Livestock

We run a commercial herd of red angus x simmental cross cows.  We also run a herd of registered Red Angus cows.  All heifers are retained and bred the following summer.  After picking our replacement heifers,  the remaining bred heifers are sold.  We also retain our steers and bull calves.  The steers are ran as stockers and sold in the fall.  The registered bull calves that make the cut, are sold as coming 2 year old bulls for seedstock.  We also run a herd of stocker steers to fill the summer pastures.  

Our focus is on the type of cattle that can graze year round, as weather allows, and maintain their condition.  This requires a moderate framed cow with good feet and a lot of capacity, as well as genetics from established grass efficient cattle breeders such as Ohlde and Pharo.  In order to graze cattle through winter, or at least well into winter, we stockpile grass in certain pastures each year.  We also plant season long cover crops, and follow some cash crops with cover crops if moisture allows.  We calve on grass, in May, using different pastures each year, which aren't grazed the previous summer.  We don't feed grain to our cattle, as we want them to naturally express themselves, without pushing them.

Our spring and summer pastures are divided into paddocks ranging in size from 20 to 60 acres.  Cattle are rotated through the paddocks every 3 to 7 days.  This helps us build our forage base and allows the grass time to recover prior to being grazed again.  This is greatly beneficial to the grass and the soil, adding water carrying capacity and keeping the soil covered at all times to prevent erosion and reduce evaporation.  We are stewards of the land, and our goal is to pass it on in better condition than when we started.