meet your
neighbors
Full Circle at Wilmoth Ranch By Kaynie Kinnie-Hout
The Wilmoth family not only raises cattle, but also offers their beef to customers at their businesses
The picturesque Wilmoth Ranch is years ago to begin using genomic testing located where the Plains meet the to choose which heifers to retain as reMissouri Ozarks, in Mount Vernon, placement cows. Time and time again the Mo. The WR was built by Greg and Brent Angus rose to the top, both maternally Wilmoth, sons of Dwight and Helen Wilm- and on carcass merit. Registered Angus sires are used in their oth and is managed by Jeremy McBride. The pristine 6,000-acre ranch is home to breeding and selection program. All 1,500 commercial and 500 registered Angus calves born at WR are Age-Source Verified through Angus Link. cow/calf pairs. “It all came full circle when we began Over the decades, the Wilmoths have grown and diversified their business mod- feeding out and harvesting our own cattle el in Southwest Missouri. They currently for our beef program,” Kathy Wilmoth, own five Hot Spot C-Stores located in Greg’s wife, said. “Getting that carcass Mount Vernon, Greenfield, Nevada and data back showed that we definitely made Stockton, Mo. They also own the TA the right choice with Angus. They continTruck Stops in Mount Vernon and Straf- ually grade above the other breeds.” All the packaged beef that carries the ford and are currently building a brand new TA Truck Stop to modernize and WR brand is born, raised and fed at the expand on their flagship Mount Vernon ranch in Lawrence County, Mo. All of the WR Beef sold is graded USDA location, slated to open in late 2022. Greg started in the cattle business with Prime or Choice. A portion of the meat Beefmasters in the early 1980s. While he goes to the Show Me Beef program. developed as a top Beefmaster breeder, Greg then buys back tenderloins, rib he quickly discovered that the market eyes and other boxed primal cuts. The boxed beef is then transported from for feeder steers and heifers Missouri Prime Packers in Pleaswasn’t with eared cattle. ant Hope, to Chet and Bill’s in Most of the Beefmaster cows Marshfield to be cut and packwere sold, and the change aged to their specifications. was made to black-hided cattle The WR-labeled beef is then including Angus, Brangus and Mount stored at their warehouse SimAngus bulls. Today the bull Vernon, Mo. where it is distributed for battery is 100-percent Angus. sale at the Hot Spot conveThe decision was made 10
Submitted Photos
MAY 2, 2022
Greg and Brent Wilmoth offer beef from their Wilmoth Ranch at their truck stop and convenience stores.
nience stores and the TA Truck Stop in Strafford, Mo. A burger ordered at The Café or one of the Hot Spot C-Stores, it’s 100-percent WR beef, family-owned and operated. “If we have 50 roasts and we only need 20, we grind the rest into the hamburger,” Greg explained. Also on the menu is New York strip, rib eye, fillet, sirloin, brisket, French dip sandwiches, burnt ends and steak fajitas. The WR utilizes rotational grazing through 40-acre paddocks. The cattle are grass-fed and finished on corn silage and corn, all grown locally or at the ranch. They also grow all of their own hay. They utilize both spring and fall breeding. Their focus is continuous improvement with the goal of raising cattle that offer superior maternal and carcass merit, fertility, uniformity and performance. Through extensive embryonic transfer using both homegrown and purchased embryos, they have about 150 (ET) babies a year, to develop their own turn-
Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
out bulls. The calves are weaned at seven months, vaccinated at 3 months and receive their booster at 6 months. They also sell a few select registered Angus bulls on their website. During the height of the COVID virus, Greg and Kathy had real concerns about how they would process their beef and get it to the public. In early 2021, Missouri Prime Beef Packers opened Pleasant Hope, Mo. On the first run, Greg took 14 head for processing. That meat sold in their stores in just three days. Today, they take 40 head at a time. The Wilmoths are building a brand proprietary to their locations. “We are currently working on our online store which will enable us to ship all over the U.S.,” Greg explained. “I have had a lot of requests to ship our beef to both the East and West coast.” “This started out as just a hobby,” Greg said. The Wilmoth’s plans for the future is to continue building the ranch for their children and grandchildren.
7
