2020 Seedstock Producer Nominees
The Beef Improvement Federation announces its 2020 nominees for Seedstock Producer of the Year.
Each year the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) recognizes outstanding seedstock operations during its annual symposium, crowning one overall winner as Seedstock Producer of the Year. Nominees are evaluated on criteria including short- and long-term goals, records systems and implementation, breeding systems, selection, objectives/culling criteria and process, marketing practices and customer relations, carcass data collection and application, forage resources and stewardship, innovations/improvements and use of technology, contributions to community and industry, and vision of BIF’s role.
The Beef Improvement Federation announces its 2020 nominees for Seedstock Producer of the Year.
Each year the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) recognizes outstanding seedstock operations during its annual symposium, crowning one overall winner as Seedstock Producer of the Year. Nominees are evaluated on criteria including short- and long-term goals, records systems and implementation, breeding systems, selection, objectives/culling criteria and process, marketing practices and customer relations, carcass data collection and application, forage resources and stewardship, innovations/improvements and use of technology, contributions to community and industry, and vision of BIF’s role.
2020 SEEDSTOCK PRODUCER AWARD NOMINEES
Bruin Ranch, Sacramento, California
Owner: Lloyd Harvego | Managers: Joe and Abbee Fischer
Gizmo Angus Farm Ltd., Molino, Florida
Owners: Ronnie, Debbie, Jacob and Carla Gilmore | Managers: Ronnie and Debbie Gilmore
Grund Beef Genetics, Sharon Springs, Kansas
Owners/Managers: Donna Grund Family
Hardee Farms, Chiefland, Florida
Owners: The Chris Hardee Family | Manager: Chris Hardee
Lawrence Family Limousin, Anton, Texas
Owners: Bruce and Paula Lawrence | Manager: Bruce Lawrence
Lone Creek Cattle Company, Lincoln, Nebraska
Owner/Manager: Shane Peed
Loving Farms Inc., Pawnee Rock, Kansas
Owners/Managers: Marty Loving and Scott Loving
Town Creek Farm, West Point, Mississippi
Owner: Milton Sundbeck | President: Joy Reznicek | Managers: Farm: Jim Brown, Cow Herd: Cody Glenn, Bull Development: Clint Ladnerm, Horse Manager, Records, and Administrative: Anne Sutherland, Bull Feeding: Antonio Pierce | Cow Herd, Cow Creek Ranch Division: Brice Allsup, Cow Herd Manager, Cow Creek Ranch Division West Point, Mississippi: Corey White
Yon Family Farms, Ridge Spring, South Carolina
Owners/Managers: Kevin and Lydia Yon
Bruin Ranch, Sacramento, California
Owner: Lloyd Harvego | Managers: Joe and Abbee Fischer
The 2,500-acre Bruin Ranch near Auburn, California, was established in 2001 with the purchase of a small commercial cow herd and the idea of creating a high-quality registered cattle operation with genetics that thrive in their western foothill region. Bruin Ranch purchased a select group of cows from proven pedigree and maternal lineage, then utilized an aggressive embryo transfer program to create an elite foundation of Angus genetics.
From the onset it was clear they would raise cattle that thrived in their environment, were problem-free and outstanding in structure, eye appeal and genetic merit. From a small nucleus of Angus cows, the Bruin Ranch team began participating in two major bull tests, Cal Poly and Snyder Livestock, where bulls are tested for feed efficiency or residual feed intake (RFI), using a GrowSafe System®, with great success.
In 2007 they joined forces with Circle Ranch of Ione, California, to form the Beef Solutions Bull Sale, offering more than 70 Angus bulls for sale. The sale now offers nearly 200 Angus and SimAngus bulls annually.
Their scope has grown to calving nearly 300 mother cows at their own ranch headquarters, but their vision has remained constant. They believe that for their customers to remain profitable, the cow side of the equation must be profitable. The dams of the bulls must be problem-free and from a predictable and proven lineage for maternal quality. Bruin Ranch believes that for bulls to produce outstanding daughters, they have to be raised by an outstanding mother.
Bruin ranch is nominated by the California Beef Cattle Improvement Association (BCIA).
