SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hi there, I'm Molly. And I'm Jamie. We're the owners of Higher Hand Software.

SPEAKER_03 0:04

And this is season six of our From the Pasture podcast. For more than 15 years, we've been helping breeders promote their pedigree livestock with our easy-to-use, animal management-driven website software.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

Each week, we bring you stories from the pasture, breeding philosophies, ranch traditions, cattle knowledge, and conversation with folks using Hired Hand to power their livestock marketing.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

So settle in for today's episode of From the Pasture with Hired Hand. Welcome back to From the Pasture with Hired Hand. I'm your host, Molly Club, and today I'm joined by David and Reta Henry of D.R. Henry Ranch in Hedgesville, West Virginia. David and Reta have been raising Texas Longhorns for years, and they've been a Hired Hand website customers for a good part of that time. They recently bred and raised the high-selling lot at the 2026 Fort Worth Stockyards Longhorn Auction, a cow named D.R. Native Berry who brought $145,000. They're here to talk about what it took them to get there, showing it for charities, learning to score cattle, studying bloodlines, and building relationships with other breeders. If you've ever thought a small breeder can't compete at the top, this episode is for you. David, Reta, welcome to the show. Hi Molly. How are you all today?

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Good. Doing good.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Good. Well, let's start at the beginning. It might seem a little redundant for us because we know each other uh pretty well, but just tell our listeners how did you two get into Texas Longhorns?

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Well, we started a couple years ago. My my nephew started out in our area with uh Longhorns and stuff, and we started going some of the shows. We went to the legacy sale when he sold Native Beauty, and and then in the following spring, we bought our first two cows at uh Cherry Blossom Cell.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

Well, give us a picture of the program today. Talk about maybe how many head you're running, what you're breeding for, some of those details.

SPEAKER_04 2:05

We have about 40 um head. That's about 20 cows. Um, we're breeding for the horn, the composition, um, large body, and collar. That's kind of what we focus on.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

So going back to to when Justin got you all involved in the breed, what what were your first thoughts? Like when he's like, Yeah, I'm doing this, I'm I'm going into Longhorns, I think you should come to this sale with me, and all that sort of stuff. Were you kind of thinking that it that it was crazy? Were you thinking, like, oh, this is really interesting? What were your what were your thoughts there?

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Well, we we started going to some of the events at Justin Hornmeasuring stuff over here at Justin's house. We started started to meet some of the people that were involved locally in it. And then he had that cow that he was with sell at the legacy sale, and they were telling us that they're they were bringing cows into a ballroom in the hotel, and that was something we just had to see for ourselves. So we went to it and he sold native duty there, and we started to meet more of the people and uh started reason realizing the people those people there were interested in exactly what we were and Western lifestyle and stuff, so that kind of fit perfectly the way we were thinking. So we started getting more interested in it than we wanted to do spring sale, and that's when we decided we were going to start buying some.

SPEAKER_04 3:28

It's just been amazing and fun to meet so many like-minded, so many just we just call them family because everyone just pitch in and help us one another if something's needed. So we knew that that was the group that we wanted to be part of.

SPEAKER_03 3:45

So when you heard about Longhorns getting taken into a ballroom to get sold, did the say did the actual sale meet your expectations? Was it kind of as as awing as what you'd heard about?

SPEAKER_00 3:56

It it was because Justin he sold a native berry for $78,000, and then we saw three S Danica sold for I think it's $380,000. And that was just something we couldn't believe. We had been raising uh beef cattle, just black Angus, for years, and to see numbers like that was just it was hard to believe. And that's kind of when we started thinking about that maybe that was the route for us, um, because we knew pretty much what we were going to get out of black Angus cattle in the fall. We sold them, but the lawn horse you that were kind of on a bad day you got a neat cow, and on a good day you might have a needed berry. So I thought that was worth the risk.

SPEAKER_03 4:41

So, what did your friends and family say? Um, you know, outside of Justin, obviously and his family, because you all being located in West Virginia, that's not a common sight as folks are are driving through the pastures there, or you know, even I feel like um going down to Texas for the legacy, for example, like you just spoke about. West Virginia is not a super uh longhorn-centered state.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

Well, our family was definitely open about it, obviously because Justin had already introduced it to the family. Um, everyone was really excited because no one really knew what they knew what a longhorn was, but never had actually seen one. And constantly we're getting people that stop and take pictures. And it's just they're just beautiful animals, and it's so it's nice to see them out in the in the pasture, and it's nice to be able to tell people about it and they're fascinated because usually they say, Oh, you're from Texas, and they're like, No, we're from West Virginia. Um, so it it's it's been really it's been uh just a great experience. You know, we've been traveling to Texas, Oklahoma, um, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, uh, Wisconsin, and of course we're gonna try to add two more in um coming next year. So you know, trying to expand as much as we can.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

Are you ever gonna make the trip cross country to Oregon, you think, or some of the maybe the summit sale out there?

SPEAKER_00 6:09

We're probably gonna go, we're gonna go to one of them is coming uh in 27. Probably go to Oregon. We've been trying to get out there, but um we just haven't got there yet. But hopefully it's coming year and we'll be able to make it.

SPEAKER_04 6:21

If I have my way, we are.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

Well, has anyone else that you haven't mentioned been a part of the ranch over the years? Is it is it a true family operation?

SPEAKER_04 6:33

It's David and I, more David, and he he handles everything. But luckily, I have we have our daughter and our son-in-law that's been there to help, and we also have uh one of her friends that's there helping as well, if our daughter and son-in-law is not around. But it's it's pretty much just David, myself, and like I said, when we go out of town, we have those couple, our kids basically we call them to help us out. And sometimes we need Justin's always there to help as well.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

So, how do you and David divvy things up on the operation on the ranch?

SPEAKER_04 7:09

Well, David has more time than myself, and he um of course can do all the heavy stuff that I can't. So he does all the day-to-day operation. So uh when we go to do um measurements or something like that, he'll ask me to come down and help. And sometimes that ends great, or it can end, you know how it is when when we work cattle, but that's David just it's David. David does the majority of everything. He's the man behind it all.

