Help me find a quality Hereford breeder

[Caustic Burno]

https://www.kbarkmeats.com/Polled%20Herefords.html

Good people on Texas/Oklahoma border.

 

[Mossy Dell]

Couple good Kansas breeders that have polled:

https://www.sandhillfarms.com/
http://www.jensenbros.net/

I like the looks and numbers of Sandhill's bull Rib Eye:

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 9=5D5B5D5D

There should be polled Hereford breeders in Kansas because that's where the legendary bull Victor Domino was born!

 

[Mossy Dell]

Try contacting Danny Miller at JMS victor domino http://jmsvictordomino.com
.

I love the look of Miller's cattle. The phenotype and EPDs on his JMS Victor 001 475 impress. For instance, he has a BMI, British Maternal Index of + $580, compared with a breed average of + $312, and a Sustained Cow Fertility of + 32.8, whereas the breed average is +14.1. Here is his page:

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... F&9=5D5C5D

 

[mrvictordomino]

Try contacting Danny Miller at JMS victor domino http://jmsvictordomino.com
.

I love the look of Miller's cattle. The phenotype and EPDs on his JMS Victor 001 475 impress. For instance, he has a BMI, British Maternal Index of + $580, compared with a breed average of + $312, and a Sustained Cow Fertility of + 32.8, whereas the breed average is +14.1. Here is his page:

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... F&9=5D5C5D

Thanks for the compliments Mossy Dell, the 475 bull has a tremendous influence in our herd. I have used 3-4 of his sons and several current herd sires are out of 475 daughters. I have not updated the herd sire pictures on the website for a few years now but when I do I will leave 475 and 967 up because of the major influence they have contributed to the herd. The Victor Domino's are one of the most maternal lines there is. The sustained cow fertility numbers on average is well above 20 for the cow herd, breed average 14 or so. 475 pictured at 8 years of age.

 

[Mossy Dell]

Thanks, mrvictordomino. I guess you could say I am favorably inclined because I knew Mr. Jones! Actually I was only 4, when I went with my father one day when he went to buy a bull from him. I still have the old stock cane Mr. Jones gave me that day. Our farm at Leesburg was only about 20 miles from his at Leslie.

This must have been in 1959. I got the impression from reading a few years ago that Mr. Jones's famous bull at the time was a great-great-grandson of Victor Domino that gained so much weight each day and grew so large—to 2,305 pounds, apparently on nothing but pasture, 705 pounds heavier than his sire—that an official at the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station called him a "genetic freak." I could be wrong, maybe that was one of the many famous bulls afterwards. Anyway, Dad liked Mr. Jones and bought a bull. And I got an old cane. Made an impression on me at 4!

 

[mrvictordomino]

That's a neat story Mossy Dell. I never got to meet Mr. Jones but did know his son Vicktor. He sent me one of the original RWJ branding irons that I still have on hand today. Quite a conversational piece to those who know the history behind it. The bull you were referring to in your previous post was MRF Vic Domino A 14. He was ahead of his time as far as size and performance.
He was born in 1954 I believe.
The MRF prefix stands for Millstone River Farm which was the farms name before they switched to the RWJ prefix.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I do not know any breeders to recommend, but wanted to make a note of the fact that you want a polled bull.
Not sure if you know the genetics, but be sure to ask if the bull is homozygous polled or heterozygous. Many breeders are mixing Polled and Horned Hereford genetics. I think it is the best thing that ever happened to the Polled Hereford breed, but if you are wanting to keep horned out of your genetics, keep this in mind.

 

[SPH]

Couple good Kansas breeders that have polled:

https://www.sandhillfarms.com/
http://www.jensenbros.net/

I like the looks and numbers of Sandhill's bull Rib Eye:

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 9=5D5B5D5D

There should be polled Hereford breeders in Kansas because that's where the legendary bull Victor Domino was born!

You can probably find R117 back in a lot of polled bulls pedigrees these days or at least his sire M326 for sure. The 1 bull they are using right now that seems to be siring some good calves is Gerber Anodyne but at $100 a straw that's pricey. Followed their sale earlier this year because they had some nice younger, proven cow calf pairs we had some interest in that some had Anodyne calves by their side but most sold for way more than our budget. Rausch Herefords in SD uses Anodyne too, that's another program I recommend too. We've bought a bull off their sale and have used several of their AI sires over the years with positive results.

BTW in response to another one of your posts, BMI for Hereford EPD actually stands for Baldy Maternal Index: https://hereford.org/genetics/breed-imp ... finitions/

Baldy Maternal Index (BMI$)
The Baldy Maternal Index is a maternally focused index that is based on a production system that uses Hereford x Angus cross cows. Progeny of these cows are directed towards Certified Hereford Beef. This index has significant weight on Sustained Cow Fertility, which predicts fertility and longevity of females. There is a slightly positive weight on Weaning Weight, Mature Cow Weight and Milk which accounts for enough growth but ensures females do not increase inputs. There is some negative emphasis on Dry Matter Intake, but a positive weighting on Carcass Weight which is anticipated to provide profitability from finishing of non-replacement females and castrated males. Marbling and Rib-eye Area are also positively weighted to keep the harvested progeny successful for CHB. This index is 'geared to identify Hereford bulls that will be profitable when used in a rotat
ional cross with mature commercial Angus cows.

 

[Mossy Dell]

Yeah, I got confused because Shorthorn Assn. calls it British Maternal Index. Same thing, really.

