Board Commentary Integrity and Buyer Satisfaction

Are the Foundation

by George Murdock, Area 1 Director

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t wish that my ancestors had come west 150 years ago and created a legendary cattle ranch – not one that sprang up where the oxen died, but rather one where someday they might make movies.

Instead, they sailed here from Scotland when my father was in middle school. It wasn’t that cattle weren’t in our heritage – they were Grants and related to the Ballindalloch Angus family – but not quite close enough.

Sir George McPherson-Grant, the Baronet of Ballindalloch, was part of the landed gentry. I’m not sure where we fit but when I was visiting Ballindalloch Station in 1967, Maggie Grant gifted me a 14” x 21” original framed photo of Lavia of Glamis, champion of champions at Birmingham and Smithfield in 1902. I still have it.

We moved to an 80-acre farm when I was in the seventh grade. It was my opportunity to move beyond raising ducks and rabbits on a 50-foot lot. My dad acquired an odd assortment of cows and some ewes. I was just thrilled to have bigger farm animals.

In the first spring we were there, we traded half a ton of hay for a wormy ram lamb. The ram (post-worming, thanks to my agriculture teacher) actually turned out to be eligible for registry.

I learned more about the breed and gradually built a little flock. When I was 15, I worked in the silage to earn enough to contact the National Sale and ask about how to buy an ewe without being there. Using all of my meager earnings, I was sent an ewe lamb from a prominent breeder. I was surprised by how much wool was on the lamb. When we sheared her, I learned why.

In my 50 years in the sheep business, including four terms as president of the American Montadale Sheep Breeders Association, I purchased tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of sheep at the National Sale. The people that sold me that ewe have been some of the most prominent in the breed. I never felt compelled to buy another of their offerings.

The same thing has happened a time or two in the purebred cattle business. In an age when online auctions are critical, buyers must trust the integrity of the offering. One and done is not a long-term sales philosophy. We want buyers to be happy when we open the trailer on delivery.

That was always our motto in the sheep business, “We produce sheep that will look better for you than they have for us and will provide nothing but pleasant surprises.”

The same rules apply in our cattle breeding program. Nothing pleases us more than having our cattle do well for others. And when we hear that something is amiss, we bend over backwards to make it right and protect our reputation.

We are in it for the long run, and we realize that reputation is a fragile thing. That’s why integrity and buyer satisfaction should be the foundation of any longrange plan. //

RAAA National Office

18335 E. 103rd Ave., Suite 202

Commerce City, CO 80022

(940) 387-3502 | FAX (888) 829-6069

Email: info@redangus.org

RedAngus.org

RAAA National Staff

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Tom Brink Ext. 4 | tombrink@redangus.org

DIRECTOR OF BREED IMPROVEMENT

Lindsay Upperman, Ph.D. Ext. 29 | lindsay@redangus.org

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Halla Pfeiff Ext. 10 | halla@redangus.org

REDSPRO & REGISTRY SPECIALIST

Kaitlyn Fulmer Ext. 6 | kaitlyn@redangus.org

REDSPRO & REGISTRY SPECIALIST

Stephanie Johnson Ext. 26 | stephanie@redangus.org

MEMBER SERVICES & DNA SPECIALIST

Ryan Starkey Ext. 5 | ryanstarkey@redangus.org

MEMBER SERVICES & DNA SPECIALIST

Ariana De La Garza ariana@redangus.org

DATABASE AND REGISTRATION CONSULTANT

Kenda Ponder Ext. 15 | kenda@redangus.org

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION & JUNIOR PROGRAMS

Kim Heller, Ph.D. (515) 851-2019 | juniors@redangus.org

PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Tracey Koester (701) 391-5440 | tracey@redangus.org

EDITOR & SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Brandi Buzzard Frobose (785) 448-0239 | brandi@redangus.org

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Lisa Bryant (405) 766-8942 | lisa@redangus.org

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Katie Martin Ext. 16 | katiemartin@redangus.org

SHOW SPECIALIST

Erin Dorsey (970) 396-5420 | erin@redangus.org

ACCOUNTING DIRECTOR

Janet Russell Ext. 11 | janet@redangus.org

MEMBERSHIP & ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Dalli Hobbs Ext. 7 | dalli@redangus.org

Commercial Marketing Team and Value-Added Programs staff is on page 10