Stacking good cows from teenaged ancestors proved to be a reliable way to produce functional, maternally excellent cows. Linebred pedigrees were by no means shied away from, and in fact Monte noticed a correlation between cows with some line breeding, and the enhanced predictability and function that could be called prepotency.
Prepotency is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “unusual ability of an individual or strain to transmit its characters to offspring because of homozygosity for numerous dominant genes”. Inbreeding, as it is sometimes misunderstood, will accumulate undesirable traits if the parent stock are poor or incomplete, but when proven cattle from lines that have demonstrated longevity and fertility are concentrated via the use of line-breeding, the result can be a higher likelihood of passing on useful traits reliably.
These reliable maternal genetics are badly needed in the beef industry today, where for many years the art of cattle breeding has been forsaken in pursuit of the idol of “performance”—individual animal growth and carcass traits. This performance focus has been largely to the exclusion and detriment of the “cow-ness of the cow”, her maternal function! Input costs and cost of living on our continent are some of the highest in the world, and in a global marketplace, having high cost of production severely impairs our ability to be profitable, which directly jeopardizes our sustainability as an industry!
We owe Monte a debt of gratitude for offering us this opportunity & for his time & patience in mentoring us over the years, which has helped sharpen our breeding program. We are very excited that he has agreed to continue to work with us and give us guidance going forward.
Howrey Angus bulls were sale highlights in the earlier years of Pharo Cattle Co. bull sales
Ginger Hill Angus in Washington, Virginia, have had great success using Howrey Angus females, they’ve proven that Howrey Angus genetics flourish in the Fescue country of eastern USA.
“We had the good fortune to visit Monte Howrey in the summer of 2017. We acquired two outstanding cows that have gone on the produce exceptionally well in our washy grass KY 31 fescue pastures. The 2 females have adapted very well to our heat and humidity. They are without a doubt the 2 best females we’ve ever purchased in our 63 years of breeding angus cattle. Their progeny have become very important parts of our overall program.”
Brooke Miller MD, Ginger Hill Angus
Pecan Bayou Cattle have used Howrey Angus genetics in Central Texas via A.I. and embryo purchases. They have had good luck with MH Titan 752 and MH Frances 720.
Hague Angus Ranch in Alliance, Nebraska were also fortunate to acquire a group of females from Monte, and those cows and their sons have helped build the herd to where it is today. Top-selling bulls in past years’ bull sales have come out of Howrey Angus cows.
Diamond D Angus in Valier, Montana were the original source of Monte’s Melisa cow family, starting with the DDA Melisa 545 cow, described in the write-up for their DDA Great Plains 77U bull.. Diamond D have used Howrey Angus genetics since those early days as well.
Strommen Ranch, Solen, North Dakota have built an excellent breeding program around cows with Maternal Power TM . Check out their amazing story in this Angus Journal article!
Some of their pedigrees will still trace back to good “MH” Howrey Angus cows.
Lost Creek Cattle Co. in Hettinger, ND is a family that turned their dreams into reality, due in part to starting with 20 quality Howrey Angus in 2010 that enabled them to build a reputable herd. They have a great website that tells their story here.
Wedge Tent Ranch in Faith, South Dakota is another family that were blessed to build a successful breeding stock business & ranch through hard work and the presence of good quality breeding stock, some of which were “MH” Howrey Angus cows.
This cow herd was built with the sole focus of creating profitable, low input Angus cattle, that excel in maternal performance traits and have always been required to work for a living.
We would be happy to connect through phone or email if you’d like more information on anything about Howrey Angus or Edie Creek Angus. Get in touch or join our mailing list!
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