From the Beginning
I grew up on the family farm, which we still reside at, and our children are now the fourth generation of. I enjoyed being around livestock at a very early age, and knew my future would always focus around cattle. My wife, Karen, also grew up on a mixed farm with a much deeper devotion to horses. Farming was in our blood. My parents gave me my first cow as a child, and by age 10, with their support I branched out, and purchased my first registered Simmental female. This was the start of Anchor D Ranch Simmentals, which has now expanded to some 350 plus registered Simmental cows.
In 1995 Karen and I were married. We have two wonderful children, a daughter Mackenzie, and a son Garren. They are also very active in our farming operation, and are already a huge help. This is Mackenzie’s 3rd year in beef 4-H, and Garren can hardly wait until he is old enough to join as well. They both have a small group of registered cows of their own, and have both already had success in marketing bulls through our annual bull sale, (with a bit of help from Mom & Dad.) They also both show horses and they have also started a small flock of sheep. Only 12 head, but it’s a start. Keeping the kids active in the farm and with making some of their own decisions, we hope will help mold some of tomorrows great farmers.
It is very important that our cattle work for us and the people that trust in buying them. The bulls themselves are developed, on a TMR cereal silage based ration. They are in a large spacious pen allowing them to get proper exercise. Huge emphasis is placed on physical soundness, performance, and disposition. I am super confident in the fact these bulls can go out and breed and last a life time. We are very proud of the fact we have several well aged bulls out still working in commercial herds, some well into their teens. A herd bull purchase is a significant investment, and so it should be as they play such a huge role in your bottom line. We don’t just hope they last, we expect them to last, and contribute to your bottom line for many, many years.
Our farming operation is a true family farm. Even though Karen and I own our own cow herd and land base, we also farm with my parents. They ran a 250 head commercial cow calf operation until 3years ago when they dispersed. The retirement process for them has been a “gradual” weaning as they are still very active helping with haying, silaging and working cattle along with lots of grand parenting. They still have a few cows which run with our herd, but their work load has freed up some for them to enjoy a bit more time for themselves. We were very fortunate in that we were able to take over some of their land base, and rent some more as well.
A statement we are very committed to is “Our goal is not just to sell you one bull today. Our goal is to sell you several bulls over many years.” We are in this business for the long haul, and if you have issues, we have issues. At Anchor D Ranch our objective is to provide you with not only top end genetics, but top end customer service. We strive to add value to every purchase you make from us. As in the past few years we have hosted the “Anchor D Ranch Simmental Sired Calf Sales”. They have been well received by both the buyers and sellers. This is a program we truly believe in, and much like our own breeding program continue to fine tune to maximize the potential of them. This year we have added a third sale, and tightened up the window, hosting all 3 sales within a 4 day window, so that anyone wishing to purchase these genetics can get those calves all in, in a timely matter and also be able to get trucking lined up at a premium time of year. This years sale dates are VJV Rimbey, October 2, 2018, VJV Ponoka, October 3, 2018 & VJV Dawson Creek, October 5, 2018.
We are once again very pleased to have a strong working relationship with Boehringer Animal Health, and our local Veterinarian, Gull Lake Veterinary Services. We are one of a few herds to be recognized by Boehringer with Elite Herd Health Status, and are on the Express 10 Health Program. We are committed to producing superior genetics, with superior health protocol.
Our roots run deep in agriculture, the kids being fourth generation on our family farm. Agriculture is something we are extremely passionate about, and we feel it is very important that there are spokes people representing our way of life. Our vision is that the consumer receives the highest quality product that we as dedicated agriculture producers have produced. A goal is that the consumer knows that their food was created with care, love and respect for the livestock and the land where it was produced.
We Anchor D Ranch believe that Simmental cattle with their early maturing, carcass qualities, maternal qualities and ability to cross well with any other breed makes them a true leader in the cattle industry. It’s our job to promote them, and be their voice.