Town Creek Farm Celebrates 30 Years

IN 1993, TOWN CREEK FARM FOUNDER AND OWNER, MILTON SUNDBECK PURCHASED THE FIRST 800 ACRES OF FERTILE BLACK BELT LAND EAST OF WEST POINT, MISSISSIPPI. THE RANCH HAS GROWN NEARLY FIVE-FOLD IN ACRES OVER THE PAST THREE DECADES EVOLVING FROM A SMALL STOCKER OPERATION INTO ONE OF THE BEEF INDUSTRY’S MOST RESPECTED BRANGUS SEEDSTOCK GENETIC PROVIDERS IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS YEAR TOWN CREEK FARM CELEBRATES 30 YEARS IN THE CATTLE BUSINESS.

In 1914, Sundbeck’s grandfather emigrated from Sweden and settled east of Austin, Texas, and started a dairy farm. As a youngster, Sundbeck worked on the family dairy farm as well as on the cattle ranches of his grandfather Lynn White who raised Horned Herefords on the Brazos River near Clifton, Texas, and on his uncle’s ranches in central Texas.

“I was raised in farming and ranching country and dreamed of owning land one day,” says Sundbeck. “I spent so much time outdoors that I developed a love affair with the land.”

Sundbeck entered the chemical business when he was hired by Hercules, Inc. and later joined American Cyanamid in Mobile, Alabama. In 1980, Sundbeck started his own chemical company, Southern Ionics, Inc. and came to West Point, Mississippi where he built a manufacturing plant to produce and market chemical products for use in paper making and in Portland cement manufacturing. Southern Ionics Inc. has 11 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and 325 employees.

In 2005, Sundbeck purchased his first registered herd of Brangus and Ultrablack cows from Cow Creek Ranch in Alabama. Town Creek Farm hosted its first public offering of bulls at the ranch in 2013.

Throughout its history, Town Creek Farm has shown a commitment to excellence, making it the driving force behind its purpose. “As I look back over 30 years, it has been day by day,” says Sundbeck. “A new page in the book is turned every single day. Then, it’s the milestones along the way.”

“A lot has changed in 30 years. Our long-term genetic commitment to the Brangus breed is the most profound,” says Sundbeck. “Customers come back to our program because we offer consistent, honest, and innovative genetics. This, along with the smart, passionate people on our team, is what separates us from the crowd and makes us the best in the business."

Sundbeck and his team extend their thanks to all of those that have supported Town Creek Farm and challenged us to be premier breeders of Brangus genetics.

Town Creek Farm continues to stay focused on its mission. Its success is evident in the company's significant milestones over the decades, including:

30 Year Highlights

• Initiated and collaborated with Neogen and the University of Florida to develop Igenity Indicus, a DNA product to identify the percent Bos indicus in cattle. Reporting the percent Bos taurus vs. Bos indicus influence in an animal, Igenity Indicus is a first-of-its-kind genomic tool for indicus influenced cattle. Totaling to 100%, the results can be used to help commercial producers select replacement heifers to maintain the appropriate breed makeup for their environment.

• Introduced and trademarked VigorMax™ cattle that offer more Bos indicus influence for customers searching for maximum heterosis and heat tolerance. VigorMax™ cattle are ½ Brahman x ½ Angus.

• Implemented whole-herd annual testing for Johnes disease since 2006. Town Creek Farm utilizes both the “blood” ELISA and “fecal” DNA tests on all cows at weaning, all herd sires and dams of bulls owned by our Bull Production Partners. Cows that test positive are removed from the herd to ensure absolute eradication and to guarantee Town Creek Farm bulls are Johnes-free.

• Town Creek Farm conducts bi-annual Anaplasmosis and Leukosis surveillance testing. Surveillance testing is a proactive method to detect the prevalence of diseases in our cowherd. Anaplasmosis is common in sub-tropical regions of the country and can be spread with contaminated needles, blood and ticks.

• In 2019, Town Creek Farm initiated an in-herd cow scoring system of breed character, hoof angle, claw set, teat and udder composition, productivity, body condition and hair shedding. The ultimate purpose is to accumulate sufficient data to track traits relative to pedigrees and cow families.

• Established a program of developing new first generation lines of 3/85/8 Brangus genetics through breeding up from foundation stock of Brahman and Angus in 2015. Town Creek Farm recognized that few, new lines of Brangus cattle existed in the current Brangus population and saw its importance to the long-term viability of the Brangus breed. In this project, we have taken a mathematical approach by working with large groups of percentage cattle and utilizing in vitro fertilization (IVF) to reach our goal. New lines of Brangus offer customers higher levels of retained heterosis, heat tolerance, and longevity.

• Produces In-Herd Selection Indexes through an in-herd analysis of the bull sale offering based on adjusted phenotypic data to provide customers with a comparison of bull offering. These numbers represent a validation of the individual animal rankings of the Town Creek Farm bull offering. Ranking is from 0 (lowest) to 1.0 (highest). Indexes consist of Calving Ease, Growth, Fertility and Carcass.

• Exported a live Town Creek Farm bull to the country of Thailand and semen and embryos to countries of South Africa, Paraguay, Brazil, and Australia.

• Established and funded an endowment for a professorship at Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to advance beef cattle production in Mississippi and in the Southeast.

• Established and funded an endowment for a professorship at Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to advance beef cattle production in Mississippi and in the Southeast

• On-going funding of the Mississippi State University (MSU) Equestrian Team and support staff. The MSU Equestrian Team is a competitive horseback riding team participating within the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association which encompasses over 400 member colleges and universities with a total of 10,000 members. Riders compete in either the English or Western discipline.

• Town Creek Farm’s commitment and progressive approach to the seedstock business led to being named a finalist for the 2020 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Seedstock Producer of the Year Award.