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Maine-Anjou Fits This Operation

published: August 8th 2008
by: Martha Hollida Garrett

    Belvedere is a Latin word that means pretty view. For Wolfgang and Christa Buschhorn their ranch view is even prettier since incorporating Maine-Anjou into their program in 1990.
    They first saw the breed in Colorado. They fell in love with them and purchased 35 head.
    “The cattle were impressive. So gentle and came right to us. We knew it was the right breed for us,” describes Buschhorn, adding that they continue to be the right breed for them and their customers.
    The Buschhorns, Germans by birth, maintained a shipping company and conducted business with a particular colonel stationed at the U.S. Pentagon.
    “This colonel took me on a trip to Texas in 1979. I loved it. I told him to find me a place there. Three weeks later, he called and we purchased what is Belvedere,” tells the Buschhorns, who spend half of each year at the ranch and half in Germany. Their two children received masters degrees from nearby Texas A&M University and live in Spain and Germany.
    Initially they purchased nine Brahman cows and then added Simmental to the mix. At one time, they were one of the largest breeders of Simbrah and maintained over 2,000 head of Brahmans, Simbrah, and Simmentals. Then the Maines and BrahMaines, were added. Large parcels of land were leased, in addition to the three locations they own in central Texas, about halfway between Dallas and Houston, with headquarters at Marquez. They have always strived to produce cattle that excel in the environment.
    Today the herd numbers close to 500 head of registered Maine-Anjou and Mainetainers and even though Buschhorn is still partial to the red cattle he first saw in Colorado, the herd is 75% black. They also have a herd of 400 Brahman x Maine F1’s that they breed to Maine bulls to produce commercial replacement females for cattlemen in the area.
    The quiet temperament of the Maine cattle initially attracted them to the breed, but over the years they have come to appreciate the feed efficiency, carcass traits and the marketability the herd has attained.
    “We love the Maines and we are going to stay with them, ” describes Buschhorn, who is turning 80-years-old this year.
    Their herd carries the bloodlines of Executive, Eclipse, Habanero, Fear This, as well as older lines of Polled Ultra, Double Double Witch Doctor and Laredo. They AI extensively and current AI sires include Ali, Tyson, Fear This, Hot Commodity, Power Plus, Bouncer and Lifeline.
    They market their cattle almost entirely by private treaty and always have. In the beginning, they had to overcome some perception problems of the breed, but Buschhorn and manager Wayne Eppler both emphasize that the cattle sell themselves.
“If we can get people here, they fall in love with the cattle and become customers,” says Eppler adding ,“Mr. Buschhorn’s reputation and the quality of his cattle has provided a strong market and loyal customers.
While most cattle are marketed privately, the last two years they have sold bulls in the prestigious Houston Livestock Show All Breed Range Bull Sale and this year one of their Maine bulls placed in the top ten.
“The Houston sale is a major event and our bulls have made an impact. This year we had folks calling us wanting to know if we were going to have bulls in the sale,” says Eppler.
In addition, they have started marketing pens of their F1 females at the commercial replacement heifer sales at the Fort Worth and Houston Livestock Show, as well as a couple of other regional commercial replacement sales. They also sell some of these to junior exhibitors who compete in commercial heifer pen shows at the county level.
Their F1 steers and calves culled from the registered herd have been fed in years past at Decatur Feedyard in Oberlin, Kansas. But last year due to the freight and feed costs, these were sold locally.
Technology has always been important to the Belvedere program as embryo transfer is utilized on a limited basis and they have started having their sires DNA tested for feed efficiency.
“We believe the breed excels in feed efficiency traits and we want to be able to offer that information to our customers. Economics dictate that this is going to be a critical factor in cattle production,” says Eppler.
    The Buschorns have always been strict in their selection criteria for profitable traits. Fertility and calving ease have been stressed and their conception rates hover around 95%. according to Eppler.
    “There’s a future all over Texas for this breed and we plan to be part of it,” concludes Buschhorn.