Town Creek Farm
Since 1993
The Grit welcomes your inquiries and feedback. The Grit is published by Town Creek Farm, West Point, Mississippi.
Town Creek Farm
Milton Sundbeck, Owner
Office: 32476 Hwy. 50 East West Point, Mississippi 39773-5207 www.TownCreekFarm.com
Joy Reznicek Sundbeck, President (205)399-0221
Joy@TownCreekFarm.com
Cody Glenn, Ranch Manager (601)508-8689 Cody@TownCreekFarm.com
Representatives:
Clint Ladner • (662) 812-8370
Logan Perry • (863)634-4810
Michael Agar • (336)406-4143
South American Representative Ing. Agr. Federico Maisonnave (011) 595 981 362 898 Maisonnave.Federico@gmail.com
Since 1993
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST TO RECEIVE THE MOST UPDATED SALE INFORMATION AVAILABLE. EMAIL JOY@TOWNCREEKFARM COM TO JOIN OUR FOLLOWING. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK.
Are We Good Stewards of Our Cattle?
BY JOY REZNICEK SUNDBECK
“MY FATHER TOLD ME A LONG TIME AGO THERE WERE TWO BOTTOM-LINES. THE ONE BOTTOM-LINE WE ALL KNOW IS PROFIT AND LOSS. THE OTHER BOTTOM-LINE IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OUR BUSINESS,” SAID SONNY WILLIAMSON OF FLORIDA WHEN WILLIAMSON CATTLE COMPANY RECEIVED THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AWARD IN 2005. These words have been passed down through the Williamson family, offering valuable insights and life lessons that are just as relevant today as they were in the past. I heard those words in 2005 during Sonny’s acceptance speech, and they have stayed with me, impacting our ranch decisionmaking.
By the nature of our work, cattlemen have a substantial impact on the environment. Our pastures are covered with grass, which prevents soil erosion. Rainfall on the grass cleanses contaminants as it passes through the root zone and into underground aquifers. Root systems act as pathways for moisture to penetrate deep into the soil, and trees produce oxygen through photosynthesis, which is then released into the air. Additionally, trees help manage erosion on riverbanks. Grazing animals also significantly influence the nutrient cycle in soils by returning 80% of the consumed nitrogen in the form of manure and urine.
We strive to be good stewards of the land, but our summer intern from the United Kingdom made us question whether we are good stewards of our cattle.
Twenty-year-old Arthur Rider, a student at Harper Adams University, an agricultural college in Shropshire, England, and a third-generation farmer, raised this critical question. His family operates a 400-head dairy and 1800-head cattle operation and runs a flock of Wiltshire Horn sheep.
“In 2005, my family decided to switch to milking our cows only once a day. Everyone thought we were crazy,” Arthur shared.
“Immediately, our milk yields went down considerably.” However, Arthur explained that over time, the whole-farm
benefits became clear.
The Rider family's cowherd is now healthier, with very few cases of mastitis, and lameness has nearly disappeared. The cows have improved body condition scores with fewer inputs, spend more time on grass, and have improved fertility. Onfarm veterinary calls have become nonexistent. Milk fat percentage has increased, while labor costs and other operational expenses have decreased. This change also created a muchimproved work-life balance for Arthur and his family.
The practice makes one contemplate applications that could be applied to the beef industry. It's good for the cows, the land, and the people.
Over the past 60 years, American agriculture has achieved remarkable increases in production. These increases were largely due to the adoption of technologies such as irrigation, fertilizers, and hybrid seeds, as well as the use of high-growth genetics, and providing grazing animals with delivered feed to maximize productivity.
The beef industry acknowledges that aggressive selection for growth has increased cow mature weight and cow feed intake, causing adjustments in ranch-level stocking rates.
According to the University of Missouri, environmental stressors resulting from cattle raised in environments to which they are not suited cost the beef industry one billion dollars annually.
However, it's important to consider whether there is a tipping point where the balance between profit and loss needs to be weighed against the impact on the cattle.
When is enough enough?
We take pride in the fact that our strong genetic foundation allows our bulls to thrive and mature when raised on low-energy, high-fiber haylage-based diets. We also offer two-year-old bulls that are gradually developed for longevity and soundness, providing maximum cow coverage as virgin bulls. These considerations are important because the industry is increasingly using younger bulls, which are typically developed at an accelerated rate from weanlings to yearlings. This places tremendous stress on their joints, feet, and hooves, compromising soundness and longevity.
When making daily decisions, we must consider whether they benefit the cattle, the land, and the people, and are aligned with nature.
150 TOWN CREEK FARM BULLS
QUALITY ASSURANCE ALWAYS COMES FIRST
■ 45% of bulls offered are full 2-year-old bulls (Born Fall 2022).
■ 40% of the bulls offered have received a “user-friendly” designation.
■ Bulls are fault-free, clean-hocked and sound. They have been developed slowly on high roughage, grass haylage-based ration to ensure durability, longevity, soundness and weight maintenance.
■ The percentage Angus and Brahman as determined through DNA is stated on each lot.
■ Bulls guaranteed to be Johnes-free.
