Woody Crest Farm was founded in 1985 when Cy and Linda Elmburg initially purchased a 130-acre farm near Grand Lake, close to Grove, Okla. Attracted to the registered Angus breed, a small herd of Angus was purchased with the intent to develop a local and regional market to support the ongoing changes in the cattle industry.
Junior Spencer, an Oklahoma native, moved back to Oklahoma in 1991, from Florida, where he’d worked on a registered Brahman ranch. He began to partner with then the Elmburgs, and is working today as their ranch manager.
Cy said he’d always dreamed of becoming a rancher. When the opportunity became available, the contiguous Garney Angus Ranch was acquired, which allowed the Elmburgs substantial expansion of their herd. A ranch, like they have now, was always in their plans.
“When I came back to Oklahoma, I heard Cy and Linda had bought the place,” Junior said. “So, I started out helping them with AI and ET. In 2001 I went full time. Linda and I got together and began choosing and bringing in new pedigrees to the herd,” Junior said.
The farm’s help and management goes beyond Cy, Linda and Junior. Junior’s wife, Susan Spencer manages the farm records. Jake Pair handles maintenance, Norval Schubert is the property manager and Candy Couch is the office manager.
Woody Crest Farm has always been Angus. “Linda likes EPDs. She’s big on low birth weights, growth and milk,” Junior said. Woody Crest Farms has both registered and non-registered herds. “We sell registered Angus bulls and females private treaty now. We had 13 production sales here, and we hosted the Northeast Angus Sale three years. But today, we are selling to our local customers, and marketing our steers through Angus source-age verified sales. And we’re looking into new crosses.”
Simmental-Angus crosses caught Junior’s eye, and today they have some Sim-Angus on the place, hoping to increase hybrid vigor. “I’m probably going to keep, for the first few years, all the Sim-Angus heifers, to see how they perform,” Junior added.
“I’d like to add a little more meat to the Angus side, and the Sim-Angus should help our commercial end.”
Cy noted he tries to keep with proper conservation practices at the farm. “Wildlife, conservation and land management practices are top priorities for the ranch,” Cy said.
“We bale all our own hay off the place, and 90 percent of the pastures are split into 40 acres, and we mass graze them. One 40-acre pasture has had 49 head on it; that’s what I mean by mass grazing. I might move them every night," Junior said.
The breeding herds don’t get rotated as much, and Junior said they like to keep the herds they’re AI-ing handy.
Woody Crest Farm keeps and raises their own replacement heifers. “I always like to know what kind of cow that calf is out of,” Junior noted. “And, we don’t keep anything crazy. We phase out the older cows when they’re nonproductive. I do my own preg checks, and if she’s productive, she stays. Open cows go to town. We try not to roll over open cows too often.”
As for the animals they sell, Junior was quick to note they raise their stock on roughage. “We’ll supplement them, but we don’t pamper them, and they’re better cattle for it. Feed will do a lot for an animal. It’ll take an average animal and make it look like a good animal. I want a functional, good udder, and I will not trim a foot. I don’t keep cattle with bad feet. We don’t creep feed our calves, and we’re breeding these cows, trying to just better them every year.”
