I imagine that there are as many opinions on what kind of cattle you should run as there are ranchers who run them. I came to the ranching game late. I was nearly 32 when I married Fred and we bought our first herd together. They were Salers, and while beautiful, their disposition didn’t add up and we had to start anew several years later. By then, I’d been educated about the virtues of the Hereford breed by my neighbor and dear friend Lilla Bell. Our ranch sometimes is more closely associated with Longhorn cross cattle (we used Longhorn bulls on our heifers for decades); but in truth, we’ve always produced scores more Hereford influenced calves than anything else.
After disposing of our Saler experiment, our second herd was a commercial lot mostly from Tom Petroli, that had plenty of Angus and Hereford influence. Fred and I started buying Lilla’s bulls to even up and improve the efficiency of our herd, and never looked back. Her approach was different from most Hereford breeders. Bigger didn’t always mean better. She took a hard look at the environment her customers would be running their cattle in and pushed her bulls to thrive there and make replacement females that were bred to do the same. Her bulls allowed us to develop a moderately sized female with good legs, enough milk, and great maternal instincts. Perfect for our tough high desert environment.
On the purely aesthetic side, I have a giant soft spot for the sweet, curly white faces of Hereford calves, and same goes for full grown bulls. I think they are the cutest cattle around. The cows are great mothers, and if I may, their gentle dispositions are without equal. I have to admit to being chased by a few mad mama cows through the years; but, never has one been a Hereford.
On the business side, I love their feed efficiency and how they grade on the rail. Hereford cattle aren’t the current flavor of the month, but with all the positive things to recommend them, they are still a top choice of many beef producers. I’m happy to have a largely white faced herd. That makes my cattle easy to pick out in a sea of Black Angus.
Some cowmen call our herd old fashioned, but I prefer the term, classic. Others say that if you are in the ranching business long enough, at some point, You’ll raise Herefords. I guess we came to that party early and never left. I’m delighted to report that Lilla’s youngest son Dan Bell took over his mom’s purebred operation that he runs today with his son (and my favorite) nephew Shane. Beautiful Hereford cattle, a family tradition that we are happy to be a part of.
Kris Stewart is a rancher in Paradise Valley, Nevada.