Montana Hereford Association Tour “Crown of the Continent Tour” Photos by D erek S ample Derek@ABPmag.com
by Tim McCray Tim@ABPmag.com
Kalispell, Montana The Montana Hereford tour got off to a bit of a start as the golf tournament arrived with only two participants. Jon Bouma (tour organizer) and myself enjoyed a beautiful sunny day on the links in Kalispell. With Jon being ineligible for any prize, I was the lucky winner of the Callicrate Bander for lowest score. Thankfully that evening’s boat ride on Flathead Lake brought out a few more attendees. We all enjoyed the warm fall air in a relaxed setting, drinks and dinner on a wonderful boat cruise. Then the bus was loaded the following morning and we were off to our first stop. Our drive that morning consisted of driving around Glacier Nat’l Park and our first stop was Goat Lick. This overlook provided us all with a moment to stretch our legs. Unfortunately, that was all we did, as there were no goats to observe licking salt from the steep cliffs all around. Continuing on, our next stop was East Glacier for some souvenir shopping and some brief conversations on the sidewalk. As we usually do, Derek and I follow the bus along in his Dads’ F150 since we have Derek’s 2 Australian Shepherds riding along with us. This definitely makes the trip more interesting since Maverick and Willow are full of personality and most of the time the ranches ask for them to come out and visit with them as well. 14
Anchor Polled Herefords Vaughn, MT
Man plans his ways, but God directs his paths (Proverbs 16:9)
Anchor Polled Herefords provided us with lunch and our first look at an exceptional herd. Paul and Berva Hinderager have been operating Anchor since their start in 1980. As second-generation ranchers that started on a plot of their own, there were certainly many struggles. But, as we grow older, we realize that the struggles we go through in life are usually a blessing in disguise. It’s getting through those rough spots that we learn to live, and even ask for help when needed. Paul explained that he had built a pretty good herd early on, having about 50 two year old bulls. One spring he was close to that in yearlings and he hadn’t sold a bull yet. This is when Paul learned that a simple prayer can go a long way,“I’ve worked as hard as I can, and this thing hasn’t worked. It’s in Your hands, if You want me to do something else, I will.” 3 days later he had run out of bulls to sell. That was really the turning point for his success and it allowed him to go into the yearling business. He’s had a steady supply of customers ever since. Most of his bulls are sold sight unseen, and most of those buyers live
American Beef Producer
within 100 miles. Paul’s customers pick them out in the fall and he feeds them all winter. Then he semen tests and delivers all of them in the spring. 40 years later he’s never had a bad deal. He’s been chasing genetics since high school. In the mid 90’s with the crossing of Anchor Braxton & J-B Anchor Herman, that basically closed his herd. I asked Paul about anything in those 40 years that he wished he would have done differently. He replied with “certainly there are cattle I wished I wouldn’t have bought, but I did. But there’s also cattle I bought, that everyone told me not to. But, I trusted my instinct and my genetics, and they proved to be successful decisions.” Paul breeds for the commercial cattleman, and he has private treaty offerings in the fall every year. Holden Herefords Valier, MT There’s places like Holden Herefords that were on my bucket list, and shall remain on it. There’s just something almost magical about this place and one visit just isn’t enough. It’s almost as if the legacy of Holden’s has been worked into the very ground. Jack & Tresha are the third generation of the Holden family to carry on this legendary operation. Jack had some big shoes to fill when he took over for his Grandfather October 2021
