It is a love for cattle and the country that brought Calvin and Laura Harris together and keeps their marriage strong after 26 years.
The couple, originally from Fresno, Calf., started raising Limousin cattle in 1979. They moved Harris Cattle Company to Tontitown, Ark., in 1987 to expand the operation and now have 65 cows and two herd bulls they use to raise Limousin, Angus and LimFlex cattle.
LimFlex cattle are a combination of Limousin and Angus, and flex is an acronym for flexible Limousin efficiency cross.
In 2004, the Harrises bought a national reserve champion Limousin bull to breed to their cows. In 2007, they decided to go a slightly different direction when they bought 20 registered Angus cattle from a sale in Kansas. They had experimented with LimFlex cattle just the year before and were convinced of the effects the two breeds possessed when combined.
“We really appreciate the different character traits the two breeds bring to our herd,” Calvin said. “Angus cattle have a strong depth of rib and valuable cutability, while the Limousins have a high feed efficiency and plenty of muscle. Both breeds have great mothering and milking abilities. We think it is the best of both worlds.”
The Harrises use a combined method of artificial insemination, embryo transfer and natural breeding to produce their cattle. Their main herd bull is MAGS Whiskey River, which was the Oklahoma State fair reserve champion, the Arkansas State Fair grand champion and the American Royal reserve division champion. They added MAGS Walk in my Mist in the fall of 2007. He was the top selling young bull as Lot 1A of the fall Magness sale. His Dam sold for $10,000. With Mist, who has been homozygous tested, the Harrises are able to breed homozygously for black cattle. They also have used embryo transplant and currently have two polled full blood bull calves as a result.
Laura said they rely heavily on EPDs when deciding which method and which sire to use for each cow. They have also weighed each calf at various times leading up to its weaning to determine which cow families are the most productive.
“We breed for easy calving, growth and milk,” she said. “We remember just about every calf we’ve ever had because we spend so much time with them.”
In fact, Laura and Calvin meet at the 270-acre pasture they lease just about every evening after work. While Calvin usually prefers to ride his tractor, Laura saddles up her horse, Apache, and the two head out to check their cattle and enjoy the beautiful Ozark sunsets.
“We enjoy getting to meet each other out at the pasture and to watch as our cows give birth and their calves grow,” Calvin said. “It is a great time to spend with my wife, and it is always exciting to see if our planning has paid off and to learn what combinations are going to produce first-rate animals.”
Since the two have been involved in the industry for nearly three decades, they said they have seen the positive changes made in the breed but agree that the additional Angus characteristics have improved their herd significantly.
“When we first got into Limousins, they were bunchy-muscled and couldn’t walk well as a result, and that has improved over the years,” Calvin said. “But with the addition of the Angus traits, we’re now looking at animals with straighter hips and legs and a long, lean muscle that adds to the conformation of the calf.”
As a result of their experience with the breed, both Calvin and Laura were involved in the establishment of the Arkansas Limousin Breeders Association. Calvin served as the chairman of the board the first year and then as president for two years. Laura, who started showing cattle when she was seven years old, started the Arkansas Junior Limousin Breeders Association.
Laura said she and her husband are confident in the cattle they are raising and would like to encourage more youth to show their cattle by providing incentives to alleviate some of the costs involved in showing animals.
“We would really like to be able to offer kids monetary awards and breeding benefits when they show our cattle,” Laura said. “We know that any calf we have on the ground would make an excellent show animal. We would like to do our part in keeping the kids interested in showing and in agriculture, while marketing our quality cattle.”