SPEAKER_03 7:40

Well, when we were preparing for today's podcast, uh you all sent me some notes that talked about the importance of really studying the breed and the bloodlines. Uh, tell me what that looked for. Tell me what that looked like when you were starting off and kind of where you went to learn and how you've learned over the years.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Well, we would uh go to we started going to the maturities and stuff and seeing um the different types of animals and how the crosses worked, and then we would study the sales whenever uh the sales would come up to see what the what cows were bringing the most money and the bloodlines behind them.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

So when you say you studied the faturities, did you strictly just go and sit at the faturity and watch the animals come through the ring? Were you doing research ahead of time? Were you in the back pens the day prior looking at the animals? Um walk me through that a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Yeah, I I spend a lot of time in the back looking at the animals that before they come into the faturities, especially if we have stuff in the faturity, you see how we stack up against the other, the other people. And then the first stuff are different characteristic characteristics that we like. I look into further into who the bulls are and the dams and stuff like that. And then that's kind of where you develop an eye for cattle. And then once they come in there and you once a score and stuff, then you get a better idea if your uh your the traits that you like are the same things that the judges like.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

You two practice judging for charities together and you compare notes. How does that work? Walk me through that part.

SPEAKER_04 9:59

Well, we we what we compare is we sometimes see things the same, and then sometimes I might think something is a little better than the other, and we we talk about it and we come we come to the same conclusion, but we're always bouncing off so that we can think the same and look for the same, obviously, because we want the same outcome at the end. Um so that's kind of what we do. You know, I I'll look at something, I'm like, Did you see that? And he'll say, No, but look at this. And then it helps us both to have the same eye looking at the same things. Because I mean, obviously that's how we have to work together in order to get good quality animals that people want to see and we want to sell.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Do you feel like it was really natural to pick up since you had been raising beef cattle, or do you feel like it took a while to train your eye to both be able to see those things as an animal comes into the ring?

SPEAKER_04 10:57

I'll take this and then David can take it. For me, um, I came from a different world, so it was all about um loving them and keeping them. So I had to train myself that this is a business. So it was always for me um looking at different characteristics, and then he had to train me as well as to listening and talking to other people that again it's a business, so I have to focus on the key things as the um the the size of them, their horn, their, you know, the color and things like that. David, he's got the next, I'll let him finish the answer that.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Whenever I started judging cattle and stuff, I start looking for the the stuff that wins the sh that wins the shows and I look for the traits and the long horns and stuff uh that people really like. The horn, uh, the size of the frame, the color, uh, that type of stuff. And then once you start learning that kind of stuff and you see how the judges are thinking the same thing, and then that'll help you develop your eye for cattle. And I'll take that stuff and take it over into the sales. We look at the sales and stuff, and I study those numbers, and that's why I can come up with it, get an idea of what what I think a cow is worth. And and that kind of then you kind of look at your market, what you're gonna have, the kind of market you think you're gonna be able to sell it in. That gives you a better idea of how much money you've spent for a cow.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

When you carry that research over to prepare for the sales, are you strictly just looking at the animals online and in the sale catalog, or are you making sure, are you also like going to see them in person before you make any final decisions?

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Yeah, the the the hired hand site and stuff, that that gets us interested in certain things that we're looking for. Because we look at the breeders. The breeder, the the big breeders, they bring they bring good cows to the sales. So that'll be the first thing that'll catch my attention. And then I'll look at the color and the other uh clear down to the production of the cows. And then I usually mark them in the catalog, and then I go to the sale, and those are to be the first ones I'll go look at. And sometimes they they look as good as I think they should, and other times maybe not. But yeah, I have to see them in person most of the time at the big sales and stuff where I make a final decision. But we do buy, we buy cattle. We just bought one in Wisconsin that uh we bought off of uh the hired hand site, and uh we just trusted the cattle. Um, whenever we get the breeders that we're familiar with and stuff like that, we got a good idea that cow is a good cow when it comes to them sales. So I'm very um I have no problem buying offline like that.

SPEAKER_03 13:34

So what happens when you you have this cow? She's super high on your list for all the research you've done, but you go to see her in person and your eye goes to something that you would, if you were if she was in a futurity ring, you'd knock a few points off or something. Is it easy for you to say, like, well, she's not on our list anymore, or she just moved down three spots, or you know, um, or do you find yourself because everything else meets your criteria, do you find yourself hard to, you know, is it hard to talk yourself out of still having her on your potential purchase list?

SPEAKER_00 14:06

No, it's not hard for me because one of the first things I look for when I see that person is how big are they? Of course, that's one thing you can't take to tell from pictures and and just disposition of the cow. Uh, we like the big frame cows. I can get most of the other information right off the hired hand site information, but I have to see how big they are. Because a lot of bighorn cows are they're small frames. We want them big frame cows that are up there in the 1200 pound plus range. And you have to see them in person to be able to tell that.

SPEAKER_03 14:42

So you all have also taken some classes to learn about longhorns and how they're scored. Tell our listeners a little bit about what classes you took, how you found them, um, maybe um some of the things that you learned that you incorporate into your, you know, your conversations today when you're looking at them.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

We both watched the uh seminar that ITLA puts on, but hosted by Daryl Dickison. We've watched that several years, and um that helps you, that information helps you pick up on uh the uh long horn traits that people are looking for. Uh you could, you know, there's different things on there that you can watch, and you'll pick up something each time that you go through there to watch that stuff. And TLBA also has a lot of information online on their website that you can download. Shows uh confirmation training and different things like that that you can carry over into a cow whenever you see it in purse.

SPEAKER_03 15:38

And if I understand correctly, there's different levels of scoring, correct?

