SRF Simmentals
SRF Simmentals is owned and operated by the Todd and Kelly Finke family. We are a fourth generation farm and ranch that has been in Todd’s family since his great grandmother homesteaded here in 1900, fol- lowed by his great grandfather who came a year later to also homestead in Passport township. Along with small grains and oil seed crops, beef cattle have been a constant presence on our farm since the beginning. We are thankful for over 5 decades in the Simmen- tal and Sim-influenced genetics business started by Todd’s parents, Roger and Susan in the early 1970’s. We demand that our cattle not only fit our environ- ment and resources but also excel in an environment that is known for its extremes. We expect our cows to be sound footed and for them to have level, well attached udders with small teats. We also need them to be sensible in their mature size, have enough depth, shape of rib, and muscle to efficiently convert grass into delicious beef. Our cows are expected to raise a high percentage of their bodyweight with NO creep feed, maintain their flesh and breed back in a short- ened breeding season each year. Cattle that do not meet these criteria are shipped to town. We don’t tolerate problems, and we don’t expect our customers to either. In addition to the physical traits our environment dictates we need, we also try to utilize all the ‘tools’ available to become more profitable for our customers and ourselves. We utilize EPDs, indexes, DNA data and genomic data to try and learn as much about our cattle as possible in order to make the best recommen- dations to our customers. Its hard, if not impossible, to make improvements if we don’t have a measuring stick to judge our progress. We feel it is imperative as seedstock suppliers to collect and report our data as accurately as possible and to utilize all the available tools to help produce a reliable, consistent product. Another reason we are very excited about this new partnership with Allied Genetic Resources is to utilize the tools and technologies they have developed to in- crease the potential profitability of our customers. We have utilized and seen the benefits of these tools in our program. We are excited about their potential to add to our customers bottom line.
After many years of discussion, we started a Johnes certification process this fall. Every animal on our ranch has been tested free of Johnes and we fully expect to be certified Johnes free after the mandatory 3-year testing period. Again, this year we developed the bulls and bred heifers at home, which has been a very rewarding experience for our family. The bulls are all hand fed a steamed corn; pellet mix formulated with a full min- eral pack by Hubbard Feeds. They also have access to free choice grass hay and a Hubbard mineral tub. We feel this ration does a good job of developing the bulls in a sensible manner to ensure their foot and structural integrity and their longevity. We will again offer free feeding until delivery, which we will start at the be- ginning of April after the bulls have passed a breeding soundness exam. The bred heifers have been developed as if we were keeping them ourselves and were ultra- sounded by Mandan Vet in August. If you are ever in our area, please feel free to stop in. We love visitors! Thank you for considering us as your seedstock source. Sincerely Todd & Kelly Finke, Carter, Abby, Anna & Casen
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