Page 17 - MWC 8-25-2022s

Those cows were athletic and multiple states. From Mis- The Midwest Cattleman · August 25, 2022 · P17
could jump.” souri, they bought Lucas Sim-
From then on, most of the mental and Owen Brothers
genetic selections were Lisa's genetics. In Arkansas, they
doing. She had Angus, Sim- came from Jeremy Clark.
mental and Shorthorn grow- Calves came home to Ber-
ing up and participated in ryville from Illinois and Iowa
county and state fairs, plus and as far away as Hilbrands
the Indiana Angus Futurity Cattle Company in Minneso-
one summer. She recognized ta and Hudson Pines in New
quality; she insisted on docil- York.
ity. Out of a Lucas Simmental
“I remember one time sale came Kylee's first heif-
going to the North American er project, who in turn had a
and seeing Chianina giants, heifer calf. Kylee took them
and they were crazy then back the next year to show as
too,” Lisa said. “No thank a cow/calf pair.
you!” “The baby won the breed The Sigmons discovered
“Simmental females are show and made the sale,” Things,” Kemp's first point in
maternal and gentle and Mike said. “And she was Re- “Evaluating the basic princi- through trial and error.
easy to work with,” Mike serve Bred and Owned Heif- ples of the beef business and “If you get the right female
said. “They won't run you er.” profitability” is longevity. and make the right breeding
out of the pasture. I've never From Hilbrands they had “The 'short-term cow' is a decisions, you'll make good
been run out of the field with one go on to win the Amer- long-term problem,” Kemp cattle,” Mike said. “Moderate
a Simmental.” ican Royal and stand third said. “Lack of female lon- framed, easy calving cows
The Sigmons had a few at the Simmental Junior gevity will cripple an opera- with good capacity that carry
calves out of that gentle “wed- Nationals. HS STEELIN tion. She can’t make a fancy well will last.”
ding cow,” but they really got YOUR BREATH, was pur- enough calf or a heavy enough To the commercial cattle-
involved with the breed more chased as a frozen embryo calf to make that okay. Lack man, Mike emphasizes the
seriously when their daugh- purebred Simmental by of cow 'stayability' has be- versatility of Simmental to
ter Kylee started showing. SVF STEEL FORCE S701 come rampant, as many have work on just about any breed.
“It took off from there,” and out of a flush from SS forgotten the value of respon- “When we started 27
Mike said. “We bought 20- BABYS BREATH PO35. The sible crossbreeding as they years ago, a lot of people
plus Simmental or percent- Sigmons purchased her in chase terminal benefits with- still thought of Simmental
age heifers for Kylee and Kylee's name. Fifteen cows at out regard for a whole-enter-
her younger brother Logan Sigmon Simmental go back prise profit picture.” continued on page 24
over the years. We still have to her.
a lot of offspring in produc- What began as youth
tion from that original show projects, has proven lasting
string.” power for the parents. But,
Several have been flushed not every cow has that kind
for embryos, and two of the of acclaim, according to an ar-
cows have more than a dozen ticle in the March 2022 Sim-
heifers currently in produc- Talk by Chip Kemp, direc-
tion. The Sigmons quarried tor, ASA & IGS Commercial
for Simmental jewels from and Industry Operations. In
several top breeders across “Getting Back to the Simple