A Business of Beefmasters

Written by Lynzee Glass: Ozarks Farm & Neighbors

Managing Flying Miner Ranch like a true business and budgeting every expense is the recipe for success according to Parker Vandivort of Hartville, Mo.

“The best thing we ever did for our farm is turned it into a business,” explained Parker. “I get a salary just like any other job. This is a business not a hobby. Everything is budgeted each year, this not only helps us financially but also keeps us accountable for every decision made on the farm.”

Beefmaster Breeders United member L P Vandivort Inc., Flying Miner Ranch of Hartville, Mo., made Beefmasters his business.

He continued, “That has been our biggest stride in the past five years. It’s been sustainable and took a lot of pressure off of us and made it fun.”

Flying Miner Ranch is scattered on leased and owned land in Wright County. It all started around 2000 when Parker’s father, Andy Vandivort, purchased land in Missouri. In 2004, after graduating from college, Parker moved from El Paso, Texas, to the farm.

“Dad and I always wanted a ranch. We thought Missouri was the right place because we liked the rain,” said Parker.

Andy’s side of the family farmed in Missouri raising Limousin cattle, so the move to Missouri made sense. When they purchased the farm a lot of work was to be done. They split up pastures using high-tensile electric fencing and installed a working facility.

“Today, we use an intensive rotational grazing system,” said Andy.

Parker added, “I learned a lot about grazing systems from my in-laws, Steve and Judy Freeman, and from attending grazing school.”

Originally Parker and Andy ran mostly commercial Limousin and Angus cattle but they quickly realized another breed would be more suited for their farm. “Our farm doesn’t have much shade, so we wanted an animal that was heat tolerant. My in-laws had started buying a few Beefmasters so I started studying the breed,” stated Parker.

After attending a sale in Colorado about six years ago they decided to make the switch to Beefmaster. His first bulls were bought from Watt Casey Beefmaster of Texas. “We’ve really only bought foundation animals,” said Parker. “Watt Casey is the brother-in-law of Tom Lasater, the breed founder. They have been line breeding for over 60 years. To me foundation animals look a little bit different from other Beefmasters – they have smaller ears and tighter skin.”

Two years ago Parker purchased 56 registered Beefmaster cows from Lasater Beefmasters of Texas and added the registered animals to his commercial herd that is half Beefmaster. The goal is to have a purebred herd through breeding up.

Flying Miner Ranch has seen many advantages to raising Beefmasters including heat tolerance, parasite resistance, exceptional growth, udder size and minimal inputs. “Our animals are selected based on the six essentials: disposition, fertility, weight, conformation, hardiness and milk production,” said Parker. “We like focusing on the six essentials rather then EPDs.”

Flying Miner Ranch uses a multi-sire formula for a 60-day calving window. Right now they have both a spring and fall calving herd but are heading to a spring herd.

At calving the calves are tagged and weighed, followed by respiratory and blackleg vaccinations at 2 1/2 months old. Calves are fenceline weaned at 10 months old. Parker explained, “Fenceline weaning seems to work really well. It cuts down on stress. We are contemplating on weaning at 9 months to give momma an extra month to put on condition. Even though the mommas have practically weaned the calves themselves they do still give some milk. I learned from other people that even though it might be a lot less milk, it still helps with digesting grass.”

Calves are then backgrounded and sold at the sale barn. “We market in August or September because our cows really shine in the heat,” stated Parker.

Once the calves are sold, Parker stockpiles the pastures. When it comes to his grazing system Parker pays close attention to the stage of growth and then moves cattle according to what stage the pasture is in.

“We graze different at different times of the year,” said Andy. “We do a lot of mob grazing where we run a couple hundred head at once.”

Parker explained that one major benefit of rotational grazing is the reintroduction of new species in the field, like clover and lespedeza. Tire tanks, spring tanks and fenced ponds accompany the grazing system.
When it comes to hay, Parker said, “We try not to feed much hay. We budget enough to purchase 2 1/2 months worth of hay. From time to time we supplement with clover hay.”

All of their hay is purchased from producers who fertilize and seed. “We try to buy the very best hay, that way it is not only used as feed but it also fertilizes and reseeds the pastures as we unroll. We try to keep all of our hay under cover for quality control; if we don’t use it this year we can still feed it next year,” added Parker.

On top of running his own herd of Beefmasters, Parker also custom grazes for other people.

Parker said when it comes to running the farm he has a reliable team. “My wife, Jennifer, handles the paper work, record keeping, payroll and taxes. My dad is also a big help with labor and organization.”

Parker and Jennifer just welcomed their first child, Norah Rae, to the farm.