ABOUT US

   Owners, Rod and Twila Brown were married in 1986, and employed by Snyder Bros Angus Ranch near Paxton, NE. Being one of the oldest registered Angus herds in the state, the quality of cattle and reputation of the Snyder herd is well known. Through experimenting with the Gelbvieh breed as an AI cross on the purebred Angus cows, we were impressed by the cattle that they were producing. The Gelbvieh cross dams were fantastic momma cows and the offspring did well in the feedlot. Due to the larger numbers of Purebred Angus cows, the Snyder’s crossbred AI program had to be discontinued, leaving some of the hybrid bull buyers looking for another source of these high performing, hybrid cattle.

     Although we have been around cattle all our lives, it wasn’t until that time, in the late 1980’s, that we decided to raise a few Gelbvieh/Angus hybrid cattle and sell a few bulls. At that time, the American Gelbvieh Association had not yet begun registering hybrid cattle. Our first heifers and cows were purchased from Snyder’s, in an effort to assure the high quality, proven bloodlines that we were familiar with. Through careful selection of Gelbvieh sires that excelled in the traits to compliment the Purebred Angus cows, we started out selling several bulls each year.

     As our cow herd numbers grew and the American Gelbvieh Association began registering the hybrid bulls as “Balancers”, we continued to improve and expand our herd. We have gone from being in partnerships selling bulls with other producers, to now having the sale on our own. Though still keeping only the top 20-30 bulls to sell per year, they are deep in quality and proven performance.

     We feed the bulls on a Purina ration/hay with plenty of room to exercise. Our goal is to develop the bulls to show their true performance, without pushing them so hard that they won’t hold up.  Several things we have tried to maintain in our herd is the low to moderate birthweights, good dispositions and udders, above average weaning weights, yet keep mature cow size within an acceptable range. Through the ultrasound data, we can now determine the individuals in the herd that excel in carcass traits as well.

     Due to rising feed costs the past few years, our newest addition to our program is switching a portion of the January calving cows over to an August calving group. Though still only a few years in building this herd, it is proving to be not only a benefit in feed savings to us, but the older, 18 month old bulls have a little more age and maturity that many people are looking for.

     We are still employed by Snyder Bros Angus today and feel that we have been able to build a high quality herd of cattle that fit well in today’s competitive market, thanks to their influence in our program. About half our herd are registered purebred Angus cows, with the remainder being Balancer cows we have raised ourselves.

     The cow herd is never more than a few miles from home and we’re glad to have you come take a look any time.