Chippewa Valley Angus Farms LLC
Ohio Angus Breeders prepare for October female sale
 Chippewa Valley Angus Farms LLC, based in Rittman, Ohio,
is a registered Angus operation with a great history and a
bright future. Owned and managed by Rod Ferguson and his wife
Laurie, the goal at Chippewa Valley Angus Farms is to produce
quality seedstock to better the cattle industry and the Angus
breed.
The Legacy of Chippewa Valley Angus Farms
Rod grew up on a farm in northeastern Ohio. In the 1940s
and early 1950s, the family raised cattle, but not registered
animals. When Rod was 13 years old,
he and his father, Harold Ferguson, decided to go together and purchase one
purebred Angus heifer. “I had saved $150, which wasn’t enough
to buy one myself, so my Dad put in the rest. For about $300, we started
our registered
herd,” Rod says with a smile.
Rod gives his Dad all the credit for recognizing
the beauty and potential in that first heifer. She had been on the farm
for about three months, when
Harold
realized that she looked a lot better than the rest. He said, “She’s
a lot better quality, and it costs the same amount to feed a good one as
it does a bad one!” Dad then said, “We should go out and find
some more like her.”
Like most agricultural ventures, an investment
must start with capital. Rod remembers that he and his father went to
the banker to borrow “what seemed
like a fortune” at that time. The Fergusons bought six more heifers
and one bull for less than they had borrowed. “I remember Dad returning
the left-over money to the banker after we purchased the cattle” Rod
says. “That
was a good financial lesson for me – integrity, honesty and responsibility
with money.”
The offspring of those first cattle were successfully
shown in 4-H by Rod and one of his sisters, Jan. They were named champions
at the Columbiana
County
Fair. Those steers, and many after, helped enable Rod to attend Ohio
State
University where he graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine
in 1967.
“I was away from the day-to-day raising and caring for cattle when I was
in vet school and after, but I always missed it,” Rod says. “And,
I was still taking care of other animals; a desire that I am sure grew
out of taking care of those first Angus cattle on the farm.”
Rod
was awarded a large animal residency at Texas A & M University,
and then worked in a private practice in Cridersville and E. Liverpool,
Ohio. He went back into university life, training as a small animal
surgical
resident
at Colorado State University. He earned his masters and PhD, focusing
on cancer research in animals at CSU. In 1979, Rod became the head
of small animal surgery
at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
A
desire to be in his own practice and back in Ohio led him to where
he is today. He established a surgical specialty referral practice
and then,
in 1996,
built a multi-specialty referral hospital, Akron Veterinary Referral
and Emergency Center. Today, he divides his time between the veterinary
practice
and his
Angus cattle business.
While Rod was pursuing his veterinary career,
two of his sisters were developing well respected Angus
herds of their own. Jan and
her family
own and operate
Lyons Angus Ranch in Manhattan Kansas, and Mary Ferguson-Colvin
and her husband, own and operate Wolf Creek Angus Ranch in Luray,
Kansas. Along
with the daily operations of their ranches, the women also contribute
in other professional capacities to the Angus breed. Jan is a
past president of the
Kansas Livestock Association and a past president of National
Cattleman’s
Beef Association. She remains active in both associations along
with her daughters. Mary was National Junior Angus Showmanship
Champion in her youth and after
her graduation from Kansas State University was part of the Certified
Angus Beef program as a professional during the program’s
developmental years.
The Ferguson family’s love of Angus
cattle that began with the purchase of one purebred Angus heifer
back in 1956, has provided a variety of opportunities
for success and involvement from the small community level through
to national participation and recognition in the cattle industry.
CVAF – The
Beginning
“When I met Laurie in 1988, we both discussed our hopes and dreams and
realized we shared a love for farm life and animals,” Rod said.
“I
wasn’t raised on a farm,” Laurie said, “but
when I was a little girl, I wanted to be a farm girl so badly
that I used to pretend
that I was!” Prior to meeting Rod, Laurie worked many years as a personal
and business banker which prepared her for handling the financial aspects of
both the veterinary clinic and the Angus operation. Working from home allows
her to be with the cattle and horses every day. “I feel very fortunate,” shares
Laurie.
Rod and
Laurie began acquiring cows with known, proven, Angus genetics
both from Rod’s dad Harold, owner of Calcutta Farms in E. Liverpool,
Ohio and Rod’s sister, Jan Lyons owner of Lyons Angus Ranch
in Manhattan, Kansas. “It was important to me to have our herd begin
with genetics from my family’s cattle. It was the perfect way to build
a foundation,” Rod
said.
The breeding
program at Chippewa Valley Angus began with strong herd-building
sires like Bando, Traveler, and 6807. The program continues to move forward
utilizing AI and embryo transfer, as well as the highest-quality natural
service sires to finish the breeding season. Rod and Laurie market their
cattle primarily
at the April bull sale and the October female sale held each year at
the Smithville farm. However, there always remains an opportunity
to purchase
cattle by private
treaty as well.
Over the
past 15 years, Rod and Laurie have linked three different
homesteads, each about seven miles from the other,
in a triangle, to make up the
entity of Chippewa Valley Angus Farms LLC. Each of the locations has
its own purpose:
The Rittman farm is the original home site and where rotational grazing
of cow/calf pairs occurs during the summer months. The Smithville farm
is where
the cows are wintered and calved and the two annual production sales
are held. The Canaan Center farm is primarily used for hay and rotational
grazing
of
grass pastures.
Scott Lehman
serves as the Herdsman for CVAF and has been with the operation
for over 3 years. He graduated from
Ohio State Agricultural
Technical
Institute in Wooster, Ohio. He is instrumental in the day-to-day
care of the herd,
preparation for the annual spring bull sale and the annual fall female
sale. Rod praises
Scott, who grew up in northwestern Ohio, for being extremely hard
working, dependable and capable. “He is always responsible
and proactive in organizing the daily tasks that need to
be accomplished for a smooth
operation. He is
one of those fellows that I don’t have to worry about. If something
needs done, he gets it done for us.”
The Future
Rod and Laurie’s vision for Chippewa Valley Angus
Farms is to produce quality seedstock with outstanding
carcass characteristics that will go on
to produce consistent, well balanced working bulls and cows for
their customers. His goal is within sight as demonstrated
by the strong EPD’s of the CVAF
2006 spring bull sale. The average EPD’s of all the bulls
presented in the sale were in the top 15% of the Angus Breed EPD’s.
Rod continues to study Angus characteristics and purchases heifers
and natural service sires,
along with developing a strong AI program each year that will upgrade
and keep the herd at Chippewa Valley Angus Farms up to date with
what customers are
demanding in their cattle.
Like Rod’s father did for him,
the Fergusons are working hard to ensure that the legacy they leave
is a strong and dependable one. Laurie’s daughter
and Rod’s sons are raising the next generation. Laurie
says that all seven of their grandchildren love to visit the farm.
They anticipate the newest arrival, due this year, will enjoy it as well. “One of our grandsons -- who is just learning how to talk -- calls me ‘Pa-Pa’ then
he follows it with, ‘Cows’ and ‘MOOOO’.” Rod smiles, “He’s
got that all figured out.”
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Copyright
2007.