Soule: My 21st Century Cattle Drive

A grand gesture loses grandeur when the presentation goes awry. Then it becomes a wet firecracker, a towering foul ball, an uncompleted pass. So when a guy named Darcy in Sedalia, Colo., decided to give his wife, Kristi, a couple of my shaggy, long-horned Scottish Highland steers, they had to be presented on her birthday – February 26.

Darcy searched for a pair of Highlanders to give Kristi on her birthday but couldn’t find any in his area, but an online search uncovered Miles Smith Farm. He selected two of my steers, Walter and Gilligan, from my website, called me, and arranged delivery. Darcy insisted that the boys arrive before Kristi’s birthday.

People buy my cattle for many reasons, but this was my first birthday-surprise sale. I knew it would be hard to find a commercial trucker to make the 2,000-mile, 30-hour drive (without stops) from New Hampshire to Colorado in time. Since we were delivering a cow to Harley, a friendly Ohio farmer, we brought Walter and Gilligan along. They’d stay at Harley’s farm, and a commercial trucker would finish the delivery, about 1,200 miles. I made the arrangements.
But then the trucker rescheduled the trip for the week after Kristi’s birthday. Darcy was adamant. The steers must arrive by Feb. 26. Plan A had failed. We needed a Plan B.

How could I get these steers from Ohio to Colorado? Hitchhiking wouldn’t do. Who would stop to pick up two loose steers? Maybe we could drape a sign around their necks, “Colorado or Bust,” or “Steer me to Sedalia.” That might work until Walter and Gilligan wandered off in search of grass. No, hoofing it wasn’t an option. A serious challenge required a serious solution.

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Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., where she raises and sells beef and other local products. She can be reached at carolesoule60@gmail.com.