Q: How did your operation get started and where are you located?

Jase Hembree and his brother Jerad operate Diamond H Beefmaster in Dade County, MO, where they run around 85 Beefmasters pairs on the edge of the Ozarks. His grandpa Norban Wallen bought a Beefmaster bull in 1982, and after visiting the Lasater Ranch in Colorado, became a dedicated fan. “He never looked back,” Hembree said. “I’ve been around Beefmasters my whole life, and fell in love with the breed from an early age.”

After experimenting with Angus and Balancer cows, Hembree bought some Beefmaster replacement heifers from Grandpa Wallen that changed the trajectory of his operation. “Year in and year out, they outdone the Angus and Balancers in growth, docility, and everything,” he said. “We loved everything about them, so we decided to go all-in with the Beefmasters.”

Q: When and how do you market cattle from your ranch each year?

Diamond H Beefmasters sells cattle private treaty off the farm and at the Ozarks Fall Farmfest in Springfield, MO, along with consigning to the Red River Beefmaster Performance Group (RRBPG) bull and female sales in Paris, TX.

“We’ve been sending 10 or 12 bulls each year,” Hembree said. Strict evaluation determines who makes the offering. “I love to look at the contemporaries,” he said. “I want to see what they’ve done compared to their peers, whether that’s in the pasture, when weaned and weighed, or on a feed test. I want to see the data on weaning weights, yearling weights and the milk EPDs. That’s our bread and butter.”

Robert Scott, President and Sales Manager for RRBPG, appreciates the caliber of genetics Diamond H Beefmasters delivers. “Jase has been with us seven years now,” Scott said. “His work ethic is unmatched. He has become one of the top consignors, not only from a quantity, but a quality standpoint. Everything he consigns qualifies. Because of him, we’ve significantly expanded our footprint into Missouri.”

Q: What is one unique way you serve your customers?

As a consigner to the RRBPG sale, Hembree routinely hauls bulls from Texas back to Southwest Missouri, as the sale offers free trucking.

“When you don’t have to pay $6 dollars a mile in trucking, you can spend a lot more money on the animal that you need,” he said. And his customers that purchase bulls through the sale also have the privilege of consigning back to the RRBPG sale, which is a unique opportunity. But whether through the Texas sales or right off the farm in Missouri, Hembree said customer service is a phone call away. “We are always available to answer any questions, discuss breeding decisions, and help our customers maximize their investment,” he said.

Q: What management strategies have provided the greatest benefit to your operation and why?

Hembree believes his best management strategy is the breed. With Missouri weather fluctuating from 105 heat index in the summer to negative temperatures in the winter, his cattle tolerate the worst of both worlds and adapt well.

The composite breeds of Brahman, Hereford, and Shorthorn renders his Beefmaster more insect and pinkeye resistant, which supports animal health. And the “Six Essentials” upon which the breed was established check all the management boxes at Diamond H for fertility, weight, confirmation, milking ability, hardiness and disposition.

Hembree’s farm is home to steep hills, blackberry briars, prickly pear cactus and limestone ledges demanding sure-footed animals that know how to forage. “They’ll strip the leaves off the locust sprouts and only leave the thorns,” he said. “Anything that’s green or has been green, they’ll take hold of.”

Q: If your farm could be known for one thing, what would you want it to be and why?

“Above all, we want to be known for producing cattle that make commercial cattlemen more profitable,” Hembree said. “At the end of the day, our success with Diamond H Beefmasters isn’t measured with banners or trophies. That’s not our game; that’s not our style. It’s measured by how well our genetics and our cattle perform in our customers’ pastures.”

Q: What new innovations or opportunities are you looking to pursue for your operation in the next 1-3 years?

“Last year was our first year of putting in embryos and we had pretty good success,” Hembree said. “We’ve been making leaps and bounds to add to the maternal traits. We don’t want to lose that maternal heritage. These Beefmaster cows just flat out get it done. But, we want to add to that. So we are focused on growth and muscle, and looking at scan data on all of our bulls and females as far as ribeye and intramuscular fat.”

The Hembrees are also actively reducing the size of rotational grazing paddocks to give more pastures longer rest periods. “And our biggest focus will continue to be selecting for those Six Essentials of the Beefmaster breed, and selecting cattle that can thrive under natural ranch conditions,” Hembree said.

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