Judd RanchFor Adrian Hooper of Versailles, Missouri, one neighbor's recommendation was all it took to get started with Judd Ranch genetics.
"We actually bought a Judd Ranch bull off of a neighbor that had been using them and was really happy with them," Hooper says. "My daughter back then had registered Balancer cows, and we kept bulls from her. When she got married and moved off, we started going to Judd Ranch and getting them from there."
Hooper and his family now run about 450 cows on 2,000 acres in central Missouri. Over time, their herd has evolved from being mostly Black Angus to Balancer-cross females, and Hooper says the change has paid off.
"As I've gotten older, we've been looking for more docility in the cows, and that's definitely what we've been getting from the Judd Ranch stuff," he says. "My father in law started out with solid Black Angus, and they just started to become more crazy. The temperament wasn't there like it used to be, so we switched over to the Balancers. We're really happy with the cross - the docility is out of this world. It's a 100% turnaround from what we had even five years ago."
The Hooper operation continues to grow its relationship with Judd Ranch. After initially buying through a neighbor, they've now been attending the annual Judd Ranch Bull Sale for the past three years. This spring, Hooper added five new bulls to the herd.
"The bulls have been great," he says. "The Judd family stands behind their product, and if you ever have any problems, they're more than happy to answer or work with you. They're just great people to deal with."
Hooper says his family primarily uses Balancer bulls on Balancer females, aiming for moderate birth weights and easy calving genetics. "We go for more of the calving ease bulls just for the fact that we have too many to baby every one of them," he says. "It seems like the calves hit the ground at a nice birth weight and then about three months later just explode. They take off, gain really good, and when we sell them, they're usually in the top 10% of the sale."
The Hoopers market most of their calves at around 500 pounds through local sale barns, but they also feed out about 25 head each year, selling the beef directly to local customers.
What keeps Hooper coming back to Judd Ranch, he says, is the combination of quality cattle and dependable service. "It's probably just the docility in the bulls and the great customer service," he says. "They make the buying experience easy and stand behind what they sell."
