Youth follows tradition of his family heritage

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

17-year-old John Hastings pets his 20-year-old Hereford bull, Gubon, which means old man. Hastings earns money taking care of the cattle on his family's 300-acre farm. Photo from Hastings

Nov. 11, 2004 - Living on a 300-acre farm between Meridian and Cranfills Gap, 17-year-old John Hastings earns money taking care of his family's cows. John, who is known as 'Chester' by his friends, is a senior at Vanguard College Preparatory School in Waco. He's been in charge of the cows for the past three years.

"The land has been in my family for a long time. We are the only one's who've owned the land because it was given to us as a land grant," Chester said. "We'd rather run a few cattle on the land than leave it with no purpose."

Chester's family runs 100-120 head of cattle on the farm. They also sow oats on the land each year for cattle forage.

"Our cattle are mixed, but they are mainly Herefords and Charolais," Chester said.

He's been around cattle his entire life.

"When I was 1 my grandma on my dad's side began taking me with her to feed the cows every morning," he said. "I also helped my dad take care of the cows and I just learned from him over the years."

Chester's job includes feeding the cows, moving the cows to different grazing areas, and putting out bales of hay. He earns $5 for each bale he sets out. He feeds the cows four bales of hay per week during the warmer months and nine to 10 bales per week when it is cold. Putting out each bale takes Chester around 15 minutes, and he said he tries to get all of his work completed during the day light.

"If you go out there at night, you'll want to wear reflective pants at night, " Chester explained. "It would be one of the worst things to be trampled on by the cows and be stuck out in the field at night."

Chester said he moves the cows when they need to be moved, which he determines by checking on the water availability, grazing and diseases. He also works the cows once per year, gives them shots and pours Ivamec on their backs to deworm them and keep the flies away.

"It's real easy during the warm months, but sometimes it's hard to work when it's cold," he explained. "It's not much fun being in an open tractor in the cold, wet months with mud up to your knees. "

The cows breed naturally and the Hasting's keep three bulls with the herd - two Charolais and one Hereford, for breeding purposes. Around 45 cows stay on the farm at all times.

"We sell the rest to a slaughter house," Chester said. "We sell the calves when they are big enough to be sold, which is around one year old."

Chester has kept one Hereford (the single bull) as a pet. He named it Gubon, which is Norwegian for old man.

"He's older than 20 years old and he's really tame. He likes me to pet him," Chester said. "He was bottle fed and he doesn't buck at all. I wish I could bring him to college with me."

Chester is planning on applying to the University of Southern California or Vanderbilt, where he plans on studying political science and attending law school. But, he definitely wants to return to his family's land.

"I'm proud to be carrying on the traditions of my family and I hope I'll still be on this property throughout my life."