The eighties were an exciting time at Sydenstricker’s, as the foundations were laid for many of the cattle we still have. The purchase of three females from the mating of Brost Power Drive to Leachman Lass 1004, two of them as heifer calf pregnancies and one as a $19,000 heifer calf, gave us the base to produce such herd sires as SAF Fame and 5175. Also from Jay and Les Leachman, an $18,000 heifer named Leachman Royal Queen 2027 founded the Royal Queen family here, eventually producing SAF Royal Queen 5084. A Rito 2100 GDAR daughter, Pride Queen T 4155, purchased at the NILE, put her stamp on the Angus industry with a flush of calves born in 1986 that included SAF Power Shaft 6021, the $33,000 SAF Pride Queen 6013, and the record-holding highest selling bull and heifer to ever sell at a Missouri State Sale, the $12,500 SAF Power Fix and the $40,000 SAF Pride Queen 6012. Then, in 1989, in Manhattan, MT, we outbid three competing syndicates to acquire two-thirds ownership in VDAR New Trend 315, the bull who defined multi- trait superiority in his day, and set the tone for the Sydenstricker program through today. In 1990, we shocked the Angus community by scheduling the Dispersion minus Fifty sale, where we sold down to 50 registered females in what turned out to be our highest- grossing sale to that point, proving that truth in advertising can work, and that at least 67 bull calves can be sold in Missouri on one day. No sale was held in 1991, so we used the extra time available to scour the country for fresh genetics to bring in. The deal to “pick” six heifers from the entire Gartner-Denowh heifer calf crop, on an alternating basis, turned out to be one of the best things we’ve ever done, as females like GDAR Forever Lady 178 and GDAR Forever Lady 246 have proven their value many times over. Throughout the nineties, we put more and more emphasis on the commercial side of the industry, stepping up our carcass evaluation of herd sires, exploring new programs that could benefit our commercial customers, supplying more and more useful performance data to our customers through our sale books, and creating the Sydenstricker Influence Sales. We published our first Herd Sire Directory in 1993, the same year a calf named SAF Fame topped our sale at $27,000, and actively pursued the direct semen sale market. We had the first 100-head bull sale in Missouri in 1996, where we also sold the top selling bull calf in our history, SAF Focus of ER, at $68,000. In 1997, we received the CAB Seedstock “Commitment to Excellence” Award, primarily for our focus on carcass traits equally with performance traits. SAF Fame became the second most heavily used bull of the breed in 2000. In 1993, Ben Eggers was elected President of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, and served on various committees as well as the Board of Directors of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. In 1998, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Angus Association, serving as President in 2006. At the Annual meeting in Louisville, Ralph was inducted posthumously into the Angus Heritage Foundation in 2004, and Eddie was inducted in 2006. When we entered the new millennium, we took a big step. Wanting a distinctive prefix, and to send the message that we are selling genetics, not just cattle, we changed our name to
Sydenstricker Genetics. In 2001, the first bull to sell with the new SydGen prefix, SydGen Refocus, broke his full brother’s record to become our top selling bull ever, at $100,000 for one-half interest. At the 2001 Beef Improvement Federation meeting, we were awarded the Seedstock Producer of the Year Award, the most prestigious award in the seedstock industry, signifying the national impact of the Sydenstricker program. We also joined with several other seedstock partners to found ORIgen, Inc. Ben served on the Beef Improvement Federation Board of Directors for eight years, and was elected President in 2011. In 2013, he received the Continuing Service Award from BIF, and in 2018 was named the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association “Cattleman of the Year.” Ben was given the 2022 Missouri Angus Pioneer Award. We have been a tour stop on the National Angus Tour and the BIF Tour, as well as hosting part of the LEAD Conference in 2011. Eddie and Connie were inducted into the Honorary Angus Foundation in 2013 for their work in support of Angus youth. Eddie received the Missouri Angus Breeders’ Pioneer Award in 2014, the Allied Industry Award from Missouri Cattlemen’s Association in 2015, the Livestock Person of the Year Award from the University of Missouri Block and Bridle Club in 2017, and the Honorary State Farmer Degree by the Missouri FFA Association in 2022. Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners of Missouri and Illinois has re- ceived the top performance award in Leaders Club, John Deere’s highest award, for the past three years. In 2021, they were named “North American Farm Equipment Dealer of the Year” by Farm Equipment magazine. Expansion has increased the last few years, with 42 locations in five states now included. The SNP Career Academy has developed into a successful ven- ture, and is the only one of its kind, designed to keep qualified technicians available to SNP stores. Daughters Kim and Lee Ann are both involved in the dealer- ships, with Kim doing PR from the Mexico location, and Lee Ann doing Marketing from St. Louis. Grandson Chase Monte, Kim’s son, exhibited at nine Missouri State Fairs, and seven National Junior Angus Shows, winning the Grand Champion Carcass Steer in 2014 and the Grand Champion bred-and-owned Car- cass Steer in 2016, along with a class-winning heifer. Chase was President of the Mexico FFA Chapter in 2016, graduated from the University of Missouri in 2021, and is now Equipment Oper- ations Manager for Emery Sapp & Sons. Blake Briscoe graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S in Finance and is now a Vice President at Wellspring Capital Management, New York, NY. Granddaughters Sydney and Paige Briscoe graduated in 2019 from Ole Miss. Paige is now the Brand Manager at Citadel Partners, Dallas, TX and Sydney is Marketing Assistant/licensed realtor at Janet McAfee Real Estate, St. Louis, MO. From the early Sire Evaluation reports printed twice a year, to today when a new National Cattle Evaluation is on-line every Friday, along with genomic-enhanced EPDs, bio-economic indexes, and the ability to DNA test for parentage and genet- ic recessives, we have seen technology change the face of the seedstock industry. We continue to keep this herd at the forefront of the Angus breed, and supply our customers the genetics and the customer service they need to compete.
Our most heavily used AI sire in history has been SydGen Enhance, primarily be- cause of multi-trait superiority. VDAR New Trend 315, born 37 years ago, was labeled with that phrase during his strongest days as an AI sire, and was our first bull to gross over $1M in total semen and certificate revenue. Enhance traces to 315 nine times in his extended pedigree. As this goes to press, Enhance has over 19,000 progeny in the Angus database.
EDDIE AND VAN BOTKINS WITH THE ORIGINAL “CAJUN QUEEN,” PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS PULLING TRACTOR IN HER DAY.
EDDIE AND RALPH SYDENSTRICKER WALKING THROUGH THE HERD IN THE LATE FIFTIES. PHOTO LIFTED FROM THE FILM “AN ANGUS IN YOUR FUTURE.’
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