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notype, but I think my grand- calves that get up, nurse and The Midwest Cattleman · August 6, 2020 · P23
father would like the kind of grow,” Martin said.
cattle we have today. They go That means even more in
out and perform, breed back today's economic climate.
and grow a big calf.” “It's always been tough in
Perhaps the similarities the cattle business,” Martin
are due to Martin heeding said. “It sure wasn't easy back
long-employed family wisdom. in the day – in the '20s and
“My grandfather and my '30s. But those cattlemen back
dad always said, 'Be careful of then could put enough calves
chasing trends and fads. They in the bed of a pickup with
can get you in left field and stock racks and that would be
you can't get back. Stay in the enough to buy you a new pick-
middle of the road, where the up. Then it went from a pick-
pendulum will pass you twice.' up to a stock trailer full to buy
“They taught me so much. a pickup. Now, it takes a pot
One of the things they always load and you still might not
said was that a cow has got get a new pickup bought.”
to have a calf every year. It The harder the luck gets in
doesn't cut it to calve every the cattle business, the bright-
14 to18 months. A fertile cow er the diamonds need to shine
that will milk and raises a calf in the pasture. Gelbvieh are
every year, she'll keep you in gaining in popularity, accord- quired to be sound, excel in tin family is whistling a dif-
the cattle business. And she's ing to Martin, because the carcass merit and not give up ferent tune. There is a shin-
gotta last. Not five years and Gelbvieh cross female is a cut the maternal traits long estab- ing legacy of clarity and hard
out of the herd.” above. lished in the working dams at work. Thanks to their own
At Martin Cattle Compa- “It's hard to find people that MCC. Purina® Accuration® family heritage, they've honed
ny, it's not just about longev- have these helps grow herd sire prospects the instinctive ability to mine
ity. It's about cross cows out of those famed cow family for diamond quality genetics
genetic legacy. and want lines, and with early maturi- that are a multi-faceted, bal-
Many in the to get rid of ty and longevity engraved in anced, dependable and docile
herd go back to them,” he their genes, bulls are ready to cut.
those Hereford said. “People go on cows as yearlings.
cows of Grand- say they are Instead of singing a hard
pa Boyce's the best cows luck Arkansas song, the Mar-
who were the they've ever
foundation for had because
breeding up to of mothering
the Gelbvieh ability and
and Balanc- milk.”
er® females at And with
work today. B a l an c e r ®
“We're pret- bulls for sale
ty much a from Martin
closed herd,” Cattle Com-
Martin said. pany, their
“We'll bring in customers
a few once in a have the ad-
while, but some vantage of
of our cow heterosis.
family lines go back 50 or 60 “We raise more Balancers®
years. The Jasmine Cow Fami- than we do purebred, because
ly – 143 cow family – has been with a Balancer® bull, you can
the most prominent here since go four different directions
the '60s. A couple of American with him. That helps with re-
Junior Gelbvieh Association peat bull business. Yes, the
National Champions are out Balancer® has been good for
of that family. There's the 83 the Gelbvieh breed.”
cow family. I think it goes back Martin Cattle Company has
into the 1930s.” done its fair share of building
When you discover a dia- the breed's reputation as well
mond mine that delivers, why by raising functional cattle
look elsewhere? That seems to with the balanced traits that
be the MCC motto. Their rep- good cattlemen and women
utation for fault free, docile demand: eye appeal, sound-
cattle fit the bill for custom- ness, practical, and aimed at
ers that buy year after year, the industry target.
because most of those clients As for the bulls in particu-
work off the farm and run lar, they are developed for the
small herds. commercial cattleman using
“They need gentle bulls, top quality A.I. Gelbvieh, Bal-
easy calving females, and ancer® and Angus sires re-