Restock Dates: Please see our Farm Blog where we post our weekly newsletter for the latest updates

Meet Our Replacement Heifers

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

July 15, 2022

Last weekend Beth gave an informative update on the status of our hens and egg production. Hope you were able to read it.

Today, I want to show you a few pictures of our replacement heifers. Maybe I should start by telling you what a replacement heifer is.

A replacement heifer is a young female yearling that is typically 15-24 months old that has not had a calf. The objective is to select the best of the best females from our herd and retain them to be future mama cows. Not just any female will do!

Heifers1.jpg

This is a picture of several of the heifers we kept from our herd.

Heifers2.jpg

The heifer "out front" is from our farm. The three orange tag heifers were purchased. They are smaller because they are also 6 months younger.

Bull.jpg

We also purchased this Registered Red Angus bull (tag 114) to breed each of our replacement heifers.

So, some details about the bull & heifers we purchased.

First, one of the best Red Angus forage based ranches is 5L in Montana. We tried several years to pickup both replacement heifers & bulls, but the price (including transportation) put them out of our reach.

So this year we looked to Les in Alabama who has used 5L bulls exclusively for the past 25 years to improve his cow herd. I first meet Les about 5 years ago at his farm. It was the time when he was preparing to attend the annual 5L Spring Bull Sale. By preparing, I mean he was studying the sale catalog of some 400 or so bulls. Studying all the data - looking for bulls with qualities to improve his herd. There is no telling how many hours he spent "selecting" the bulls he intended to be the high bidder on...and he usually was.

This makes us feel very good about the replacements we purchased and look forward to the improvement they bring to our Grass-Finished Beef.

And our new bull - well his Sire is a top 5L bull. This is the second time I have purchased from Ron (and the third bull) and have been pleased with them all.

As you can see, we are moving towards 5L quality Red Angus. We agree with their motto "Bred For Balance" vs. placing emphasis on the latest fad traits. And, they are raised on forage and not grain.

Can't wait to see those first calves in February 2023!!!

Maybe you have been looking for premium ALL NATURAL GOODNESS of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs raised on pasture as God intended - without growth hormones, drugs, chemicals, and antibiotics - and raised humanely then you have come to the right farm. Our delivery schedule and product availability is listed below along with order buttons that will take you to our website where you can browse over 90 product choices and place your order from the convenience of your home. It's that simple!

Yes, I want to Place My Order

Ben & I really appreciate your business and thank you for rewarding our hard work with your trust and support. We look forward to seeing you soon.

More from the blog

What If Pigs Could Talk

Well, at Nature's Gourmet Farm our pigs may not speak English, but their body language sure says a lot. Notice our pigs! See how content they are napping - they would say how nice the morning is and glad to enjoy the shade in our natural environment. The soft dirt is so relaxing. We have heard that some pigs live in cramped and confined spaces on hard concrete. Why would any farmer treat their pigs like that?

Farm Happenings!

Celebrity Visitor – Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to meet one of the nicest guys here on our farm. CJ called me about ten days earlier to ask if he could come and see our farm. Seems his family owns a farm near Bassfield, MS and they were needing to make some changes. As you know, I’m eager to help anyone who would like to farm as Mississippi certainly needs more folks raising food to feed our communities – and since he was interested in Regenerative Pasture Raised animals that was even better.

Clean Sheets

Family Bible– This is about a personal story I would like to share this Easter (Jesus’ Resurrection). My dad’s oldest sister is 102 years old and not as sharp as she once was even though she has the most content personality of anyone I’ve ever known in her limited condition. Recently her middle son, my 1st cousin, asked me if I would be interested in two Simmons Family Bibles – well of course, I replied. The oldest Bible goes back four generations and includes names, dates, etc. for birthdays, marriages, deaths. And the penmanship is amazing! The second Family Bible is two generations old and belonged to my dad’s parents.