Bryan Robertson is happy with his job. Many people wake up every day and spend the next 8 hours doing something they despise, and then the next day, they do the same thing again. Bryan is definitely not one of those people. He and his father Neil farm about 1,400 acres and care for close to 200 cattle. No two days are ever exactly the same, and that’s how he likes it.
Bryan graduated from Lamar High School in 1979 and then spent two years at then-Southwest Missouri State University. He moved back home and bought a neighboring farm in 1981. The Robertson cattle herd at that time consisted mostly of Angus/Hereford cross females crossed with 3/4 blood Brahman bulls, but Bryan decided that needed to change, so, in 1983, Bryan and Neil started Double R Gelbvieh.
Family and Friends Make It Work
Family and friends have always been a big part of Bryan’s life, and have aided in the success at the farm. He and his wife Penny and their youngest daughter Emmie live just up the road from Bryan’s father and mother, and they all band together to do the hard work farm life comprises. Their older daughter, Hailey, is away at college but comes home to help, still. When it is time to work cattle, many friends and neighbors work as a group to get the job done. Bryan said that this year they worked almost 700 cow/calf pairs in less than a week.
Why Gelbvieh
Bryan and Neil wanted Gelbvieh because of their easy-handling dispositions, fertility, increased weaning weights and overall performance. They bought three cows and two bulls from C.D. Edwards in Vinita, Okla., who had some Gelbviehs with the old original German bloodlines. Now, they have 110-115 spring-calving cows, and 50 cows that calve in the fall.
They have several herd bulls, and Bryan also uses artificial insemination when he wants to try new bloodlines or breed in different traits. He really likes using Angus-influenced Balancer bulls because he thinks they fit in better with the overall scheme of his operation. He believes they perform better for producers and for feedlot operators.
Performance is a top concern for Bryan. He tries to breed for growth and selects sires with “curve-bending EPDs” that produce low-birth weight calves that have high growth potential. Most of his calves weigh near 700 pounds at weaning and are “tough cattle that thrive on fescue.” He also watches milk production closely. He said, “I’m not hung up on black or red; I just like good cattle.”
Bryan knows quite a bit about good cattle – he used to be the Regional Coordinator for the Seedstock Plus program in southwest Missouri. He was also on the board of the Heart of America Gelbvieh Association and was on the committee that oversaw the Junior National show in Sedalia, Mo., in 2007.
Bryan’s daughter, Hailey, has been showing since she was 8 years old, and she has gained many valuable lessons as well as awards and accolades from the experience. She recently had the Overall Reserve Grand Champion Gelbvieh heifer at both the Ozark Empire Fair and the Missouri State Fair, and took home top honors in the FFA show at both fairs. She won Reserve Champion Gelbvieh female at Tulsa State Fair. She also won both Missouri shows in the “Bred and Owned” category.
Bryan spoke fondly about all the people he has met while working in the cattle business, as well as all those he has met at shows, and how helpful it has been to know so many good people. Many area producers have bought bulls from him and have become loyal customers and friends. He normally sells 10-15 bulls each year and sells a few females by private treaty. However, he does most of his marketing through the Joplin Regional Stockyards.
Among other things, Bryan has been a student, a carpenter, a manager at Rice’s Feed Service, a farmer, a rancher, a son and a father, and he is happy with where life has taken him.
