Page 16 - MWC 08-19-2021s

A MASTER PLAN The Midwest Cattleman · August 19, 2021 · P16

FOR SIMANGUS AT

IRVINE RANCH

by Brenda Black

Irvine family history with included AI'ing a group of
Simmental cattle meanders Hereford cows to Simmental.
back nearly as far as the Benefits for growth rate and
breed's arrival to America. docility of those early Sim-
On the cutting edge of uti- mental sired calves inspired
lizing artificial insemination him to entirely re-draft the
(A.I.) in the mid 1960's, Paul operation to Simmental by
Irvine's forward thinking the mid-1970's.
and willingness to exper- Paul is 92 years young now farming and Irvine Ranch he said. “Simmental excel
iment with new practices and has spent his life farming (IR) operation. Both brothers in muscle, efficient growth,
and ranching. live on the ranch, near Man- fertility, and longevity. In
Today, his hattan, Ks. - John and Holly our view, blending these
penchant for with their four children; Ber- strengths results in the ideal
progress is nard and Emily with their animal for every phase of
being passed seven children. beef production.”
along to his The younger Irvines are Another strength of Angus
youngest following in the patriarch's is their large, diverse popula-
of six, John footsteps for always pursu- tion. It is easy for the Irvines
and the next ing what is most beneficial to find animals with the right
y o u n g e s t , for their's and their custom- combination of traits they
Bernard, who ers' herds. John and Bernard seek to complement their
are actively agree hybrid vigor is once Simmental.
involved in again the best course of ac- At present, the IR herd
carrying on tion for the Irvine Ranch pro- is about 25% purebred Sim-
the family gram in this generation. mental, 75% SimAngus. Ir-
“While we still have many vine Ranch customers ideally
purebred Simmental, the have a cowherd and calf crop
shift to SimAngus was cus- that is near 50% SM 50% AN.
tomer driven,” said John, So, the family has fashioned
who is presently serving on the Irvine Ranch herd to sup-
the Beef Improvement Feder- ply genetics to help their cus-
ation Board. “The benefits of tomers hit that target.
heterosis are well document- To guarantee customers of
ed in a cow/calf operation.” the Simmental ingredient,
Given their desire to help the Irvines take advantage of
customers improve profit- ASA's open herd book allow-
ability, John said the Sim- ing for the registry of PB or
mental, Angus cross was a percentage Simmental.
natural choice. “All purebreds of any other
“We initially introduced breed we have had through
Call Now for Angus genetics to bring their the years are also registered
Dormant calving ease, marbling, and through ASA as foundation
Plantings udder quality to the table,” animals.”

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