The Story of Our Heritage
On 5/3/16, Chris packed his things and headed off for a 45 day stay in the Midwest to work with our cattle being managed by Allstar Angus in Camargo, IL. About 24 hours went by, I sat there checking and doubling checking the results. It seemed definitive, but I went to the doctor to make sure it was real. It was! I was pregnant! Now these days it seems announcements of this nature are so grand. My husband was 3000 miles away and I thought I tell him when he gets back to California with one of these grand gestures. That lasted a day, and I ended up telling him via facetime with a note from our dog, Skizzy. Days after on May 7th, TRU Heritage 6570 was born two days earlier than his full sister. Chris said, “he is going to be a good one.” I bawked a little as I usually do…. how you can tell that at birth? But he usually isn’t wrong.
The rest has been a whirlwind…
Fall 2016 : Heritage obtains a 905 ADJ weaning weight. (Chris appears to be on to something)
Winter 2016 : Our daughter Maroska is born. We make another big decision. I take a new job and we will be moving in 6 months. Then I have to tell my current department head that is time for to leave a job I love to build a different lifestyle for my family.
Spring 2017 : Chris travels back to Midwest to picture our yearling bulls including Heritage. His adjusted yearling weight is over 1700 lbs. Maroska and I make through our weekend alone. This a great feat because she has been and still is allegoric to sleep and her Dad is the main nightly care taker.
Summer 2017 : Heritage isn’t sold as we haven’t been able to be there to talk with folks, and he is young making him a tough sell at that age.
Late Summer 2017 : Heritage gets turned out in South East MO with our cows. He breeds two cows comes down off one wrong and hurts his shoulder. He recovers fully but didn’t get to settle any cows in his first season. Typical.
Fall 2017 : We send all our belongs with the sketchiest moving company you have ever seen. It’s for another time, but let’s say it ends all our belongings being delivered by two Russian men in an unmarked semi and a legit Samari sword no one knows anything about. Next, the cattle and Heritage make it to Macomb, IL, new jobs begin, and Maroska has her first day at daycare. True North Cattle is official, official.
Winter 2017/2018 : We find out that mud ranching is real in Illinois. At this point, Heritage is covered in what I like to call, “a clean mud.”
Early Spring 2018 : A student, Will Blankers, goes out to the house to check a cow for me that I thought might be calving prior to beef production class. He comes back says, “everything is fine that cow isn’t going to calve for a week or so, but What is that bull you have out there?” I reply, “You mean Heritage, the bigger bull with the clean mud?” “He is good, isn’t he?,” Will agrees and is all in after I tell him he is a purebred Simmental. A week goes by Will still speaks of the bull and I mention, “Heritage has never had a halter on him but if he wants to break him show, we can show him this fall.” To my surprise, Will agrees and becomes a partner on the bull.
Late Spring/Summer 2018 : Heritage breeds cows until August 1st, recovers from pinkeye, and Will manages to break a two-year bull. We receive a few good offers to purchase Heritage mostly due to Will’s snapchat circle. We weren’t looking to sell because we really wanted to show the bull ourselves this fall, but a good cattleman knows that everything is always for sale at the right price!
September 2018 : Heritage wins the Simmental bull show at World Beef Expo in True North Cattle’s first outing ever.
October/November 2018 : Heritage receives Reserve Senior Division Champion at the American Royal and NAILE. We are pleased even though Heritage is criticized mainly for his ability to look masculine like a bull. Heritage caught the eye of many especially those cattlemen looking to add pounds and style. We travel home to get ready for calving season.
Winter 2019 : The first Heritage calves are hitting the ground. Most come small and are as stylish as he is. This is exciting.
Why have I gone to all this trouble to explain this? For those who will say, where has this bull been, why am I just hearing of him? Well first, see above, life that’s why. Second, all great things take time. This bull is great. He has the power to change your herd, the breed. To heck with the naysayers that don’t like that he is an Upgrade son. Upgrade is one of the most influential sires in the Simmental herdbook and we believe Heritage has the potential to be his best son. He is the kind of bull I teach my undergrads about. You love to look at him but also don’t want to vomit when see his numbers. In a time when Simmental bulls, seem to get bigger bellied and flatter made let TRU Heritage bring the performance back without sacrificing style, structure, or maternal ability. He defines our Heritage and the quality True North Cattle will continue to represent. Join us in the building the story of our Heritage.
