by:  Belinda Hood Ary

 

Reprinted from Cattle Today, May 15, 2010, Volume 23,  Issue 17 Modified October 1, 2012

 

Few people in the purebred cattle business today can match the commitment and experience of David Vaughan, owner of Salacoa Valley Farms in Fairmount, Ga. He has weathered the highs and lows, from severe drought to extreme floods, from the times of record high cattle prices to the days of rock bottom lows.  All the while, Vaughan’s Brangus operation has thrived, keeping a single purpose in mind….to produce the top Brangus females in the country.

“We have concentrated on our females for over 25 years,” Vaughan explains. “We have focused on cows that are fertile, and will not only have a calf, but raise a high performing calf, as well. That commitment sets our herd apart from many herds ”

From the beginning, SalacoaValley has emphasized how important the influence of the female is to the herd. Many in the Brangus breed are familiar with SalacoaValley’s focus through the years on 12 cow families, known as the “Dynamic Dozen.”  One of the predominant families currently being used is the “23’ cow family that goes back to the 23U cow bred by Vineyard Cattle Company in Texas. It continues to be one of Vaughan’s primary goals to get more females from the “23” family into production in the SVF herd.

“By concentrating on just a few cow families, we are able to put emphasis on uniformity in our cow herd,” Vaughan continues. “Of course, the bull is half your herd, but if you don’t have a good set of females, it doesn’t matter what bull you use. You have to start with a good set of females.”

Overseeing the cowherd and day to day operations at Salacoa Valley is general manager Chris Heptinstall who has been in that position for almost three years. Heptistall is a graduate of Auburn University, and grew up in Alabama on his family’s commercial cow calf ranch. Chris spent time over the years working with Debter Hereford Farm and Camp Cooley Ranch before coming to Salacoa Valley.

Salacoa Valley Farms is located in the foothills of the PineLogMountains (the last major mountains in the Appalachian Chain) near Fairmount, Ga., and has been in the Vaughan family for over 80 years. Initially, the family operated a thriving mule business, but in the 1950’s they turned to row crops, cotton and cattle. Vaughan’s love for cattle started early.  As a teenager he judged cattle on the 4-H Livestock Judging team and showed Angus steers at the Georgia State Fair where he took home the Grand Champion Steer trophy a record three times, a Georgia state record that still stands today.

Vaughan received his degree in Animal Husbandry from the University of Georgia and was a member of their judging team.  He also received his law degree from the University of Georgia in 1959 and started his practice in Cartersville, Ga.  He served as Assistant Solicitor General Cherokee Circuit for a year.  Then he was elected to the Georgia General Assembly and represented the 14^th District for two terms. He served as the District Attorney for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit for two terms and has been in private practice since leaving public service.

In 1960 Vaughan took over the operation of the farm from his father, and continued to breed Angus and commercial cattle.  Through the late ‘60’s, ‘70’s and early ‘80’s Vaughan began using “exotics” and put together a purebred herd that he terms “too big to feed and breed.”

It was during that time that Willow Springs Ranch in Texas was looking for pasture to graze cattle on due to the drought, and they asked if Vaughan would be willing to bring some of their cattle over to Georgia.  “Those cattle were thin, had been fed very little hay, were eating milo stubble and they still cycled!,” he remembers. “We were wearing the wheels off the feed wagon trying to keep our cattle fed.  It was then and there that I decided that was where I needed to be with my herd.”

In 1985, he made the decision to disperse his purebred herd, and entered into a joint venture with Willow Springs Ranch, the “herd that wrote the book” in the Brangus breed. Just one year later, in 1986, Willow Springs dispersed their entire operation, and Vaughan saw this as an opportunity to start his own Brangus herd, using Willow Springs cattle and genetics as the foundation.

“Once we started dealing with the Brangus cows, we really fell in love with them,” he remembers.  “We wanted our own Brangus herd….they work really well for our area.” Building on that base, SalacoaValley’s influence and respect has grown as they have increased both numbers and quality. Recognized by the International Brangus Breeders Association as the Breeder of the Year in 2006, Vaughan has served two terms on the IBBA Board of Directors and in 2008 completed a term as President of the association. He is also a member and past president of the Southeastern Brangus Breeders Association and a member and past secretary/treasurer of the Georgia Brangus Assoc.  Vaughan’s wife, Susan, has also been an active supporter of the breed, and is a past president of the International Brangus Auxilary.

