The Henderson look to the future of the cattle industry

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James and Magan Henderson, pictured with their children, Preston, Paige and Payton, believe cattle producers must be aware of changing trends in the industry.

A Step Ahead

By Cheryl Kepes

James and Magan Henderson are keeping an eye on the future of the cattle industry

James and Magan Henderson strive to stay a step ey, time and acreage on a recip herd. They discovered it is more ahead in the ever-changing cattle industry. cost effective and efficient to utilize a satellite herd.

The Hendersons continually evaluate their herd, research breed- “What we pay for a satellite herd is actually pretty reasonable ing decisions, and network with fellow producers in order to be compared to having to go and buy land and cattle and having to at the forefront in the beef cattle market. “It is really important hire someone to take care of it,” James said. to stay up with the times and current with what cattle producers When the Hendersons make breeding or replacement decisions want,” Magan said. they place significant consideration on an animal’s EPDs and ped-

The Hendersons, along with their children, Paige (13), Payton (11), igree. In addition, the animal is evaluated for structural soundness and Preston (7), raise registered Hereford and Simmental cattle at their and its ability to adapt well to fescue pastures. farm in Buffalo, Mo. James also manages Bonebrake Herefords, a regis- “Where we live fescue is our grass and not all cattle live on fescue tered polled and horned Hereford farm located in Springfield, Mo. grass. So, they have to be able to live here in Southwest Missouri,”

Between both farms, the Hendersons care for about 175 head of James explained. mature cattle on more than 350 acres. In order to help the Herefords and Simmentals thrive on most-

“A big part of our life is taking care of those cattle (Bonebrake Here- ly fescue grass, the Hendersons feed orchard grass and brome hay. fords). It is all one big group with what we do,” James explained. They also plant other grasses to balance the large fescue base. Plus,

The herds are split into two calving seasons, spring and fall. The the Hendersons rely on a solid mineral program. cows are synchronized in order for the groups to calve in February “We work our cattle twice a year, we use MULTIMIN in the process and March, or September and October. The Hendersons utilize AI, and that helps a lot too,” James stated. MULTIMIN is an injectable embryo transplant and invitro fertilization in order to produce cat- mineral supplement containing zinc, copper, selenium and manganese. tle with current, popular genetics. One of the Hendersons’ management goals is to obtain quality

Recently, James started using satellite herds to – that means quality animals and quality nutrition and care. raise some of the embryo calves. Another producer “We are coming up on a time in the beef industry where implants the embryo in a recip, calves out the recip, buyers are going to pay a little more attention to where and raises the calf to about 6 months old. After that, the these cattle came from and what cattle feed better. If they Hendersons bring the calves to the farms to join the rest of the herd. Buffalo, Mo. have a set of cattle that are fed well and they get more out of that product, then they are going to want to

The use of a satellite herd helps with their goal of maintaining a large, registered herd. Instead of investing mon- — Continued on Next Page

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A Step Ahead

Continued from Previous Page

know where to come back and get that at,” James explained.

The Hendersons use social media, breed journal advertising and an annual fall sale to market their animals. But one of their biggest marketing strategies happens in the show ring. The Henderson family shows Herefords and Simmentals at the local, state and national level.

Though the goal of competing in the show ring is to market their cattle, James and Magan appreciate other benefits showing offers their family. “It allows us to be surrounded by others in the industry that share similar passions that we do,” Magan said. It also provides them opportunities to network with other producers and to keep current on industry trends.

On a personal level, James and Magan value the lessons their children learn from working with show cattle.

“It gives the kids work ethic and a competitive edge. In our opinion, they need to learn that not everybody gets a trophy, you have to earn it. And we believe the show ring is a good place to learn that,” Magan explained.

It also serves as an avenue for their children to learn more about beef cattle.

“Some people will say, ‘Well, you have show cattle, you don’t understand a cow in the real field.’ But actually, what we are doing every day in the barn is we are basically doing a study of the animal every day that she comes in the barn,” James said. “The kids learn how an animal digests food, gains or maintains weight, and other information that will help them manage cattle in the future.”

James and Magan constantly keep an eye on the future, whether it’s trying to foresee the next trend in the livestock market or it’s a teachable moment in the barn that will prepare their children to one day be successful, caring cattle producers.