11 minute read
2023 MONTANA HEREFORD TOUR
THREE FORKS, MONTANA
SEPTEMBER 12TH - 13TH
BIG SKY
by Tim McCray Tim@ABPmag.com
photos & artwork by Derek Sample Derek@ABPmag.com
It was a rough start to the tour season this year. I had planned to fly out to Bozeman and meet with Derek. Well, his glass moonroof decided to blow up while on the way to Wyoming to attend the Best Beef in the West competition. That wasn’t the only challenge, as my dog was battling fleas, and I was losing. So, my plan B was to skip the Hereford tour and perhaps meet Derek in Nebraska. Plan C was something I wasn’t aware of quite yet, but it turned out to be the best option – getting myself and the dog out of the house for 2 weeks. So, after helping my wife spread diatomaceous earth all over our house, I picked up Derek at the airport, and we left for Montana, arriving the next day in Three Forks. It had been a long week for both of us, so after viewing the tour itinerary, we decided to sleep in and catch the latter part of the next day’s breakfast stop. We finally got some rest and hot showers and downed some caffeine to get on the road. While driving, we got a call from our friend Jon Bouma, who asked if we wanted to visit another breeder nearby for a few minutes before we started the tour. Jon had some work to do at the ranch, and visiting with him would be great. We just passed that exit, so we made a U-turn to what we thought would be a quick visit. We liked salvaging something from the morning since we were already behind. Jon introduced us to Jim Felton, whom we knew but never met. An hour later, we realized we’d been there too long and decided to head straight to the next stop for lunch.
K & C Herefords Deer Lodge, MT
Cory & Keesha Dutton own K&C out of Deer Lodge, Montana. They run a small herd of polled Herefords, taking pride in focusing on quality rather than quantity for 40+ years. They sell yearling bulls in the late spring and private treaty heifer calves in the late fall after weaning. Derek and I talked to them for a few minutes as we stopped at Thomas Herefords, and their passion for the Hereford breed was impressive.
Thomas Herefords w/ Rafter Ranch Gold Creek, MT
Richard & Shirley started Thomas Herefords as a romantic dream as newlyweds in 1957. Their children, Donna, Bruce & Terri Jo, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren continue to benefit, value, and invest in the ranch today. Bruce and his wife Tammy continue to live on the ranch. Over the last sixty years, they’ve developed the vision of superior land management and livestock production. Focusing on raising low maintenance, high return females and proven herd sires. They have raised winning champions at the 2008 & 2013 National Western with KT John Wayne and RST Times A Wastin’ (respectively). Times A Wastin’ was named Hereford World Champion later that year. KT Small Town Kid 5051, Small Town Kid 9023, and Final Print 0016 were all produced here, making a solid impact in the breed today. Final Print is a fast gainer and carries a lot of flesh, which Shirley believes will be a game changer.
When we reached the Thomas ranch, we found Shirley, Bruce, and some more family at a beautiful, wooded location by the creek where lunch was served. The tour was gone, and the food as well. But we had a great one-on-one visit for over an hour with Shirley, who unfortunately was in a wheelchair due to a recent ankle injury. Full of spirit, we listened intently as she gave us the ranch's history since she’d never lived more than 3 miles away. Shirley was delighted to tell us stories of the first gold found in Montana nearby (nobody knows where), and several calvary artifacts were found on the ranch, too. They also found a rifle from the Civil War era in a tree nearby where the first person was hung in the Montana Territories. Also, the final stake in the transcontinental railroad was driven in their backyard.
Sales are held private treaty, and visiting this beautiful spot of Montana is a bonus. As we prepared to leave, we discovered that the tour had already left the next stop, so we headed to the dinner stop, our first food of the day.
Dutton Herefords
Gold Creek, MT
Dutton Hereford Ranch has a reputation of straight-bred Herefords with Canadian bloodlines. They sell their virgin horned 2-year-old bulls by private treaty every spring. 5 years ago, they incorporated Red Angus into their commercial operation for calving ease, which has worked well for them.
Ehlke Herefords
Townsend, MT
Mark & Della Ehlke are first-generation Hereford seedstock producers. Mark Ehlke had a lifelong interest in Hereford’s, and after serving as a commercial judge at the Montana Hereford Association’s Winter Fair sale in 1994, he bought their first registered heifer. Soon after, they purchased some irrigated ground near Townsend, MT, and moved the family (daughters Lacey Jo & Jane’a) plus the handful of commercial cattle they had. They purchased 60 cows from Byron Bayers that they had been leasing already, which was the start of Ehlke Herefords. Today, Mark & Della, Lacey Jo & Jane’a (raising families of their own now) are involved in all aspects of the ranch. The Ehlke’s have been able to make substantial improvements in genetics and increase the size of their operation through the retention of quality replacements, outside genetics, and AI & ET. Their “Montana Made Production Sale” is held at the ranch on the third Saturday in September, which was only a few days after our visit.
Churchill Cattle Co.