Almost 25 years after starting the building process, the SalacoaValley herd is one of the largest and most respected purebred Brangus programs in the country.  Before the major drought in Georgia a few years ago, the SVF herd numbered over 800 head.  Today, they are calving around 500 head of momma cows all under the age of 7 years of age. Vaughan says his goal for the future is to build the herd back up to their pre-drought numbers while keeping it young.

Over the years, additions to the herd have been made through outside purchases and growth from within.  In the early years, major influences came for the addition of WSR Firecracker, GLC Mainline, Special Addition of Brinks, and SVF Pine Log.

Today, Salacoa Valley is injecting new genetics to the herd by having an extensive AI and embryo transfer program.  This year’s offering at the October 26, 2012 sale, will include the first offspring of a joint venture embryo program with Three Trees Ranch.

Salacoa Valley Farm and  Three Trees Ranch partnered on flushing and collecting a battery of 20 of the most superior genetically identified donors in the Brangus breed.  Three Trees purchase of these ELITE cows in the 2008 Camp Cooley Ranch dispersal, cornered the market on the top 10% of carcass x growth cows in the Brangus breed.  “We were very fortunate to have a chance to collect these breed changing cows like Ms. Brinks Brightside 209L11.  We feel this will continue in securing Salacoa Valley’s genetic commitment to the pasture and the plate,” Heptinstall  commented.

“We have an extensive artificial insemination program here at Salacoa Valley.  All 500 cows and 200 heifers receive a straw of semen.  Over 80% of our calves will be either AI sired or ET,” explained Heptinstall.

Bull buyers will have the opportunity to see the reward of this intensive breeding program in the Salacoa Valley Fall Bull Sale, which will be held October 26th at the farm.

Salacoa Valley will also host a tremendous female sale October 25, 2012 the evening before this year’s bull sale.  This year’s female offering will include everything from top proven donors, to cutting edge genetic open heifers. Also, they are excited on offering  full possession and ½ interest in their senior herd sire DDD-UC Gentelman 804S21.  Gentleman as they call him is the #2 trait leader in the entire Brangus breed  for REA, #11 for SC and #23 for IMF!   He is the most powerful son of  Uppercut of Brinks 14J8 and out of the high marketing value, SG Fancy 804H33 cow.

The breeding program is centered around one goal – to construct a cow herd capable of producing predictable, high quality range bulls in volume and superior genetics for the Brangus breed.

Their bulls are also conditioned to work from an early age. “Our development of these bulls is to not singly geared to establish performance measurements. We believe our ultimmate success is in how these bulls hold up and perform when turned out on cows.” Heptinstall explained.

All bulls produced on the farm start a 140 day growth test the day. Bulls are kept on green grass continuously and rotated traps, where the terrain is steep and rugged. “Feet and leg problems are weeded out early around here,” Heptinstall explains, while looking down into a 300 foot deep rock filled canyon the bulls travel up and down daily.

“We condition our bulls to go to work,” Vaughan adds. “They are raised on grass and required to walk and climb to feed and water while on test.”

That conditioning for the extreme climate changes is what makes the SVF bulls so popular with buyers and why Vaughan chose to raise Brangus cattle almost 25 years ago.  The success he has seen with the Brangus breed has made Vaughan quick to recommend Brangus bulls to potential commercial bull customers.

“First of all, producers looking to buy bulls should purchase a Brangus bull,” he says. “Our bulls are conditioned for this area.  You put them out and they go right to work. They have no problem adjusting to the extremes of this climate.  Brangus can handle the heat as well as the cold.”

This commitment to producing top notch bulls for the commercial market has kept SVF bull buyers coming back on a regular basis to make their bull purchases.  Through the years, buyers from all across the Southeast, especially Alabama, Georgia and Florida, have added the SVF genetics to their herds, and continue to come back to make their bull purchases.  Salacoa Valley has also tapped into the growing international market, making a big splash with their highly sought after genetics on the world stage.

Without question, the focus on excellence and customer satisfaction has made Salacoa Valley’s annual Bull and Female Production sale a huge success. Brangus producers and commercial producers across the country have been able to add some of the elite Salacoa Valley genetics to their herds in the past, and this year will be no different.  Salacoa Valley’s “BUY THE NUMBERS” Sale will be held October 25^th and 26th at the farm in Fairmount.

Obviously, David Vaughan has made a lifetime commitment to the cattle business, and more recently to producing some of the best Brangus genetics money can buy. By setting definite goals and a purpose for his breeding and management decisions, Vaughan has positioned Salacoa Valley Farms as one of the elite programs in the country.

For more information on Salacoa Valley Farms or their upcoming “BUY THE NUMBERS” Bull and Female Sale, visit their website at www.salacoavalleybrangus.com