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A SOLID BREEDING PROGRAM STARTS WITH A FIRM FOUNDATION
A SOLID BREEDING PROGRAM STARTS WITH A FIRM FOUNDATION FOUNDATION
by Deanna Nelson-Licking
From growing up in a small farming community in South Africa and raising a few Brahmans, to breeding some of the very best Red Brangus cattle in the nation, Nick and Marieaan Kahts are now making waves in the Brangus industry show ring. The couple married in the mid-1980s and welcomed two children, Lizl and Rudi. Nick worked in the oil and gas industry where there were limited opportunities, so he was eager to get out and experience more than what was available in his native country. In 2005, the family moved to Alberta, Canada, seeking new opportunities. “A better life for me, my wife, and my kids,” Nick said.
The Canadian climate proved difficult for the Kahts family to adjust to and by the second winter they decided to move south. Texas, with its warm weather and ample employment opportunities in the oil and gas sector, became their new home in 2007. Lizl and Rudi adjusted well and continued their education, eventually graduating with associate degrees. They still live and work in the Houston suburbs and visit when they can.
“We both worked in the oil and gas industry and were living in Cypress at the time. But we were looking for an opportunity to move out to the country. It wasn’t until my
then colleague, Marvin Tanecka of Tanecka Ranch, showed me pictures of his grand champion Red Brangus bull and after sharing them with Marieaan, we knew what we wanted to do was breed quality Red Brangus cattle,” Nick said. “We figured if we built a very good herd, we could one day leave it to the kids to take it to the next level. A few weeks later in October 2013, at Don Cox’s sale we bought our first two heifers.”
Those two heifers were the start of KTS Cattle and they soon purchased a piece of hay ground near New Ulm, Texas, built fences, barns, and put in a house. Nick has continued his career in the oil industry while Marieaan has taken on the cattle care and day-to-day activities. “Marieaan is the rancher, I’m the hand,” Nick laughed.
They added more Red Brangus heifers, 25 commercial heifers, and numerous quality embryos and focused on building a great breeding herd from the ground up.
Culling early and culling hard has been the motto of KTS Cattle from the start. From the time a new calf is born, the Kahts study each animal with a very critical eye. “Building a good breeding herd seems like a never-ending task and we have found it best to be very critical when evaluating your cattle,” he said. “We select moderate, structurally sound, clean and easy fleshing cattle that have enough show appeal to be competitive in the ring. There is nothing to gain in keeping animals around that don’t make the cut, and we drop those at the sale barn as soon as we can. This allowed us to focus attention and resources on the remaining animals and then we start the evaluation process again, to be very selective.”
“When I studied this young bull calf called Foundation, I could not help but to see him in the show ring. He had the
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WHEN I STUDIED THIS YOUNG BULL CALF CALLED FOUNDATION, I COULD NOT HELP BUT TO SEE HIM IN THE SHOW RING, [HE] HAD THE LINES OF A CHAMPION.
(continued from page 49) lines of a champion and I started looking for someone to teach us how to show. This was harder than expected but Allen Goode put me in touch with Mark Koehl,” Nick said. “I told Mark that I would bring Foundation all the way to Waco and if he didn’t like the calf that I would bring him right back.”
“When Nick called me in November of 2018 and said they had a bull they wanted fitted and shown, I really hadn’t hauled many Red Brangus, as I had hauled mostly black Brangus. But when they unloaded the bull off the trailer I made my decision really quick. I told Nick to shut the trailer door the bull wasn’t going anywhere,” said Koehl, who owns KO’s Cattle Service in Waxahachie, Texas.
Foundation was Red Brangus Reserve Show Bull of the Year in 2019 and is the reigning 2020-2021 Show Bull of the Year.
“Foundation is a one of a kind bull to keep and to haul. I called him the gentle giant, when I walked out of the ring the last time with him, I had a lump in my throat he meant that much. It will be hard to fill his shoes; he was so consistent in the show ring,” Koehl said.
“Most of the time we had mixed results with embryos and, in 2018, we ended up with the summer months approaching and we had a bunch of open cows,” Nick said. “We went back to Tanecka looking for a great bull, but we are especially selective on the bulls we will use. He knew how much I liked Home Run TX76D, as we discussed him back when Marvin was just beginning to show him. Marvin selflessly offered to let me use his grand champion bull. I could not shake his hand fast enough to seal the arrangement and brought the bull home. His calves are the best calf crop we ever produced and with so many really good heifer calves we had to start showing our heifers.”
“I’ve fallen in love with the cattle, with each new one, Nick drops farther down the list of my affections,” Marieaan jokes. “The Red Brangus in general have very good dispositions and I move amongst them every day. If they show any aggression, they are loaded and dropped at the sale barn.”
The arctic blast that struck Texas in February of 2021 proved very challenging for the Kahts, as they had 10 cows due to calve at that time. They managed to close up the barn and put the heavy breds in with plenty of bedding, water, and feed. Keeping the cows and new calves warm and dry was a full-time job. Even though they never lost electricity for any length of time, the water lines at the barn froze solid and the last four days water had to be hauled from the house. Eight of the 10 calved during the cold snap but the calves are all strong and healthy now. “Every day it was with both great anticipation and concern, when we walked over and started the day,” Marieaan said.
Their management and selection of good cattle combined
with the dedication of Koehl and his team has paid off with their bull KTS Mr Foundation 21F, now co-owned with Sendero Brangus and standing at stud. KTS Ms Barbara 23H was awarded the 2020-2021 Red Brangus Show Heifer of the Year. In fact, the entire KTS show lineup is very impressive with another open show grand champion heifer, KTS Ms Jenna 135H, and a junior show grand champion in KTS Ms Dixie 800H to name a few. The heifers on the junior show circuit are showed by Koehl’s grandson, Truitt Marks. Throughout the process, Nick and Marieaan are continuing to hone their ability to evaluate cattle.
Both are trained in AI to help improve the genetics of their herd. “Foundation for one is a product of my AI skills,” Nick said. “We have selected a few of our own cows as embryo donors and as it turned out the very first heifer we bought back in 2013 is one of our main donors. She turned out to be a very good momma cow.”
“By culling early and culling hard, I might have been guilty of culling too much as our herd didn’t grow fast but now we have really good stock. I am also guilty of selling too good of animals but then you don’t make a name as a breeder by selling animals that aren’t any good. You have to sell some of your very best. The better our genetics, the better service we can provide to fellow breeders,” Nick said. “We are still growing our breeding herd and ultimately this is your primary asset as a breeder. Bulls are important, but they come and go, the cows, however, stay and with every breeding we try to find the best mating for each cow. Our aim is to have a better quality calf crop every year and so far this year we believe we have done just that.”
“KTS Cattle is not just us, we rely on advice and guidance from some of the most experienced breeders in the business. Don Cox of Cox Excalibur Red Brangus, Allen Goode of TRIO Cattle and Genetics, Marvin Tanecka of Tanecka Ranch, Bruce Buffaloe of Buffaloe Cattle Company have all contributed with tons of advice and guidance over the years. Mark Koehl is just the most dedicated and reliable showman in the breed. Even our friends, Pastor Gary Henneke and Mitja Peterman are always ready to assist with help or advice, or even take care of the cattle when we are out of town! For cattle care, there is the staff at Phillips Veterinary Hospital in Brenham, who recognized Marieaan was a registered nurse by trade and shared their knowledge freely so she could learn and now can handle all the basic veterinarian needs for our cattle. We could not achieve this much without the support from this group. We trust their guidance and I go with the advice of the people I trust,” Nick said. “Above all: all the glory and honor of our success goes to God. Where He guides, He provides!”