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

Can you talk to us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Yeah, whenever uh into futurity scoring, uh a typical cow, a functioning cow uh will usually come in, it'll be a an average of 70. You're gonna score from 60 to 80. And the stuff at 70 is your typical cow. Everything's functioning, every you know, the cows, everything looks right like it should be. And then you're gonna get pluses for the color, the whore, the size of the frame, uh, and the uh conditioning of the cow. That's gonna work to go from 70 up to you know, maybe 78, 79 range. And that's gonna put you at the very top end of all the cattle in the country if you're able to score up that high.

SPEAKER_03 16:25

When you all go out into your own pasture now, or maybe when you were first getting started and kind of you know, understanding the scoring in the animals, has it changed the way that you look at your own cattle? Do you feel like you're more critical of them?

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Definitely. Um once you you learn to score cattle like that, you can go out there and look at a cow and know whether it's uh something that you're gonna want to put in a futurity or or you're just gonna call it move on. And uh we've we've pretty much got that down where there's a lot of heifers. Well, there's some heifers that we have. We usually call all of our bull calves, but some of our heifers also. If there's characteristics it's seven we ain't lean six, seven months old that we don't like, we don't continue home with them, we just get rid of them.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

Is there any is there anything else that because that was going to be one of my questions, is does it does it make it easier to call basically, and it sounds like it does regardless of the age. So the young ones, if they're not meeting it, but maybe you held on to one that was doing really well and now at two or three, she's you know, she's lost some of that factor. Is it is it still um easy to get rid of her based on those criteria?

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Well, it is. I don't have any, I could sell there's very few cows that we have that I wouldn't sell. Um there's cows that that we we're trying to build off of and make better uh that we see we think will be better in the future. But there's also cows that whenever they get up to a year old, by that time we got a pretty good idea if we got something that's worth feeding past that. Uh if it doesn't do well in futurities or that kind of thing, for whatever reason it is that we don't like it moving on. Maybe it's not growing the height or size that that we expect it to be. Um we we'll just sell them, we'll move on because it'll be good for somebody. I mean, they do well for charities and stuff, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're gonna hold on to them to put them in our breeding program.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Well, talk to me a little bit about your breeding program. Who are who are some of the animals in your herd that you would consider your wow factor if we were out walking your pastures that you're that you're really happy with? Um, you know, maybe um maybe one up and comer and one foundation female share some info with us about them.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Well, we we try to uh build on the Altha, the Rio Altha mudline. We sold Rio Altha a few years ago, and we've sold some of her offspring off of uh that went back to the double barrel. We have one now that's Altha's diamond, but we crossed Rio's Alpha with uh Cowboy Tough Checks, and we've got a really nice, she is a really nice cow, and I expect her to get very dear 100 inches herself. And she has a real nice heifer calf inside this year, black and white calf out of um prime time. So that's one on that we won't sell. We'll continue to build on with her because we like what where she's heading right now. So she's one on what building off of. Most of the other ones and stuff, um, we try to get something a little better than what they are their cells and keep their calves or uh try to build something better starting with the female. Uh we have some pretty good cells, but usually when we get stuff that's getting up in her to the elite side, we usually move them, sell them the one of the big sales or something like that. That generates cash flow for us to uh feed all the other cows.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

Ones pulling all the weight for the the winter hay bill hay bill, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:23

Right, that's exactly the way it works out sometimes. So um native bearish, you'll be paying the feed bill for a couple years.

SPEAKER_03 20:33

Well, let's talk about bulls a little bit, um, because they're not, I mean, I know you can some of the faturities have bull classes and you can still score them, but just talk to our listeners about how you decide which bull works for your cows and maybe what you what you've learned about which bulls work best for color, which also seems to be another um important factor for you all on the fraturity circuit.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Yeah, we try to choose, we try to choose bulls that are approve cows that we have that may need approve it in hip or height or horn or color. We try to choose bulls that we think will make make that better in that cow with our all split. And uh with color, we bought two bulls, two black and white bulls last year, and we have a partnership with Dean Wedlock and Jared McIntyre with the bull uh homozygous bull named Phantom. And he's been throwing all black and white calves so far this year. So we're really and of course they're in high demand, so we're hoping that continues on with him. And then we have another black and white bull at our house's drifter. He's breeding all of our cows this year. We've only gotten one calf out of him so far, so next month we should start getting cats out of him. And we're hoping that black and white continues on with him. He's not homozygous, but he's black dominant with uh with the uh wild junk, so we might get some different colors out of him, but he's a really good bull with both of them have one for charities. So they're they're very well-built bulls and I expect them to do pretty well with their offspring.

SPEAKER_03 22:02

Do you feel like your eye is more critical when it comes to your bulls?

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yes. Um you don't want you don't want to mess around with bulls that's gonna and lose a whole season with calves that uh nobody wants to buy. We try to get the best bulls we could possibly if we're leasing something that we can get. Uh that way it the the demand's out there for the calves. So you don't want to waste a whole season feeding the cow and stuff that can't eat worth nothing more than meat. So we we are pretty critical with the bulls that we're able that we're able to lease.

SPEAKER_03 22:35

Talk to me about your feeding program a little bit. So how has that changed over the years or what tips do you have for some of our newer breeders that might be listening?

SPEAKER_00 22:44

We started a couple years ago creep feeding our calves. As soon as they're born, they have access to creep feeders. Um, and it's made a big difference. We used to start feeding them grain and whatever we wean the six or seven months, but you give faturity animals out there, especially if you're gonna show 'em at less than a year old, they need that extra time to put that weed on. So we started creep feeding these calves and we'll we'll creep feed them, clear up to if they make the cut, clear up to a year old. And we'll show them the faturities and that kind of stuff and weed. Is really increased on those uh one-year-old calves. We kind of got that at uh that came from uh Dan Jones of Hooser Longhorns. He was telling me that they started feeding their calves when they were younger, and it made a big difference in the weights of them whenever they were weaning. And uh that's when we started doing that, and it's it's definitely well worked on. And young calves like that, they don't eat a lot of lot of grain, so it's not a big bird will feed them to start them that young, but as they get up, you know, I've seen them and they're less than a month old, they'll start picking at that grain. And then they'll work their way up to where they're eating quite a bit by the time they're weaned. And then you don't lose any weight whenever you wean the calf over into you get them started on grain. They're so used to it, they don't lose any weight at all.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Is there a a th a threshold where you want a bull calf or a heifer calf to weigh in at a certain um earmark for your program?

SPEAKER_00 24:12

We start we just put scales in it uh about a year ago. So we are checking those weights and stuff to see where they're at. Um usually we haven't we don't have enough data to say for sure. It's really mostly by eye just looking at them now the different weights on them. When we go to futurities and stuff, you'll see a lot of our cows or cans are considerably bigger than some of the others. And that's because we start them so much younger on that grain, so they got a pretty good head start on it. So you have the genetics and you put the feed there, you're giving them the best chance to turn into something good.

SPEAKER_03 24:46

Well, you mentioned Dan Jones being a breeder that you've um learned some things from when it comes to the feed side. But I know you and Retta both um have a good group of breeders that you bounce ideas off about how they're running their ranches or you know their herd in general. What's an idea that you borrowed from someone that's made a real difference besides the besides the feed tip from Dan?

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Well, the deal with uh who's their lollies with their bulls that we use. We at least there's several in our bulls in their feed program is probably the biggest thing that made a huge change in what we do. Uh with the way we've had so much more success and faturities, is it's starting with the the good bulls and then feeding in calves young up until you know they get to a year old to see what we got. And that's just made a dramatic change in our calf sizes. And in success and faturity ring as well.

SPEAKER_03 25:42

What's a mistake you made early on that you would warn a new breeder about?

SPEAKER_00 25:50

Well, uh one of the problems that most new breeders start out to buy uh a quality, you you need to buy quality cows and not quantity. It costs just as much money to feed them those cheaper cows that won't produce the really good cats that have value to them. If you want to sell stuff at the bigger sales, you have to spend the money and you don't have to spend major money. I mean, you can get a good older, well-bred cow that has a good production history. You can pick them cows up, these bigger sales for four or five thousand dollars. And some of them are bred to really good wolves. And I mean that's how we were able to build on our program. We picked up some lucky, some cows like that, that we were lucky enough that produced really good calves, and that we made a you know make good money off of calves.

SPEAKER_03 26:38

Do you feel like it was luck though, or do you feel like it all goes back to the research that you did with the the pedigrees and the in-person viewing and all of that?

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Yeah, it's that the experience is definitely you have to be able to do that because you can go to these sales and we pick cows up because some of these sales are a very reasonable price, and you and your eye, your eye for cattle is gonna tell you that if this is a call cow or if it's a flooring cow. And you know, the first thing, you know, the best thing you want to hear after a sale is you got to deal with the sale. I mean, to buy the most expensive cow out there, and that's not terribly hard, but to buy one that it's in your price range that you can get something out of it's gonna produce some extra money from you, that's what you want to learn to do.

SPEAKER_03 27:25

How do you all go about improving your herd from one year to the next?

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Well, we go to a lot of the sales and stuff, the big sales and stuff. So we see the cows are out there that we can pick up, and we pick up some of the really good quality cows from the big breeders at the sales in the West, and we'll we'll sell off the lower end of our stuff. Um, we just keep moving the top up and bringing the bottom with it. So we take some stuff that we'll sell on a sale, and then some of them we just take the sale bar. If we buy cheaper cows and we're able to get two calves off of and it pays for what we paid for the cow, we just sell the cow. Uh if it's not producing a really good calf, we're not going to keep them. We don't have enough ground to be able to keep a big herd. So we have to keep the best quality than we could possibly get.

SPEAKER_03 28:14

Reta, has that ever been hard? Like I know you mentioned that you had to learn that this was a kind of a business, not an emotional attachment. Were there some that you hated to see go, but you understood why they had to leave?

SPEAKER_04 28:25

Oh, yeah, yeah. Definitely it was hard. Um sometimes Dan Jones will make fun of me and make when the tears coming down, we're starting to sell is because he knows I have an emotional attachment. But the joy of seeing other people buy, um, especially this year with Grady, um Gilly, getting drag queen, um, he just he just warms your heart. He brightens the whole world up. And to see him get such a she is a great heifer, um, just warms my heart because that's our future. That's what it's about. So I know that they're gonna good, I know they go to good homes, and that's what I keep telling myself, and that's what he keeps reminding me. And he's like, we, you know, we got we gotta pay the bills here, so it's hard, but I'm I'm I'm learning.

SPEAKER_03 29:15

And I think just even, you know, the when we were prepping for today's podcast, the theme was kind of that you you small breeders have to believe they can, right? Like you all did it, you've proven that you don't have to be a huge breeder or located in Texas or those sorts of things to see success. So even just to see you and David's brand on some of these animals out there that are making a huge impact in the industry, that has to be very rewarding as well. It is.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Yeah, we're we're proud when we go out to McIntyre's and Whitlock's farms and we see our cows there. Yeah. And uh some of the biggest breeders out there have cows that came from us. So uh that definitely makes us very proud.

SPEAKER_03 29:59

Well, we've talked a little bit about how you all um kind of mimic a faturity with your scoring for your animals. Now let's actually talk about showing at the faturities. Um, for someone who has never been to one, what is a faturity and why should a smaller breeder, you know, go? Why should you not be intimidated by going?

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Well, the faturities gives you a chance to show what your your breeding program looks like to others, and we can see how yours compares to the other breeders out there that you're competing against. And um that'll that'll that teaches you to um that teaches you to be better looking at your own cattle and be a little more critical of what you have. If your cows don't compete well against the other breeders and stuff, then maybe you need to change directions. Use different bulls or get rid of the cows and get something different. That way you can compete with fraturities. The cows come in there, I mean, they're going to be judged by people that uh that have their own experience with cattle. They have their own traits that they're looking for in the cattle breed. So you might not see things like that somebody else sees it.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

Well, and for those folks that might not be familiar with the fraturities, there's typically a panel of five judges, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 31:16

And the high and the low score typically get rem get removed or thrown out to create the average?

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

How important do you think it is just to be brave enough to take your animals? Like obviously you want them scored well, you want them to compete well against your peers, but at at for the first few futurities for folks, is it also just about getting your name out there, getting your animals seen, kind of um getting the promotion that comes with it that way?

SPEAKER_04 31:43

It's it's both. It's yeah, it's getting your animals out there, especially if you don't have a hired hand website. Um getting getting your name out there, meeting the people. Um, you have to build a rapport, um, a relationship. And, you know, we always say the first one of the season, which is bluegrass, that's when we really come back and call stuff after we've seen what's coming up for this, you know, for the next year. That's that's a huge eye-opener. And of course, we we're coming out of winter where some are coming out where you know they don't have all the thick hair and things like that. So there's a lot of things you take in consideration. But it's definitely you you've got to get out there and meet people. Um that's the only way that one, I think that you can build your best herd. You've got to know people's gotta trust you and they've got to see your stuff. It's not just pictures. They they've they've got to see the actual, you know, cow or or calf or heifer or whatever it is that you're gonna be selling. But the futurities are just a great way to learn and to get an eye for we we're all looking for the perfect cow in the long run.

SPEAKER_03 32:55

Well, and I know in today's event world, uh most all the sales have faturities with them, or most all the faturities have sales with them. But what would you kind of say the biggest difference is that you can benefit from having your animal be seen in a faturity versus in the sale ring?

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Well, if the faturity stuff, you're gonna get your cows out there if you decide to sell them in the future or something like that. Um it's a little different that whenever you sell the cow, you're you're looking for a cow that's gonna produce something that might do well in fraturities. So you're gonna kind of tie that stuff together if maturities is what you what you intend to do. And the cows out there that produce those fraturity, a lot of those faturity animals are top-notch cows. They have great confirmation, horn, color, that type of stuff that you're looking for that's gonna throw into them calves. So when you do have something that's good enough for the futurity, some of those type of cows, you're not likely gonna produce maturity quality animals out of a cow that's not her it's not quality yourself.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

Do you all remember what your very first fraturity was?

SPEAKER_00 34:05

I remember some of the animals we had in it, and it would be animals that we call today. So, but you have to get in there and and you get used to you looking at your own animals, you don't realize if they're good or bad until you compete against everybody else and get a pretty quick idea of whether you're wasting your time with that animal or not.

SPEAKER_04 34:24

Yeah, and that's true. I mean, if you don't see other ones, if you don't go to these and see other peoples in person, um you think that you have the best. And boy, I'll tell you that was a rude awakening. We didn't have the best. We had to learn and and study. So that that's what it's about. Um, you know, so many different aspects and getting out there and realizing how can you improve and talking to the people and meeting the people.

SPEAKER_03 34:48

Well, now I'd like to switch gears and focus on uh Native Berry for a little bit. Was she ever on the fraturity circuit for you all?

SPEAKER_00 34:57

She was. Uh her first year, she didn't do that well. She only placed fourth. Um, and then in the second year, we took her to the bluegrass and she won down there. And that's when things really started turning for her. She uh she really blossomed in her second year.

SPEAKER_03 35:13

Is that is that common? Is there a lesson learned in there about you know growth from year one to year two and not giving up too soon?

SPEAKER_00 35:20

Or you think it's just uh No, I think that's definitely a good lesson to learn. Um, I didn't ever would have thought she was going to do what she did. She came from a a really big cow, but herself, she was a little slower to get there. I mean, she hit she was always a nice heifer ever since the day she hit the ground. She definitely had the characteristics, but to get from a really good cow to a cow like she turned into is something totally different. I mean, to be one of the top cows out there in the country, that's extremely difficult for that to happen. Um so that kind of stuff, you best to wait as long as possible. If you see characteristics, characteristics that are there now, um, you better wait to see what they turn into.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

Were you, and maybe you all can't share this, but were you all getting offers on her through the Faturity Circuit and you just thought, I'm gonna hold on to her, we like her, we want to see where it goes, or can you talk about that at all?

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Yeah, we had a couple people interested in it, and uh, we actually put a price on her two different times. And uh both the people, it was I think it was right at her first, she started into her second year. And uh those the prices I gave them, of course, it wasn't a cheap price, but it was a far less than what that we got for sale. And of course, all those guys they regret not buy it very high. But you know, you never know. But obviously, we're very thankful that they didn't take her. Those guys could kick themselves to the rest of their life, I think, for that one.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Well, you all bred and raised her. So before she was ever in the faturity circuit, you know, back when she was still just kind of an idea in your head, talk to me about what went into that mating, how much of it was planned along the way, or if there was some luck involved.

SPEAKER_00 37:08

There was some luck involved. We wanted to breed to Native Legends because uh Native uh Luganberry, uh Luganberry White, Barry's mother, she had uh uh didn't have a very good top line on her. She was a big quality cow, but that was something we need improved. And uh Native Legends, he had great confirmation, so we wanted to try to breed to him. And the first year we tried to do that, he was tied up and we weren't able to get the Lisa. But Dan Jones was coming to hunt in our at our hunting camp in West Virginia that year. So he brought a trailer along, and whenever he went back home, he took her and two other big cows with him, and that way he'd be pastured those uh those three cows for us. And that's how that all came to be.

SPEAKER_03 37:57

So selling an animal like that obviously can't be easy. How did you make the decision to consign her or who had to twist your arm to get you all to put her in the sale?

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Well, we had already pretty much decided she we were we were gonna have to sell her. Um just because she basically it was gonna generate the uh we thought it was gonna generate quite a bit of money for our program. So I had started talking to uh Mike Wollinger about her, you know, I think it was up in the the spring cherry blossom. And basically we are the idea was already out there that we were gonna do something with her. And uh, but everybody kind of wanted to wait to see how it's how it worked out right there before anybody wanted to make a commitment, including us. And um so whatever we decided we were gonna do, we wanted to go there. One of the things we kind of decided on the Fort Worth sale was the time of the year because it was in May, and like the legacy is in March, and we wanted to get her bread back. So she had a calf inside out of dark dust, and we wanted to keep her back and try, and we didn't want to flush them, but we wanted to AI her back and make it a three-in-one packet. So we had to wait to the Fort Worth sale just to be able to get that done, and we were lucky enough that we AI'd her twice and she took both times. So she was bred whenever she went to Fort Worth uh like 42 days. So that pretty much confirmed that that she would carry that bait.

SPEAKER_03 39:48

So for folks that maybe haven't been through this process before, how important do you think it was that she did sell as a three-in-one versus, you know, just uh uh uh you know, you could have retained the calf, you could have sold her open for folks who, you know, had their own bull in mind. How much of the three and one do you think came into play in that final price?

SPEAKER_00 40:08

I think it came a lot. I think her not being flushed, so she is a very unique cow that uh she's not gonna be her cat, there's not gonna be a bunch of calves out there other than what she was carrying and what she had inside. And so she has such a nice calf inside, and the value of her, that's gonna be a very valuable calf. And then the calf she had was carrying on the breathe back, that showed that she was very fertile, and uh she didn't would have no problems being flushed or whatever else in the that's coming in the future for the new owners.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

All right, well, let's let's go into the sale ring the day of the sale. So, what was going through your heads as the bidding kind of started going up and up and up, and people got their phones out and people slid to the edge of their seat?

SPEAKER_00 40:56

Well, I had talked to a lot of the bigger breeders out there, and we knew that there was pretty good support up to about 50,000 on it with the people that we had already talked to. But when you get up above that, that pool gets pretty shallow. The people are gonna spend a lot more money for it. And we had talked to Jeremy McIntyre and uh Dean Whitlock. We'd already visited those guys and went to their ranches and stuff, and we knew that they really were interested in her. Of course, you never know how high the prices are gonna go with stuff like that. And uh we were thankful when the Glendennings got involved in the bidding when it got really high and they pushed it up another 50 or 60,000. Um it takes big breeders like that to really get them numbers up there like that, and you just never know if they're gonna be if they're gonna do it or not. Because they have fantastic herds already. And are they gonna show out that kind of money to get another cow? Um, but we were very grateful that those guys did.

SPEAKER_03 41:55

So I think there's some intimidation factor in the industry. Like there's probably some people that just listened to your answer and they thought, oh my goodness, I could never go talk to those guys in person, or I would never be brave enough to go and say, Did you, you know, have you seen my animal in the sale catalog? Have you thought about adding her to your herd? You know, having those types of conversations. I know you've talked a lot about how you you have to get to know people and you have to network and stuff, but what what's your advice or or you know, walk me through, I guess, more of that decision that you you did go and you, you know, you did talk to some of those folks before your cow ever went into the ring.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Well, we agree, we go to their sales. We've been to Glenn Denning's sale this year, it was the first time we'd been there. And I wouldn't be intimidated at all to go off and talk. Those are they're the nicest people. Um, the Whitlocks, McIntyres, some of those other big breeders out there that we go talk to. Hudson's the Hudson's. I mean, people that we've dealt with for several years, buying their cattle and stuff like that, they are the nicest people and they will help you any way they can. And just because they're buying and they have those great big ranches and stuff in the top cattle in the country, they're they're definitely willing to help you out. And uh they're very honest if you ask questions and stuff about what you think and uh see if you're you're thinking the same thing as they do. Um but they're you're not shouldn't be intimidated by going up there and talking to those people because they're very nice and they'll be they're willing to help you anytime they can.

SPEAKER_03 43:30

So what did you all say to each other once the gavel dropped?

SPEAKER_04 43:34

I was crying.

SPEAKER_03 43:37

I think there might be some videos of that out there, Redda.

SPEAKER_04 43:40

Yeah, um I was in shock, but I was we're so blessed. Uh it was yeah, I mean it was it was definitely a um one definitely for the books and to I think it's just that the fact that they they trust our breeding um they believe in us and that you know here we are from West Virginia and we go out to the to the to the big dogs and that they they do believe and trust in us and we are extremely thankful. I I don't I can't stress that enough. Um it's definitely one I'll never forget.

SPEAKER_03 44:25

Well, before we move on to the next section here, for folks that might not be familiar with uh DR native berry, uh she, you know, as we mentioned on the intro, she sold for $145,000 at the Fort Worth Stockyards Longhorn Auction. And I think you can still see her today on UAL's website, right? You still have her listed there?

SPEAKER_00 44:44

No, she's transferred, she's overall McIntyre's and Whitlock.

SPEAKER_03 44:49

And I think there's also some uh some video and some pictures out there of the the big moment or the the moment after the sale when you all kind of uh got together and celebrated and thanked them and everything. So be sure to go check it out.

SPEAKER_04 45:03

Yeah, and of course, Nelly Whitlock, but you know, Jeremy and Lindsay, but and uh the Hutchesons partnership there that bought us, want to make sure that they're all um identified and counted for because we appreciate that. And the fact that the Glenn Dennings were back up and there's other ones as well that helped, you know, make that such a a success. So thank you.

SPEAKER_03 45:25

What would some of your advice be to newer breeders who might be having a hard time staying motivated or you know they're getting a little bit discouraged with things?

