The Taylor family has been involved in the cattle business in various ways in Texas County for many years. Dr. Bernard Taylor has operated a veterinary clinic in Houston, Mo., since 1981. Carla Hollenbeck Taylor grew up on a large farm in this area. Their son, Logan is responsible for bringing registered Angus into the family.
Logan was Houston FFA Star Greenhand in 2009, Star Chapter Farmer in 2010 and Area 13 FFA Star Farmer in 2012. He is 18 years old and a freshman at Missouri State University with double major in Animal Science and Ag Communications. He bought his first registered Angus heifers when he was 11 years old and has shown the Grand Champion Steer at the Texas County Fair five years out of six and out of those six years he won the competition four years in a row.
Logan has been interested in raising cattle from a very young age and got his start raising orphans from his grandfather’s herd. By raising these calves, he saved enough money to buy the three registered Angus heifers mentioned above, from Sydensticker Geneticis in Mexico, Mo., in 2005. Even then, he researched genetics and reached a decision on what kind of cattle he wanted to own from studying EPDs, birth weights and growth numbers. He picked what he thought were the best numbers for the total package, called “spread” from birth weight to yearling weight, with a very good carcass.
Taylor Angus cows graze Fescue grass and are fed Fescue hay, when necessary as winter feed. Carla said, “Pasture rotation is a very important part of our program. Cows are moved once a week into 40 acre pastures.”
The herd is primarily CC & 7 and Focus of ER Bloodlines so the cows are large framed and good milkers. Carla said, “We use 100 percent AI to well known sires. Our conception rate is about 70 percent, then we use clean-up bulls.” Logan said, “We are looking for low birth weight, growth and gentle disposition.” The current birth weight is 50 to 75 pounds and at 205 days the weaning weight is between 700 and 800 pounds. Yearling weight is 1,100 to 1,200 pounds. All of the bulls are developed on Fescue, with 10-12 pounds of grain per day added post weaning.
The cows are bred to produce both spring and fall calves with the majority being born in January and February. First calf heifers are brought close to the calving barn in case of extremely bad weather, but the cows calve in the field. Carla said, “The cows have to be good mothers to keep their calves alive.”
The calves are vaccinated and the herd is dewormed two times per year for parasite control. Cows are vaccinated before calving to prevent scours in calves. This addresses a potential problem before it exists and keeps the calves healthy from the time they hit the ground. The cattle at Taylor Angus drink mostly natural spring water from the many springs on their property. These springs have been developed through USDA by fencing off the springs and preventing the cattle from contaminating the water. The cattle drink the spring water from concrete tanks.
Logan has a definite plan to produce bulls for the commercial cattlemen that are heifer friendly, perform well and have a gentle disposition. He said, “We want bulls that have not been pampered, can walk through Ozarks brush and rocks without falling to pieces, produce great growth in calves, and improve the herd quality of any producer that buys our bulls.”
Commercial breeder’s and feedlot operators are already becoming aware of the potential of Taylor bulls. Their club calves have a reputation of showing well in stock shows and steers are finishing fast in feedlot conditions.
Taylor Angus not only require their cattle to look good on the outside, they want to know what is on the carcass inside. At one year of age the bulls are ultra-sounded. A small patch of hair is shaved off the back and rump and a probe is rubbed over this spot that reads the size of rib eye, measures the amount of fat in these locations and calculates the amount of marbling. This is a modern tool that lets a breeder know exactly what kind of animal he is producing and the genes they are passing along to commercial cattlemen.
As mentioned above, Logan’s market steers won first place at the Texas County Fair four years in a row. This year his steer had a 19-inch rib eye. The judges said they had never seen anything over a 16-inch rib eye on an Angus.
