Married 39 years, Stanley and Connie Bryan have lived on their 96-acre farm in Webster County near Seymour, Mo., for 37 years. They named it Post Oak Flats Farm. Stanley and Connie raise Scottish Highland cattle.
“When I was in the navy out on Whidbey Island, Wash., there was a guy there that had a big herd of Scottish Highlands. I thought they would be perfect for Missouri because they browse a lot and clean up a lot of the brush.”
“I went and bought three and thought we’d have enough for meat for the family. It just kept growing until I had about 35 head at one time. We just strictly had Scottish Highlands,” he stated.
“My son-in-law was here to help me every time I needed help. I decided that wasn’t fair. So we became partners and he kind of wanted to go to bigger cattle, because they’re easier to market.”
Stanley never had a problem marketing his Scottish Highlands to individuals. “I just marketed them one at a time for beef.” But since he’s retired “it’s a little unhandy and I’ve got other things to do.” He added, “We’re switching to crossbreeding and we’ve got a market for those. We may keep some of the Scottish for ourselves for butchering. We’ve got the other cattle to sell.”
The ‘other cattle’ are Black Angus/Longhorn cross, and they’ve had them almost three years.
“We did a lot of thinking and discussing while trying to decide what we were going to do when we decided to switch. It probably took us a couple of years. We never were into dealing with registered cattle because I didn’t want to spend all that time.”
When it came time to switch breeds, Stanley explained, “We just happened to find a bunch of heifers. We went to see them and liked the way they looked. With the Black Angus cross, they’re polls. If I didn’t tell you they are Longhorn cross, you might not know it.”
He added, “With the Longhorn breed in there, they make good mommas. They take good care of their calves.”
Asked about his breed of choice, Stanley said, “I guess it depends on what you want to use it for. If I was going to just have animals around for my own beef and our own use, I’d have the Highlands. But if I was raising them for market, I’d probably have some sort of black cross.”
