To Show At Main Anjou Junior Nationals Does Heifer Have To Be Registered To Kid Only?

S.L., Jenna, Caddo and Teddi Arts and crafts.

Inferior Show Achievements LEAD TO SUCCESSFUL Convenance Programme at Brower/Craft Bear witness Cattle

From her get-go national inferior heifer telling my mom was I going to fly to show — 1996 in Wichita, Kansas — to Indiana to purchase a heifer at Farmer's," Jenna her final — 2006 in Wichita Falls, Texas, says. "She merely told me 'better phone call your Jenna (Brower) Craft lived and breathed banker,' and she was right," she added. showing cattle. She loved the time spent CFCC Sleeping Dazzler, or "Big Momma" washing and working hair in the befouled, as Jenna chosen her, was a purebred planning matings and presenting her Maine-Anjou female sired by KGST Fear hard work in the showring. This. She was the high seller in the 2003

During her freshman year at Redlands Show Girls Aristocracy Female Auction; 18 years Community College, she made a big later her genetics are the cornerstone investment for her fledgling moo-cow herd of the Brower/Arts and crafts herd. Her daughters with the purchase of CFCC Sleeping and granddaughters are making large time Dazzler 031. cows, repeatedly raising high sellers and

"The weekend earlier the sale, I The dame of the Brower/Craft herd, CFCC Sleeping Beauty major show champions. remember leaving Kansas City and 031, at the 2003 North American International Livestock Bear witness.

Behind the Scenes at Brower/Craft

Brower/Craft Testify Cattle officially started when Jenna and S.50. got married in 2014. Previously Jenna had operated under Jenna Brower Bear witness Cattle and used the prefix JABR, same as they do today. The couple resides in Anadarko, Oklahoma, a few miles from where Jenna was raised. They are proud parents of Tucker (xv), Ramsey (12), Caddo (half dozen) and Teddi (iii).

Jenna'due south parents, Grant and Ann Brower, purchased their outset set of Maine-Anjou females in 1989 and began using artificial insemination (AI) right away. That initial purchase produced the first show heifers for both Jenna and her older blood brother Jeff. Today the combined herd is about 350 cows.

"I know my mom has ever liked stout cattle; that'southward is just her affair. When it came to purchasing Maine-Anjous initially, she was actually attracted to the bone, the foot structure and just the full general disposition of them," Jenna says.

Today, not all of the cattle at Brower/Craft Show Cattle are registered, but virtually all of the cows are at least quarter-claret MaineAnjou equally they take run both purebred and one-half-blood Maine-Anjou bulls for years.

Additionally, the Brower/Craft MaineAnjous have also been surprisingly heat tolerant, an of import trait in their corner of Southwest Oklahoma. Since her parents' main focus is commercial cattle, the daily gain and weaning weights are important to the bottom line.

Calving is split between three seasons – bound, summer and autumn, with S.Fifty. and Ann handling the calving and most of the daily work. Grant does the farming and haying, while Jenna works off the farm for Delaware Nation Industries and helps with all aspects of the performance. She likewise calls herself the customer relations and marketing department. The kids tag forth and join in the fun whenever possible. Together, the family makes breeding decisions.

"That's kind of my honey – watching what's doing good in sales, looking at pedigrees and really evaluating our herd all the fourth dimension and seeing the change," Jenna says. "I'm definitely the marketing department for the operation. But S.Fifty., he's the boots on the basis every 24-hour interval behind the scenes, forth with my parents."

The Regrouping

Since the kickoff of their matrimony, Brower/Craft has been in what they call a regrouping phase, ready to plow their mode of cow into something successful in the showring. Their loftier percentage MaineAnjou cows were large and stout, but they needed a shot of moderation and longevity to heighten cattle right for the times.

The pair purchased BPF Finish Zone 72D, a three-quarter claret Maine-Anjou balderdash sired by Comfort Zone, in the 2017 Bright Lights Maine-Anjou Bull & Female person Auction at the National Western Stock Bear witness.

