6 minute read
The Woodhill Way
the by B. Lynn Gordon
photos courtesy Woodhill Farms Angus
Brian McCulloh and Dan Borgen joined forces 36 years ago and focused their collective resources to create Woodhill Farms and a signature breeding program that has remained constant. They have created a herd of Angus cattle that consistently excel at calving ease, feedlot performance, and carcass merit, without compromising maternal function.
Borgen and McCulloh have great personal and professional respect for one another, thus their early conversations of identifying a road map for developing an Angus herd has paid off. As described by Dick Beck, long-time Angus sale manager, and current vice-president of sales and marketing at ORIgen, Billings, MT, they are “two highly motivated men that have merged and meshed their ambitions and individual strengths for the greater good of the Woodhill breeding program.”
ANGUS AWARENESS
McCulloh, astute in beef cattle industry knowledge with specific experience in the Angus breed is an early adopter like Borgen. Raised on his family’s diversified livestock operation near DeWitt, IA, McCulloh, a 1981 graduate of Iowa State University (ISU), is passionate about the livestock industry. He was a member of the ISU collegiate livestock judging team and went on to serve as livestock judging team assistant coach with Dr. Gary Minish at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA. McCulloh then had the opportunity to join the American Angus Association (AAA) as Director of Junior Activities. After one and half years at AAA, McCulloh’s mentor, Minish, facilitated a meeting between Borgen and McCulloh and the rest is history. Brian and his wife, Lori, moved to Woodhill Farms, Viroqua, WI and have been there ever since.
-Brian McCulloh, Woodhill Farms
BUILDING THE BASE
Borgen and McCulloh’s common vision for Woodhill Farms was crafted right from the beginning with a mere 35 head cowherd. The Angus breed had been on a single-trait quest of increasing frame size and growth in the late 70’s and early 80’s. “We believed that focusing on a combination of traits made more sense,” McCulloh says. At this time, EPDs were also just becoming available, and Woodhill Farms was convinced that when used properly, EPD’s would facilitate the selection process. “We believed we should avoid selecting outliers for a single trait such as growth because outliers likely bring undesirable traits into the mix.” Additionally, McCulloh understood that Angus cattle possessed inherent maternal traits, yet also believed that one could incrementally add performance and carcass merit without compromising maternal function “The key to success is to honestly evaluate your herd on a continuous basis,” McCulloh adds.
Woodhill Farms holds an annual bull sale drawing a substantial crowd to their facility in Viroqua, WI.
These guiding principles developed more than three decades ago remain Woodhill Farms’ principles today, where 100% of the farm revenue is from Angus cattle.
FOUNDATION FEMALES
The herd started with foundation females purchased from Lynn Brae Angus, VA, and Graham Angus, GA, and impactful maternal lines in the herd today trace back to these original purchases.
The maternal legacy was further powered by the purchase of GT Miss Traveler 58, a maternal sister to a top-performing bull at the 1998 Wisconsin State Test Station. She raised GT Maximum and qualified as a Pathfinder Dam (based on the calving interval and performance of her first three natural calves). GT Miss Traveler 58 also produced 37 sons over her lifetime, such as Woodhill Valor, Woodhill Triple Threat, Woodhill Resolution, and Woodhill Delta. At one point in her life, she had more sons leased or owned by A.I. companies than any other Angus cow in breed history. Nearly 45% of the females in the current Woodhill nucleus cow herd trace to GT Miss Traveler 58.
Other influential foundation animals include the Pathfinder Dam, Envious Blackbird DHD 3811, the dam of PAPA Durabull 9805 and Bon View Gammer 85, as well as her famous son, Bon View New Design 878. It is interesting to note that all foundation females originated from herds that understood the value of performance testing.
EARLY ADOPTERS
Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) were first introduced by the Angus Association in 1983 and McCulloh and Borgen immediately saw the value in being able to incorporate technology into their decision-making and selection goals, adopting and embracing the use of EPDs right from the beginning of developing their Angus program.
Using the latest technology as it became available, the program has become a ‘living laboratory’ that demonstrates what can happen when a breeder believes in new technology, records accurate data on the whole herd, focuses on basic animal husbandry, and has the discipline to continuously make selection and mating decisions that combine common sense, data analytics and cutting-edge science.
“One of the keys to our success has been providing bulls that possess the traits that most affect the profitability of a commercial cow herd. Woodhill’s recipe for success includes dependable calving ease direct (CED) and calving ease maternal (CEM), top 30% weaning and yearling performance (WEPD and YEPD), in tandem with a cowherd that can consistently breed back annually. “This recipe is what maintains our 72% repeat customer base,” says McCulloh. “Commercial producers do not want problematic, high maintenance cattle because most cow herd owners in the Midwest own cows as a by-product of land ownership. We have many customers who have a job away from the farm and/or other farming enterprises that contribute a higher percentage of their income.”
VIABLE VISION
McCulloh understands that the continual addition of performance and genomic measurements can be confusing to the commercial cattleman. “The average commercial producer has 50 cows and does not have the time to research this technology for their operations,” says McCulloh. “That’s where we come in. Customers rely on us to make the decisions on the traits to measure, record, and evaluate in our breeding program, so they can confidently purchase a bull or female.”
McCulloh is also aware that many commercial cattlemen are “long on tasks, and short on labor,” and consequently, utilizing cattle that have been selected for the proper balance of traits means customers can be confident they are purchasing cattle that can take care of themselves and not add to that long list of tasks. Buying these genetics, knowing that all the ingredients for the recipe of profitable cattle have been evaluated and incorporated, is a feature of Woodhill genetics.
The Woodhill Recipe = Calving Ease + Feedlot Performance + Carcass Merit without compromising maternal function
Brian McCulloh visiting Turkey and meeting with the Minister of Agriculture to discuss steps cattle producers in that country could implement to improve marketing and production of cattle.
Woodhill Blueprint E60 was the headliner bull in Woodhill’s 2018 bull sale, becoming the top-valued bull in the history of the program with a 25% semen interest selling to Deer Valley Farms in Tennessee.
learn more woodhillfarms.com
Mark your calendars for Woodhill Farms annual bull sale, Saturday, April 11, 2020 at the farm near Viroqua, WI and check out the catalog and videos on line at www.woodhillfarms.com.
3 Beef Industry Nuggets
by Brian McCulloh
Data analytics is exploding in the other businesses – why wouldn’t the cattle industry follow suit, in order to gain as much insight as we can to make better decisions? Tradition can be a powerful foe in this industry.
Leadership is a primary concern for our association and the beef industry. We need leaders to be forward thinking, make tough decisions, while having good judgment and humility to lead. Word of advice for the next generation: Never quit learning. If you have a keen interest in something, continue to read, think critically and open your mind to grow and move forward.
Word of advice for the next generation: Never quit learning. If you have a keen interest in something, continue to read, think critically and open your mind to grow and move forward.
