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Brimfield, Illinois | I am a co-owner in the farm with Bill, and will do my best to answer your questions Limi. We are building the new lot/lots to finish out all of our calves. We have been going through a growth/learning fase, and let me tell you, we have learned a lot! We made the concious decision to put in something that would be as trouble free and long lasting as possible.
Our breeding program. Currently our herd is about 1/3 pure bred angus cows, 2/3 black cross bred cows. We use all pure bred angus bulls, all tested and checked. We currently have six bulls; In Focus, Objective, Upward, Reflection, Aberdeen, and Net worth. We are working towards a more pure bred herd which would enable us to achieve whatever F1 cross we desire, hereford/angus, semi/angus. We believe that spending a few extra dollars for a bull with good pedigree and numbers pays, both in the performance of the replacements and in the feed lot. We have also learned that many of these bulls that come through the Western Illinois Bull Test Station, or similar programs, have been handled so many times, and around so many other bulls and people, are really quite easy to handle and work with, not that we ever truly trust them. We never plan on keeping any one bull on the farm for too many years. We take a very hands on approach to raising cattle. We work with our herd as much as possible in an attempt to have both docile cows and calves. It is amazing what simply walking through the herd on a daily basis can accomplish.
As for our pastures, we intentionally under stock our pastures slightly. We understand that we are giving up potentially a few extra pairs per pasture per year when the weather is good, but are willing to do so, so when a dry year comes along, such as the second half of this summer has been, we do not have to worry about feeding.
Any other questions feel free to ask. | |
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answering a few questions.
