Brownfield

The end of the Hereford Tour

His ranch situated in northern Illinois, James Milligan runs one of the largest Hereford breeding operations east of the Mississippi River.  He’s well established there.  His place is one of the oldest single ownership ranches in the country.  He talks about its history back to 1836, including stories of the original homesteader who met his demise at the hands of roaming bandits.

From his ranch in Oregon, Bob Harrell manages to get genetics to most parts of cattle country – 14 states – as far east as Minnesota.  He gets noticed.  The Beef Improvement Federation saw fit to name Harrell their Seedstock Producer of the Year.

The friends I made on the Herefords, Heterosis and Headlines Tour impress me because they’re humble, but at the same time proud of their breed.  It’s been decades since Herefords have been at the top of the cattle breed list, but American Hereford Association staff and board of directors make no apologies for what the white-faced animals bring to the table, figuratively and literally.  They make a compelling argument for including purebred Hereford bulls in a breeding program.  It makes for some gentle, excellent performing, low maintenance, and good tasting critters. 

After spending a couple of days exploring feedlots and seedstock providers in the Sunflower State with people who raise and promote them, I’ve learned that Herefords, because they’re easy to get along with, are a “family breed.”  It doesn’t take a big cow poke to handle one in the show ring and many a lasting friendship between families has been forged on the circuit. 

The next time you’re in the market for beef, you might look for the label announcing that Certified Hereford Beef is in the package.  It’s excellent meat, but it’s also likely that those responsible for getting it there are nice people who raise good cattle.

-Tom Steever

Hereford Tour Part 5

When asked why Kansas City’s Hen House food stores stock Certified Hereford Beef, meat director Jon Wissmann declares, “because it’s the best beef that we can get.”  One look at the meat counter in one the 13 Hen House locations and it’s obvious Wissmann knows how to retail beef, pork, lamb and poultry.

David Breiner speaks easily about the Flinthills of Kansas.  He raises cattle there and is keenly aware of every type of grass that the thin layer of topsoil can produce.  It takes a pretty lush river bottom to grow a crop of corn where Breiner runs his Herefords, so much of his feed, co-products of corn ethanol production, he buys.

Hereford Tour Part 4

One has to press to get performance figures from Sandhills Farms’ Kevin Schultz.  He and his wife Vera seem to come up with some of the top performing Hereford bulls and females around, but humility keeps them from talking about it too much.  It’s likely that one will have to check American Hereford Association statistics to find out exactly how good his Central Kansas breeding stock is.

Lorna Marshallhas an eye for bulls.  That comes in handy when she’s looking to acquire a good one for ABS, the world’s largest bovine genetics company.  They come from anywhere, but they’re going to produce a good healthy calf that gains well and carries a good carcass.  “A multi-trait bull” is what she considers the best.

Colorado cattleman Marshall Ernsthas put his background in the meat industry to good use.  He currently chairs the Certified Hereford Beef program and also maintains a herd of about 30 cattle.  What pleases him most is to see the CHB label in a grocery store.

Hereford Tour Part 3

Point at any given pen of cattle at the Ford Country Feed Yard in Ford, Kansas, and chances are Danny Herrmann can tell you within a pound or two how they perform and whether or not he’d buy another load of them.  It’s not bad for being surrounded by 50,000 cattle munching their way to finishing weight.  In peak season they eat as much as 700 tons of feed every day.

One might think that most cattle raised in Wisconsin would come upholstered in black and white.  Not so, says Jerry Huth, who raises Herefords in America’s Dairyland.  By his estimation he’s making the best use of the land, which he says is well suited to grow feed for cattle, whatever the type.

Whether the cattle market is up or down, to Jimmie Johnson, it’s all relative.  The Clinton, Oklahoma cattleman takes it in stride and hopes he has some to sell when the price is high.  He’s curious about how other cattlemen raise and market their stock and talking about his operation comes easily.  Maybe that comes from a background in the tire business and as a radio talk show host.  In fact, Jimmie talked about his first experience of hosting a radio talk show and the pressure that goes with filling an hour of airtime.

Hereford Tour Part 2

Until recently, Denny Hoffman has been a northern California cattleman.  He imagined better prospects for an operation in Nebraska and so far the move has not disappointed him.

Wes Hudson says Hereford cattle are good and productive, everything a good  English breed should be.  He acknowledges that Herefords have had their ups and downs, but firmly believes that they’re still around because “they’re so family oriented.” 

When Bill King was a youngster in New Mexico he thought his best chance of winning a judging contest trip was to compete in the dairy cow division.  He learned from a copy of Hoard’s Dairyman what a decent dairy animal should look like and sure enough, his team won.  Now he serves Hereford breeders as President of the American Hereford Association.

Hereford Tour

A few weeks ago, Tom Steever hit the road for a close-up view of Hereford cattle.  The American Hereford Association, staff and board members hosted members of the ag media on the Herefords, Heterosis and Headlines Tour. 

Since 1881, the American Hereford Association has served breeders, mostly from its Kansas City headquarters (it was briefly headquartered in Chicago).  During a recent tour of Kansas feedlots and seedstock providers, association CEO Jack Ward talks about the breed and its heritage. 

-Tom Steever

Tom shot this video during a visit to Sandhills Farm in Central Kansas.