■ Bulls have been Trich and BVD tested.
SALE INFORMATION
SALE CATALOGS
Sale catalogs were mailed September 23, 2024. If you have not received a catalog, you are likely not on our catalog list, or it is lost in the mail. To request a catalog, go online to www.TownCreekFarm.com or call Joy at (205)399-0221.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, October 18, 2024
• 9 am – Cattle available for viewing
• 6 pm – BBQ Dinner and Social Saturday, October 19, 2024
• 11 am – Beef Burger Lunch
• 12 noon – Town Creek Farm Brangus Commercial Bred Heifer Sale followed by Town Creek Farm Bull Sale
HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS
Comfort Inn & Suites
(662)327-9999
129 Brickerton Street Columbus, Mississippi 39701
Group name: TOWN CREEK FARM
Room Block Cut Off Date: 10/1/2024
Hyatt Place Columbus (662)370-1800
101 Hospital Dr. Ext. Columbus, Mississippi 39701
Rate Code: G-TCFB
Room Block Cut Off Date: 9/27/2024
Hampton Inn & Suites (662)494-7802
5821 Hwy. 45 Alt. South West Point, Mississippi 39773
Town Creek Campground (662)494-4885
1405 Campground Road West Point, Mississippi 39773
For additional assistance with rooms, please contact Alicia Everett at (662)617-1532
220 COMMERCIAL BRANGUS BRED HEIFERS
SELLING SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023
12 NOON AT THE RANCH
■ LOTS 186 - 235 - River Oaks Farm, Searcy, Arkansas
John McKnight (501)281-1040 • 24-Year Consignor
Group 1: Brangus heifers sired by Town Creek Farm bulls and out of Town Creek Farm Brangus dams. Bred to low birthweight TCF Integrity 9733G, TCF Integrity 057F, and TCF Integrity 130F. Calving from November 5, 2024 to December 29, 2024 Group 2: Brangus and Ultrablack heifers sired by Town Creek Farm bulls and out of Town Creek Farm Brangus dams. Bred to TCF Integrity 9733G, TCF Integrity 130F and TCF Integrity 057F. Calving from February 1, 2025 to March 30, 2025. River Oaks Farm partners with producer Cook Farms to develop some of the most sought-after, ranch-ready replacement heifers in the industry. This is a fancy and solid set of powerful, functional heifers.
■ LOTS 236 - 250 - CP Bar Brangus, Mississippi
Paul and Chad Gray, Holcomb (662)809-9988 • 25-Year Consignor
Stacked generations of Town Creek Farm and Cow Creek Ranch dams. Heifers bred to calving ease bull TCF Integrity 2G4 and TCF Rapid Reward 23G. Heifers will calve from February 1, 2025 to April 1, 2025.
Easy fleshing, gentle set of grass-developed females. We kept back nine head too young to sell in the 2023 sale and every heifer calved unassisted with an average birth weight of 60 lbs. If you are looking for a set of females that will survive and produce without excessive inputs and feed, these heifers are out of generations of cattle bred to do just that.
■ LOTS 251 - 266 Megehee Cattle Company, Macon, Mississippi
Jacob Megehee (662)361-1941 • 21-Year Consignor
Brangus heifers out of daughters of CCR Sleep Easy 9L2, CCR Integrity 355S4, CCR Thunder 641R4, and CCR Integrity 036P9. Heifers bred to TCF Integrity 994G2 and TCF Rapid Reward 546C. Calving from October 29, 2024 to December 20, 2024. Using Cow Creek and Town Creek bulls since 1999, Megehee’s have focused on low birthweight bulls, building our Brangus based herd by saving back heifers with good attitudes to have multiple generations of Town Creek genetics. Their herd is userfriendly, easy calving, easy keeping, raising their calves on grass in summer and hay with protein supplement in winter to keep our herd in good condition year-round. From weaning until sold, our heifers get a little feed daily so they come when called. Mississippi State’s vet school ambulatory service comes out to our ranch about 10 times a year for herd health checks and guidance on vaccines. Megehee’s concentrate on BVD, PI3, BRSV and five-way Lepto.
■ LOTS 267 - 283 Montgomery Farms, Moulton, Alabama
Mark Montgomery (256)476-1268 • 16-Year Consignor Ultrablack heifers are sired by CCR Pathfinder 70Z2. Heifers bred to TCF Integrity 96J2. Heifers will calve from November 29, 2024 to January 27, 2025. Good set of easy fleshing moderate heifers that are gentle and bucket broke. Worked on foot and four-wheeler. Primarily raised on ryegrass and fescue.
■ LOTS 284 - 293 B&B Farm, Linden, Alabama
Gerome Burrell (334)216-2292 • 12-Year Consignor
Generational Town Creek Farm heifers are sired by TCF Sleep Easy 067Z5 and TCF Ultrablack 1749Y5. Bred to calving ease bull TCF Sleep Easy 610J3. Heifers will calve from November 11, 2024 to January 9, 2025.
