CALF_News_Feb_March_2019

38 CALF News • February | March 2019 • www.calfnews.net The show’s stars, Cpl. Agarn (played by comedian Larry Storch) and Sgt. O’Rourke (character actor Forrest Tucker), were always in a fix with their captain or the local Indian tribe. They certainly didn’t think their stint at “Fort Courage” would lead to a 45,000-head custom feedyard named after their 1960s comedy series. “My dad thought F-Troop stood for Friemel Troop. But we loved that TV show,” Jim says.“We remembered that name and used it for our cattle com- pany. When we bought the feedyard, we brought the name with us.” It assuredly takes a sense of humor to maintain a successful family-owned, small feedyard and compete with larger cor- porate yards.“One of the biggest pros of running a small yard is that the customer is not a number, he is a name,” Jim says. “Cattle may get a little more individual care. I have so much skin in the game with my own cattle that I try to feed and market customer cattle just like mine. “It’s not always fun when things don’t go well with cattle performance and prices. Customers are not always happy with the results. But there are good sto- ries and bad stories in running a feedyard of any size.” As F-Troop Feeders moves along, there will be a need for refurbished bunks and other features. Be guaranteed it will be a family project to fix whatever needs upgrading. And like Fort Courage, where TV’s F-Troop “kept the peace,” the Friemel feedyard will be a fortress for the family’s collected efforts to produce results at the feed bunk and farm, and maintain a suc- cessful family business with some laughs thrown in.  F-TROOP FEEDERS Continued from page 37 ABOVE: Designed by Landon Friemel, this low-set dump trailer makes silage handling easier. RIGHT: A corn-based ration is boosted by corn silage and wheatlage grown on the Friemel farm. System is due to build two new schools, and there is interest in creating an additional prep school program within the new high school and in several other existing Lincoln secondary schools. This expansion would include, for example, agriculture, aviation, health care and finance. Funding for these proposed programs is being sought in the private sector. NC did not endorse his idea but will discuss it. Natural resources The most worri- some moments at the NC Convention came during the Natural Resources and Conservation session where Byron Blinson, North Carolina Cattlemen executive director, joined the meeting via speaker phone. He, along with a lawyer representing North Carolina hog producers, described in detail the class-action lawsuits being brought against North Carolina pork producers by urban-based plaintiffs who move onto acreages and then complain of odors. The encroachment of residential areas into rural areas makes politically contentious property rights issues, and farmers there are losing in a big way. Session participants discussed in detail how to prevent these lawsuits, and they gave advice on avoidance of conflict (if it is even possible). The overall takeaway from this meeting was that anti-agriculture groups, including some litigation firms, have deep pockets. They have an easily swayed urban contingency and urban juries. The North Carolina problem is not seen as an animal rights or environmental cause, but instead motivated by money. New Leader Team New officers were elected at the annual business meeting. They include President Mike Drinnin, Clarks; President Elect Ken Herz, Lawrence; Vice President Bill Rhea, Arlington; and Past President Galen Frenzen, Fullerton.  LEFT: The Nebraska Cattlemen Leader Team for 2019 is Bill Rhea, Arlington, vice president; Ken Herz, Lawrence, president- elect; Mike Drinnin, Clarks, president; and Galen Frenzen, Fullerton, past president. NEBRASKA CATTLEMEN Continued from page 35