According to Jenna, Terminate Zone has been a game changer for breeding replacement females. In one generation, he'southward chastened frame size, helped with structure and added some longevity to the cattle. His daughter's "picture perfect" udders are a bonus. This regrouping coincided with the introduction of the Maine Angus programme at the American Maine-Anjou Association (AMAA).

The couple agrees that the style of cattle winning in the showring across all breeds has inverse in that fourth dimension as well. "They had gotten cattle and then small and and then flabbysided; taken all of the natural thickness out of them. Nosotros e'er had a little likewise much dial to our cattle for the times. Nosotros knew we were going to stay that way because that's what nosotros liked, but I think judges are wanting more than real cattle in the showring today than they were 5 years agone," Jenna says. "It was all just a look then, but today you meliorate have some stuff behind you — some fill behind your shoulders all the way to the hip. We were there and ready for information technology when they started wanting that and non just the biggest belly and the tiniest neck."

The courage of the Brower/Arts and crafts herd

— the big, stout cows they bred for in the 90s — have really worked making Maine Angus females, Due south.50. adds. "There'due south nothing better than a Maine-Angus cow for giving you options. You tin can breed to a purebred Maine bull to get a three-quarter or you can breed them for a society calf or commercial herd. You're going to end upwardly with a good calf regardless," S.L. says.

Along with Grant and Ann, they focus on raising 70% commercial cattle and 30% show cattle. Regardless of the cattle's functioning in the showring, they have to earn their proceed on their Southwestern Oklahoma farm. "Our show cattle nonetheless have to be productive, and they still take to raise a good quality calf to go onto the sale barn," Jenna says. "We depend on that check just as much every bit we practice the money from selling show cattle."

Embryo transfer (ET) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) have both been used extensively at Brower/Arts and crafts since the purchase of CFCC Sleeping Beauty in 2003. The first ready of calves bred specifically for raising replacements females and show heifers but finished their evidence careers as two-yr-olds. With the help of IVF and sexed semen, they were able to produce the showtime grouping of replacements rapidly.

Brower/Arts and crafts Bear witness Cattle is in a nifty place geographically for doing embryo piece of work. There is a Trans Ova Genetics satellite location 15 miles south at Dustin Glover's facility where donors undergo IVF. Then the incubator is brought to the farm, and John and Amanda Nelson from Nelson Embryo Services in nearby Verden, Oklahoma can practise a fresh transfer immediately.

There are iv proven donor cows that have been flushed regularly the past few years, and they have produced several high sellers and champions. In 2020, another vi females were flushed on a trial basis and those first ET calves will go far later this summer.

Due south.L. mentions JABR Miss CB Ali 137B, the dam of JABR Electra 96G ET (Grand Champion MaineTainer Female at the 2021 Cattlemen'southward Congress and Supreme Champion Influence Female at the 2021 Oklahoma Youth Expo for McKenzie Layton), equally an especially versatile convenance piece. "She raised a lot of high dollar show steers earlier that. They've worked both ways," he says.

Jenna jokes that she blew an entire moo-cow herd for almost a decade breeding them for club calves and not focusing on the maternal traits. "When I went to college, the cool thing to practise was heighten show steers. I had all of these loftier Maine cows, and nosotros were using stuff similar Ali and Lifeline. But our flushing wasn't that way, they weren't maternally bred at all," she says.

Breeding decisions are something on everyone's heed at Brower/Craft all year long. Duello Icon, BOE Fame and Sweet Willie are a few bulls they mentioned. Both embryo and AI calves are on the ground now, with more than coming in the summer.

In addition to these newer AI sires, they take been breeding heifers to The Witch Doctor, the well-nigh thirty-year-old purebred Maine-Anjou balderdash whose progeny won banners at all levels in the 1990s. They say he makes cute replacement females that they have retained.

The JABR prefix has seen a lot of success over the years in both the heifer and market animal rings. But today the breeding program at Brower/Craft is focused more on quality and consistency throughout their entire herd.