Gizmo Angus Farm Ltd., Molino, Florida
Owners: Ronnie, Debbie, Jacob and Carla Gilmore | Managers: Ronnie and Debbie Gilmore
Gizmo Angus Farm is an Angus seedstock operation located in the Florida panhandle, approximately 20 miles east of Atmore, Alabama. Ronnie and Debbie Gilmore began Gizmo Angus Farm 30 years ago as a first-generation operation. The farm is now evolving into the second generation with the third in tow.
Gizmo Angus Farm is truly a total-performance and family-focused operation. Producing moderate, sound, strong-muscled, high-capacity Angus cattle built from balanced, proven performance is their commitment and goal.
A 75-day fall-calving season is maintained with 145 breeding females utilizing artificial insemination and embryo transfer to capture elite Angus genetics. Natural-service sires developed within their program are also used for adaptability. Strict standards must be met by bulls and heifers at weaning to progress.
Performance standards are intensively evaluated using the Angus Information Management Software (AIMS) for every detail, with a stanch eye analyzing financial specifics utilizing the Quickbooks software. Measurements of both phenotypic traits and genetics are advancing the Gizmo Angus program.
Twenty-five to 30 breeding bulls and 40-50 females are marketed annually utilizing a variety of innovative marketing methods. A farm website with an active blog, numerous social media platforms, email newsletters, postcards and hosting face-to-face interaction has proven successful to expand the recognition of Gizmo Angus Farm. The Gilmore family has a passion for the cattle industry, striving to always learn and apply new innovations. Each family member also serves in leadership roles within various agricultural organizations to lead by example.
Gizmo Angus Farm Ltd is nominated by the Alabama BCIA.
Grund Beef Genetics, Sharon Springs, Kansas
Owners/Managers: Donna Grund Family
Grund Beef Genetics is located on the plains of western Kansas near Sharon Springs. What started as a cow-calf operation in the 1970s by Layal and Donna Grund has grown to include three generations living and working on the purebred and commercial seedstock and cow-calf ranch. Today, the ranch includes Layal and Donna’s three children, Jerry, Christy and Becky, along with their spouses and children.
The operation consists of about 400 cows, with half being commercial and the other half being seedstock. The purebred operation includes Gelbvieh, Angus and Red Angus genetics. Grund Beef Genetics began to breed Balancer cattle in the early 1990s. Today, it serves as the predominate breed on the ranch, providing profitable traits of crossbreeding to their customers. Both the commercial and purebred herds are bred for fertility, milk, performance and carcass traits.
The Grund family understands the challenges of ranching in the harsh climate of western Kansas and places a focus on cattle that can work in the pasture and in the feedyard. Grund Beef Genetics has hosted the Cattleman’s Choice Bull Sale in late February for the last 28 years. It is considered a family event, where friends and ranchers who have been customers for decades are welcomed and appreciated. Grund Beef Genetics typically retains 85% of repeat bull buyers.
The Grunds are proud to have three generations working on the family operation. Each generation recognizes the sacrifices made by those that came before are what allow them to do what they love each day. It’s their honor and dream to continue that legacy.
Grund Beef Genetics is nominated by the Kansas Livestock Association.
Hardee Farms, Chiefland, Florida
Owners: The Chris Hardee Family | Manager: Chris Hardee
Hardee Farms is a multi-breed, family-owned seedstock operation with a primary location in Chiefland, Florida, and a satellite operation in Perry, Oklahoma. Today the operation is managed by Chris Hardee and his wife, Franny, along with two valuable employees. It is a partnership owned with their four children — Randi Jo, Torie, Isaac and Zachary.
The seedstock venture started in 1956 with the purchase of six registered Angus cows. Weaning weights were first recorded in 1963 and have been recorded ever since. They soon became advocates of performance testing and started using it for culling and selection decisions.
In 1972, they realized the need for Brahman influence and heterosis, especially in their environment. They started a Brangus herd, using breed-up models to speed the process. During the late 1970s they expanded their performance records to include birth weights, yearling weights, scrotal circumferences and cow efficiency data. Around 1990, they started collecting ultrasound data, and in 1991 they hosted their inaugural bull sale.
