Nothing is better at converting grass into protein than the Angus cow; that’s what they were made to do! A cow must do this efficiently or she is costing the producer money. The ability to maintain her body condition, while raising a big, stout calf, and breeding back on time, is what we believe a functional cow is. The hard short grass and drastic temperature swings in our northern climate are a real test for these cattle. Another must-have is proper foot and leg structure. We are not going to try to tell you that every cow we have has perfect feet, but we are trying our best to select and market cattle with good feet. There’s no compromise here. If they aren’t good, they leave! 

A cow should have the natural maternal instincts to get her calf moving and nursing soon after birth. We also believe this includes having an udder that is properly structured so that the calf can nurse without assistance. Milking ability is good to a point, but it becomes undesirable when a calf needs help to attach and nurse. This is important to us because we do not have extra manpower to babysit every cow, especially when it’s terribly cold. We also require our cows to have a temperament that is safe, not only for the cow and her calf, but especially us while we are processing the calves. 

Commercial producers sell their cattle by the pound, and we expect our genetics to add extra pounds to their calf crop. Being transparent in providing the ratios of each cow and calf is important, so that our customers know how they rank within their contemporary group. We don’t believe the continual stacking of light birth weight genetics is necessary for every bull. Studies have shown that a calf will double its weight in the first 5 weeks of its life. So a 60lb calf vs a 85lb calf at birth is already a 50lb difference when 5 weeks old. We don’t think you will gain that weight back by fall. Quality genetics increase your bottom line!