An unlikely friendship between a farmer and his calf has landed the pair on national news. Jesup native Mason Corkery heaved his seven-month-old calf, Gucci, into the cab of his GMC Sierra for an afternoon trip to Dairy Queen about a month ago.
Corkery posted the video on the online video-sharing platform TikTok four days ago.
“It just kind of took off. I wasn’t expecting it at all,” he said.
After Corkery posted the video, he went to bed. By morning he had 265,000 “likes” on TikTok and had gained about 60,000 followers. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video has garnered more than 5 million views, and Corkery’s account has 161,000 “followers” and 1.4 million likes.
Corkery was making one of his biweekly visits to the farm where Gucci lives when he spontaneously decided to treat his friend to an afternoon snack at Dairy Queen in Independence. The iconic dessert trip landed the pair on CBS News, ABC’s Good Morning America and other news outlets.
“I went to visit him and for whatever reason that’s what I did. I just thought it would be a fun stunt to pull off. I don’t know why I do a lot of things I do,” he said jokingly.
Gucci didn’t mind the tight squeeze into the cab one bit.
Gucci is as “cool as a cucumber,” he said. “I’ve never seen a cow so chill, especially being in the back of a vehicle.”
The video shows the tight squeeze was well worth it as Gucci slurps up the “pup cup,” a small cup of vanilla ice cream typically given to customers traveling with a dog.
It wasn’t the first ride for Gucci. Corkery has taken his bovine buddy to children’s birthday parties around town.
“Gucci and I have been really close ever since he was born,” Corkery said.
A few of Gucci’s favorite foods include meatless spaghetti, meatless Casey’s pizza, donuts and apples.
“He really doesn’t like bananas,” Corkery said.
He first met Gucci, a premature calf, while working at Hook Stock Farms in Grundy Center. The young Holstein had a twin sister, Boujee, who had died. Corkery chose the name Gucci, a luxury clothing brand, because he wanted “something fancy – he’s not an ordinary cow,” he said.
“The day I met him I knew I was going to keep this calf,” he said.
Twice each day Corkery would pick up Gucci out of his pen and together they would get milk ready for the other calves. The bond was undeniable to Hook Farms owner Brady Cook, which also meant Gucci would not become a side of beef.
“He let me keep him because he knew how special Gucci was to me,” Corkery said.
At one-month old Corkery relocated Gucci to his parents’ farm near Jesup where he visits his friend twice a week.
“I know when he can hear me because I have a collar on him with a big cowbell, so if I call his name and his head jerks, I know he’s looking for me,” he said.
Corkery discovered his passion for caring for calves at a young age. The 2009 Don Bosco High School graduate grew up on a dairy farm near Jesup and studied animal science at Ellsworth Community College. He admits he was never mechanically inclined, so when other farmhands took off for a machine repair, Corkery stayed and tended to the animals.
“I can’t fix a broken car, but I can fix a broken cow,” he said.
He’s gained knowledge working at dairy farms across the state. His goal is to encourage youths to pursue careers on family farms.
“I wanted to become one of the best calf-raisers in the Midwest. I feel like it is very important for young people to stay working in agriculture. Hopefully I can give the youth of agriculture a voice because it’s all becoming factory farms. Small farms are kind of disappearing,” he said.
Corkery said he would like Gucci’s sudden fame to boost local farmers.
“Some people do care about their animals, and it’s their livelihood. Not all farming is bad,” he said.
Corkery said he’s had an “overwhelming request” to take Gucci to Chik-fil-A, a fast food chain specializing in chicken that often uses a cow mascot bearing a sign urging customers to “Eat more chikin.” Corkery is planning to take Gucci to the Waterloo location, 1331 Flammang Drive, on Saturday for lunch.
“I might as well. I can’t fit him in the back of my truck after this,” he said of the several-hundred-pound animal.
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Corkery posted the video on the online video-sharing platform TikTok four days ago.
“It just kind of took off. I wasn’t expecting it at all,” he said.
After Corkery posted the video, he went to bed. By morning he had 265,000 “likes” on TikTok and had gained about 60,000 followers. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video has garnered more than 5 million views, and Corkery’s account has 161,000 “followers” and 1.4 million likes.
Corkery was making one of his biweekly visits to the farm where Gucci lives when he spontaneously decided to treat his friend to an afternoon snack at Dairy Queen in Independence. The iconic dessert trip landed the pair on CBS News, ABC’s Good Morning America and other news outlets.
“I went to visit him and for whatever reason that’s what I did. I just thought it would be a fun stunt to pull off. I don’t know why I do a lot of things I do,” he said jokingly.
Gucci didn’t mind the tight squeeze into the cab one bit.
Gucci is as “cool as a cucumber,” he said. “I’ve never seen a cow so chill, especially being in the back of a vehicle.”
The video shows the tight squeeze was well worth it as Gucci slurps up the “pup cup,” a small cup of vanilla ice cream typically given to customers traveling with a dog.
It wasn’t the first ride for Gucci. Corkery has taken his bovine buddy to children’s birthday parties around town.
“Gucci and I have been really close ever since he was born,” Corkery said.
A few of Gucci’s favorite foods include meatless spaghetti, meatless Casey’s pizza, donuts and apples.
“He really doesn’t like bananas,” Corkery said.
He first met Gucci, a premature calf, while working at Hook Stock Farms in Grundy Center. The young Holstein had a twin sister, Boujee, who had died. Corkery chose the name Gucci, a luxury clothing brand, because he wanted “something fancy – he’s not an ordinary cow,” he said.
“The day I met him I knew I was going to keep this calf,” he said.
Twice each day Corkery would pick up Gucci out of his pen and together they would get milk ready for the other calves. The bond was undeniable to Hook Farms owner Brady Cook, which also meant Gucci would not become a side of beef.
“He let me keep him because he knew how special Gucci was to me,” Corkery said.
At one-month old Corkery relocated Gucci to his parents’ farm near Jesup where he visits his friend twice a week.
“I know when he can hear me because I have a collar on him with a big cowbell, so if I call his name and his head jerks, I know he’s looking for me,” he said.
Corkery discovered his passion for caring for calves at a young age. The 2009 Don Bosco High School graduate grew up on a dairy farm near Jesup and studied animal science at Ellsworth Community College. He admits he was never mechanically inclined, so when other farmhands took off for a machine repair, Corkery stayed and tended to the animals.
“I can’t fix a broken car, but I can fix a broken cow,” he said.
He’s gained knowledge working at dairy farms across the state. His goal is to encourage youths to pursue careers on family farms.
“I wanted to become one of the best calf-raisers in the Midwest. I feel like it is very important for young people to stay working in agriculture. Hopefully I can give the youth of agriculture a voice because it’s all becoming factory farms. Small farms are kind of disappearing,” he said.
Corkery said he would like Gucci’s sudden fame to boost local farmers.
“Some people do care about their animals, and it’s their livelihood. Not all farming is bad,” he said.
Corkery said he’s had an “overwhelming request” to take Gucci to Chik-fil-A, a fast food chain specializing in chicken that often uses a cow mascot bearing a sign urging customers to “Eat more chikin.” Corkery is planning to take Gucci to the Waterloo location, 1331 Flammang Drive, on Saturday for lunch.
“I might as well. I can’t fit him in the back of my truck after this,” he said of the several-hundred-pound animal.
Video of Jesup man taking his calf to Dairy Queen goes viral
After Corkery posted the video, he went to bed. By morning he had 265,000 “likes” on TikTok and had gained about 60,000 followers.
