A Little About Our Management

We calve all of our females in the fall starting about October 10. We breed one time AI, with the first breeding starting about January 2. Fifteen to 18 days after being bred AI the cows and heifers are put with a cleanup bull. Bulls are taken from the cows on about March 15. All open females are culled.

Our cow herd is not fed grain or commercial protein, they go through the winter with their fall calves on hay and we do not creep feed the calves. The calves are weaned in June. The bull calves go on a high fiber ration with pasture or free choice grass hay, if the pasture is short, in early July and remain on this ration for 112 days. The purpose of this feed test is not to obtain maximum gain and high yearling weights but to identify the bulls that do not express desirable growth when given a chance to do so. The heifer calves go on pasture after weaning. For about 60 days prior to breeding the heifers receive a soyhull pellets based byproduct ration and grass hay, if needed, while on pasture.

Yearling weights, measurements and ultrasound measurements are taken in late October or early November and processed through the American Angus Association. After the yearling data is collected the bulls are culled (the culls are hung upside down) and the keepers go on a limited soyhull and corn ration with pasture and free choice grass hay until sale day on the fourth Monday in February.

Our herd is certified brucellosis free and accredited tuberculosis free. We have tested for Johne’s for years and have always had a clean test. We follow a strict vaccination program. Along with complete updated EPDs and adjusted performance data a complete health history is furnished with each animal in our sale plus the calving intervals on the females and the dams of the bulls. Also furnished are the weights of the females taken at the time of weaning of their last calf and the age and weight of the dam of each bull at the time of weaning of the bull.