Bending Branch Barn

My wife and I were invited by friends to attend this year’s symphony in the Flint Hills in central Kansas. It was an incredible experience which I’d love to share with you.

Unfortunately, this was the 20th and final symphony in the Flint Hills. Apparently, they’ve had a new location every year and it always showcased the Flint Hills. This year’s location was the Evans Family Ranch in Chase County. As you can see in the photo above, the concert was surrounded by pristine plains. There was nothing but grass and cattle as far as the eye could see.

As we waited for the concert to begin and 7,000 guests found places to park their lawn chairs and coolers, we could see cowboys and cowgirls watching over a herd of hundreds of black angus cattle. This picture was taken after the herd was starting to disappear behind the stage. It shows the vastness of the plains, which looked the same in every direction. It was truly amazing.

The performance was divided into 2 parts with a 20 minute intermission. Accompanying the symphony for several songs was a guest artist, Logan Mize. His baritone voice was rich and “country.” Along with his acoustic guitar, he brought a pedal steel accompanist which gave the orchestra the perfect hint of country genre. Logan is originally from Chase County, Kansas but now hales from Nashville, Tennessee. He sang one of his original hits in the first set and returned to lead the entire audience in the final song of the night, Home on the Range. Both were accompanied by the entire orchestra.

Speaking of Home on the Range; it is the official song of the state of Kansas, number 5 on the list of top hits of all time, written on a farm in Smith county Kansas, and is heaped in controversy regarding who actually wrote it!

Aldeen Holthus along with his son Mitch and his wife Tammy spoke in one of the sessions about the history of the song and the place where it was written. The cabin where the song’s lyrics were penned was part of Aldeen’s farm and most recently donated to a foundation to preserve and maintain. Mitch, who walked the audience through the controversy around authorship of Home on the Range, is a well know celebrity in the Midwest (play-by-play announcer for the Kansas City Chiefs football team). However, his father Aldeen was the hero of the day after Mitch shared his efforts to preserve the site where the song’s lyrics were penned. For more, check out Home on the Range Cabin.

I’ll note that there were a number of 30 minute sessions like the “Home on the Range Cabin” running from 1:00 PM and ending in star gazing after dark. Here is a pic taken as we were leaving. It concluded for us with one of the most amazing sunsets.

One of the sessions was a gentleman named Mark Freiden who had been recording stories of life on the farm. His mission was to preserve the past in the words of those who lived it. He noted that several of the folks in his recordings have already passed. It saddened him, but he was thankful to have captured their stories so that we can all share in them. Check them out for yourself at www.markfreiden.com.

There were sessions on regenerative cattle ranching, music venues, and more. Having recently attended a homesteading conference in Waco Texas, it was fun learn more about farming in my home state of Kansas.

A really fun takeaway for me was learning about “virtual fencing.” Apparently ranchers can rent something similar to a dog collar (only much larger) which allows a cell phone user to establish a virtual fence. The cattle, just like house-pets, learn to stay within the fence. It uses the same techniques as a dog collar, in that it warns the cows with successive tones and beeps as they approach a boundary. Eventually they receive a slight shock. And apparently there is even built-in AI to take into account a cow that needs to get to her calf if the calf (which does not wear a collar) wanders outside the virtual fence. In this case, the system sends a text message letting a ranch hand know to get involved.

Why move cattle? Although this is a common practice. I didn’t fully understand why. Of course it keeps them from overgrazing. However, I didn’t know that cows will eat the tops of the blades of grass, but return to the same area roughly a week later to get the new grass which comes in behind it. The presenters joked that the cows enjoy their “Micro-greens”. In order to protect new growth, they must move the heard regularly. I was unaware that there was an alternative to permanent or temporary electric fencing. The collars can be rented for a low enough price annually so as not affect profitability and they save on labor associated with moving herds. Apparently it improves overall ROI by increasing the herd density per acre of pastureland.

One of the highlights of the evening was the final song played by the symphony and sung by Logan Mize and the entire crowd, Home on the Range. As you can see in the gallery below, the 12 cowboys and cowgirls drove the herd past the singing crowd. It was the ultimate Flint Hills experience.

I want to thank our good friends Thom and Lisa Tomlinson for the invite. We treated ourselves to a Braum’s burger and shake on the way down, and enjoyed some BBQ together at the event. It was a fun day of food, vistas and music. All-in-all, a fantastic day!