Don and Mary Deffenbaugh of Neosho, Mo., live on the farm where they raise and breed purebred, registered Black Angus cattle and bulls. Don’s father started the herd in the 1950s on his farm near Newtonia on Highway 86. Don partnered with his dad a few years later, and now, Don’s son John partners with his dad in the Angus business.
Don prefers the Angus breed for several reasons, “Most of the time they are easy keepers, good mothers, milk good and have the black color that is selling at a higher price nowadays.” The Deffenbaughs have always kept a smaller herd size with emphasis on quality not quantity. Don mentioned that, years ago, Dow Jenkins, University of Missouri Livestock Extension Specialist was a big help to them in building a quality small herd on small acreage. The Deffenbaughs’ main purpose of their purebred herd is to market registered Black Angus bulls.
Don has seen changes in the Angus breeding throughout the decades. “The first Angus we had were a smaller cow to begin with,” he recalled that back then they bred to get a larger sized cow, but are now doing just the opposite with breeding. Along with breeding for positive physical traits, Don is currently making disposition a priority in his breeding and selected his last bull with that in mind. “We purchase bulls for our herd at the University of Missouri Production Tested Sale.” His current bull also has strong attributes in growth potential, with a birth weight of 68 pounds, weaning weight of 846 pounds and full year weight of 1,406 pounds. “You can’t always tell about disposition, but I’d like to see that passed on, plus his other strong EPDs.
“We sold off some cows last year so we could handle what we have on the pasture and hay that we have,” said Don about dealing with the drought. Him and John are keeping replacement heifers from their herd to rebuild. “The drought of the last two years has done a number on our hayfields and hurt the orchardgrass and red clover that is mixed in with the fescue. The cows get by on pasture, and if it does get dry, we can turn them in on the hayfield.”
The replacement heifers and bulls get fed good grain to reach growth potential. “The bulls are fed for a year and then sold to the public.” Don likes to offer well-grown bulls that bring good genetics and balanced EPDs that would be an asset to any commercial herd.
Don and his wife, Mary, along with John and wife, Kristie, both have homes on the farm on HH highway in rural Neosho. Don has been a lifelong preacher and is currently preaching at East Side Church of Christ in Monett, Mo.
