e Special
Spotlight on
SANTA GERTRUDIS
Section f
Five J’s Cattle Company — The Family Legacy Continues Five J’s Cattle Company proudly describes their operation with the tagline “three generations of cattlemen,” to emphasize the key component to their success: family. Located in Clayton, N.C., and owned by Jody and Angela Standley, Five J’s was established on Jody’s family farm in 2006. Jody, his parents, Joe and Kim, and Jody and Angela’s five children represent the three generations currently working together to make Five J’s a success. Five J’s Cattle Company truly is a family run, family centered operation.
grandparents and has since purchased all of the family’s remaining farmland. In 2019, his final land purchase was the original homestead built in 1849. Nicknamed “The Bunkhouse” by the Standley’s oldest boys, the family now uses it as their cattle office and family gathering place.
Angela and Jody on their wedding day with Jody’s beloved grandparents, Marie and Rudolph Johnson.
Will and Emily (Austin) Barbour, Jody’s great grandparents. Emily’s family started our farm in 1849.
The Standleys - Jody, Jack, Will, Angela, Ree, Sam and Luke.
The farm has been in Jody’s family since 1849 (his maternal great grandmother, Emily Austin Barbour, was raised on the farm), and he is the sixth generation to establish his home there; the couple’s children – Sam, Jack, Luke, Will, and Ree – are the seventh generation to call the farm home. In 2003, Jody purchased his first tract of land on the family farm from his maternal
Jody’s grandparents Marie and Rudolph used the farm predominantly for row crops while reserving a portion for Rudolph’s successful hog operation. The old hog house is still standing today. The 60-year-old stalls are being put to use again for sows giving birth to the pigs the Standley’s raise as part of their meat production operation. Following in his Papa’s footsteps, Jody first showed interest in hog farming, raising his own pigs beside Rudolph’s. Rudolph taught Jody how to care for the animals and about the business side of livestock production. Rudolph allowed Jody to
The Five J’s - Luke, Will, Sam, Jack, and Ree.
PAGE 4
Standley’s breed 250 head to sell as registered Herefords to ranches across the United States. Fueled by Jack’s interest in the breed and his own curiosity in the STAR 5 cross, Jody turned to Brandon Creech of Creech Farms to purchase his first Santa Gertrudis bull in 2015. “We tried one Gert bull with our Herefords and found the hybrid cross to be amazing,” Jody says. “The two breeds really seemed to complement each other.”
The Carolina Cattle Connection q SEPTEMBER 2020
charge a feed bill to him as he raised his pigs, and the two would “settle up” after Jody sold his feeder pigs at market. Jody’s grandparents always encouraged him and nurtured his dream of being a farmer when others discouraged him from pursuing the profession. Jack, the driving force behind the introduction of the Santa Gertrudis breed to the herd, with two of his Gerts.
Sam and Jack rope and ear tag a calf.
Ultimately, Jody focused on raising cattle, and he slowly began building his cow herd when he purchased his first cow after the birth of the Standley’s oldest son, Sam, in 2006. He spent Saturdays with his father and uncle, Randy, as he searched for cattle to add to his herd. Those were special times for Jody; days spent with his Dad and Randy tending to his growing herd, often with Sam and Jack, who was born in 2007, in tow. After a battle with pancreatic cancer, Randy passed away in 2009, leaving some of his cattle to Joe, Jody, Sam, and Jack. Several offspring of Randy’s cattle are still here, grazing with the herd, a reminder of that special season in Jody’s life spent with two men he greatly admired and his own two sons, building the dream that would become Five J’s. Hereford cattle have always been the foundation of Five J’s herd, a herd that has grown to over 600 head, including 400 Hereford cows. Each year, the
Jody and Brandon formed a fast friendship, and Creech has been instrumental in the success of Five J’s STAR 5 program. Following their success with the first Santa Gertrudis bull, the Standley’s opted to purchase additional Santa Gertrudis bulls to breed to their select Hereford females, launching their own STAR 5 herd. Today, Five J’s produces 150 STAR 5 cattle every year, selling to ranches across the Southeast and retaining some for their own program.” The STAR 5 cattle we have produced have been exceptional,” Jody says. “They are a very favorable cross that boasts amazing growth, and we have seen an unbelievable surge in the demand for our STAR 5s.”
Luke, Sam, and Jack unload hay into the silos at the farm.