Skyler Storie searches for the genetics once found in his grandfather’s Hereford herd
CONWAY, MO. – Skyler Storie was only about 5 years old when he bought his first cow.
“She was a Corriente,” Skyler said with a chuckle. “From there, I just kept getting Corriente cattle because no one wanted them, and they were cheap.”
Growing up on his family’s farm, Skyler said his dad, Kenny, would give Skyler and his sister a calf every year, either a heifer or steer. His sister went with the steers, but Skyler started growing his herd.
“I had enough cows built up that I could raise those calves, sell them, and do what I wanted with the money,” Skyler recalled. “When I was 10, I wanted a horned Hereford bull. I finally found a bull at Farmfest. The guy gave me a deal because he had too much white.
“After I got my bull, I wanted some horned Hereford cows; I’m pretty particular about my cows, and I didn’t want to settle for anything else.”
Thus began Skyler’s venture toward developing a registered Hereford, both polled and horned, herd, and Storie Farms Registered Herefords.
At 15 years of age, the budding cattleman found a set of Hereford heifers at a sale, but there was a problem.
“The sale was five hours away in Kansas, and I wasn’t old enough to drive,” Skyler said.
Skyler called the producer holding the sale and gave him a budget. That budget, however, was lower than the bid it took to bring any of the heifers back to the Webster County, Mo., farm.
“He called me and said he wanted to help me out. He said they had 50 heifers they kept back that were breed back to their bulls, and I could choose anything I wanted. I said I would do that, so he picked me three half-sisters. From there, I have just kept building and buying.”
In January, Skyler began a journey to bring “old Hereford genetics” to the farm, but not just any lines.
“My grandfather, Jim Storie, had registered Herefords but didn’t keep up on paperwork,” Skyler explained. “As a long shot, I called the American Hereford Association because I thought it would be neat to honor him and get some of those genetics back. It took a few days, but they had the last bull he bought on file. He was a Vindicator on the top and bottom and some Klondike genetics.”
Skyler said additional research proved futile because he found no live animals from that line. He reached back out to the American Hereford Association, which intern provided the young cattleman with a list of possible breeders.
“I called a bunch of people, and now I have some in my herd,” Skyler said. “I am tickled to death.”
Skyler explained that he purchased semen from Jim Reed of Green Ridge, Mo., a fellow Hereford breeder and Hereford genetics entrepreneur.
“He had some semen from the sire of my grandpa’s bull from 1962,” Skyler said. “I asked him if I could buy it all, and I did. I have bought straws from various other bulls, too, so I have about 500 straws from 24 bulls in storage. Some of the straws are so old that there is no date on them, and, to my knowledge, I have the last of the semen for some of those bulls.”
Skyler specifically sought semen from bulls that were the foundation of his grandfather’s Hereford operation.
“I looked at this, and I wanted to really get back to grandpa’s genetics, and I didn’t think I could find any of it,” he said, adding he never met his grandfather as he died before Skyler was born. “I was getting frustrated because I found the bull side but couldn’t find any cow side genetics. I finally lucked out and found out that Journagan Ranch (in Mountain Grove, Mo., and operated by Missouri State University) had a lot of it in their storage.”
Skyler reached out to find other foundation Hereford genetics, including the Victor Domino line. He contacted breeders nationwide, finally finding a bull in Kentucky and a cow and her heifer calf in Georgia.
“I got the animals I wanted,” Skyler said.
His breeding program did not get off to the best start this spring, with only two commercial heifers conceiving on their first round of AI, but Skyler is not discouraged.
“I already have a list going for this fall of what I’m doing with each heifer,” Skyler said. “They are going to get a different bull with these genetics, and then, they will get a clean-up bull. I would rather they stick with AI, but either way, I will get the genetics I want. From there, I am planning for years down the road, and who I can get my bulls out of and the cows to make my foundation what I want.”
By leaning toward foundation genetics, Skyler said the old sires may not have ideal EPD numbers across the board, but they are the numbers he wants and feels he can build from.
“They were good, efficient cattle,” Skyler explained. “They were blocky cattle that were good, solid cows that had great longevity.”
Skyler said his father received some of his grandfather’s herd after Jim’s death. Some of those cows continued to be productive for more than 20 years.
“I want a herd that will last a long time, milk good, and hold their weight as they get older,” Skyler said. “Adding the newer genetics will get the numbers on the older genetics, crisscrossing a little, but still keeping the bloodlines I want.”
Additionally, for his horned genetics, Skyler plans to keep some of his Line One animals, adding some polled animals to the line.
“I just like those Line One genetics,” he said.
Skyler said he follows industry trends as he builds his program and wants to keep his herd relevant for customers.
“You aren’t doing this for yourself,” he said. “You have to have what the buyers want, and I try to keep that in mind. If I buy new bulls, I try to get them as yearlings and grow them how I want them.”
One of his go-to supplements for bull development is Rancher’s Pride, which is sourced through MFA.
“It has a limiter in it,” Skyler explained. “Bulls should only eat 10 percent of their body weight daily. I started it on my bulls that I raised to see how it would go before doing it long-term. I turned those bulls out on 20, 30 cows, and they didn’t fall apart; their feet held up, and they did well on it. They lost a little butter fat, but they stayed solid.”
