In the early 1900s Mona's grandfather started coming to this area from Wichita, Kansas, as he drove his teams and wagons to the Salt Plains near Cherokee to get wagon loads of salt for his butcher shop. Eventually he purchased farms and moved his family to this area, and soon after bought his first Hereford cattle. Harold V. Hunter, Mona's father, purchased his first registered Herefords in 1936, and Herefords have been here ever since.

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The cattle are now owned by Mona and John Loewen, who provide the labor and management. As we have gotten older, we have reduced our herd to a few elite females, and we raise another 20-40 embryo calves each year.

After serving as a director for the American Hereford Association and for Certified Hereford Beef, we decided to place emphasis on calving ease and carcass traits. Since our herd began, we have selected for maternal traits and sound udders and teats. A cow is never milked out. If she has an udder problem she goes to town. 

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We have 3 children and 7 grandchildren who live in Texas, Tennessee, California and Utah so we put lots of miles on the car and our free time is spent visiting grandchildren. Since retiring, Mona and I have each been certified as personal financial counselors and work with families on their finances. Mona also teaches English as a Second Language and US Citizenship Classes.

 

The present cattle market and the demand for bulls have been great the last few years. When you add all the new breeding tools we have available, the cattle business is fun to be involved in.