could see,
He left his saddle horse at home
And drove an ATV.

He drew a map that clearly showed
ONE wind-mill in the middle,
The grass was GONE for several miles
Around, it was a rideel
Just how those cows could find a thing
To eat, he wasn't sure,
Repulsive as it was, he saw
They grazed on -- horse manure.

It seemed the horses ranged beyond
The radius of cows,
To where the grass was tall and green,
So Son told Pappy how
"There's more than one way to resolve
This problem, several courses,
It's my professional advice,
We've got to get more horses!"

From the book:
A Good Lookin' Horse: Cowboy Poetry and Other Verse (1993) by Stan Tixier
_________

Want more cowboy poetry?  Poetry books and CDs by Stan Tixier are available for purchase from Western Heritage Company, 1-800-303-5703.  And don't worry, Cowboy Poet's Corner will continue to post to the SRM blog in coming months.

No comments: