Blue Ridge Farms began a Shorthorn operation five years ago
MOUNT VERNON, ARK. – Blue Ridge Farms in Mount Vernon, Ark., began as a rehab and retirement facility for show jumper horses, but that’s all changed.
“The people who worked for us roped, so we had some Longhorns and Corrientes here,” Ashley Yanke, who owns the farm with her partner Paul Yanke and 5-year-old son John Henry, said. “I had my own cattle for about five years, but I wanted something better and wanted to get into quality cattle. I started researching breeds and found Shorthorns. Everything they are on paper; they are in real life. They are the most incredible breed ever.”
The farm currently supports about 35 registered Shorthorns.
Ashley said the British breed’s appeal includes docility, maternal traits, carcass quality and color variations.
“It’s like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get. I like that aspect of surprise, and I don’t want to look at a bunch of black cattle,” she said. “Working them really makes them stand out from other cattle; they are like no other breed. People have stories about working cattle, and it’s the worst part of their family history. With Shorthorns, it’s kind of a pleasure; there’s no storming gates.”
Ashley and Paul are very selective in their breeding program.
“I used to work for an Olympic show jumper, so I am used to high-quality animals. I’m attracted to high-quality animals,” Ashley explained. “I think that’s why our breeding program has moved a little faster. As soon as we started, we started AI, and I have a couple of bulls that will follow up.”
Because they utilized an AI program early in their operation, the herd has quickly developed quality female lines.
“I think AI is the best way to go for that diversity,” Ashley said. “We are going to get into embryo transfer as well. Getting good cows is just so important. It’s also interesting to take a good cow and make a couple of them in a shorter amount of time. You can have a great cow, so why not have three babies out of her in a year?”
The Yankes recently purchased a doner female from a Canadian breeder, which will be the foundation of the ET program.
Ashley also breeds for color.
“I’ll breed my roan to red cows and my red bull to the roans.” she said. “That’s also what sells; not just what I like. People want more than just a red cow, so I try to blend. Because all my animals are of high quality, I can breed for color.”
Most of Blue Ridge Farms’ females are bred in the spring.
“Calves born in the cold don’t handle it as well,” Ashley explained. “There tends to be more mud in the winter, so it’s just more difficult. If we do have some that will calve in the cold and we are going to have a snowstorm, we have a horse barn, and I will bring them into the barn.”
Blue Ridge Farms females are marketed as high-quality show prospects, but Ashley and Paul want females that are valuable outside the ring.
“I don’t want an animal that lacks in being a productive beef cattle animal; you can’t lose that,” Ashley said. “I’m not going to lose function over beauty, and it’s really important that I don’t lose their traits just to have a show look.”
Getting that animal, she added, is all in the genetics. They are careful not to get heavy into show trends, unless it fits into their breeding program.
“I’ll use the hottest show bull, as long as he has the numbers,” Ashley said. “They are out there.”
When looking at “the numbers,” Ashely is looking for a “balanced animal.”
“I want everything to line up cohesively,” she said. “I’m not going to stick to just one thing. I can’t say this has to be this, or they are out. You have two animals, and you have to look at both sides. I want to consistently produce heifers that can go show at the top level without losing the productivity of the herd.”
Heifers, both open and bred, are offered as halter-broke show prospects.
“We’ve done pretty well with our heifers,” Ashley said, adding they have held the Blue Ridge Farms Southern Pride Sale for the last two years. Sale offerings also include semen from one of their herd sires.
Blue Ridge Farms does not breed for or develop bulls.
“I’ll let the other guys go breed bulls,” Ashley said.
Bulls are steered for their beef program. Steers are processed at about 1,200 pounds, then sold as wholes, halves and quarters.
“It’s been really good for us,” Ashley said. “We haven’t advertised it much because we haven’t had enough. We’ve had to outsource and buy steers from other places because we don’t have enough. Our previous farm manager has cattle and buys beef from us; that’s how good the Shorthorn beef is. I give away a package of hamburger, and they come back and want to buy more beef. That’s something we want to look at growing.
“We pride ourselves on the care of our animals and their well-being. We have happy cows, and I enjoy knowing that our cattle live on grass; they have rolling hills, land, trees and spring-fed ponds.”
To raise quality cattle, the Yankes start from the ground up.
“We work our land and do everything we can to improve our grass,” Ashley said. “We use lime, chicken litter, burn it off, just everything we can to improve the grass, and we do not overgraze; we are sticklers on it. We have 160 acres, and the most we’ve had is 75 head. You have to start with good grass.”
They overseed with both spring and fall annuals to improve the forages and monitor soil conditions. All cattle, including steers going into the farm’s beef program, receive mineral/protein tubs and a custom-developed and mixed ration.
The herd is vaccinate twice a year and worm multiple times a year to avoid parasite resistance to wormers.
Blue Ridge Farms might be breeding for high-quality show cattle, but they have yet to step into the ring.
“We did have three at the North American International Livestock Expo,” she said. “We were going to start showing this year, but it wasn’t in the cards. (John Henry) is leading them around this year, helping bathe and doing chores morning and night. When we have calves, he’s out there helping.”
Ashley thought she would have cattle “at some point” but did not expect to turn into a cattle operation.
“I thought it would be a horse farm with cattle,” she said. “If you had asked me five years ago if I was going to have cattle or horses, I would have said horses, but these Shorthorns are amazing.”
