Nancy J. Strong, I am a native of Tennessee, attended Middle Tennessee State University, the University Of Tennessee, and Central Texas College where I studied fine art and art design and have a degree in the art field.
I worked in the arts field until 1981 when I started my own business, Landscaping Concepts, a residential and commercial landscaping design company. I became WBE Certified {Women Business Enterprise} in 1983 for the State of Tennessee Department Of Transportation as a contractor. In 1993 the Landscaping Concepts business formed a partnership to include a residential and commercial construction company, a land surveying company, and a cattle operation called Chicken Creek Farms. This partnership continued until 2004 when the partnerships were dissolved due to dissolution of all the partnerships.
Chicken Creek Farms purchased its first Red Angus bull in 1992 to use on commercial cows. This is when I realized what a great breed the Red Angus is. Since having a farm background and a true love of the cattle industry it did not take me long to figure out this was a breed I had to have. In the beginning it was difficult to have a direction other than the fact I only wanted the best genetics the breed had to offer.
This is when the challenge started; needless to say it was not without mistakes. With lots of research, many trips to visit breeders, conventions, and lots of phone visits I was on my way. When the Chicken Creek Farms dispersed in 2004, as the sole manager I had taken a small herd to the highest level of eliteness. Through the use of AI and embryo transplant I was able to tap into the top genetics the breed had to offer. Ultrasound was then added in 2001. With the development of the Chicken Creek herd I had worked to have a program for total performance cattle with no special emphasis on one single trait. I searched the country over looking for the most performance proven females to purchase. Through this selection process, I was able to purchase daughters, embryos, and if lucky sometimes the cow herself.
A daughter or daughters of LMG Daorv 841, Miss Forster CPRTOP 591, JRA James 904, Leachman Eleanor, LMAN Prairie Q 9308, FHCC Rachille 0118, Tenn Copperlass 4033[full sister to Rambo 502] GMRA Princess 720, BJR LAKOTA 319-6269, BJR Blockana 319-942, BJR Tilly 041-036 to name only a few of the female base that was at Chicken Creek Farms. With this foundation, Chicken Creek Farms had some of the highest level of accomplishments in the breed with 2002 the #1 ADG winner in a group of 750 Black/Red Angus Bulls at the Midland Bull Test Station, Columbus, Mt., 2001-2002 Top Indexing Senior Red Angus Bull Auburn University BCIA Bull TEST, 2003 Clemson Bull Test, Clemson University SC 4 th all breed ADG, Highest selling Red Angus Bull, 2004 Leachman Cattle Barons Bull Sale CCF Sequoya 0361 sold as Lot #1. With the Chicken Creek Farms dispersal sale average of over $3,800.00 per lot, I feel this was the testimony of a lot of hard work and the trust breeders had in the genetics at Chicken Creek Farms as a breeder.
I feel I can implement some of the same philosophies and integrity along with breeding strategies used in my past experience. I am pleased to be a part of the Hust Cattle Program. This farm has some of the most powerful genetic base in the Red Angus breed. I came on board as a member of the Hust Cattle Company program in August 2007. It is my pleasure to be a part of such a great breed. My goals as a Hust Cattle Company manager are to help promote the Red Angus breed and take this cattle operation to the next level of eliteness. Sharing the knowledge I have with anyone willing to improve or looking to expand his or her operation is my pleasure. My time is your time all you have to do is give me a call.
Sincerely
Nancy J. Strong
Larry R. Peters - I am a native of central Illinois and grew up on a grain farm with commercial dairy base cows crossed on Hereford bulls.
From an early age I had a love for cattle, I joined the 4-H and started showing cattle at junior shows. In 1966 I had the Champion Polled Hereford Female in the junior show at the Illinois State Fair. From there, I went on to attend Southern Illinois University and was a member of their collegiate Livestock Judging Team. After college I returned to central Illinois to be a part of the family farming operation and built a herd of registered Polled Herefords. We were fortunate enough to produce several state and national class winners in the Polled Hereford breed. Our children were also active in the farming operation and showed several winning females on the state and national level as well. My daughter Donna has a master degree; she is currently working in the waste management field. Clint, my youngest son, has an engineering degree and is employed with Caterpillar. They have thanked me several times for the discipline and responsibility that they learned in having the opportunity to care for and show cattle as they grew up. My middle son, Thadd, has a degree in agri-business and has returned home to farm the family farm in central Illinois.
I was fortune enough in 1999 to have the opportunity to manage the Bent Tree Cattle Company Fort Payne, AL for Teddy Gentry. When I went to Bent Tree, Teddy Gentry's interest was to build a composite breed. Bent Tree had two hundred head of registered Hereford. In twelve years we grew to fifteen hundred head of cattle. The composite we developed was made up of four breeds: Hereford, Barzona, Red Angus, and Senepol. Our goal was a maternal, heat tolerant, tender carcass animal that was moderate frame and would perform well on good quality forage. We worked with cooperators for Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas. I learned a lot from these operations - with our efforts and their help we developed a composite that caught the eyes of some of the most elite breeders in the country, one being Jim Leachman of Leachman Cattle Company, MT. This allowed us to form an alliance; we placed our F1 and composite germ plasma into their composite program located in the heat tolerant areas. Another breeder was Rob Brown of RA Brown Ranch, TX. Our goal with the composite was to compete with Brahma influenced cattle in the southeast. This led us to carcass ultrasound. Knowing that Brahma influenced genetics was not up to industry standards for carcass quality and tenderness; we wanted to improve our carcass quality and tenderness in the South Polls. This process was a way to make carcass quality and tenderness possible in live animals.
We held five female sales plus three commercial bull sales prior to the dispersal of Bent Tree Cattle Company. We sold cattle into many states and country's including Brazil, Argentina, and Australia which allowed me to meet many Red Angus breeders along with seeing Red Angus cattle at work in the southeastern United States. When Bent Tree dispersed in 2002 this gave me the opportunity to start my own consulting and sale management business. I was privileged to work with Lawrence Hust in fall of 2003 on a Red Angus female sale. Nancy and I attended Leachman dispersal sale on behalf of Hust Cattle Company and purchased some elite females that have and will continue to contribute to this program. In 2004, Lawrence attended the Chicken Creek Dispersal where he purchased some elite females that also continue to contribute to this program. I look forward to working with Lawrence and his family.
Sincerely,
Larry R. Peters
