Montana Hereford Association Tour

Crown of the Continent Tour 2021

by Tim McCray Tim@ABPmag.com ----> Photos by Derek Sample Derek@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.

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 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

Top: Sunset over Holden Herefords, Valier, Montana Below left: Paul Hinderager welcoming the tour attendees. Below right: First night boat cruise on Flathead Lake in Lakeside Bottom left: Leah from Kentucky learning how to steer the boat. Bottom right: Sunset as seen from the bow on Flathead Lake

cont‘d on page 18 Left top/middle: Paul Hinderager introducing his family at the Anchor Herefords stop and a prize bull with some heifers Middle left: prize bull at Holden Herefords in Valier. Middle: Paul at Anchor Herefords talkin cattle + his entrance sign Above: Entrance sign at Holden Herefords around sunset. Bottom: the tour of the St Ignatious Mission Church on Day 3

Les in 1987. The Holden’s have an operation that produces not only exceptional quality Herefords that have been proven all over the world but also long-lasting friendships with their customers. As I wandered through their sale barn during our dinner stop I noticed the walls are lined with photos of family and customers, which proves they are all held in high regard. They breed for quality, consistency, and adaptability and you can say practically the same thing about their family. The next generations will also have big shoes to fill when they eventually carry on the legacy that Jack has sustained. Since this was a dinner stop on the tour, we all enjoyed some fantastic prime rib, and apparently you can find a really good cheesecake at a chain store I won’t mention. After the bus left, Derek and I hung around a while longer to get some more pictures (see front cover and more photos in this article). Later I was able to steal Jack from some of his friends and customers to talk with him myself. I’ll admit I was a little intimidated with where to begin with questions for such a highly regarded operation, let alone the fact that I had to condense it into a paragraph. But I struggled through it, and I’ll tell you when Jack says his customers become friends, I know it to be accurate. Holden Herefords is regarded as one of the top cowherds in the nation, but it’s much more than that. The people I’ve met throughout the cattle business is for the most part, quite good. Then there’s the exceptional ones. The Holdens most definitely fall into that exceptional category.

Day two started a little later than the previous morning, as plans had to be changed at the last minute due to a positive Covid test at what was supposed to be our final stop. Thanks to the tour committee for pulling some strings last minute and arranging for a tour of the Kalispell Kreamery. This wasn’t my first visit to a dairy during a beef cattle tour. I’ve noticed that the level of enthusiasm from ranchers visiting a dairy barn as something unique and special. I’m actually starting to wonder if there shouldn’t be a planned dairy stop on every tour. In this case, free samples of cream on top of chocolate milk, cold brew coffee with milk, and also their own blend of ice cream. Delicious all the way around! The Kreamery started as a result of a long dinner discussion with daughter and sonin-law, Mary and Jared Tuck, while realizing that they could pool their talents to keep the family farm alive while offering local dairy products. Hedstrom dairy has been producing milk in the flathead valley since 1978. After selling milk to state processing plants for 35 years, and being the last dairy farm in the valley, the Hedstrom’s decided to look into alternative milk sales. The rest, they say is history.

Holy Herefords!

Top: Drone view of the cattle show at St. Ignatious Mission Parish. Below: Herefords shown by Lucky U Cattle and Griffin Polled

After spending longer than planned at Kalispell Kreamery, our next scheduled stop at Big Fork was abandoned in order to get back on schedule to visit the St. Ignatius Mission. The mission, built in the early 1890’s, is unique because of the 58 murals on its walls and ceilings painted by Brother Joseph Carignano. The church, located on the Flathead Indian reservation, has a beautiful backdrop of the Mission Mountains. Today its front yard is also occupied by several Hereford cattle from 3 different families.

