Ed Yancey had no idea when he attended graduate school at Kansas State University that he would be gaining more than just an education. Ed met his now wife, Janeal, and later they began Yancey Simmental Ranch in Huntsville, Ark. They have owned 22 acres in Madison County for seven years and keep about six to eight head there. Ed’s parents have 700 plus acres in Searcy County and they keep the rest of their herd on that ranch. All together they own about 35 head of Simmental, Red Angus, and Simmental/Angus cross cattle including six bulls.
Ed grew up with the breed and always liked them. Janeal grew up in West Texas and was raised on a farm with sheep. Both showed livestock in their youth. Ed now has a PhD., and works for Tyson Foods in Research and Development. His wife, Janeal, also has a PhD., and works at the University of Arkansas. She performs a lot of research in meat science. Both Ed and Janeal contribute education for most of their breed decisions. “We are very pleased with Simmental. They perform as well on the rail as anything. Because of our education and experiences, Janeal and I know what is going on in the plant and we want our cattle to perform in that area,” shared Ed.
The other characteristics that Ed and Janeal appreciate in Simmental cattle are their great disposition and high fertility. The weaning weights achieved out of the purebred Simmentals have been notable as well. “We had an Upgrade son that weaned out at 600 pounds without supplemental feed,” said Ed. Some of the other AI sires that the couple like are Flying B Cut Above and Dream On. They also utilize herd bulls on their farm with pedigrees including Burn Notice, Triple C Invasion and Powerstroke.
“I plan on experimenting with some fullblood lines. We had a fullblood calf last year that performed well. I am going to see if I can cross with a Red Angus and get some large weaning weights. This industry is always about improvement,” explained Ed.
“We have also added red and black Angus to our program. We want to focus on efficient cattle. As grain cost goes up, there is going to be a larger demand for efficient cattle and we want to be in on that trend,” stated Ed. The Simmental Association has gathered lots of consistent data and created a demand for Simmental as a cross, especially bulls. “We see a lot of demand for these bulls. They are very versatile. We sold more young bulls this year than ever because of Trichomoniasis in the area,” stated Ed. Ed and Janeal sell their cattle through private treaty.
The herd runs on a fescue pasture with some bermuda mixed in. Ed mentioned, “We are moving toward using a program called ‘300 Days of Grazing’ that was created by the Cooperative Extension Service. It combines a fall calving season, rotational grazing and stockpiling fescue. We are excited to see how it will work in the future.”
The Yanceys have strong ties to the agriculture community and like to help educate the public about where their food comes from. Janeal created a blog called Mom at the Meat Counter. “My goal with the blog was to give common sense answers, especially for moms, about food from another mom that has a science background. There is a lot of misinformation out there about antibiotics, family farming and animal welfare just to name a few,” stated Janeal. She is also involved in a program called Moms on the Farm Tour through the University of Arkansas. It gives women a chance to see up-close where their food comes from.
Their 5-year-old daughter, Vallie, will be showing at the Madison County fair. They are proud of the fact that they can provide life skills for their daughters. “She is learning responsibility, showmanship and respect. We are expecting another daughter soon and she already has show heifers just like Vallie did before she was born,” stated Ed. The couple stated their biggest achievement is continuing the farm lifestyle.