In 2001, they became impatient and decided to follow the lead of their protein competitors. Hardee Farms added a third breed, Charolais, in 2002 with the objective of building a composite. They trademarked these cattle as “Baseliners.” They later modified the breed percentages and created the “Baseliner Max” composite. Today they maintain approximately 400 females and market 100-plus Angus, Brangus, Ultrablack, Charolais and Baseliner bulls through their annual Customer Appreciation Bull Sale. Their objective has always been to provide the cattle industry with soundly developed, highly efficient, performance-tested bulls, a pursuit about which they are passionate.
Hardee Farms is nominated by the University of Florida’s Department of Animal Sciences.
Lawrence Family Limousin, Anton, Texas
Owners: Bruce and Paula Lawrence | Manager: Bruce Lawrence
Lawrence Family Limousin, located in Anton, Texas, was established in 1987. Bruce is a third-generation cow-calf producer. Bruce and Paula became involved with the Limousin breed through their children’s 4-H and FFA projects. With Bruce’s extensive background in beef cattle production, he realized what Limousin cattle had to offer the industry. At this point, Bruce and Paula decided to expand their commercial cow-calf operation and become Limousin seedstock producers.
Their seedstock operation now includes 275 registered Limousin and Lim-Flex females, as well as 75 commercial females that are utilized in an extensive embryo transfer program.
Lawrence Family Limousin is a large, diversified agricultural operation consisting of 1,800 acres of cotton production, 650 acres of corn harvested for grain and another 600 acres of beardless wheat grazed and used for hay production. Additionally, Lawrence Family Limousin owns 5,800 acres used for grazing and 700 acres used for hay production. The Lawrences also operate an extensive custom hay-baling business.
Lawrence Family Limousin is in the seedstock business to supply high-quality Limousin and Lim-Flex genetics that can offer value to the commercial cow-calf producer in today’s U.S. cattle business. They have achieved this by offering cattle that have solid expected progeny differences (EPDs). They turn in their performance data on all of their cattle and were one of the first Limousin breeders to take advantage of genomic testing. In addition to their bull offerings, they have 50K-tested more than 65% of their cow herd the past three years as a LIMS whole-herd member at the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF). They also utilize the 150K genomic test on all of their AI sires and donor dams.
Lawrence Family Limousin is nominated by the NALF.
Lone Creek Cattle Company, Lincoln, Nebraska
Owner/Manager: Shane Peed
Relatively young for the cattle industry, Lone Creek Cattle Company was founded in 2006. With headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska, this family-owned business is the driving force behind the expansion of the Piedmontese breed in the United States, primarily through its vertically integrated branded beef program, Certified Piedmontese Beef.
In the late 1970s, a group of progressive ranchers imported the first Piedmontese cattle to North America over a five-year process that consisted of 15 live animals. Today the breed remains rare, representing less than 1% of all cattle in North America. Piedmontese are unique in that they carry a particular version of an inactive myostatin gene, with profound effects on retail product yield and beef tenderness at the genetic level achieved in one crossbreeding season.
Lone Creek Cattle Company has several locations throughout Nebraska and South Dakota comprised of some 30,000-plus acres with 5,000-plus breeding animals, of which 3,000 are commercial cows and 2,000 are Piedmontese. Each location specializes in contributing to the development of Lone Creek’s Piedmontese terminal bull battery for use on commercial cow herds.
Lone Creek Cattle maintains and grows the supply of Certified Piedmontese Beef in line with rising demand for their beef product. The mission is to expand the Piedmontese cattle breed through bull development, a qualified bull lease program (currently 1,300 bulls annually) and an AI program with contracted premiums on Piedmontese crossbred offspring. Lone Creek’s focus is on raising efficient, healthy Piedmontese cattle through responsible stockmanship and animal husbandry, effective resource management, and farm-to-fork traceability.
Lone Creek Cattle Company is nominated by the North American Piedmontese Association.
Loving Farms Inc., Pawnee Rock, Kansas
Owners/Managers: Marty Loving and Scott Loving
What began as a small herd of multipurpose Shorthorns for Jack and Aletha Loving’s family in 1950 has grown into one of the largest Shorthorn herds in the country and one of the most data-driven, technologically advanced programs in the world.
With more than 300 head of females active in the American Shorthorn Association, Marty Loving and his son, Scott, have emphasized the importance of accurate and comprehensive data collection and analysis. From breeding and conception to calving ease and growth measurements through the feedlot and harvest stage, nothing is overlooked or minimized in their drive to offer a complete commercial animal.