Skyler is also diligent about the rate of gain in his cattle.
“I look very hard at feed efficiency and daily gain,” he explained. “We have a set of scales and weigh calves within minutes of weaning, so we get a very accurate weaning weight. We weigh 30 days later and then at 60 days. At 90 days, we will weigh them again, and I can really get an accurate figure. One of my herd bulls that I bought at weaning had an ADG of 4.25 pounds. I couldn’t believe it, but I kept track of all of his calves last year, and it was hereditary. All of his calves had similar gains. I have really big cows, bigger than what most people like, and they can raise those bigger calves and do well with them.
“There was a lot of talk about downsizing Herefords, but my cows are weaning off heifers in the 730s to 750s and bulls in the 830s. I try to keep track of gains so I can justify having these bigger cows and higher-gaining bulls. I try to buy bulls that have bigger weaning weights so I can keep going forward.”
He does creep feed his calves because he feels it helps the cows maintain their condition and helps in the weaning process.
“I like to give the calf the best possible chance, helping that cow a little, and it helps in a drought,” Skyler said.
Calves are typically weaned at 6 months of age, vaccinated, and fed for 60 to 90 days. Bulls are weaned separately from heifers for both his commercial and registered herds.
At weaning, a determination is made if bull calves will remain bulls.
“By then, they should look like bulls,” Skyler explained. “Sometimes it takes a calf a little longer to get going, so I give them the time and chance to grow. I keep commercial bulls for customers because there is always someone who doesn’t have the money to spend on a registered bull, and I think my commercial bulls are just as good. Generally, they are purebred or have a quarter Beefmaster to give them a little extra hybrid vigor. A lot of people like them.”
Skyler also works closely with Kenny and his herd, and there are some swaps.
“If I see a good bull calf with his cows, I will buy or trade for him,” Skyler said. “I will then develop that bull to sell as a commercial bull.”
Skyler also likes to keep a strong battery of herd sires of varying ages.
“If I get a younger bull, I will be able to have him ready to go to work as I phase out an older bull,” Skyler explained. While older bulls may physically leave the breeding program, semen is collected and stored for future use.
With a growing AI catalog and six registered bulls available for cleanup, Skyler plans to be highly selective with his pairings.
“Last year, I put out three bulls and had two idle,” he explained. “I want to use all the bulls this year, so I hot wired off the rental property so I could get the best calves possible.”
Retained heifers, in both the commercial and registered herds, are bred at 15 to 16 months, depending on their size and maturity. All are pelvic measured before breeding.
“We don’t measure until they are about 9 months old,” Skyler said. “We want them to have their best growth before we breed. Anything that doesn’t pass gets sold, unless it is a younger heifer, and then we will kick her to the next group to get a second opportunity. If she still doesn’t pass, she goes down the road.
“A heifer has to weigh 800 pounds before we will breed her, 750 at the smallest, and she has to be special to do that. I want them to have the opportunity to get some size and maturity and not shortchange her.”
As he grows his registered herd, Skyler will also continue with his commercial cattle.
“You have to have something to pay for the registered cows,” he said. “I keep the heifers I like for replacements, but I’m stacked for room. I typically sell them as bred heifers. Last year, I took a group to the Show Me Select Sale. We did DNA on my herd and my dad’s, and we will have EPDs on them, which will give us and customers more information.”
He added that he has consigned a group of his commercial heifers to a Missouri Hereford Association sale, which is allowing commercial heifers for the first time.
The next step for Storie Farms Registered Herefords is adding an ET program. Skyler has been acquiring dairy-cross females, which were sired by his bulls, to use as recips, but until then, he is breeding those females.
“I’m working to find a donor cow that goes back to these older genetics,” he explained.
While his late grandfather may never see the herd Skyler is building, he thinks the family patriarch would be pleased.
“I think he would be pretty tickled,” Skyler said with a smile. “My dad, aunts and uncles are ecstatic about it. I didn’t tell them what I was doing for a while because I didn’t want to disappoint them. I found out that I could find some of these genetics and they were all for it and extremely excited.”
Building his breeding program has been a long road, with many miles ahead, but Skyler said he is pleased with his progress.
“I’m satisfied with them,” he said of his growing herd of about 39 polled and horned females and six herd bulls. “This year, I finally got to the point where I do not want to do something different. I like how my calves look and where we are going.
“I am excited to see where I go. I will have calves out of the old genetics and three new bulls. I hope to have lots of new herd bulls hitting the ground. I will retain everything I can. I’d love to have 500 head, but we only have so much room.”
To make room, Skyler will be culling down some of his older females or those females that aren’t making the genetic cut.
“My goal is to get all of my cows with my prefix in front, then work on getting all of my bulls there,” he said. “The bulls will take a lot longer. This is a bit of a risk, mixing old genetics with newer ones, but I’m going to start with my fall calvers and move on to my better cows.
“I’m getting really close to having a calf with my pedigree, and I will be excited to get that.”
