Our Cows

---

The bedrock of a heifer operation is the cows. In 1998, our original herd of Angus heifers came from the Penner Ranch at Mill Creek, Oklahoma - the first family to have Angus cattle in the state. These cattle were pure bred and go back to the Saratoga line of Angus cattle. Since then, we have selectively bred using Montana genetics, keeping the best of the best to go back into our herd.

In an era, where producers prefer bigger and bigger females with big carcass numbers, these cattle are not economical to feed.  In our opinion, ideal momas  have a 5 frame score, weigh 1250-1300 lbs, and wean off 650 weight calves.  But how do you get all these characteristics in a female?

Genetics matter!  Starting with four sons of Traveler 6807, who was known for producing outstanding cows, our bulls have come  from two well known Montana ranches, the Sitz and KG ranches.  Read more about our bulls in the next section.  Our cow herd carries these northern genetics and has adapted well to Texas.  The result is an efficient package that is moderate, easy-fleshing, and deep-bodied.

While our focus has been on producing heifers, our cows produce steer calves that are extremely efficient in the feed lot.  For many years, our steer calves were marketed on Superior Livestock's July Auction, where they routinely topped the market for Texas steers. 

But buyers were unwilling to share the data on their feedlot performance.  So starting in 2022, we opted to maintain partial ownership with a Nebraska feedlot specializing in all natural, GAP cattle going to Tyson's plant at Lexington.  The 2024 steers weighed 1293 and graded 26% prime and 74% choice.  But more importantly was how they compared to other GAP cattle from the same feedlot.  Compared to eight other pens, our steers at 2.9 lbs/day averaged 5% greater gain per day at a cost per lb of gain that was 18% less than their competitors.  These numbers tell us that our cattle are more efficient in feed conversion and provide a quality product.