Pleasant Hill Cattle Company undertakes a registered Red Angus program
Pleasant Hill Cattle Company started building its elite herd of Red Angus cattle right before the breed skyrocketed in popularity.
Five years ago, Clint and Veronica Sartin, along with their son Brett, began their registered Red Angus herd with just two cows.
Now through meticulous selection and diligent work, the Sartin family manages an elite herd consisting of 30 head of Red Angus on their farm near Fair Grove, Mo.
“We have had some good years and are hoping for more to come,” Brett Sartin stated.
The Sartins operate with the goal of producing quality Red Angus heifers and bulls that will perform in the show ring and out in the pasture. Though their Red Angus herd size may seem small, it is mighty in quality.
“At Pleasant Hill Cattle Company we want to be ‘Your Red Angus Boutique,’” Veronica explained.
In their short time in the Red Angus arena, the Sartins have produced champions at the local, state and national level. They’ve grown their high-quality herd through careful female selection and embryo transplant. Pleasant Hill Cattle Company flushes one to three donor cows each year.
“It’s the fastest way to get the good ones,” Clint said.
When the Sartins look for foundation females they consider phenotype and EPDs.
“You have to like what you are looking at every day,” Clint stated. “And numbers are just a tool. We pay attention and look at the EPDs, but it is not a deciding factor.”
Future dams must strike a balance of show-ring appeal and maternal production.
“When we are looking at donor cows, EPDs are a great guide. But we also want her to be easy on the eyes so that we stand a greater chance of having a calf born that is going to have the pizzazz that it needs to help us do well in the show ring,” Veronica said.
Pleasant Hill Cattle Company assesses the animal’s feet for correctness and structure for soundness.
“You build a heifer from the ground up,” Brett explained.
The Sartins search across the country for the right Red Angus to move their herd to the next level. They recently traveled to Canada to purchase a female that will one day be a donor cow in their program.
The increasing popularity of Red Angus combined with the quality of Pleasant Hill Cattle Company’s cattle, helps the Sartins merchandise their animals with ease. The Sartins sell show heifer prospects by private treaty or through their display at Ozark Fall Farmfest. They market their Red Angus bulls to commercial cattle operations.
“We have not struggled with selling bulls, our bull market is good,” Brett said.
Though traditionally black hided cattle tend to bring more money at the sale barn, Red Angus breeders are finding their cattle are being more accepted in the marketplace and outpacing other breeds as replacements.
“We love the marketability and carcass traits of the Red Angus. It is the same as the black Angus. It is a great carcass animal and the red hide gives them more heat tolerance,” Clint stated.
Pleasant Hill Cattle Company has raised a herd sire, PHC Breaking Point ET 001F, that they now own in partnership with Lacy’s Red Angus.
“He (PHC Breaking Point EF 001F) is just a beautiful calf and he has some wonderful numbers to go with it,” Veronica said. “So, when you have a phenomenon that wonderful that shows up on your farm – you take it and go with it.”
The Sartins and Lacys are marketing PHCC Breaking Point semen.
One aspect of the Red Angus the Sartins particularly appreciate is the natural docility of the breed. The calm disposition of the Red Angus appeals to the Sartin family and also to their customers.
“We feel like that is a huge factor when we go to sell them to families who have 7 and 8-year-old daughters that have an interest in showing,” Veronica explained.
Red Angus cattle possess many positive attributes that sold the Sartins on the breed. But it was the people involved with Red Angus that convinced the Sartins this was the breed for their family.
“The people in our state association all the way to the national level – everyone is great to work with and helpful,” Clint said.
Though they are fairly new to the Red Angus breed, the Sartin family has been in the cattle business for generations. Clint and Veronica both grew up on farms in the Ozarks. They operate a herd of 50 commercial cows on a family farm in Marshfield, Mo.
Brett keeps busy working with his show calves and helping with the family’s registered and commercial cattle operations. As a freshman at Fair Grove High School, Brett is involved in FFA, football and track. He has held numerous positions within the Missouri Junior Red Angus Association. Clint and Veronica currently serve as the leaders for the Missouri Junior Red Angus Association.
At the onset of developing their registered Red Angus herd the Sartins coined a motto for their farm, “We’re all about kids and cattle. We’re raising champions in the barn!”
It’s this mantra that keeps them focused on the true rewards of their cattle operation.
