Nov. 16,
2012
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more
information contact:
Carrie
Heitman, communications coordinator, at 816-383-5100 or cheitman@angus.org; or Shelia Stannard,
director of activities and events, at 816-383-5100 or sstannard@angus.org.
PHOTOS: Available from prphotos@angus.org.
VIDEO: Highlights from the 2012 NAILE.
Angus Herds
Presented with Century Award
Two deep-rooted farms were recognized during
the Annual Awards Banquet in Louisville, Ky.
Longevity is significant in a cow
herd, in more ways than one. Just like productive females, a long-standing cattle
operation impacts generations. Thanks to the predecessors who dedicated time
and money into developing Angus genetics, the breed is able to have the success
it now enjoys. The American Angus Association® recognizes historical
herds by presenting Century Awards each year at its Annual Awards Banquet in
Louisville, Ky.
Involved in continuous,
registered Angus cattle production for 100 years or more, the 2012 Century
Award recipients are: Millers Viewlawn Angus, Mabel, Minn., and Sunnyslope
Angus LLC, Lanesboro, Minn.
“We are grateful for the
commitment Millers Viewlawn Angus and Sunnyslope Angus have shown to the business breed,” says
Bryce Schumann, Association chief executive officer. “Without their support,
and the support of hundreds like them, Angus genetics would not be where they
are today.”
The farms were honored during the
banquet Nov. 12, held in conjunction with the North American International
Livestock Exposition. Read more about the Angus breeders and their families in
the paragraphs that follow.
Miller’s Viewlawn
Roy Miller established the Viewlawn Angus Herd in 1892 with the purchase of his first
purebred bull. He persuaded his father to bring home an Angus to their farm in
northern Iowa, Winneshiek County. Almost ten years later, he added eight
registered Angus females to the operation and registered the herd in 1903 with
the American Angus Association.
The Miller family’s reputation
for quality cattle grew as their farm expanded in Iowa and southern Minnesota.
The first sale Miller consigned was also the first Angus sale held in
Minnesota. On Nov. 9, 1916, the sale consisted of one bull and four cows and
the female sale averaged $180.
For the first 35 years of the
operation, Miller managed the Viewlawn Herd
exclusively. Now, several generations of the Miller family have continued to
become involved in the herd, including Miller’s two sons, Frank and Charles. In
1945, Charles’ son, Robert joined the operation and continued to expand the
herd involvement with his son, Larry.
Since that time, much has changed
in the cattle business, and Viewlawn Angus continued
to adapt to market demands. In 1965, the farm became an international source
for breeding stock, selling 36 head of cattle to Ryuka
Islands in Okinawa, Japan.
What has kept Millers Viewlawn in the Angus business for over 100 years are
private treaty sales to local cattlemen, many who are fifth and sixth
generation buyers.
Today the herd is in its fourth,
fifth and sixth generation of ownership, Larry and his son’s, Mat, Chris and Andy
and Mat’s son, Carter. The day-to-day operation of 240 cows is run by Larry,
Margaret and Chris.
The Miller family has served
several roles in the Angus industry including Robert’s current role as the
North East Iowa Angus Association President and Chris serving as the Iowa Angus
Association Vice-President. The Miller family is also members of the Minnesota
and Iowa Angus Association.
Robert has also held leadership
roles in the Minnesota Angus Association as president and as a member of the
American Angus Association Board of Directors.
Philip and Ruth Abrahamson, Sunnyslope Angus Farm, Lanesboro, Minn., know the
importance of looking to the past in order to have a successful future. Sunnyslope has been stewarded by the Abrahamson family for
nearly 150 years. Buildings that date back to the early 1900s still stand
strong — telltale signs of the farm’s historic legacy.
Philip’s grandfather, Peter
Abrahamson, established Sunnyslope’s herd in 1898
after purchasing an Angus bull, Duke of Lanesboro, and an Angus heifer, Ivy of
Canton 2d. The first group of Sunnyslope cattle was
sold in 1900, and the Abrahamson family has been in the Angus business ever
since. Philip’s grandfather was also instrumental in launching the Minnesota
Angus Association in 1915, serving as its first secretary.
Philip is the fourth generation
caretaker of Sunnyslope. In 1960, he studied under
Dr. J C Meiske of the University of Minnesota to
develop a method, modeled closely after the Angus Herd Improvement Record (AHIR®)
program, for creating genetic advancement of his Angus cattle through
scientific measurement along with visual perspective. That fall the first
weaned calves were weighed and graded through the AHIR.
As a result of 52 years of
performance testing, the quality of Sunnyslope Angus
cattle is recognized across the United States. In recent years, bulls from this
herd have included S S RITO 8221 X01, commonly known
as Super X; S S RITO 0715 0H3, referred to as The
Mathematician; S S TRAVELER 6T6; S S TRAVELER 6807 T510; S S
OBJECTIVE T510 0T26, referred to as Objective; S S
TRAVELER T510 2T22; S S INCENTIVE 9J17, known as Incentive;
S S FAST TRACK M719, also known as Fast Track; S S SURGE 0T26 8J20, commonly known as Surge.
Sunnyslope’s S S
Traveler 6T6 sold to Philip’s neighbor and friend, Bob Miller of Viewlawn Angus, Mabel, Minn. 6T6 became an ABS sire and
sired O S U 6T6 Ultra for Oklahoma State University that became the 1995
National Western Grand Champion Bull.
Sunnyslope’s S S
Objective T510 0T26 sold to ABS and Quaker Hill Farm of Louisa, Va. He has 173 sons listed in the 2012 American Angus
Association Sire Evaluation Report, 31,362 registered progeny and ranks eighth
on the all-time list for registered progeny.
In 1998, the Abrahamsons
celebrated a century in the Angus business, and production at Sunnyslope continues in full force today with their 36th
production sale next summer.
Philip and Ruth’s daughter,
Julie, and her husband, Keith Ekstrom, joined the
operation in 2010. Their other daughter, Jess, married to Jason Rebhahn, works as a news anchor at KTTC in Rochester, Minn.
The American
Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef organization, serving more than
30,000 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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