Rancher continues family’s cattle operation
GORE, OKLA. – When the Circle R Farms Cattle Co., first began operating in 1902, Oklahoma was still five years away from earning statehood and becoming the 46th state in the Union. The area that Grove, Okla., now occupies was still considered Indian Territory.
Yet, that didn’t stop Tobe Robertson from bringing his two sons from Arkansas as part of the Oklahoma Land Run to begin setting up shop in what was considered untamed land.
“Robertson brought his two sons out and dropped them off for a few months to get started on clearing it while he went and got the rest of the family and moved them here,” Hoguen Apperson said. “They were dropped off with a wagon, a mule, a cross saw and a box of dynamite.”
From there, Robertson and his family carved out 160 acres of their own and set up shop as the Circle R Ranch.
Now, more than a century later, Hoguen is the sixth generation of the Robertson lineage to be running and operating Circle R Farms Cattle Co. Yet, instead of dynamite and wagons, Hoguen is using Zoom auctions and genetics to keep the family farm thriving.
“It’s really cool to think about where we came from and kind of what they would say if we’re here now and showed up,” Hoguen said with a laugh.
Tobe Robertson would also probably be surprised with just how big and sprawling the Circle R has become. It is now a 5,000-acre commercial cow/calf operation. According to Hoguen, they run about 1,000 pairs of cattle in most years.
“This year we didn’t, but usually we will go ahead and keep those and background our own calves and sell them yearly,” Hoguen said. “This year we sold them right off the cow.”
Along with the cattle, the Circle R Farm Cattle Co. not only bales its own hay, but they have also planted crops as well.
“We have quite a bit of hay ground stacked up and do a few small grains. This year we have some hay grains that are planted and still have a little alfalfa left. But we typically do a few small grain crops for ourselves through our own hay product,” Hoguen said. “The rest is just you’re typical for me to grasp rescue hay that we’re bailing. We do lot of silage haying. Right now, I’m big on hay because it’s hay season. They’re all bailing right now.”
Like most ranchers in Oklahoma and across the country, the Circle R has had to deal with the heat that has enveloped the nation this summer. With the heat index nearing and topping 100 degrees, it has not been easy for Hoguen and his crew.
“It’s definitely been the toughest year since I’ve been running the ranch,” said Hoguen. “We’ve just cull a little harder on cows. We did background our own yearlings, but we sold them as weanlings this year to conserve some hay and grass. So, it’s been tough. We definitely take all the rain we can get this year.”
However, there has been a positive for the high temperatures. It has meant higher cattle prices, which Hoguen calls a saving grace. At this time last year, the average price per pound was $1.35 per pound.
“I just shipped some cattle today for like $2.65 a pound. I think they sent two truckloads,” Hoguen said. “These were weighing 585 (pounds). It’ll balance it out a little. We’re not going to make a pile of money this year, but, we won’t be hurting too bad. With the rains we got a couple of weeks ago, it looks like we’re not going to have to purchase any hay, so we ought to be good this year. Wish we would’ve got a few more rains and we really could’ve took advantage of these high cattle prices. But we’re making it work.”
One of the reasons the Circle R can command is their increased focus on genetics.
“We definitely spend the money and put a lot of time and effort thought into our genetics,” Hoguen said. “We are really, really proud of our genetics. We typically sell on Superior livestock, which is probably the largest cattle auction place in the world. Sell them by the semi-load. It’s not very rare for our cattle to top a superior sell for our kind of classification of cattle. All of our customers are typically repeat customers that know the value of our cattle and their performance abilities and will spend the money to get them bought again. That plays a big part in when we get these checks from selling cattle and how big they are is we definitely have reputation cattle.”
While the Circle R Farm Cattle Co., is still owned by Darrel Robertson, Hoguen took charge almost seven years ago. When he got tapped to take over, he was working on the other side of the family empire.
“My family has a manufacturing company that builds bolted water towers and that’s where everyone else works,” Hoguen said. “I was traveling, building those on the construction side of it.”
Even though Hoguen started out constructing water towers, he said his heart was always on the family ranch that he grew up on.
“I just loved it; Dang, I loved it. I grew up on the ranch. My whole family lived out there. My grandfather still owns the whole thing. I have my mom and her two sisters are also living out there on the place with their family,” Hoguen said. “It’s been a big family operation. They’re all usually out there helping. And I did the same way when I was a kid. I loved it and was happy to come back to it and kind of take the reins of the deal. Sure, it doesn’t pay as well as a lot of other things, but I love it. Wouldn’t want to raise my family anywhere else.”
Hoguen and his wife and daughter live on the original plot of land that Tobe Robertson settled on 121 years ago.
For Hoguen, being able to raise his daughter, a possible seventh-generation rancher, in a similar manner to his childhood means everything to him.
“There’s a reason I want to raise my daughter out there doing the same thing,” Hoguen said. “I couldn’t ask for a better upbringing. She’ll typically go feed some cows with me quite a bit. I got to do the same thing with my mom and dad and grandpa. It’s just pretty awesome. You know, lots of room to roam and it’s the best way I can ever imagine growing up.”