■ LOTS 294 - 333 Longino Ranch, Inc., Sidell, Florida
Cliff Coddington, Manager (941)737-7859 • 10- Year Consignor
Brangus Heifers represent 15 generations of Town Creek Farm and Cow Creek Ranch genetics. Heifers were A.I.’d to TCF Integrity 4861F7 and TCF Sleep Easy 241K22. Clean up service by full sibs TCF Sleep Easy 241K10, 241K11, 241K20, 241K21, and TCF Integrity 4861K11. Heifers will calve from November 25, 2024 to January 23, 2025.
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
COMES FIRST
This heifer program offers a marketing opportunity for Town Creek Farm customers. The heifers are ranch-raised and/or source-verified, uniform, and genetically tracked to Town Creek Farm dams, and they are bred to Town Creek Farm bulls. Sale heifers are black (white is acceptable on udder), and while there is a high likelihood that they will have black calves, there are no guarantees regarding calf color.
The heifers will be available for viewing at the Town Creek Farm Sale Pavilion from Thursday to Saturday, October 17-19, 2024. Heifers will be sold on video in groups of five (±) by the consignor, and the video will show the groups in which they sell. Upon purchasing a pen of heifers, the buyer has the option to purchase the following two pens of heifers in the sale order at the established price, provided they are from the same consignor. If the buyer chooses not to buy the succeeding pens, the price will be reestablished through the bidding process.
Longino Ranch is a large ranch located in Southwest Florida along the eastern border of Sarasota County lying due north of Charlotte Harbor. The ranch is about 50% improved pasture with the remaining 50% in native flat woods, hammocks, and wetlands. A very tough environment. Cattle are managed on horseback mostly but will come to a side-by-side, tractor, or pickup.
Over the last 20 years, we have stacked Cow Creek Ranch and Town Creek Farms genetics into our cow herd to make a cow that is efficient. She will eat a low-quality forage, keep a body score of five or better and reproduce each year while raising a calf on her side that will compete with most any other calf in the feedyard.
These heifers are right out of the top of our heifer replacements. Heifers are bred at 12 to 14 months of age, where we get between 55% to 60% bred by AI. To say that they are highly fertile would be an understatement. This set of heifers should fit anyone’s outfit.
These heifers have small swallowfork ear notches for each set of vaccinations while on the ranch.
■ LOTS 334 - 383 Lowell Dollar Farms, Bainbridge, Georgia
Lowell E. Dollar (229)254-1110 • 8-Year Consignor
Heifers are sired by generations of Town Creek Farm Brangus and Ultrablack bulls. Heifers bred to TCF Integrity 546J, TCF Integrity 14K2, TCF Rapid Reward 956H14, TCF Rapid Reward 036J8, TCF Bravo 96K, and TCF Sleep Easy 587J4. Heifers will calve from December 15, 2024 to February 12, 2025.
Forage-raised and top genetics heifers. These heifers have been nurtured on irrigated forage, ensuring robust health and growth. They are adaptable to being worked on foot, horseback, or ATV. With Town Creek’s elite bulls as sires, these bucket-broke heifers offer superior genetic traits.
■ LOTS 384 - 390 Spur W Cattle Company, Preston, Mississippi
Corey and Bonnie White (662)803-8815 • 3-Year Consignor
These heifers represent decades of Town Creek Farm genetics. A.I.’d to TCF Integrity 4861F7, TCF Integrity 4861A3 and CCR Sleep Easy 355S4 on March 2, 2024. A.I. ECD: December 10, 2024. A.I. breedings followed with pasture bull breeding to TCF Sleep Easy 46H. Calving from December 10, 2024 to February 9, 2025. Fall, born and bred, heifers from 100% Town Creek Farm genetics raised using the same herd health protocol as Town Creek Farm. Heifers are docile and hand-fed daily while our daughter walks the bunks. Heifers are bucket broke and worked with horses and dogs. This is the stoutest set of heifers we’ve offered and we are proud of their performance. These girls have strong maternal qualities and will make a great addition to any herd.
■ LOTS 391 - 420 Triple S Ranch, Okeechobee, Florida
Deroy Arnold, Manager (863) 634-6009 • 3-Year Consignor
Brangus heifers represent generations of Town Creek Farm and Cow Creek Ranch genetics. Heifers are bred to TCF Rapid Reward 698J2 and TCF Sleep Easy 5J2. Calving from November 11, 2024 to January 10, 2025.
Heifers selected from the heart of nearly 200 replacements. Triple S Ranch cow herd continuously produces cattle with tremendous fertility, high conception rates and powerful steer calves. Steer mates wean heavy off dams.
HEIFER SOLD IN OUR • COMMERCIAL BRED HEIFER SALE WITH HER FIRST CALF BY HER SIDE.
HEIFER SALE GUIDELINES
• Heifers are second-generation or more Town Creek Farm genetics.
• Heifers are bred to Town Creek Farm bulls suitable for calving ease on heifers and bred for 60 days or less.
• Heifers are bred to calve at 30 months of age or younger.
• Heifers have been certified safe in calf or confirmed bred by a veterinarian or ultrasound technician within 30 days of the sale (certification is mailed to buyers after completion of sale). Pregnant heifers are considered breeders without further guarantee.
• Heifers are calfhood vaccinated.
