Page 18 - MWC 2-24-2022s

B & D Herefords
Focused on Running
the Ranch Efficiently
By Brenda Black
Craig Beran is the youngest insurance payments or board
of the four Beran brothers who memberships and road trips.
work the B & D Herefords and His routine resembles a stee-
Angus Ranch in Central Kan- ple chase where barriers are
sas, founded in 1969 by Gerald hurdled and water jumps con-
Beran and his brother-in-law quered. One day he’s dealing
Vince Dolechek. The second with the local Co-Op to secure
generation of Beran men man- supplies, the next he’s bring-
age registered, as well as com- ing home a bull from stud col-
mercial cattle, and grow milo lection or headed out to a sale
and wheat on a ranch that en- in North Dakota.
compasses nearly 11,000 acres “One of my brothers prefers
within two counties. the Hereford Sales,” Craig said.
They are not in short grass “The other likes to go to Angus
country like Western Kansas. sales. I go to both. Matt has
They are not in the Flint Hills come on full time and plays a
either. B & D may not have a big role in all of the association
lot of Buffalo or Brome, but paperwork. He understands
they do have a variety of flat computers better than his dad
land, rolling hills and plenty of or uncles.”
limestone. While the majority of the
“If you draw an ‘X’ across Beran team spends quite a bit
the state of Kansas and look of their time driving through
for the center, you'll be awful B & D herds, Craig donates
close to Odin, where I live,” several hours serving on
said Craig. “The ranch spreads boards. Brothers one, two and
south in Barton County to K-4 three sometimes question the
Highway then north of I-70. fourth about his time away.
That's where Tex lives, in Rus- Craig, who will complete his
sell County.” fourth year on the American
“Tex” is Craig’s brother Hereford Association Board of
Terry. “He feeds up north,” Directors in the fall of 2022,
Craig said. “‘Junior’ [Gerald and also serves on the Kansas
Jr.] and I, along with my neph- Angus Association Board and
ew Matt, take care of calving the local elevator board, easily
heifers and feeding the Here- explained his motives.
ford cows about 15 miles from “I just feel like I need to give
home. Kevin is in charge of back to them,” Craig said. “The
feeding the bulls; and he’s our local elevator board member-
silage truck driver.” ship also gives me a little bit of
The management model is a insight on what they are doing
partnership where each runs and why costs are what they
in his preferred lane to cover are. They have to keep their
his leg of the day-to-day ranch doors open too. Sometimes,
race. Craig divides his time we complain about why every-
between purchase orders and thing is so expensive, but when
The Midwest Cattleman · February 24, 2022 · P18
we see how it's run, you often the cowherd.
find out that they are not run- Craig spoke for the team
ning on that much of a margin when he clarified that B & D
either.” bulls bear even more scrutiny.
Even with different “The bulls are function-
strengths and strokes, it’s the al,” he said. “We don't believe
common denominator of Beran in trimming feet. That's not
blood running through each something a commercial man
man’s veins that keeps this B is going to have time or spend
& D team beating in rhythm. money to do. Our bulls have
“Family is a big part of what to be sound in all aspects. Our
we do, Craig said. “The advan- neighbors say we spend way
tage is that we all grew up more on sires than they can
doing this together. We kind understand, but they come to
of all have the same thought buy bulls from us, and that's
process going into each day’s the way we can get the ones
plans, so that eliminates most that go out and work for our
of the arguments about what customers.”
we ought to do. We just get the Since B & D maintains a
job done.” herd of 300 registered Here-
If one of the team gets an ford and an equal number of
idea, they gather up and dis- registered Angus, along with
cuss it. nearly 100 commercial cows,
“It either gets a thumbs up” the pedigreed cattle are by no
Craig said, “or we say, ‘Go back means pampered.
and have another dream – that “We run our cattle a lot like
ain't gonna work.’ We don't a commercial guy will,” said
surprise each other too often.” Craig. “If they don't breed
The consensus is more typi- back, they go to town.”
cally to keep doing what began Premium care is given for
more than 50 years ago: Uti- the ones who pull their weight.
lize extensive line breeding for To keep the herd healthy, the
performance and predictabili- Berans enlist the expertise of
ty. Dr. Dane Anspaugh of Russell
“Our heifers that we sell are Veterinary Service & Repro-
true F1s,” Craig said. “Within duction Lab.
the Hereford herd, we chose to “We do go a little bit over-
utilize Line 1 genetics for the board sometimes to make sure
consistency it brought to our the stock gets everything they
breeding practices, as well as need,” Craig said. “But it’s
the added performance we saw cheaper in cost and labor to
in the genetic lines. Our cattle vaccinate up front than cure
are gentle, structurally sound it later. There’s nothing worse
animals with strong bloodlines than having to treat a bunch of
and pedigree.” sick calves because you saved
The cows bearing those ped- $1.50 per calf by not giving
igrees go back to Holden Her- them a shot that you will have
efords and Cooper Herefords. to give them later if they get
Tied to their heritage are some sick.”
pretty specific expectations. Craig also sells some ADM
“We don't milk cows at this feed products and has worked
place,” he said, “and we don't with the company to develop a
climb fences.” nutritional plan for B & D cat-
Productive and gentle are the tle.
way the Beran Brothers like “Before we did rations, we
them, and they place consid- fed a lot of bales,” Craig said,
erable emphasis on fertility in “and probably fed more of one