To quote the FFA Creed, Kenlee and Sarah Calvin ‘Believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of words, but of deeds.’ Both FFA and the agricultural lifestyle are important to the Calvin family. Sarah and Kenlee both earned their American FFA Degrees, and both have put to practice the lessons they learned.
Sarah teaches agriculture classes to Kindergarteners through 8th graders. She started a unique program at the Avilla R-13 school in rural Jasper County 8 years ago.
The Calvin family operate Circle C Red Angus on their 75 acre farm in Dudenville, Mo. Though they only started 4 years ago, they are quickly producing a quality herd of registered cattle. They chose Red Angus primarily because of the docility associated with the breed, but appreciate many of the other traits producers love.
Good Genetics
The couple use artificial insemination (AI) and have been using several different Canadian sires that tend to be more muscular than average. They want calves that are easy fleshing and look for calving ease but don’t sacrifice weaning weight and muscling. An EPD that they put a high priority on is “maintenance energy.” Because their intended customers are commercial cattleman, Kenlee and Sarah breed for low maintenance energy and high feed efficiency. As feed prices rise, Kenlee thinks more producers will make the switch to Red Angus for the breed’s efficiency.
Another visible reminder of the hardiness and efficiency of Red Angus cattle is a good mother cow. Kenlee is striving to have cows that look the same regardless of their stage. He wants his cows to be just as fit at weaning, as they are before they are bred.
This year they had a 130 percent calf crop by using Red Angus Bulls on their commercial cows. They also have plans to implement an embryo transfer (ET) program to utilize their commercial cows as surrogates to help increase their Red Angus herd so they can sell replacement heifers, but that is not the only plan for the future.
Kenlee and Sarah work with 4-H kids, sheep, goats and Red Angus cattle for their 2-year-old daughter, Faith. They watch the shows, events and programs put on for the juniors by the Red Angus Association, and look forward to when Faith can participate.
Because Circle C Red Angus is just beginning, the couple has to work hard, but they also have the benefit of starting with fresh genetics and new ideas. They also have the benefit of seeing Faith’s happiness watching all the animals and envisioning how she will grow up. They know just how important the future of agriculture is, so they work even harder to make it as good as possible for the future generation.
