prickly pear simmental ranch - American Simmental Association

Dear Cattlemen,
Wow! What a year can bring!
There we were in the spring of 2011 trying to teach our cattle to swim, and we had lots of
great summer grass and hay. Then fast forward to the spring and summer of 2012 where
moisture was a hope and prayer. This past summer was tough for most of the west. We went
from late March until mid November without any substantial moisture. Don and the neighboring
ranchers all agreed that the Elkhorns were dryer this year then when it burned in 1988.
We were forced to gather the bull calf pairs from our Crystal Creek pasture in the Elkhorns
six weeks early due to lack of good grass. As I scrambled to keep our cows on good pasture
you will notice that the 205 weights are a little down from normal due to the fact that we do
not believe in creep feeding.
I feel the bulls are very consistent from top to bottom again this year and the Sitz Emblazon
9598 calves are definitely stand outs. The bred heifers out of him look like they are going to
be high fertility, moderately framed cows. Our Club King bulls are some of the heaviest muscled
in the sale. Again this year we have some very nice SAV Final Answer 0035 sons and
daughters for sale. The red bull and heifer selection is the best we’ve had in awhile. RFS Red
Iron cattle have lots of length and growth. GCF MR. Amigo calves are low birth weight with
plenty of eye appeal.
I would again like to thank the Burnham Family for standing behind me on my decisions made
for the future of this program. I continue to strive to keep finding what I think are the top genetics
in the Simmental and Angus Breeds. I would also like to say thank you to my crew for
all the long days.
A big thanks to all our loyal customers who continue to support our program. In addition I
would also like to thank Lee Bowman, Dr. Deidre Loendorf-Ask,DVM, Sonya Gregory, Ultrasound
technician, Vanek Cattle services, Roger Jacobs, and my family.
Sincerely,
Troy Wheeler
Cattle Manager