Keeping up with the Joneses just got a little harder, Drayson Jones and his wife, Pat, from Paradise Valley are in the limelight as the recipient family of this year’s Cattleman of the Year award.
It was presented to Drayson by Gord King, vice chair of the Cattleman of the Year Committee, at the 46th Stockade Round-Up at the Lloyd Ex on Nov. 1.
“It is an exciting day. Drayson’s very well deserving of it for his involvement in 4-H and stuff in the community of Paradise Valley,” said King.
“He’s lived a great life and raised some great cattle.”
His wife, Pat, who worked with cattle and pulled calves herself, says being selected Cattleman of the Year was one of her husband’s dreams.
“That was years ago—he finally got his wish,” she said with many family members and friends on hand for the occasion.
The Cattleman of the Year award is presented to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the cattle industry and their commitment to excellence, exemplifying quality rural life and involvement in the community.
“I was very surprised to get awarded this way—it’s okay,” said Drayson while finishing lunch.
His son, Glen Jones, who took over the farm in 2002 as purely a grain farmer, said his dad doesn’t think he deserves the award, even though he does, citing his involvement in 4-H.
“He was a big supporter of that and also just a good cattleman all through his years,” said Glen.
“He is still a strong supporter of 4-H by buying members at member auctions at Kitscoty and 3 Cities 4-H Beef Clubs as well as making sure the kids got awards for their communications events in 3 Cities.”
He held positions as leader and assistant leader with 4-H over the years.
Glen says at the age of 80, his dad is still a firm believer that public speaking is a great asset learned from 4-H.
Drayson graduated from Lakeland College in 1963, when it was known as the Vermilion School of Agriculture, and says his dad helped him and Pat to get into farming.
“I used his machinery and bought half a dozen heifers off him, that’s how I got started,” he said.
“We had a purebred horned Hereford bull and then we went to a short-horned purebred bull and then I guess it was a Limousine, and we finished off with Angus.”
“We always bought good bulls.”
They also got into dairy cows when times were tough for a year in the ‘70s.
“Getting that cream cheque sure helped out,” said Drayson, who has seen a few ups and downs in the business.
“I can remember as a boy when foot and mouth hit, and I remember seeing in a farm paper where they’d bulldozed big holes. The police herded these dairy cows into these holes, and they stood up on the edge and shot them and then buried them.”
He says after that there were outbreaks of bangs (bovine brucellosis) and BSE (mad cow) and a few droughts.
Along the way, he and Pat raised four adult children, Glen, Verna, Tannis and Heather, who were on hand with a ton of grandkids for the celebration at the Lloyd Ex.
The elderly couple also enjoyed camping, fishing and vacationing with family and friends over the years
When the kids were young, they joked one of their dad’s favourite pastimes was when “cattle porn” came in the mail (sale catalogues and artificial insemination books).
“He would go through all the animals and pick out the best ones,” noted Glen.
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