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MICAH MORGAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 54

“It was an awesome experience to set a goal for myself to one day be on the Junior Board and then work hard to meet it, and that’s what we want to replicate in kids.” In addition to his mission of service, Morgan’s love for Santa Gertrudis cattle also continues. He said producers like Ira Barrow and Darrell Pitchford helped with his efforts to transition from junior member to breeder. He began by breeding his former show heifers and selling their offspring with great success, but like many young adults, he made the tough deci- sion to sell his herd to purchase his first home. Since settling on his new acre- age outside of Ore City and becoming more established in his career, Morgan has spent the past three years accu- mulating new genetics to rebuild his herd. He has also exhibited his cattle extensively at open shows to demon- strate the quality and performance he has been able to produce. Combined with his success as a junior, Morgan has built a reputable name for himself on the show circuit and among fellow breeders. “The only thing I enjoy more than showing my cattle is watching a junior member show my cattle,” he says. “I’ve always had a desire to help mentor younger showmen, and I enjoy helping them learn and experience success with these animals. “The U.S. cattle industry stands to greatly benefit from Santa Gertrudis genetics, and I am always glad to watch as junior members develop the same type of passion I have for the breed.” Morgan says he is especially fond of Santa Gertrudis cattle because of the parasite resistance and adaptabil- “In the future, we plan on market- ing bulls, and in the near future we also hope to have a production sale of our own between the Santa Gertrudis, Santa Gertrudis-cross and Brangus females,” Curry says. Usually steer calves are taken to the local auction barn, but soon, Curry says, the ranch will be backgrounding them and raising them through the fall, then selling load lots off the ranch. Despite having lofty goals on the horizon, the biggest goal right now is to decrease the commercial Santa Ger- trudis herd and increase the registered herd. “We have customers waiting for solid red Gert heifers and need to fill orders,”

Franke says. “With a large purebred Gert herd, we can turn our attention to the buyers’ wants in nine months.” The future of Santa Gertrudis cattle seems bright for now, according to Franke, but he says that breeders can’t lose traction, especially after seeing many breeds come in and out of fash- ion over the years. “I think the future was made in the past,” he says. “Generations of hard work has already been done. The cattle nowadays are the survivors of rigorous culling. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just shine it up and package it correctly for the consumer today. Get buyers, feeders and packers the data they need to buy with confidence.” future in this breed is critical to our con- tinuing legacy and heritage,” he says. “I would encourage them to find ways to pour into the association the same selfless investment that was given to them.” ity qualities they offer producers. He also appreciates the breed’s excellent maternal instinct. “I think the Santa Gertrudis female is the best mama cow out there,” he says. “It is bred into her to be an outstanding brood cow.” That same appreciation extends to SGBI and the extensive work they do to promote the breed and build member- ship within the organization. Morgan says advancements in expected progeny difference profiles and performance data for Santa Gertru- dis genetics have helped the breed gain popularity in the last 10 years, espe- cially in the Southeastern United States where cattle with Brahman influence thrive. “The exposure we’ve received as a breed and the increased use of Santa Gertrudis genetics – both in commercial herds and seedstock operations – is a direct result of the hard work being done by SGBI staff and Board mem- bers,” he says. “As breeders, it is vital we support the organization through membership, committee work and other volunteer opportunities so we can continue building on our breed’s success.” As a former NJSGA member who has now made the transition to SGBI, Morgan hopes current junior members will also consider the importance of participating in the association. “Junior members matter, and their

especially impressed with the level of professionalism and responsibility they exhibited. “As president of NJSGA, I attended SGBI committee meetings and worked closely with several leaders from the SGBI Board, so it was really my first introduction into working with adults and understanding that, although we didn’t always agree with each other, there could still be unity within our diversified group” Morgan says. “Members don’t always understand just how much is done behind the scenes to make SGBI and NJSGA successful. It takes a lot of manpower to organize shows and contests and to promote the breed, and Board members volunteer to take a lot of that on.” After his junior career ended, Morgan went on to earn a Bachelor of Busi- ness Administration in marketing with honors from the University of Texas at Tyler. He now works as senior project manager for Mueller, Inc., selling metal buildings, metal roofs and different steel components. Morgan also serves as a youth min- ister at the Ore City Church of Christ and believes his time spent serving the NJSGA helped shape him into this role. “One of the greatest responsibilities as a Junior Board member is to set a positive example for the membership and to mentor younger members,” he says. “Similar to my role as a youth minister, I was able to help make an impact in other juniors’ lives and ensure they had the same meaningful opportunities I was given. The cattle are just a means by which we develop young people. I look at expected progeny differ- ences [EPDs], it has to be bulls with higher EPDs for weaning weights [and] yearling weights, and then they have to be the correct phenotype; they have to look like a Gert.” As far as Saunders was concerned, pedigrees don’t mean a thing as long as the animal performed well and pro- duced a calf. Most of the females sell private treaty, for the time being. Thanks to Saun- ders’ connections in the Santa Gertru- dis world, whenever Curry has extra females to sell it doesn’t take more than a few phone calls to find a buyer. LACKEY RANCH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45

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