Manhattan, MT
We were off to a more appropriate start the following day, arriving at Churchill Cattle Company in time for breakfast. Dale and Nancy Venhuizen and their daughters own and operate CCC. The sole purpose of CCC is the design, production, and marketing of the best quality Hereford genetics for the beef industry. They’ve worked hard to make CCC synonymous with strong performance, carcass quality and maternal traits like fertility and high-quality udders. Usually, setting up for a tour stop is extra work, but for Dale & Nancy, it’s a dry run for their “World Class Female” sale in 2 days. Dale grew up on the other side of Manhattan, about four miles from his ranch today. The old homestead is still in the family, and they pasture some cows there. In addition, they also farm potatoes, wheat & hay. They offered just over 120 females this year and about the same at the World Class Bull Sale in late January.
Feddes Herefords Manhattan, MT
Dan Feddes, brother Tim, and son Taylor continue to build on their family’s roots. Tim and Dan’s father, Marvin, started with Herefords with his brother Neal in 1945. They strive to produce sound, efficient cattle with calving ease, rapid growth, and excellent carcass. Their herd has long been recognized for fertility, sound feet, and good udders. They breed in a 45-day window, and retain only those conceived, which adds to the fertility of their cow herd. They’ve kept meticulous herd records for decades, so they pay careful attention to EPDs . At the same time, they draw on their practical experience as cattlemen, and listen closely to the needs of ranchers, feeders, packers, and consumers. All their bulls and females are sold private treaty.
STOREY HEREFORDS
BOZEMAN, MONTANA
In 1990 Katelyn Storey-Kohlbeck became the family’s fourth generation to own registered Herefords on a ranch 10 miles West of Bozeman. – storeyherfordranch.com
That’s a powerful opening statement. It tells me who, where, why, and when without saying it. Bozeman feels a lot closer than 10 miles, but directly across the Gallatin River, Bozeman is pushing against its eastern bank. It never really felt like we had left the city when we arrived at Storey’s for our afternoon lunch stop. Yet, there’s a quiet serenity amongst the chaos of a tour and the inexorable bustle of Bozeman. Katelyn’s great-grandfather entered the Hereford business in 1935. Since then, every generation after has contributed to not only Storey Hereford Ranch’s success but also MHA and AHA as well. A horse-drawn wagon from Vigilante Carriages commands proudly at today's entrance, welcoming tour busses and beckoning us for a pasture ride. After a brief history by Katelyn’s father, Chuck, and some family introductions, Katelyn gives us the “lay of the land” to find replacement heifers, highlight pairs, highlight heifer calves, females, and herd sires. SHR’s goal is to produce efficient, consistent, uniform individuals, and the best way to raise good bulls is to have good cows. Katelyn informs us they’ve “culled and paid attention to fertility, docility, and performance.” Performance and phenotype are what they are chasing right now, and she adds that “Cattle need to perform a little bit more than just on a piece of paper, but EPDs go into what they do with that.” Lunch was served, but I think more people were drawn to the carriage ride (pun intended), which left us a little time to learn that Katelyn heard we were in town and hoped we would be stopping by. Flattery goes a long way with Derek & me, so we had a few minutes to chat a little with Katelyn after her welcome speech. Above all else, I was curious about how they dealt with the city being so close and the ranch so easily accessible to nearby residents. “Bozeangelas,” she called it, and yes, they get a lot of people wanting to pet their cows or horses but also buy their beef. She capitalizes on every opportunity to educate those Bozeangelinas. Storey Hereford Ranch also sells by Private Treaty.
COOPER HEREFORDS
It was familiar territory for Derek and me as we had visited Cooper’s following the last Hereford tour on our way out of the state. We have to leave from here for our next tour like last time. But we decided to swing in and say hello to Mark, Katie, Kelsy & Dave again!
Willow Creek, MT
It was familiar terri tory for Derek and me as we had visited Cooper’s following the last Hereford tour on our way out of the state. We have to leave from here for our next tour like last time. But we decided to swing in and say hello to Mark, Katie, Kelsy & Dave again!
1914 was when Frank Cooper settled the original homestead of 480 acres. Frank’s son Jack bought the land, and Cooper Herefords started with a purchase of 15 Line 1 females in 1946. Jack's son Mark returned to the ranch in 1977 after studying at Montana State University. Jack and Mark worked together for 40 years to improve their cattle and farming operations. Today, Mark and his wife Cristy still run the operation, with their two daughters, Katie & Kelsy, and son-in-law Dave Hanson – who also acts as a fishing guide when time permits. Jack Cooper decided to produce cattle suited for the commercial bull market. He also believed in paying close attention to performance records. Since they began, they have stayed true to those genetics and decades of line breeding to produce well-balanced cattle incorporated in registered and commercial herds nationwide. Today that cowherd consists of over 200 registered Line 1 Herefords with nearly 60 years of successful, legendary sales. Cooper Hereford Ranch will host their 58th production sale on the second Tuesday in March.
Considering we had to be in Kearney, Nebraska, the following day, we decided it was best to skip out on what we heard was a spectacular dinner following the tour to get on the road. So, the Cooper stop was, at least for us, all about saying our goodbyes to old friends and new ones. We spent a reasonable amount of time at Storey’s talking with some new friends on the tour from England, and we set them up with some swag to take home. It’s a little push for me to get on the road, but once I’m out, I adjust rather quickly. At least Frodo has stopped scratching, and I’m not finding any fleas….
