Interest in AngusSourceSM feeder calves has continued to be high, and a few sale barns across the country have hosted special AngusSource sales. Producers can also have their offerings listed on the AngusSource Web site, with e-mails broadcast to a database of prospective buyers.
Kaycee, Wyo., ranchers Hugh and Trisha Turk and their sons, Reo and Gus, enrolled their feeder calves in the AngusSource program for the first time in 2004, seeing it as a tool to add value to their Angus genetics. The diversified ranch operation includes Hugh’s parents and his brother’s family.
The Turks breed their 300-head commercial cow herd to registered Angus bulls and wanted to draw attention to the quality genetics they represented. “We’ve raised straight Angus here for 70 years and get frustrated with other black-hided beef,” Hugh says. “We see the AngusSource program as a way to distinguish our calves.”
Previously, the Turk family sold their calves through the local auction market, as well as through video sales. In 2004 they discovered that through the AngusSource Web site and e-mail promotions, their calves could be exposed to a broader base of buyers. As a result, a new buyer purchased their cattle this year, and, because of the genetic history provided on the calves, enrolled them in the Creekstone Farms Premium Beef program.
Hugh says they were pleased with the program, and they’ll definitely enroll calves in AngusSource in the future. “In the commercial business, the only way to improve economic opportunities is to improve the quality of your calves, and then the next step is to get somebody to recognize and pay for that,” he says. “AngusSource is helping do that.”
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from an article written by Kindra Gordon, Angus Productions Inc. (API) field editor, for the Angus Beef Bulletin. The complete article about the advantages of AngusSource appears in the March Angus Beef Bulletin, scheduled to hit mailboxes March 20. Contact LaVera Spire at (816) 383-5220 or lspire@angusjournal.com to sign up for the free publication, or visit www.angusbeefbulletin.com/abb_subscr.html.
© Copyright 2005 Angus Productions Inc. This article may not be published or distributed without the express permission of the author and Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270 or shermel@angusjournal.com.