Maternal traits are critically analyzed at every opportunity, evidenced by Loving Farm’s recognition of American Shorthorn Association Performance animals, of which they have had the most in the breed for five years running.
In 2017, they began testing all yearling bull prospects for feed efficiency utilizing the GrowSafe System®. They have expanded this program to all yearling replacement heifers. By feeding out their own calves, the Lovings realized how economically important feed efficiency is to the bottom line and aim to improve these genetics and the profitability of the commercial producer, as well as the sustainability of the industry.
The 6,500-acre diversified operation consists of dryland and irrigated corn, soybeans, wheat and pasture supporting nearly 300 cows. Loving Farms incorporates cover crops of rye and brassica to minimize the amount of winter feed necessary. Loving Farms has also invested in a significant amount of underground irrigation to contribute to the sustainability of their farm and the industry.
Loving Farms Inc. is nominated by the American Shorthorn Association.
Town Creek Farm, West Point, Mississippi
Owner: Milton Sundbeck | President: Joy Reznicek | Managers: Farm: Jim Brown, Cow Herd: Cody Glenn, Bull Development: Clint Ladnerm, Horse Manager, Records, and Administrative: Anne Sutherland, Bull Feeding: Antonio Pierce | Cow Herd, Cow Creek Ranch Division: Brice Allsup, Cow Herd Manager, Cow Creek Ranch Division West Point, Mississippi: Corey White
Town Creek Farm is a Brangus seedstock operation founded in 1993 located near West Point, Mississippi. The cow herd consists of 500 Brangus and Ultrablack cows, along with 90 Brahman, ¾-Brahman and Vigormax™ cows, and 250 commercial Brangus cows. Town Creek Farm follows a systematic and disciplined approach to identifying fertile genetics that thrive on forage and perform in the southern tier of the United States.
Town Creek Farm genetics were refined over 25 years and originate from Cow Creek Ranch genetics. Cattle are developed and proven under similar conditions to commercial customers.
Since 2013, Town Creek Farm has hosted an annual bull sale and bred heifer sale the third Saturday in October. Approximately 200 bulls are marketed annually both through the sale and private treaty, along with 250 head of customer-owned commercial Brangus bred heifers. During the past seven years, bulls averaged $5,300, and bred heifers averaged $2,200.
Town Creek Farm has developed a strong international presence, marketing live animals, semen and embryos into Thailand, Paraguay, Brazil and Australia. Innovation and technology are keys to the Town Creek program. As a result of listening to customers, a collaboration with Neogen and the University of Florida was initiated to develop a DNA product to identify the percent of Bos indicus in cattle. Town Creek Farm introduced and trademarked VigorMax™ and TruVigor™ cattle that offer more Bos indicus influence for customers searching for maximum heterosis and heat tolerance.
Town Creek Farm strives to be a steward of land and cattle, and to their customers.
Town Creek Farm is nominated by the Mississippi BCIA.
Yon Family Farms, Ridge Spring, South Carolina
Owners/Managers: Kevin and Lydia Yon
In 1996, the purchase of 100 cows and 100 acres led to the beginning of Yon Family Farms. Kevin and Lydia Yon met at Clemson University. After receiving their animal science degrees, they managed Congaree Farms of Columbia, South Carolina. Their dream of running their own cattle operation was put into motion when Congaree Farms was set to disperse just a few years after the couple had taken over the operation.
With three children, a dream of managing cattle and a dispersal in the near future, Kevin and Lydia took the opportunity to establish Yon Family Farms. The Yon family has built on their Angus cow base to encompass thousands of acres and more than 1,500 head of brood cows. They host two production sales a year and offer an “open door policy” for consumer farm tours and private treaty bull purchases. Each February, the family sells 200 registered Angus bulls and 100 females, and market another 300 bulls and 100 females in an October sale.
True pioneers of data collection, the Yon family doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to collecting information, enrolling in programs and returning that information back to their customers. Listening to the needs of their primarily southern customer base, they have introduced Simmental and Brangus genetics to their Angus cow herd to provide a genetically broader bull offering.
The Yons spend an equal amount of time as stewards of their land, grazing and processing forage as sustainably as possible.
Yon Family Farms is nominated by the American Angus Association and Clemson University.
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