Our Cow Herd
Each animal is Functional, Sound & Productive
Never underestimate the genetic power and performance of your herd sire. Selecting bulls for your cowherd is one of the most important decisions you make in your operation. Your herd sires will be on your ranch for 3 to 5 years and will contribute one-half of the genetic makeup to your upcoming calf crops. Plus, those sires should improve your herd’s genetic superiority beyond both the cows in the herd and previous bulls you used. How do you make the decision on which bulls are right for you? What bulls are going to move you forward the fastest? It can be a tough, time-consuming job to select the right sires, but that’s why we're here.
The Black Summit cow herd has become one of the country's most productive and admired sets of SimAngus cows. Rigorous and unbiased culling for almost 40 years has made the BSUM cow one to be proud of. Our favorite day of the year is when we cull cows in the fall. We cull on foot quality, udder quality, their genetic values, and when they are due to calve next spring. Every cow is AI'd once and turned out with a cleanup bull for 45 days. All opens are sold! NO free lunches! We expect every cow on the place to put bulls in the sale and daughters in the replacement pen. If they don't, they're gone! The BSUM cows averaged 1345 lbs. last fall at weaning time and are moderate frame-sized, stout, and built right. Our cows have to lie down, have a calf, get up, and take care of it. They then have to breed back on time, raise their calf, and wean a high-quality animal to sell or keep. If they don't, they don't generally reside in NW Wyoming. Every bull we sell is backed by a cow we thought was good enough to be a cow here.
Our sires are a testament to our dedication to quality and performance. We focus on producing bulls that not only are built right and look good but also rank in the top 10% of the breed for most economically important traits. Our Simmental and SimAngus cattle are bred with a balance of calving ease, stayability, maternal quality and above-average growth. Each animal is rigorously tested genomically to ensure it meets our high standards.
