Above and Beyond!!!

I was thinking of a lot of my past posts and kind of felt guilty. Seems like I'm always talking about something negative......let's use this thread to talk about ll of those great people in this Industry and how they gpo above and beyond!! I'll start.....I got into the deer farming a few years ago and basically knew nothing except what i took in from visiting farms and asking questions.....but we all know most of the learning happens from hands on experience. Anyhow, one farmer who lives kind of close to me Chuck from Broken H Whitetails....was a god send to me...especially when it came to my AI program....he came over to help with the cidrs and also came back later for cidr removals at 3:00 A.M. in the morning and brought another farmer Jerry Miller with him to help! Not only could I have not done it without him. He expected nothing in return for his services......he is one of those good ones in the indusrty that will go above and beyond for you.....Thanks Chuck......what goes around comes around and yours is coming!

Man I can't be the only one with a good experience in our industry....or at least I hope not.....or we are in a lot of trouble...

Dennis, there are so many GREAT people in the industry. These are just a short list of some that I have had great experiences with: The Millers (RDM), Ron and Donna Boy, Swareys, Levi Mast, Mark Sipes, Bill Pittenger, Rusty Carroll, David Mcquaig, Frank Lake, Gene Flees, Flees Bros., Roger Pietrowski, Craig Crystal, Joeseph Miller, John Miller, Aaron Gray, Lester Eicher, Sam James and countless others who have always been just a phone call away and always willing to help. With all the deals going on it is easy to get caught up in the "bad" vibe, but always trust your gut and get it in writing. Good luck to everyone this year. Let's grow some BIG ONES this year....

Thanks Dc for the response .......but your not helping me here......I'm trying to turn this thread into a positive one.........talking about the good people in the industry Ok let's hear those good stories does anyone have one?? DC read your messages in your profile!!

I must admit that people always seem to want to talk about the bad deals but most of the people I've met have been extremly helpful. I can't mention them all but I must mention two guys that have helped me alot. One is Don Higgins that actually got me interested in deer farming. I knew Don because we were both in the tree bussiness and enjoyed talking deer hunting stories with him. When I found out that he raised deer I was quick to accept an invite to visit his farm and was hooked on the idea of raising these magnificant animals. I was not able to start out with the caliper of deer Don was selling but that didn't stop Don from helping get some good breeding stock I could afford. He was a wealth of information and patient with my barrage of questions. He even came over to my place and help me put down post holes and help me with other fence related issues. He's helped me with feed and even AIing. While I have talked to a few people that think he's a little to opinionated thats just Don and glad to call him friend. His word is good. If he makes you a promise count on it. Next I have to mention a Amish friend of mine named Phillip Schlabaugh from Pin Oak Farm here in Illinois. I must admit I never really had met Amish folks and didn't know what to expect. When he came over to my farm (which was about 20 miles away) to introduce himself and give me a personal invite to come see his farm sometime I was surprised. He was also a wealth of ideas and loved to talk deer as much as I did. He made me feel more than welcome when I finally visted his farm and spent hours showing me how to work deer through a chute system and even came over to my place and help me set up my system. I have know done bussiness with both of these guys and can tell you that these are a couple of the good ones. Rick

Human nature dictates that we always tell people about our bad experiences more than our good ones. It's all about emotion. That's how sport radio stays in business. Just listen one day and see how many callers call in after their team wins versus when their team loses. People love to complain, it's in our DNA Theirs good and bad in every business and it's up to us as consumers to figure out which is which.

Having a great Day here in ValleyMills, Day 196 of my first AI and fawns on the ground

and healthy, Cannot complain about anything. Just got to love them new babies..........

Rainer said:

Having a great Day here in ValleyMills, Day 196 of my first AI and fawns on the ground

and healthy, Cannot complain about anything. Just got to love them new babies..........

Click to expand...

Randy, We're still about a month and a half away from seeing any around here. Can't wait to see how many AI babies I get too. I know most of them are looking fat right now Anyways, hope everything goes good for you.

OK Dennis, I have a bad story gone good.



Many of you may have read some of my boo hooing on the old forum about how I lost a yearling I purchased from a local farmer (Roger Shoup) to a tarp accident. It was my big investment down the tubes. As many have said a lot of us learn the hard way and that was a tough loss so early in the business (my first year).



I shared the story with Roger and the next time we spoke he offered to soften the blow by offering to give me an '09 doe fawn from his AI program. I was confused because in no way was this at all his fault but yet he still offered to give me something else as a replacement of sorts. That my friends is going above and beyond!



