Commercial Producer of the Year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Angie Stump Denton, Beef Improvement Federation Communication Coordinator, angiedenton@ksu.edu or 785-562-6197
June 2, 2017
Mundhenke Beef Named BIF Commercial Producer of Year
ATHENS, Ga. — The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) presented John and Gina Mundhenke of Mundhenke Beef near Lewis, Kansas, the BIF Commercial Producer of the Year Award June 1 during the group’s annual meeting and symposium in Athens, Georgia. This national award is presented annually to a producer to recognize their dedication to improving the beef industry at the commercial level.
Diversification, commitment to principles and an underlying desire to make improvements each day are what make Mundhenke Beef a successful agricultural enterprise. Mundhenke Beef encompasses an Angus-based cow-calf herd, backgrounding yard and farming business. All enterprises are managed carefully and provide the diversification necessary to shoulder risk and uncertainty in today’s agricultural industry. Although the operation is diverse in nature, the priority remains with the cow herd and its ability to produce high-quality beef in demand by consumers.
They started their herd with commercial black Angus females, artificially inseminating (AI) them annually. They purchased 20 registered Angus donor females and, through several years of embryo transfer and using commercial cows as recipient females, they replaced the core herd with registered Angus.
Mundhenkes use a seven-day CO-Synch + CIDR fixed-time AI program on all their replacement heifers and 250 cows. They raise their own bulls and try to use full-brother sons of the sires they AI to for cleanup. Commercial cows are bred by natural service to Angus bulls. The breeding season is 60 days for heifers and 90 days for cows.
Through wise utilization of natural resources and years of selective breeding, Mundhenke Beef has developed an efficient, high-producing cow herd that yields offspring targeted for value-added, high-quality markets. Using outstanding genetics and the latest technology in their breeding program has allowed the Mundhenke family to produce sound cattle from ranch to rail.
With the goal of constantly improving to meet customer demand, Mundhenke Beef is positioned to be a leader in the beef industry for generations to come.
More than 350 beef producers, academia and industry representatives were in attendance at the organization’s 49th annual convention. BIF’s mission is to help improve the industry by promoting greater acceptance of beef cattle performance evaluation.
For more information about this year’s symposium, including additional award winners and coverage of meeting and tours, visit BIFconference.com. For more information about BIF, visit Beefimprovement.org.
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The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) is an organization dedicated to coordinating all segments of the beef industry — from researchers and producers to retailers — in an effort to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of beef production. BIF was initiated almost 70 years ago to encourage the use of objective measurements to evaluate beef cattle. Continuing the tradition, BIF is now the clearinghouse for developing standardized programs and methodologies for recording of performance data for all traits, from birth weights to carcass traits. Its three-leaf-clover logo symbolizes the link between industry, extension and research.
Cutline:
Mundhenke Beef, Lewis, Kansas, was named the 2017 Beef Improvement Federation Commercial Producer of the Year during an awards ceremony June 1 in Athens, Georgia. Pictured (l to r) are: John and Gina Mundhenke of Mundhenke Beef and Jay Carlson of BEEF magazine, award sponsor.
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