Published January 2001 in Arkansas Cattle Business and summer edition of the 2001 Maine Anjou Voice
Set on the banks of the beautiful Illinois River is one of the largest Maine Anjou herds in the state of Arkansas. And there is a reason why the herd is Maine Anjou. It's because they perform.
Illinois River Ranch, owned and operated by Ken and Charla Myers, has seen many breeds of cattle come and go. And the Myers have found that the Maine Anjou works for them.
"Maines are excellent mothers," Ken said. "The calves have the liveliness of Angus with the size of Simmentals.
"The only time I had calving problems was when I weaned early and the cows were fat."
With a total of 130 bred heifers and cows, Maine Anjou make up over 100 of the total number. The remaining numbers are registered Angus and Simmental.
Charla started the herd of Maines with some commercial cattle about four years ago. Since then, she and her daughter, Lisa Williams, and Ken have built an impressive herd of registered and commercial Maine Anjou cattle.
According to Ken, the Myers are making the move to raising strictly registered Maine Anjou cattle. He said they will keep productive cows on the farm, no matter the breed, but will go to the Maines when buying cattle.
When selling cattle, Illinois River Ranch has a unique outlet for fall steers. They have been selling as show calves to FFA and 4-H programs in Oklahoma.
To encourage purchases from Illinois River Ranch, they have developed an incentive program for youth exhibitors.
At completion of showing at the county premium show and sale, Maine Anjou exhibitors who purchase steers at Illinois River receive a minimum of $50. They receive more for placing.
This incentive program not only helps the students who exhibit Illinois River Ranch Maine Anjou, but also benefits the Myers in establishing customer loyalty.
The biggest plus for the kids is that no matter what happens, as long as they show their steer at the county show, they get $50 back.
"We hope to have a heifer incentive program soon," Charla said. She also teaches kindergarten, as well as being active in the farm.
Most of the cattle sold off of the ranch are percentage cattle, and may be registered with the Maine Anjou Association.
They are mostly A.I'd, using bulls such as Draftpick who have high E.P.D.'s and are balanced for showstock.
Over 400 owned acres and 200 leased acres in native range allow the cattle to maintain condition. Ken said he feeds mixed grass hay, utilizing the forage already present on the land.
"I use a sod drill to put wheat or rye in," Ken said. He uses chicken litter from their seven chicken houses for fertilizer.
The future looks bright for the Maine Anjou herd at Illinois River Ranch. They will be one to watch in the future!
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