What do Limousin bulls, a school teacher and a recording artist have in common? The answer is Freddie Edwards of Rock Island, Okla.
For the last 30 years, Freddie has raised cattle on the family homestead, and taught music at Poteau Elementary. He’s also built up another career as a composer and publisher of Gospel and patriotic country songs, a professional music instructor and singer.
“I graduated high school from Cameron in 1975,” said Freddie. “We had mixed breeds, and I liked my Santa Gertrudis.” Freddie sold off the Santa Gertrudis after they came down with brucellosis.
Then his uncle noticed a strange new type of cattle in a neighbor’s pasture… Red Limousin.
“We just sort of stumbled into it,” said Freddie. “We’d drive by and look at those cows and wonder what kind of cattle they were. Limousin were just coming into this part of the country in the 1970s.”
Freddie and his uncle liked what they saw so much that they bought one of the bulls. “We saw the muscling,” said Freddie. “And they’re good mothers, protective. Most of them are good milkers, but you’ve got to watch the EPD’s. They have good longevity, and good eye appeal.” Eventually, the Limousin Freddie raised turned from Red to Black. “We got into Black Limousin because everything’s going black because of the popularity of Black Angus,” said Freddie.
Nearly 30 years after he and his uncle noticed the neighbor’s strange new cattle, Freddie runs about 50 purebred Black Limousin on 236 acres. He owns 76 acres and leases about 160 more, all land that his family has ranched for almost century.
“Grandpa Edwards lived on this land,” said Freddie. “He had cattle here since the early 1900s.”
The longer Freddie stayed with Limousin, the more he learned about the breed, and more serious he got about them.
“I started showing them around 1982. We crossed them with Hereford and Charolais, and started showing heifers and bulls. We got more into Black Limousin, and my son showed a homozygous black, but we didn’t know what that meant at the time.”
Freddie’s growing knowledge of bloodlines and genetics helped him improve his Limousin herd from early on.
“Our foundation sire was Joker’s High Roller from Black Joker,” said Freddie. “He was our first homozygous black bull. We were breeding him to red Limousin cows, and all the calves were black, without horns, and we knew we had something going on. Then we found out what homozygous meant.”
Now Freddie carefully tracks genetics to make his herd bulls the best he can.
“We started getting serious about selling bulls three or four years ago,” said Freddie. “We don’t advertise bulls until I get them semen tested. They’re usually ready to sell when they’re 16 to 24 months old. Right now I’ve got 10 or 12 ready. We do DNA tests to determine if they’re homozygous black.”
Freddie also relies on information from various Limousin breed publications and organizations to help him improve his bulls.
Freddie’s work on the ranch helps him reach Poteau’s elementary school children.
“It helps me relate to the children,” said Freddie. “We do a lot of folk songs and cowboy songs, and working with cattle really helps me relate. They always want me to tell them a story about something that happened on the farm. It really helps capture their attention.”
It is a balancing act to keep up with ranch and school, especially when classes are in session.
“I can get home just a little after 3:30,” said Freddie, “And I still have time to take care of things before dark. During summer, I have time to do hay, and that’s a big plus for me.”
Freddie and his wife, Trudy, raised three sons on their ranch, Timothy, Kevin and Eric. Kevin lives nearby and still helps with the cattle. Their youngest son Eric recently ended a four-year stint on active duty as a United States Marine, and lives in Virginia. His service in the Marine Corps inspired Freddie to write a song titled “The Flag Still Flies at Home” which he has sung, by request, for public ceremonies and occasions.
“I sang it twice at the National Cemetery in Fort Smith,” said Freddie. “And I sang it at Alma High School on Veterans’ Day.”
Freddie also runs Edwards and Sons Music/BMI publishing company, and has taught every summer at the Stamps-Baxter School of Gospel Music in Tennessee since 1991 and the Texas Southern Gospel Music School since 1998. His Gospel songs have been recorded by The Anchormen, The Florida Boys, Living Sacrifice, Sweet Rain and Jerrel Brashear.
Freddie’s faith shows through in his business dealings.
“Everything he does, he uses it toward witnessing to people,” said Trudy. Freddie often gives customers one his Gospel CD’s in addition to selling them a bull.
“He’s very honest and tries to give them a great product at a great price,” said Trudy.
“We try to fill the need of the customer, “said Freddie. “I try to be on the customer’s side and be open and honest with the cattle I sell.”
