Bobcat Cattle Company has a variety of breeds and crosses
FORDLAND, MO. – The element of surprise keeps things interesting and fun at Bobcat Cattle Company near Fordland, Mo., in Webster County.
Owned and operated by Jody and Danielle Uchtman and their sons Paxton (10) and Preston (6), the farm is home to Brahman, Herefords, Black Herefords and Tiger Stripe cattle.
Farming and raising cattle runs in their family. Danielle’s family were dairy farmers for many years, and Jody’s family has had commercial cattle for years. It is a way of life they want their boys to experience and enjoy.
The Uchtmans have lived on their current farm for four years, and it’s a family operation.
“The boys are really involved in it,” Danielle said.
The Uchtmans started their herd with Brahman cattle in April 2020.
“I told my husband if he wanted me to be interested, then I had to have a say in the cattle,” Danielle said. “I can’t remember the first [Brahman] I saw, but I was immediately drawn to [the breed]. The long ears and the humps; just the whole works. They’re very unique, and they’re not common around here. They’re more of a southern breed. You see them in Texas and Louisiana.”
Although she had seen and liked the Brahmans, her husband told her no one here likes them.
“My father-in-law and grandpa used to have some, and they have a history; they can be known to be mean,” Danielle said.
She was persistent, however. She saw a Facebook post for 14 Brahman heifers in Oklahoma, just outside of Fort Smith, Ark.
Twenty-four to 36 hours after she saw the original post and made contact with the owner, they were headed home with the Brahmans.
“The cattle have a good disposition. We wouldn’t keep anything that was mean,” Danielle said. “The Brahmans, for me, its the looks. They also have a lot of really good characteristics; heat tolerance and insects. They do better with flies and bugs.
“Soon after that, my husband had been reading, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he kind of liked them,” she said.
Then he suggested they bring in a Hereford.
“So we got a registered Hereford bull. You get the best of both worlds with hybrid vigor. You get the great traits of the Brahman and all the really great traits of the Hereford,” Danielle explained.
Most of their Brahmans are commercial, but they have three registered cows and a registered bull.
About a year ago, Danielle came across an online group about Black Herefords.
“It instantly got my attention,” she said. “You get the good traits of a Hereford,” she said. “You take a black Angus bull with a red Hereford cow, or it can be a red Hereford bull with a black Angus cow. You cross them and get an F1, commonly called a black baldie. You take the black baldie and breed it to a registered Black Hereford bull, and you’ve got a registered Black Hereford,” Danielle explained.
“Missouri has more (Black Hereford) breeders than other states, but it’s still a new thing. It’s still catching on.”
In early 2022, Danielle told her husband she really wanted some Black Herefords. She wanted to experiment and cross them with the Brahmans. She liked what they were getting from the red Hereford/Brahman cross and thought it would be interesting to see Black Hereford/Brahman cross.
They got two heifers and a cow. They now have about 10 registered Black Herefords. Some were already bred, so they got straight Black Hereford calves.
“But we finally had our first two Black Herefords bred to our gray Brahman bull. Those have been our favorite crosses by far,” Danielle stated. “We love the Black Hereford calves, but these crosses we really love.”
They also have some Tiger Stripe cattle.
“It is the product of the Brahman/Hereford cross,” Danielle said. “When they’re born, you can’t really see it, but within a month, you can see the stripes come through. We’ve got several that are March and April calves, and you can see the stripes.”
Most of their Brahmans are gray, but they do have two red Brahmans. They’ve had a red Brahman bull and a gray one.
This year, they are utilizing AI on five of their Black Herefords for the first time. They plan to do a few more next month.
“My husband said we were going to have a hard time selling the Brahmans, and we sold our first small calf crop. When I listed them, I had so many inquiries. I wouldn’t sell them at the sale barn because I think certain people are looking for them. I have people on our Facebook page messaging me probably weekly asking for a Brahman,” Danielle said. “The element of surprise is why we have all the different breeds and the hybrid vigor. We like taking the best of both breeds and combining them to get something more unique.”