Anodyne looks nice but is below breed average for sustained cow fertility. Maybe not of concern in a crossbreeding program, but I wouldn't like it if raising purebreds.

 

[SPH]

Yeah, I got confused because Shorthorn Assn. calls it British Maternal Index. Same thing, really.

Anodyne looks nice but is below breed average for sustained cow fertility. Maybe not of concern in a crossbreeding program, but I wouldn't like it if raising purebreds.

Once again, I do analyze EPDs but I also take some of them with a grain of salt so that EPD is not one I am too concerned with. If you look at the accuracy of that EPD he's only 23% accuracy on that which is not very high but his weight EPDs are over 80% and carcass traits 57% or better which are much more accurate. We once had a cow that was the poster child for fertility that had 11 calves and was probably bred the day we sent her to the sale barn with a bad hip whose EPD for that category is currently 7.7 which is well below the 14.1 breed EPD average. All but 2 of her calves were born in March, the other 2 were April 5th and May 4th and the next calf after that May 4th calf was born on March 21st so you can't tell me that cow shouldn't have a high sustained fertility EPD based on her actual calving intervals.

Here's another example how that EPD still has a lot of work to be reliable. We have a cow in our herd that weaned a really nice calf her 1st year but milked too heavy and came up open in a drought year. Some guys would have culled her for being open but we gave her a 2nd chance. She lost her next pregnancy and somehow she still has a sustained fertility EPD in the top 25% of the breed at 17.3.

 

[SPH]

Also, while I do admire mrvictordomino's cattle if you are going to be a stickler on EPDs, Anodyne already has 625 reported birth weights to AHA to JMS 475 105 and there is a 9 year gap in age between those 2 bulls. Anodyne was used in the National Reference Sire Program on the Olsen Ranch on commercial cows which is a good test on how a Hereford bull will perform in a a commercial environment.

That is not a knock on Danny's bull, its just an example how you have to analyze EPDs because the 475 bull is in the bottom 5% of WW and YW EPDS and I don't buy that is the kind of results Danny gets in his program. We just cut a bull calf with the best EPDs in our calf crop yesterday because he did not fit what we want in from a bull phenotypically. You can't just make decisions and analysis based off EPD numbers.

 

[Mossy Dell]

Good points about EPDs. Here are two others.

EPDs are about what analysis indicates an animal will pass along. That's partly indicated by the individual's own performance but it's also and perhaps more based on ancestry and what offspring do.

Second but related: how are other relatives are performing in other places?

Your point about accuracy does addresses these, but I want to highlight. Like anyone who follows them, I have seen EPDs really bounce around. And have had my own good animals get dinged unfairly.

Still, the odds favor EPDs as the most accurate predictors of what an animal's offspring will do. Of course that can be addressed and at least somewhat offset by what they're bred to. Reproductive traits are lowly heritable, as I recall, so anyway I can stack the odds I will.

 

[SPH]

Good points about EPDs. Here are two others.

EPDs are about what analysis indicates an animal will pass along. That's partly indicated by the individual's own performance but it's also and perhaps more based on ancestry and what offspring do.

Second but related: how are other relatives are performing in other places?

Your point about accuracy does addresses these, but I want to highlight. Like anyone who follows them, I have seen EPDs really bounce around. And have had my own good animals get dinged unfairly.

Still, the odds favor EPDs as the most accurate predictors of what an animal's offspring will do. Of course that can be addressed and at least somewhat offset by what they're bred to. Reproductive traits are lowly heritable, as I recall, so anyway I can stack the odds I will.

Mossy, I agree with you about EPDs being a good predictor but I also disagree with you there too when it comes to actual results. If all you went by was EPDs you'd be much more critical of other bulls milk and growth epds for the same reasons why you are critical of the sustained cow fertility EPD. That's where commercial guys make their money is with pounds at the sale barn.

The key is finding a balance between the real world results and EPDs that back them. EPDs are only as reliable as the data being submitted on purebred animals which is why when looking to use an AI sire you should pay attention to accuracy as well as research the progeny they sired. It's tough to do that sometimes because the main AI studs are heavy on young bulls with little to no daughters in production yet but registered purebred programs that have been in business a long time usually have semen available on proven sires. It's a fine line trying to use a bull you know less about that has some potential or dipping into some proven genetics that have stood the test of time.

 

[Luckiamute]

Chandler Herefords in Oregon. Check out their website. Been at it for a long, long time.

 

[rancher1868]

T & B Farms - I believe my brother contacted you. You don't have to go across the country. We are a little over 2 hours away.

Frank Hug & Sons, Scranton, KS

Check out our website - frankhugandsons.com - or check out our facebook page.
We don't have volume numbers, but we offer top quality at very affordable prices. We sell private treaty. No pressure sales.
Hereford bulls with built-in performance & commercial bred heifers - the fancy kind (Hereford x Angus influence)

 

[mrvictordomino]

T & B Farms - I believe my brother contacted you. You don't have to go across the country. We are a little over 2 hours away.

Frank Hug & Sons, Scranton, KS

Check out our website - frankhugandsons.com - or check out our facebook page.
We don't have volume numbers, but we offer top quality at very affordable prices. We sell private treaty. No pressure sales.
Hereford bulls with built-in performance & commercial bred heifers - the fancy kind (Hereford x Angus influence)

A good place to look.