Philosophy

Probably the quote I am most known by is " Why buy quality cattle with lousy EPD's when you can buy quality cattle with good EPD's".  I think the importance and accuracy of EPD's will only increase in the years to come.

Too often we put too much emphasis on the appearance of the cattle or their EPD's instead of seeing the obvious.  Some of my best milkers don't have the best looking udders by normal standards.  I purchased a first calf heifer out of one of the Top 10 bulls in our breed with a below average heifer calf.  I kept rationalizing, well it's her first calf and the sire doesn't have very good EPD's, etc., etc.  After all she has a great sire!  After I got her home and separated the calf for 24 hours, the problem was obvious!  One quarter of her udder wasn't functioning and the other 3/4 wasn't much better!  It took the calf less than 45 seconds to drain her dry.  She doesn't give any milk!  The poor calf was starving to death.

Now this should teach us all 2 important lessons!  1) Always evaluate the dam and sire on what they produce, and 2) Never, ever take your Cull Cattle to a registered sale!  I am just thankful I purchased her instead of someone new coming into the breed!

We look for balance in all of our cattle!  A balance between fertility and milking ability!  A balance between conformation and EPD's!  Fertility is critical, but only if they give enough milk to raise a quality calf.  A cow that raises a lousy calf every 12 months is as worthless as a cow that raises a good calf every 14-16 months.  Both are losing propositions!  We strive to keep our birth rates under 85# for our mature cattle and 75# for all first calf heifers.  We have achieved that for the last 3 years running!  All of our calves are raised on grass and what their mothers produce.  It doesn't take long to identify the good dams! 

We will only sell cattle that meet the standards we would want to purchase ourselves. Take a look at our young herd and let us know what you think.  It should only get better with time! You are welcome to visit us any time you are in our area!