About Carson Farms

I first became interested in Red Polls as a kid after seeing pictures and hearing my Mom tell about her grandfather’s small herd. In the fall of 1974 I wrote to Wendell Severin who was the Secretary Treasurer of The Red Poll Cattle Club of America inquiring about more information. My first Red Poll News was the fall of 1974 issue (I still have it). I proceeded to learn everything I could about Red Polls because I had made up my mind they were to be a part of my future farm. My first calf was a ½ Red Poll heifer I bought from John Rager in July of 1975. I had just turned 12 years old and already had my mind set on attending Purdue University to major in Animal Science and Red Polls were going to pay for my education. The next year I bought another heifer from John Rager (A Centerfield Pacer daughter) and she was the nucleus of my registered herd.

Many purchases were made at the Annual Indiana 4-H calf sale held at the Parks farm. Along the way, many breeders helped me get established by helping to get my handful of cows bred. My Dad hauled them to Emery Parks one year and to Claude Law and family another time. When I had too many to fit on the truck, my Mom purchased a bull from Deo Miltenberger of Ohio. Through the years I used some A.I. and had purchased or leased bulls from Hill Top Farm, Pinney Purdue, Shuters Sunset Farm, Rocking U Ranch, Shirlynne Cattle Co, Carls and a couple of home raised bulls. While attending Purdue University I was involved with Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity. By the end of my four years I had been a charter member, assistant treasurer, treasurer, president and outstanding brother of the fraternity. Between scholarships and Red Polls I paid for my college experience and graduated with a B.S. degree in Animal Science. I sold the cows in 2000 after 25 years in the Red Poll business when I accepted a position to be a Dairy Specialist for Bartlett Milling Co. in Statesville, NC. Selling the Red Polls was the hardest thing I ever did. I worked for Bartlett Milling for six years and then purchased Union Grove Feed LLC in January of 2007. Even though I spent 13 years without Red Polls, I maintained a Red Poll license plate on my pickup truck. I always had in my mind that I would get some Red Polls again if I could find some pasture. A local farm became available the summer of 2013 and it had 21 head of Angus X Simmental cows but the capacity is 40 head for the farm.

I agreed to take over as long as I could also raise Red Polls. Red Polls are well suited for this farm because it is rotational grazing and there is very little shade available. Red cattle stay cooler and will graze longer on hot days than black cattle which mean more pounds of beef to be marketed per acre. When I reconnected with my Red Poll family in Greensboro NC at the Junior Show in June of 2013 I was definitely hooked and my pursuit became on getting back into Red Polls as soon as possible. I purchased a bull from Wilkshire to use on the commercial cows in July. In August I contacted Phil Wyrick of Esquire Land and Cattle who had a group of heifers that were about ready to wean. I flew to Little Rock and Phil picked me and my sales rep Bud Eanes up at the airport. We proceeded to look at cattle at Phil’s ranches and while we drove I poured over Phil’s registrations.

I originally was looking for 10 heifers but ended up taking all 16 in the group. The heifers are all sired by Xcalaber. That was one of the best days I have spent in my life…it was one of the longest too…left home at 5am and returned at 1:30am the next day. When the heifers were delivered in September, I was more than pleased. They traveled 848 miles and averaged 527 pounds at 212 days. No shots were needed and they haven’t missed a beat. Having my new female foundation in place, my focus became finding the foundation sire to build the new herd around. I attended the National Meeting and Sale in MO in October 2013. As soon as I saw JF BIG BUCKS from Jackson Farms, I knew he was the bull that I wanted. I used the pedigree search on the ARPA website and researched his pedigree back as far as the site would allow.

My want became a NEED. I believe he is the best bred performance bull that has been offered in a sale for several years. Right or wrong…I had to bid that way to have the privilege of saying he belongs to Carson Farms. After the bidding stopped and the gavel dropped Bucks was mine and was the sale topper at $5200 dollars. It was kind of ironic that the runner up bidder was Esquire Land and Cattle. Bucks was named the 2013 National Junior Champion at the NAILE and is being collected for semen sales. His destiny is as a superior breeding bull to pass on his great performance to future generations of cattle.