March 2, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:

Jaclyn Upperman, director of events and education

816-383-5147

jupperman@angus.org

Illinois Angus Farm Recognized for Historic Angus Herd

Thread and Gage Company Farm has raised registered Angus cattle for 50-plus years.

Deno Buralli and his father started their herd at Thread and Gage Company Farm in Spring Grove, Illinois, in 1967 after purchasing the farm, which they named after their family’s manufacturing business. The American Angus Association^® is proud to recognize the Thread and Gage Company Farm herd as a recipient of the Historic Angus Herd Award as a way to showcase their commitment to the Angus breed. This award is presented to active Angus breeders and immediate family members who have been in continuous production of registered Angus cattle for 50 years or more.

The Burallis purchased eight registered bred heifers in September 1967 from Ed Manning’s Red Top Farms Ltd. at Libertyville, Illinois. The heifers had predominantly Scotch-based pedigrees, and several were daughters of Manning’s Perth Champion bulls Elation of Eastfield and Burger of Classlochie. Their first herd bull was a son of his Perth Champion Electo of Haymount. Additional cows were purchased from Lakewood Farms in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, and from Harrer’s Green Meadow Ranch at Helena, Montana, in 1970.

“We have maintained a closed herd since we purchased additional cows in 1970 with only one purchased female added in the past 47 years,” Deno said. “Our farm manager in the early ’70s, Charles Kupstis, took an interest in Angus pedigrees and AI breeding and attended the last AI school that was offered by Curtiss Breeding Service at Cary, Illinois. Charles did all of the AI breeding for many, many years.”

Natural service sires were acquired from Eli & Bette Votaw’s E Bar V Angus Ranch at Wellfleet, Nebraska, and from Basin Angus and Stevenson’s Diamond Dot at Hobson, Montana. Currently, the herd contains 25 cows.

Visit www.angus.org for more information on the Historic Angus Herd Award and to view a list of awarded members since the program began in 1988.

— Written by Rachel Robinson, Angus Communications

ANGUS MEANS BUSINESS. The American Angus Association^® is the nation’s largest beef breed organization, serving more than 25,000 members across the United States and Canada. It provides programs and services to farmers, ranchers and others who rely on the power of Angus to produce quality genetics for the beef industry and quality beef for consumers.

For more information about Angus cattle and the American Angus Association’s programs and services, visit www.angus.org.

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