Griffin Polled Herefords Darby, MT

Rex Griffin, along with his granddaughter, Mya Hawkinson, traveled over 2 hours to show the sampling of their GPH herd. Rex has been a cattleman all of his life (now 75 years old) and primarily operates a commercial herd along with a small number of registered Herefords. In 2008, Rex cut his group back, and now just maintains a smaller number of registered cattle. They participate in the AHA’s Whole Herd program, and therefore A.I. exclusively. Focusing on the genetics provided by Victor719T, his focus has always been on good length and pigment. Rather than focusing on one trait, his ideal is to just produce sound cattle with good disposition. Mya, now 13, has been blessed with a natural mind-set to work cattle since she was around 6. The Griffin’s sell 6-8 bulls a year as well as a few select heifers via private treaty.

Left top, middle and above: Herefords on display at St. Ignatious Mission Parish by Lucky U Cattle and Griffin Polled Left bottom: Milking station at the Kalispell Kreamery. Below Left: Jon Bauma introducint his family and the rest of the cattle owners on display at St. Ignatious Below right: Waiting for tour of the interior of St. Ignatious Parish. Bottom left: Tim interviewing Paul Hinderager of Anchor Herefords Below right: early evening sun over Holden Herefords, Valier, MT

Sunset over Holden Herefords, Valier, Montana

Lucky U Cattle Stevensville, MT

Jon Bouma (MHA West Director), along with his wife Johanna (MHA Secretary + Treasurer) and their family traveled over an hour to be with us here at the mission. They specialize in outcrossed polled Hereford genetics, and also raise Simmental and show cattle. Jon’s been showing, clipping and fitting for over 20 years and has his children well involved with the farm as well. Their Herefords on display here at the mission today represent a small offering of their herd that is focused on getting back to those dark cherry Canadian Herefords. They’ve also started a pasture-to-plate operation offering anything from hamburger to whole cow: www. LuckyUbeef.com. Their Simmental’s are a mix of reds and blacks with a blaze face. They hand pick the heifers for show quality, and the rest are held over for the following year and get sold. Bulls and the remaining heifers as well as 5 bred heifers to their new highlight bull are sold annually via private treaty every December. (*Jon is also featured on page 30 regarding a recent injury he sustained while grooming cattle for some photos)

Wilson Hereford Ranch (Sydnee & Savana) Trout Creek, MT

Pat Wilson and his wife Mindi have been rooted in agriculture for a long time. Pat works in veterinary sales, and Mindi as a vet. They had originally purchased some heifers from Cooper’s, since Pat had done some ET work with them in the past. But it’s always been about keeping their girls Sydnee (15) and Savana (13) involved in Ag as well. Having just shown (and won, congratulations Sydnee & Savana!) at their county fair, it was easy to bring their heifers over and attend the tour stop. Sydnee also shows quarter horses and is aspiring to become a vet like her mother. Savana, equally as gifted as her older sister, prefers to be behind the scenes, but also shows Boer Goats at the 4H level. Two remarkable young girls doing extraordinary things. We wish them the best in their bright futures.

In Conclusion...

Our dinner the final evening was really fun as we got to sit down and compare tour notes with all of the other attendees. Of course the drinks loosened everybody up a bit and laughter was heard up and down our long dining table outside on the back patio. The location, Tamarack brewing Company in Lakeside, definitely proved to be a favorite as Derek and I returned twice during our extended stay just down the road in Bigfork. If you ever go, I highly recommend the Rib Eye Special. During the tour, the Whispering Pines stop had to be cancelled. This was unfortunate as it takes quite a bit of planning for the hosts to get ready for tour stops. Whispering Pine Farms currently runs purebred, registered Hereford cattle as well as some Red Angus. They calve January through May and sell bulls private treaty. Their females sell in a few select sales throughout the year as well as private treaty year-round. The herd is run in the rough, rugged Montana hilltops and bred for their easy fleshing ability. They are ‘low maintenance’ and chosen for udder quality, excellent structure phenotype, and their ability to thrive in harsh conditions. We wish them all the best on getting well, and I’ve now added their ranch to my ever increasing bucket list.

Here‘s a sneak peak of the North Montana Angus Tour we just attended.

This photo was taken by Derek at Connelly Angus in Valier, Montana. In our November issue we‘ll be sharing more tour highlights. Plus lots more about the tours we‘ll be attending in Nebraska and North Dakota, etc.