And if your thinking it's only a doe fawn then my response is this: How else would a poor ol' hillbilly like myself get Maxbo and Highroller genes into my herd? Thanks Roger!



And I'll throw a cheap plug in for anyone looking for a straight shooter in Eastern Ohio. You can visit Roger's site @ www.demarwhitetails.com



Happy fawning to all!

Rusty, just from the little I know of Roger, it doesn't suprise me at all. I think anyone who wants to do repeat business with their customers needs to go above and beyond to make sure their customer is happy. We especially go out of our way with people new in the business so that their first experience doesn't leave a bad taste in their mouths and lead them out of the industry. Repeat customers are what we are after.

Steve, you are right. A good experience on the customer's end is what brings them back. I certainly will be repeating business to Roger where ever I can fit in his stuff into my herd.

I have countless examples of similar stories but you guys can get the picture.

I can tell you that Steve L above was very helpfull when I started out, Thanks Steve for all your help and sharing

Buckskin, Where are you located at? You arent another one of those Gays Guys are you!!??Haha Im sorry!! I dont think there could be a better hometown name than Gays, and I know it cant fit anyone better than Don Higgins!! Sorry again! I just had to try getting Don back.



If anyone knows Don, you can back me up on this one. You have to be around him for a LONG time if you are ever going to see him smile!! And even if he does smile your still trying to figure out what hes thinking and why he finnaly cracked a smile. Thats why I try taking little stabs at him and maybe he will get a little chuckle out of it and then his head starts thinking about how hes gonna get me back!!



Like Buckskin said above, "While I have talked to a few people that think he's a little to opinionated thats just Don and glad to call him friend. His word is good." Buckskin Nailed it!! But I am just like Buckskin and glad to call him a friend as well.



There is a song by Aaron Tippin, "You've Got To Stand For Something", and these are some lyrics that explain Don to a T.



"Now Daddy didn't like trouble, but if it came along

Everyone that knew him knew which side that he'd be on

He never was a hero, or this county's shinin' light

But you could always find him standing up

For what he thought was right



He'd say you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything

You've got to be your own man not a puppet on a string

Never compromise what's right and uphold your family name

You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything"



When I hear this song it makes me think of Don and everything he has done for us and our farm!! We have been in the business for 5 years now and the first 4 were wasted due to lack of knowledge and experience. We have accomplished more in the past year than we did in the past four! I cant Thank Don enough for everything he has done already and we are just now getting on the right track. I know if I needed something right now or something down the road, theres one guy that will give me his honest opinion, loyalty, and respect and there is nothing more to ask for than that. I dont know how else to put it in words and I know he hears thanks alot but our appreciation goes so much deeper than just saying thanks!!



Its not only deer farming that makes Don our guy to look up too. Hunting the majestic whitetails is a whole other ballgame that Don has pretty much figured out all the ins and outs to. His book is the best book I have ever read and I can see it helping me greatly in future hunts.



There are other farmers out there as well that will answer a phone call no matter the time of day and are more than willing to help us out with questions and whatever other issues we have at the time and they are Albert Haller, Aaron Gray, and Randy Valentine. I appreciate everything you guys have helped us out with as well!!



Hopefully all you other farmers out there realize how you got started and if anyone helped you and not just take it for granted. If you just think about who that first person you think to call when you have an issue arise and then think about how many phonecalls or emails of yours they have answered and it might not seem like much time and dedication of theirs at the time but I guarentee you will start appreciating it more.



Thanks to all and Im glad this forum got started because there are positive things out there but we only like to talk about the negatives. Id like to hear some more starting out stories and see if we were the only farm that needed to find guys like Don Higgins the very first year we started!! Thanks again.

Rick and the Radicals (Buckskin and TRO), thanks for making up those nice things about me. The $20 I promised you is in the mail. .....



Speaking of opinionated, have I ever mentioned to any of you that I think Obama is evil? ...... or do you get the picture from the 6 million anti-Obama emails that I have forwarded to you?

I always wonder what goverment is doing behind our backs when they divert our attention with "hot button" issues that distract us from the important issues, ....... guns

Always a pleasure doing bussiness with you,Don.

Well I would also like to add a thanks to Don Higgins.He has always been fair and very helpful.Also Greg Mills,Jerry Stafford and Doug Marsh.They all are just a phone call away.Thanks guys.