Welcome to Fink Beef Genetics. We appreciate the time you are taking to review our cattle program involving two breeds, Angus and Charolais. The copperhead bulls were started in 2017 which is the Charolais x Red Angus cross. Innovation, nontraditional, unique, and outside-the-box thinking has forged us on for over 40 years. In 2016, we marketed approximately 700 bulls. One of the largest embryo transplant programs in the United States, and a networking of all segments of the cattle industry, plus old-fashioned cow sense has driven this family-owned operation since 1977. We have never waited for things to happen. If we see a need, we do it only if we feel it is in the best interest of our customers. Fads are not part of our program… long-term results are.
Two low paying jobs (Lori was the part time secretary for the Kansas Angus Association and Galen was KSU Beef herdsman), $4000, one cow and no land was the start of Fink Beef Genetics in 1977. The cowherd grew to a “massive” 25 cows over the next 10 years, keeping daughters and adding a few cows as money allowed.
It was decided at the start that we would be total AI. We used the hot, new, unproven bulls. After five years of stumbling, all kinds of genetics and chasing fads, we decided that we needed a program!
1987 was the decision-making year, either run or walk. We had an opportunity to purchase our choice of 27 bred heifers from the proven pedigree stacked cowherd of Hyline Angus, Montana. Nevermind the stock market crashed that week and working on nearly all borrowed money, we did it. This group along, with our “Miss,” Vixon, Bonnie, and Formera cow families, set the base.
To have enough numbers to try to make it on cattle alone, an embryo program was put in place in 1988 by using commercial customer’s cows for recipients. In the next two years, the ET program was greatly expanded. Customer service programs, new ideas, more rented land, were all headquartered out of a 40 acre rented headquarters. This site turned out to be the location of female sales that set records throughout the 90’s and well into the new decade.
The program has now grown into one of the top 25 largest seedstock operations ranked by the NCBA since 2004. We market approximately 700 bulls each year nationwide. Females are sold through production sales and private treaty.
We still use nearly all AI and as many proven sires as possible. In 2012 and 2013, due to drought and pasture conditions, we have turned out a bull to breed a few cows.
We implant approximately 1000-1200 embryos each year. Many of these embryos are sexed male embryos, since the fall of 2011, in both breeds.
Charolais were added to the program in 1999 to give more options for customers. We believe there are several ways for customers to create profit, through straight breeding or crossbreeding.
Our breeding program is ideally made up of sires that have approximately 100 daughters in production. This gives us an opportunity to evaluate udders, feet, disposition and “kind.” We use this approach us much as possible. We have stacked many generations of this system through AI as possible.
The Charolais program, although not as old, was created the same way by using older proven sires. We now have 3-4 generations of lighter birth weight and calving ease built into our stacked pedigrees, still with outstanding growth.
We are a family run business and when you call you will talk to one of us! A few of our innovations are:
1977 – All salvage value kept on bulls by customers on any problems
1994 – Every bull sold we retain a semen interest in. When we started in 1994, we kept â…“ – the past several years we have kept ½.
1998 – Genetic Credit started. Customers that get identifiable carcass data back on bulls, or groups of full brother bulls receive a per head credit back on bull purchases.
2007 – Started selling cattle by video using eight big-screen TV sets and not run cattle through the sale ring. We were not the 1st to do this, but among the first.
2008 – Email blasts for commercial customers to potential buyers for steers and females, regardless of age of the females.
2010 – A 3-year guarantee on bulls, 1st in the industry to do this for commercial bull customers.
2011 – Mass use of sexed semen in embryo transplant program.
The numbers tell part of the story. The cattle tell the rest — visit Fink Beef Genetics to see the program firsthand.
