"Ron,

I wanted to give you a quick update on the 1st calf heifer pairs purchased last year, first and foremost the heifers arrived in late April in very good condition, milking well and the calves were also in good shape. We moved them to grass shortly after their arrival in early May. During the transition the heifers and calves did not lose any condition. The summer went well we had good grass, with good and timely rain fall, the heifers were on hard grass in Keith county with salt and mineral supplement only.

We weaned the calves in August and put them in the back grounding lot. The calf weaning weights were a shock at 527lbs average across the steers and heifer together. Needless to say I was extremely pleased with the calf weights, this was the second heaviest set of calves I have weaned off of first calf heifers in over 20 years, and I have never weaned calves that early (August), we usually wean around the end of October, no later than November 1st.

The real surprise came when we preg checked the heifers, 75 head coming with their second calf, preg check 100% bred, our veterinarian mentioned this was the 1st time he had experience this in his years of practice (and he is not a young man)

The calves performed well in the background lot and we sold them in January weighing between 750 and 800 lbs. The performance of the calves and rate of gain may be the best we have ever had over 20 years in the cow calf business, keep in mind this includes calves off mature cows.

We now have the second calves on the ground, branded, and moved to grass. Once again the heifers performed extremely well. They were not pampered over the winter they received cake while on corn stalks, and cake and prairie hay while calving. The heifers held their condition well, and are milking well. They are growing into exactly the type of cow we want for the future.

Ron I am extremely pleased with your program, and the direction you are taking it. Your program, in my opinion, is exactly the direction the cow calf business needs to take going forward. Your program provides a great foundation and set of building blocks that allow the cow calf producer to be efficient, profitable, and have a product that he can be proud of, and show off to his neighbors and friends. I would recommend this program to anyone trying to improve their operation---but especially to young people entering the industry. As you and I have discussed agriculture today is very unforgiving of people that make mistakes----your program is a great stepping stone for anyone trying to improve their program but especially for young people entering the industry.

We certainly look forward to doing business with you in the future.

Take Care Ron"

~ Bob Meismer

"I have purchased heifers from Ron Hoffman for the last 4 years. I have improved and built my herd from these heifers. They are strong, well framed, sized, and gentle to work with. Calving ease is most important with heifers, and we do not pull calves from these heifers. They are good nursing mothers and they have calved consistently with cycled dates. As these heifers grow and mature, they have become the very best cattle in my herd. I would recommend these heifers as a great addition to any herd."

~ Monty Ogard