By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER Ohio Correspondent MILLERSBURG, Ohio — Paint Valley Farms (PVF) took home the Ohio Cattlemen’s Assoc. (OCA) Seedstock Producer of the Year award this year. The farm is owned and operated by Lee and Dawn Miller, their children Megan, Whitney, Grant and Derek, and herdsman Gretchen Straits. After a hiatus from agriculture, the family got into raising Shorthorn cattle 15 years ago because Dawn and Lee wanted to get the kids involved in agriculture. They manage 160 brood cows, 120 of which are registered Shorthorns. They make use of the tools and technology available today for measuring and evaluating the herd’s genetics. PVF collects a great deal of data and they use it to continually improve the herd. The farm uses artificial insemination (AI), embryo transfers and genomics. The quality of their herd has continued to improve. They have sold cattle at the Ohio Beef Expo for 10 years and will host their first live bull sale at the farm on March 23. PVF travels to Denver each year for the National Western Stock Show, and they sell cattle nationally from Maine to the West Coast. These are some of the qualities OCA was looking for when it selected a farm for the Seedstock Producer of the Year, which was cosponsored by OCA and Farm World. “The OCA selection committee tried to look at potential award winners for our farms that excel in performance-based operations,” said Elizabeth Harsh, OCA executive director, “farms that do a good job in marketing and presenting their operations in a good light for not only the industry but for the public. “They need to be significant in size do a good job in using all of the performance information available today, and make good mating decisions to produce superior, performance-based seedstock.” What attracted Lee Miller to Shorthorns 15 years ago was the mothering ability of the cow herd. “The mama cows are very maternal and they milk well,” he said. “They’re also very docile. Without a good mama cow, it is hard to raise beef cattle.” PVF raises all of their own feed and the cattle are rotationally grazed. They sell semen, and they also buy a small amount, but mostly look for bulls that are AI-qualified. Straits does a lot of the AI, data collection and whatever else needs to be done, as Lee is engaged in a full-time business with his father. The entire family chips in, spending evenings and weekends on the farm. The kids all showed cattle in 4-H, at county, state and national levels. The first year the family traveled to the National Western Stock Show, they took first place in their category – in competition with cattle from all over the country. “In 2016, the first time we showed bulls in Denver, we won that show for the Best Pen of Five Bulls,” Lee said. “That was very much of an honor. It was so much an honor that we’ve not been able to duplicate it!” Learn more about PVF and the family by calling 330-231-6834 or at www.paintvalleyfarms.com |
