John Pennington: A Cattleman and Much More

John Pennington: A Cattleman and Much More

By Jodi Nash

John Pennington is a modern-day cattleman—a one-man operation, with a small herd of 21 cows and nine yearlings on a 73-acre farm in Fauquier County.

With an impressive blend of arduous hands-on labor and applied genomics which includes DNA technology (incorporating pedigree and performance data), last year he produced a top national maternal prospect in the Black Angus breed, “Monomoy Erica Elite J12.”

The go-to choice in many steak houses, Black Angus breeding accounts for approximately 80 percent of all U.S. cattle breeding, most of which happens on big ranches in Montana, Nebraska, Texas and South Dakota. So how did a modest man from Virginia produce this astounding prize winner?

Born and raised in Warrenton, the farm spark ignited early when Pennington went to cattle sales with his grandad at the livestock exchange in Marshall. Dropped off on summer days and weekends to work on his uncle’s 200-acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley, he tackled all sorts of farm chores very young.

“I learned to drive a tractor standing up so I could push in the clutch” he said with a grin.

A University of Virginia graduate with a degree in English, Pennington was a promising short story writer with prodigious creative talent. He taught freshman English at the private Blue Ridge School outside Charlottesville, and coached three sports for a couple years, but finding the time to write never materialized.

When life and love summoned him to Florida, he worked in commercial construction, helping to build the West Palm Beach Polo and Country Club. After marrying, he came back to Virginia where he managed his in-laws’ farm and other leased farm property.

In 1989, with two children to support and a true entrepreneurial spirit, he bought a new backhoe on credit and took on “off-farm” excavation work. Incorporating in 1990, Monomoy Services, Inc., based in Marshall was born.

While building the excavation business, Pennington simultaneously experimented with raising cattle. He bought a couple of weaned Angus calves and turned them out on a neighbor’s farm, after taking a course in Orange County on how to breed cows through artificial insemination.

The science of it grabbed him and stuck, however by 1994 the excavation business fired up exponentially. “It grew faster than expected and in 1995 I sold the 10 registered Angus cows I had. I had no time. I was ambitious, and the momentum of growth took over.”

In 2006, after another life shift, John got back into Angus breeding. Now a registered breeder with the American Angus Association (AAA), the nation’s largest beef breeding organization serving the U.S. and Canada, Pennington (like most members) is devoted to improving the traits that matter to cattlemen.

With over 20 million cattle records in their data base, AAA’s DNA analysis through two expert labs moves beyond simple genetics into actively managing modern selection opportunities. It helps breeders identify carriers of genetic abnormalities to lessen the risk of spreading them to the breed, while maximizing the chances of producing a beautiful animal with the most positive economic traits of an Angus cow: claw set, foot angle, and confirmation, all which influence fluidity of movement.

This in turn impacts a cow’s ability to cover pasture for forage and breeding. The science is complex, but Pennington embraces it. From this endeavor came Monomoy Farm Services, Inc.

Now back to Monomoy Erica Elite J12 and her epic journey to the Galaxy Beef annual fall auction on Nov. 30, 2024 at a ranch south of Macon, Missouri, owned by the Miller family. After a call from them in June, 2023, Pennington negotiated her sale but conditioned it on receiving more IVF embryos. They agreed, if he could get her to them quickly.

So, he put Erica (nine months old) on a gooseneck trailer and drove to Double Barrel Angus near Nashville to meet Steve Miller. A year later, they asked him to bring the bull calf born from one of Erica’s embryos out to put in the auction.

In August 2024, Pennington trailered that calf and his recipient mother 1,600 miles to the ranch in Missouri. The following November, he flew out to watch the auction live. Erica was the No. 1-rated maternal cow, featured in Lot 1, and first in the sales ring.

The sales program read like a love letter to Erica: “Monomoy Erica Elite J12 represents one of the rare females that you can fall instantly in love with in person and gives you a pedigree with data that can elevate you to another level in the breed…”

Bottom line: Erica sold for a $75,000 valuation while the bull calf John drove out sold in Lot 4 for $20,000. Additionally, with Erica as the donor cow, a three month-old embryo heifer calf brought a $28,000 half interest in Lot 2, while a three-month-old embryo heifer calf brought a $29,000 full interest in Lot 3.

From mending fences, mowing and making hay to vaccinating or inseminating his cows, Pennington keeps it low-key. That holds true for the excavation business too, though it now has 28 employees, and does $4-5 million in annual business.

“We’ve built a lake with three tiers of wetlands and a polo field with 15 acres

of grading – each project is unique,” Pennington said. “Whichever Monomoy business it is, the goal is to provide quality and value. But when you raise a commodity like a cow, you better be good at it if you want to compete with big commercial ranches. That means do it more efficiently. I enjoy it.”