For over a century, Wendt Ranches has been battling the elements to raise high-quality, yet hardy, cattle to fit the highly specific needs of the coastal rancher.

Adding females to a sale can be a big decision for a producer. The type of sale, where to focus marketing efforts and how to stay relevant in an ever-evolving business all play into the decision.

Over the past few years, genetic testing has become more readily available and used by commercial cattlemen. Information that was once used mainly by registered cattle producers is being utilized to make improvements on commercial operations and produce higher-performing cattle by making decisions with more information.

The Beef Improvement Federation recognized 44 Farms of Cameron, Texas, as the BIF Seedstock Producer of the Year during the organization’s annual research symposium in July in Calgary, Alberta. Douglas Lake Cattle Company of Douglas Lake, British Columbia, was presented with the Commercial Producer of the Year Award.

The usual suspects (expected progeny differences [EPDs], genomic testing, heterosis) were covered, as were some issues (beef-on-dairy, methane emissions, cardiac health) that may have been a bit more of a surprise to the uninitiated at an event ostensibly dedicated to beef cattle genetics.

With more than 1,000 head of registered Hereford, Angus and commercial Brahman-influenced cattle, the Melancon family has their sights set on making a name for themselves in the Southern seedstock industry. 

Driving down the county road past drought-stricken fields of sandy, caliche soil in south-central Texas’s Wilson County, you’d be forgiven for thinking it might not be the most fertile ground in the world. But for the Lyssy family, this is the perfect place to grow a cow herd, a family and a legacy.

Among other options, some producers may choose to put on a production sale. While this option can work for some, the overhead and labor involved with this type of marketing can be a turnoff for others.

Kathi Creamer remembers it like it was yesterday – the moment she knew she’d found her life’s calling. She was 9 years old, following her 4-H club as they made their rounds of the National Western Stock Show in Denver.