Detroit Lakes / Minnesota / United States
We got our start in the purebred Angus business in 1989 with the purchase of 10 registered cows. Before our Angus cows, we had commercial beef cattle and prior to those dairy cows. It is our dairy experience that showed us the importance of genetics, AI, and recordkeeping. After looking for two years for the kind of females we wanted, we got a catalog for the Van Dyke Angus cow sale in September 1991. After going through the cattle, we knew we found the cows we were looking for. After several purchases of some excellent donor cows, we had the base for our present herd. Today, our cow herd consists of approximately 140 females. We are still growing and want to build our herd to around 200 females. We feel this will enable us to offer about 75-80 bulls per year. We chose the motto -- The Maternal Herd That Performs -- because we honestly believe that the Angus cow is the best beef cow there is. Every mating we make is to breed a calf that is better than her dam. We also believe that with a strong cow herd, you will produce growthy bulls that will keep our customers in business. We have been testing our bulls at the Midland Bull Test for years, and the results are proving that we are on the right path. We have had several bulls finish in the top of the tests, and also had the top WDA and AGD sire group in 1999. Maternal cattle do perform. We are currently progeny testing three young bulls: Big Rok Titan 233, Big Rok Patriot 403, and Big Rok Ole 450. We believe these bulls have the potential to improve any herd. Our current crop of bull calves has several herd bull candidates for your consideration. We are also testing our whole herd for Johnes and BVD. In addition to this, we are closing our herd to outside cattle to further insure the health of every calf born at Big Rok Angus. Our sale is held at our ranch, so you can buy with the confidence that you will not bring any diseases home.
