{"id":26418,"date":"2018-10-17T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=26418"},"modified":"2018-10-17T03:04:45","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T08:04:45","slug":"austin-peay-state-universitys-puppy-dog-bull-frank-the-tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2018\/10\/17\/austin-peay-state-universitys-puppy-dog-bull-frank-the-tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Peay State University\u2019s puppy dog bull, Frank the Tank, flush with champion ribbons"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Austin Peay State University (APSU)<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-324279\" title=\"Austin Peay State University - APSU\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Peay State University - APSU\" width=\"250\" height=\"64\"\/><strong>Clarksville, TN<\/strong> &#8211; Austin Peay State University (APSU) Beef Cattle Show Team members affectionately call the bull &#8220;Frank the Tank&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>But competitors know the grand champion Simmental bull as Ace of Spades.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_436124\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-1.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-436124\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-436124\" title=\"APSU's Frank the Tank won grand champion at the Wilson County Fair.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-1-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"APSU's Frank the Tank won grand champion at the Wilson County Fair. \" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-436124\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">APSU&#8217;s Frank the Tank won grand champion at the Wilson County Fair.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>While both names capture the size and heft of the bull, they misrepresent his nature. This bull is no fighter. He\u2019s a Ferdinand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s really laid back. He\u2019s a big puppy dog,\u201d Dr. Rod Mills, associate professor of animal sciences in the APSU Department of Agriculture, said.<\/p>\n<p>No matter the name, or the animal\u2019s nature, the bull charged through first place and champion designations at beef shows this summer, which culminated with his winning division grand champion at the Tennessee State Fair. Frank also won overall grand champion bull at the Wilson County Fair, the state\u2019s largest fair.<\/p>\n<p>His brother, Royal Flush, took reserve division champion in the same division. And his sisters, Dare to Dream and Betting on a Dream, also earned ribbons at the fair.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Austin Peay&#039;s puppy dog bull named state champion\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gHkThARmcKY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The four siblings came from the embryos of one cow, Ruby, who won reserve division champion at the 2017 Dixie National Livestock Show. Frank might compete in the 2019 national show.<\/p>\n<p>Ruby is where Frank the Tank gets his calm nature.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s very gentle, she was very gentle,\u201d Mills said. \u201cAll these calves have inherited her personality even though they were raised by different mothers.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>All From One Flush<\/h3>\n<p>Embryo transfer is an advanced reproductive technology that allows for more offspring from an elite cow. It starts with superovulation (which produces more than one egg in a cow), continues with insemination (often in vitro fertilization) and ends with flushing (or the removal of embryos from the donor cow) and transfer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_436125\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-2.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-436125\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-436125\" title=\"Ruby won reserve division champion at the 2017 Dixie National Livestock Show.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-2-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"Ruby won reserve division champion at the 2017 Dixie National Livestock Show. \" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-436125\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ruby won reserve division champion at the 2017 Dixie National Livestock Show.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>People often refer to the embryos that come from the process as belonging to the same \u201cflush.\u201d Frank and his three siblings mentioned here are \u201cflushmates.\u201d Their flushing and transfer happened in the spring of 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn that particular flush, Ruby produced 10-12 eggs, eight were fertilized, then we transferred them fresh into other cows,\u201d Mills said. \u201cStudents got to look at those under a microscope, so they saw (Frank) when he was about eight cells.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[320left]\u201cThat was one of the most interesting labs we have done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Brock Blick Fund of Excellence supports the APSU Beef Cattle Show Team and the advanced technologies described above. The fund helps APSU students learn the latest techniques.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn theory some of these cows can have dozens of calves over the course of their lives, which means you can quickly change the quality of your herd, whereas if you try to breed them in over generations, it\u2019s a really slow way to make genetic progress,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n<h3>APSU Beef Cattle Show Team<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_436126\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-3.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-436126\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-436126\" title=\"Colton Hudgins and Dr. Rod Mills during a recent beef show.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-3-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"Colton Hudgins and Dr. Rod Mills during a recent beef show. \" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-436126\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Colton Hudgins and Dr. Rod Mills during a recent beef show.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Beef Cattle Show Team had four members at the state fair, Kristen Jensen, Tyler Davis, John Thomas Fussell and Colton Hudgins. Hudgins joined the team just before the state fair.<\/p>\n<p>Davis has shown cattle since he was in sixth grade, and his heifer won Grand Champion female at the Robertson County Fair in August. He\u2019s about to graduate with an agriculture degree and wants to continue running his Montgomery County family farm.<\/p>\n<p>[320right]Austin Peay has \u201chelped show me a clearer vision of the economic side of this since I raise show cattle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI volunteered with the APSU team a year before I enrolled,\u201d Davis added. The experiences and friendships I have made through this journey are something I will have for a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hudgins is a freshman from Robertson County studying agribusiness: \u201cI plan on being able to manage a cattle operation after college dealing with the production of show cattle and producing top-of-the-line cattle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been around show cattle for around 10 years now, and I learn something new every day,\u201d he added. \u201cThe friendships you make along with the industry last a lifetime, and I would not trade that for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_436127\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-4.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-436127\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-436127\" title=\"Tyler Davis and Colton Hudgins prepare Frank the Tank and Royal Flush during a recent show.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/APSU\u2019s-puppy-dog-bull-Frank-the-Tank-flush-with-champion-ribbons-4-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"Tyler Davis and Colton Hudgins prepare Frank the Tank and Royal Flush during a recent show.\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-436127\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Davis and Colton Hudgins prepare Frank the Tank and Royal Flush during a recent show.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Davis\u2019 family uses embryo transfer, and Hudgins said the practice is common for show cattle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that these animals are flushmates is something special,\u201d Hudgins said. \u201cIt\u2019s very eye-opening to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin Peay State University (APSU) Clarksville, TN &#8211; Austin Peay State University (APSU) Beef Cattle Show Team members affectionately call the bull &#8220;Frank the Tank&#8221;. But competitors know the grand champion Simmental bull as Ace of Spades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[23,22184,10061,262,30764,825,32705,29880,32704,160,32706,20721,32702,22189,32703],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-6S6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26418"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26418"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26419,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26418\/revisions\/26419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}