SPEAKER_00 45:35

Well, our first we didn't sell any really valuable animals for the first four years. You just gotta you gotta go to the sales and stuff and train your eye to see these cattle uh and what the value of them are and try to buy the best quality cows that you can get. You go to some of these big sales, you can buy from big breeders, older cows that are very well bred, that are bred back, and you can buy cows like that at a reasonable price that most everybody can afford. And if if you have a chance to buy one one good quality cow, buy that over two or three of the cheaper cows. Because that costs obviously you're spending a lot more money to feed them, and the good quality cows is more likely to produce a good quality calf that'll pay for the cow. You know, we try to do we could sell two calves to pay for the cow. It's kind of the way we do it. Um we bought we bought cows that were bred that the first calf paid for the mother. That's the kind of stuff you have to look for. That's how the small breeders you get a foothold in with these good quality cows that produce really good quality calves. Well, we bought native uh uh uh Native Berry's mother, Logan Berry. We uh we only paid $7,500 for that cow. She was 10 years old, and she had only produced bulls for us except for Native Berry. So, but that's the kind of things that you have to look for because the deals are out there. You can you can do it, but you just have to go out and try. You can't just say, I can think it's gonna happen because it's not going to. You have to go out to the sales, you have to buy and sell, you have to learn from the the sales and fraturities and stuff like that and build off of that.

SPEAKER_03 47:18

Well, you all have also mentioned on a few occasions here so far, you know, all of the ranches that you go visit. And I think a lot of folks that would, you know, possibly be raising Longhorns in West Virginia on the East Coast, their excuse would be, well, you know, I'm too separated, separated from the bulk of them, or you know, there's not going to be any any out here for me to go visit. Um, but you know, that's that's not the case. You all have gone out of your way, I think, to to make sure you're seeing a wide variety of programs. What do you look for when you're on someone's place, or how do you plan out your ranch visits?

SPEAKER_00 47:52

Well, they usually the big the big ranches we go to, we go, we time it with something that's going on in Texas. If we if we're going to a sale out there or something like that, we try to uh make extra time to go out and see the guys, the other ranches and stuff. The first thing I look at is the quality of their calves and and the bulls that they're running. That tells me pretty much if they got things where they're producing really good quality calves, because they have the good mothers. But not all good cows produce good calves. Not just something that's going to outproduce the mother. So we look at stuff like that and the bulls that they have, whenever they have a choice of any bull, the all them big breeders out there, they can get any bull that they want. But what I want to see is which one that they decide to use.

SPEAKER_03 48:38

Have you ever been intimidated to ask someone to come and visit their ranch?

SPEAKER_00 48:44

No. Everybody's usually they want you to come out and see their hand with everybody's proud of their programs and uh they want to they want you to come out and look and see what they're doing, and you know, get yeah, you like get ideas from them and and they'll do the same from you. They'll have if you're having success of stuff, they're asking you what you know what you're doing and see if you're doing something different than what they are.

SPEAKER_04 49:06

You always take something from it. There's there's always something that you you know, everything in life, but you always take something from it that you go home and make your herd better, call whatever it is. It's there's always something. So it's good. And it's it's just it's great to see other people and branches and what they do and how they do it.

SPEAKER_03 49:26

I you know, uh one of the themes I feel like from our podcast interviews are it's not it's also not just the animals you're learning about, it's maybe their pens or their working system or the way that they, you know, vaccinate, or how they prep to go to a fraturity or sh a sale or something like that. So it's not just only about the animals either, right? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

Yeah, I look at people's we just recently built a building and put a chute on the inside of the building. We have two chute systems now. There's one on the inside that scales uh where we can work the cat on any time we want to, weigh in, do other things. We usually bring our calves in that way, that way being tracked their weights and stuff. But you get the ideas like that when people come to visit us. I show them what I come up with, what works for us, because I do a lot of stuff by myself, and a lot of those guys are doing the same. And you pick up on small ideas that maybe that I thought of somebody else didn't think of.

SPEAKER_03 50:20

And you know, you help each other back and forth like well, let's talk a little bit about your hired hand website. So you all have been with us for several years. Um, thinking back to before you had it, how do you think people were finding you or learning about your cattle?

SPEAKER_00 50:37

It's time. We had just a few cows, and um, my nephew Justin, he had a website, hired hand website, and we kept our cows on there. And we went from there to having our own website.

SPEAKER_03 50:50

Being in West Virginia, most of your buyers probably aren't coming from just driving by your pasture. What role does the website play in getting your animals seen by people across the country outside of what we just talked about with you know in-person events?

SPEAKER_00 51:05

We put as much data on our website as we possibly can. We have current try to keep current measurements, weights if we have them, anything else that somebody would be curious about. So if somebody calls us, they already have a cow in mind that they've looked at and looked at all the data on there to see if that's something they are interested in. So whenever they call us, they got a pretty good idea of what they're looking at. And it really outside of the the data on there, there's not much outside of um disposition of the cow that is even that comes into question.

SPEAKER_04 51:36

Yeah, I mean, it done the other hand, you guys got it um perfect because I mean it it gives all the data that pretty much everyone would ask, except for like Davis said, you know, their demeanor um and things like that. I mean, it it definitely covers all bases. You just got to use it.

SPEAKER_03 51:53

How often do you all update photos there? I feel like you're in a very um seasonal area compared to some. So are you doing it maybe you know only when the grass is green or are are you doing it more frequently?

SPEAKER_00 52:06

Well, uh when the grass is green, we get to probably get the most pictures. But we have young cats, they change so much. Um you know, we try to get a picture maybe every once a month or twice in the wintertime, it's a little different, whenever they're muddy and stuff like that. If we can snap a good picture, we do. Um, but in the summertime we try to keep stuff updated the best we can. We had the way our cattle lay along our driveway on both sides of the driveway coming up, that's usually when I get the best picture. Whenever I'm not trying to get a picture, I'm just driving up the driveway and they're standing at the right spot. That's usually how it happens. Sometimes though I go out in the field, but calves and stuff like that, they all bunch up whenever you go out in the field, and you know, you can't get a good picture of them standing on the lane.

SPEAKER_01 52:52

But we do the best we can with what the time we have.

