Operation thrives on diversity
HOUSTON, MO. – Many times, when you visit with someone about how they got started in business, they credit their parents, or grandparents, with Doc and Carla Taylor, that isn’t the case. They both give credit to their son, Logan, for their start in the registered Angus business. Doc, Carla and Logan Taylor with the help of Dustin Pursifull, who has been helping the Taylor family since 2008, raise registered Angus cattle and Quarter horses outside of Houston, Missouri in Texas county.
Doc and Carla were raised in the cattle industry as they were growing up and together, they started out with a commercial herd.
“We always have taken pride in raising very good cattle through the years, but we were not set on any breed.” Carla stated.
Doc and Carla went on to say that Logan wanted to get into the registered business when he was 10 years old. At the time, Certified Angus Beef was coming to the forefront and Angus was getting a lot of recognition.
“He studied the Angus pedigrees, sale catalogs and decided what sale he wanted to go to and he picked out the one he really wanted.” Carla said.
Since Doc and Carla were knowledgeable in sales and especially the cutting horse sales, they knew that buying your top-pick isn’t always feasible, so they encouraged him to make a list of animals that would fit his program. Logan had saved money from raising bottle calves and used that to purchase his first two Angus cows, one of those being the top cow on his list! That purchase in 2005 was the beginning of Taylor Angus!
Logan’s dream of taking his product from ‘farm to table’ is still alive today. The Taylors are continually feeding out steers and offering beef for sale directly to consumers. Beef can be purchased at Taylor Veterinary Clinic and at the Savor BBQ & Grill restaurant in Houston, Missouri. The meat is offered as packaged cuts or even as whole beef cut to the customers’ requests.
While the Taylors run both registered and commercial cattle, they say that the advantage to registered stock is knowing what is “under the hide.” Although the paperwork and expense are more with the registered cattle, they believe the end result of knowing the lineage of those cattle is well worth the added input. Carla records birth weights, weaning weights, yearling weights, scrotal measurements, height, docility, maternal traits and growth. This data is submitted to the Angus Association on each individual calf. Cattle are culled based on docility and growth at weaning, reproductive issues, or a cow who doesn’t raise a quality calf without reason.
All registered cattle are bred by synchronized Artificial Insemination (AI) with a clean-up bull following. Commercial cattle are natural service. Doc and Carla’s advice to others looking into AI breeding is to do synchronized breeding and follow the protocol precisely, have docility in your cattle for improved conception rates and good facilities.
The Taylors utilize rotational grazing methods and cattle are moved to new pastures every Monday. All pastures are fescue based and all breeding heifers and breeding bulls are raised on these same fescue pastures and are not creep fed. By utilizing rotational grazing, they have found that it provides more pounds on calves, makes the cattle easier to catch, creates a better pasture, runs more cows on less acreage, and little to no fertilizer is needed. All pastures and hay fields are soil tested regularly. Doc stated that there are no disadvantages to rotational grazing. The Natural Resources and Conservation Services (NRCS) offers help in setting up rotational grazing systems for those who attend grazing school.
All cattle and horses have free choice mineral. The cattle in the feed pen raised for beef are fed a special ‘Taylor’s Mix’ and are run out on grass. There is always about 15 -20 head being fed for beef at a time. They are all natural and given no hormones or antibiotics. Cattle are vaccinated and dewormed twice a year in the spring and fall. They stated that their biggest health concern is pink-eye and anaplasmosis. Doc developed his own vaccine against pink-eye, which he carries at the veterinary clinic. To help prevent anaplasmosis, they keep Chlortetracycline (CTC) in the mineral. Tick prevention is also key and cattle are sprayed regularly to help with flies and ticks. The horses are all vaccinated with a vaccine that includes West Nile.
“There have been several cases of West Nile this year.” Doc stated.
When asked about their horses and why they chose Quarter horses over other breeds, Carla was quick to answer, Versatility. Carla started out doing day-help for farmers and ranchers in the area, gathering cattle and at the time, she was riding her Fox-trotters. She ran into some issues with them falling with her, and Doc told her they needed to get her a good “cow-pony”. The horse they found was a half-way trained cutting horse. That is when their love for cutting horses began.
Cutting is a Western-style equestrian competition where a horse and rider work together to separate a cow from a herd and hold it away. The horse’s ability to think for itself and anticipate the cow’s movements is a key factor in determining the winner. The Taylors have competed in National Cutting Horse Association events and Doc is most proud of a mare, Peptos Wilson, he rode several years ago. He qualified for the Triple Crown Cutting, competing on her at the Futurity as a 3-year-old, the Summer Spectacular Derby as a 4-year-old and at the Super Stakes Classic as a 4-year-old. At the veterinary clinic, the office walls are lined with cutting competition photos taken of Doc, Carla and Logan.
All broodmares are bred by AI and Doc does has done the AI work on their mares for years.
“They don’t know what a stallion is.” Doc chuckled.
Carla continued, “If you haul a mare with a foal by her side to a breeding facility where other mares and foals are at also, there is the chance the foal or mare will get sick and/or hurt, then you have thousands and thousands of dollars invested trying to heal the foal or mare. Whereas, if you AI, that mare and foal is brought to the clinic and housed in a protected, clean environment.”
The Taylors offer 40-50 bulls for sale each spring and fall and heifers are also available for sale. The only advertising they do is by offering bulls at Farmfest in Springfield, Missouri every October and by word of mouth. Their commercial cattle are sold at the Central Ozarks Stockyards in Squires, Missouri, where the same buyer purchases them each year. The Taylors take pride in producing a good product and when their genetics are sought after by order buyers, that means they are doing things correctly. Whether it’s registered cattle or beef for a freezer, Taylor Angus offers a premier product.
