In 1995 we began to search for the type
of Hereford cattle that we thought could make a difference for our
commercial beef producers that had been investing in our Angus genetics.
In our part of the country, the Black-Baldy provides many options for
the producer. The steers bring a premium and the heifers make
productive, efficient cows. Angus and Hereford just go together.
Finally in 2002 a friend told us about the existence of a Hereford herd
in Danville, KY that he thought would fit our evaluation and it just so
happened the entire herd was for sale. That led us to the farm of Mr.
Jerry Caldwell and his herd of Hereford cattle. Mr. Caldwell's passion
had been the breeding of Hereford cattle as well as the improvement and
promotion of beef cattle in general. He had been instrumental in
starting the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association. He had been involved in
performance testing his herd since the mid 1960s. In addition, he had
been collecting actual carcass data on his Hereford cattle for many
years.
The cattle themselves were like nothing
that we had been able to find. They are easy fleshing, functional
Hereford cows with muscle, in a moderate frame and with structural
soundness. The cattle for the most part are linebred Felton Hereford
cattle with a little RWJ, RHF and Wilson thrown in. After many hours of
discussion with Mr. Caldwell, we decided to purchase the entire herd.
The herd consisted of 16 bred cows (2 Dams of Distinction), 5 bred
heifers (all sired by W60) and 2 herd bulls. We are still using one of
the herd sires, F119, today. F119 is a calving ease sire with growth.
His daughters make excellent cows with super udders. In continuing our
conversations with Mr. Caldwell, I asked him "if there was one bull in
the Hereford breed that he would breed his cows to who would that be?"
and he responded with Feltons Endurance 745.
Since then we have continued the
breeding program that he started and envisioned. We are line breeding
Felton Hereford genetics and the results are outstanding! We are
indebted to Mr. Caldwell for allowing us the opportunity to continue the
Hereford breeding program that he started. His guidance and vision have
been and will continue to be tremendous assets. We look forward to what
the future holds for Pleasant Hill Farms Herefords.