SPEAKER_03 52:57

For your fellow smaller breeders who might be on the fence about whether a website is worth it, what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_00 53:03

It's definitely worth it. It's worth the investment. We we're able to look at the because we can't get enough cows going. You know, I have to look one there myself and remember birth dates, breeding, porn measurements, uh, whenever you took the last photo, all that kind of stuff. And um, so I use it all the time. I got it on my phone and I'm down at the barn and stuff like that. We have a cow in, uh, I might check and see the last time we measured her or wait her or whatever that kind of thing is. And I know that we need to do something else while that cow's in the barn. So, and that's the perfect way to keep all that information right there where you can access it quick.

SPEAKER_04 53:39

You know, and of course, with that being said, all that information, and we talked about this, it's what they produce. So you want to see the the um prodigy. And you know, the quickest way to do that is right on on the website looking at you know what it's produced. I mean, especially if you're a sale real quick and you're like, I missed that one in in the book, and you want it right away, well, you're on your you know, you're on your phone looking to see what that cow or you know is produced, so you know if it's something that you're interested and you want to purchase. So it it benefits so many different ways. It's definitely you it's something you've got to have if you're wanting to do this for sure. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 54:23

Well, I have some uh rapid fire questions for you all here uh that we like to do when we have couples on. And um, I think I have a few West Virginia based ones in here. So are you up for are you up for some rapid fire?

SPEAKER_01 54:35

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 54:37

All right, so you you each get an answer. I'd uh Reta, how about you go first on all of them here? Um so morning coffee or sunset in the pasture? Sunset in the pasture.

SPEAKER_00 54:47

Sunset in the pasture.

SPEAKER_03 54:50

Do you have a favorite spot that you go to for sunset?

SPEAKER_04 54:54

Yeah, there's a certain area because you can get some good shadow um at the rope on a hill with a sunset coming down. So yeah, there is a specific spot if the cows are there or heifers or whatever we've got to get some of those um nice photos.

SPEAKER_01 55:11

Cabbing season or sale season? Sale. Sale season. Sail barn food or pack your own?

SPEAKER_04 55:21

Sail barn food. Lucy loves sailbourne food. She always gets a cheeseburger when she's with us.

SPEAKER_03 55:28

What's like thinking back to all the sale barns you've been to, all the sales you've been to, what's been the best thing you've ever had?

SPEAKER_01 55:38

Cheeseburger. Yeah, probably cheeseburger.

SPEAKER_03 55:42

Is there is there one that you like look forward to every year that has been consistently good or just all over the board?

SPEAKER_04 55:50

I think it's all over the board. Well, we did get um introduced to Glenn Dennings um this year for the first time. And I gotta say, if you've never been there, you gotta do it. They put on a great show, and it's it's some unique food that that they have as well.

SPEAKER_03 56:08

All right, when you're having your little uh private fraternity contest, who's the better judge?

SPEAKER_01 56:15

David. Oh, yeah. Uh if you only could pick one, horn or color? Horn one word to describe your longhorn community. Family. Are we are we mountaineers or are we thundering herd?

SPEAKER_03 56:47

Dahard mountaineers.

SPEAKER_00 56:48

Mountaineers.

SPEAKER_03 56:50

So can you y'all want to sing country roads for us on here or no?

SPEAKER_00 56:57

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_03 57:00

Uh what is the best season in West Virginia? Fall c fall colors like the fall leaves or spring cows?

SPEAKER_01 57:09

I think fall. Fall.

SPEAKER_03 57:12

Is there a is there a place that if someone was like, I'm coming through in, you know, mid-September, early October, that you would tell them don't miss this spot if you like if you like seeing all the fall colors?

SPEAKER_04 57:25

As far as to West Virginia? Uh pretty much all West Virginia. Um, you know, the first and second week of October. And that's pretty much kind of all all the way going up north. Um, so it yeah, it's it's first and second week of October of the the peak seasons.

SPEAKER_03 57:44

How many hours to the Fort Worth sale from your driveway? Twenty.

SPEAKER_01 57:49

Twenty hours.

SPEAKER_03 57:51

Twenty long hours or twenty fast hours?

SPEAKER_01 57:55

Twenty long for for who drives them out there, but we can lie. What's one thing about West Virginia that Texas breeders would be surprised by? Um we have indoor plumbing. And most of the women do have teeth. Oh, you guys.

SPEAKER_03 58:26

All right, so after a year like you've had with Native Berry and just all of the other success that you've seen, what's next for D.R. Henry Range?

SPEAKER_00 58:36

Well, we've already started looking at the sales and maturities for next year. So we already have uh a heifer consigned to the legacy sale. And we're hoping to get at least two more, hoping to be one for Glenn Dennings and possibly one in Fort Worth as well. And we have a new crop of heifers coming up for, so we'll be showing new heifers and selling heifer for charity ready heifers as well.

SPEAKER_03 59:01

One of the things that you wrote when we were preparing for today's podcast was just about passing all of your, you know, your gratitude and your success and everything along to other generations to keep your legacy alive. What does that look like for you all?

SPEAKER_04 59:16

Well, um it it what it looks for for me personally is not that we have family that will pass this on, but as I mentioned, Mike Grady, it's it's the the up-and-coming generation um and teaching them and them learning about the aspects of it. So it's just basically being able to pass this on to the next generations throughout the where we live and what you know what we do.

SPEAKER_03 59:48

For the small breeder listening who thinks that they can't do any of this, what do you want them to hear?

SPEAKER_00 59:55

Anyone can do it. If you go out, you have to educate yourself and go to the sales and the futurities so you know what uh what kind of cow you're looking for. Don't go out and buy a bunch of cows, buy yourself a couple quality cows that have produced something for you. You've got to feed them all, so you might as well feed the good ones. Something that might produce something that's really good for you. Um, you have to learn from your experiences, and you'll get your experiences from going to the sales and with jurs.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

All right. Well, thank you both so much for joining us today, and we'll be sure to link your website uh and we'll probably throw a link to Native Berry in there too for all of our listeners to go see.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:37

Thank you. Thank you.