Growing the Herd

As beginning cattle farmers, we are always on the lookout for opportunities to expand our herd, staying within the capacity that our land can support.

As we often say, being in the cattle business takes hard work, dedication and patience.  These same principles apply when selecting animals for your herd.

 

A lot of patience, perseverance and consideration went into the purchase of our first cattle herd.  Deciding on the heifers that would be the foundation of our breeding program was one task that we simply refused to “rush through” or “just settle” on.

 

At one point during our search process, we thought we had found our herd.  For many reasons, though, the deal fell through; we walked away from that experience a little wiser and a little more cautious.  We also walked away with a very valuable contact, Dr. Simon Alexander of Exeter Veterinary Services.  He recommended that we visit with Gene Lawlor of Lawlor Family Farm.  Jeremiah immediately contacted Gene and set-up a meeting with him at his farm.

 

 

From that day forward, we never looked back. Meeting Gene and seeing his cattle operation changed everything for us.

 

 

We had found our first herd of genuine commercial beef cattle AND we were blessed with gaining a mentor and a friend in Gene.  It was literally a dream come true for the two of us.

Gene and his wife Barb have been in the beef cattle business for a long time and have gained a tremendous amount of respect in the beef cattle industry in Maine. Their cattle are top-of-the line with great bloodlines, excellent conformation and easy to handle and work with attitudes and dispositions.  They breed for various traits such as calving ease and strive for that balance of a medium-framed cow with a nice, deep chest, well-proportioned neck and a strong, overall feminine look.

Furthermore, Gene keeps meticulous records, has a consistent vaccination schedule and a strong animal health plan, and runs a clean, safe and organized operation.  If cattle could be called happy, his certainly are.  They are healthy, good-looking animals.

So, we took the plunge in June of 2013 and purchased 10 commercial heifers from Gene and Barb.  So far we’re very pleased with the performance of our herd and realize how fortunate we were to stumble upon Gene and his cattle operation.

 

 

 

In fact we have been so pleased with our herd, that just this past month, we did it again!  We bought another 10 red angus and angus/hereford heifers from Gene and Barb.

 

 

We look forward to watching these girls progress as they get bred this summer and hopefully, deliver strong, healthy calves next spring!