The Honey Pigsty

As you lot pull in the drive at Brower/Craft Show Cattle, you are greeted by a small open up sided befouled, a working tub and chute. You encounter pens for horses, smaller runs for show cattle, a pasture behind the building, besides as a few panels and fans inside the barn. "Y'all'll never believe it, but at least five national champions accept been clipped in that tub," S.L. says.

Brower/Craft is definitely benefitting from the regrouping efforts, and dozens of cattle are marketed through their humble working facilities every year. Jenna says Brower/Craft has found their "honey pigsty" with the Maine Angus and MaineTainer programs and credits the breeding programme they developed to getting them there. As those cattle have matured and progressed, an even larger number of accolades and banners from shows across the country have followed.

A bulk of the cattle are sold privately, and the duo credits Facebook and Snapchat for helping get their cattle into the all-time homes. They are not afraid to sell cattle sight unseen.

One success story, JABR Gwen 98G, (Reserve Grand Maine Angus at the 2021 Cattlemen'south Congress, 1000 Champion Maine Angus at the 2020 National Junior Heifer Show, Grand Champion Maine Angus

JABR Gwen 98G shown by Dalton Carlson, Grand Champion Maine Angus Female at the 2020 National Junior Heifer Evidence.

at the 2020 American Royal and K Champion MaineTainer Heifer at the 2020 Ft. Worth Stock Bear witness), was purchased past fellow breeders Jeff Paulsen and Brian Fox solely off of a 15-second Snapchat video.

"A lot of guys buy from us sight unseen and that is a attestation, I think," says Jenna. "That'due south ane of the biggest compliments yous can receive."

Every twelvemonth Brower/Craft will consign a few females onto bigger sales, such as Pembrook's The Limited Edition Sale. Additionally, they have an Online Female Auction hosted through Show Cattle Connection every fall that helps bring in new customers. When working with customers and specifically inferior exhibitors, Jenna says their phone line is always open and they happily share their knowledge.

"I feel similar it's so valuable we maintain a relationship with our customers. They tin proceed me up to date with what they're feeding and the daily attribute. Don't get me wrong, information technology is time consuming, but if you don't help them, the average person isn't going to know when to change a feed ration, etc.," Jenna says.

Kelly Layton and her girl McKenzie live in Pocasset, Oklahoma. They purchased their commencement female person from Brower/Craft in the autumn of 2014, that female went on to be a brood champion at the Oklahoma Youth Expo in 2016. Their success has continued from there."We are house believers that you need to correctly feed your heifer. Each one can exist different," McKenzie says.

In 2021, McKenzie'southward senior twelvemonth, her family and the crew at Brower/Craft Show Cattle had another memorable yr with JABR Electra 96G ET, including her most special accomplishment, winning Supreme Champion Influence Heifer at the 2021 Oklahoma Youth Expo.

"Jenna and S.50. have been wonderful to work with. They're both extremely knowledgeable in the industry. Yous're going to come across issues that you're uncertain how to handle, and I could always count on them for answers," she says.

Growing Upwardly Maine-Anjou

Since the 1990s, Jenna has been attention the Maine-Anjou National Caddo Craft, showing his heifer CGCC Dottie 013H ET. Photo past Next Level Images.

Inferior Heifer Show and attending every major livestock show possible, exhibiting, networking or cheering on friends and customers.

She says the total registrations and number of cattle at events have ebbed and flowed, and the staff has gone through some turnovers. Just to the Brower/Craft crew, the AMAA is 2nd-to-none and run dissimilar any other breed. As developed members and progressive breeders, they accept worked extensively with the registrations and Dna personnel as well every bit the rest of the AMAA Staff.

"Blake, Lindsey and Josh … how can y'all get a better group of people?" Jenna says. "Even talking to other people, other breeds always compliment our junior nationals and our junior plan. If you only ain five cows, y'all're still welcome there … the same as people who own hundreds of cows."

From her time spent with her commencement show heifer, Fancy (whose colour pattern was befitting of her name) to today, Jenna has found a dwelling house with Maine-Anjou cattle. Now, her children will become to institute their own place in the AMAA as they start their junior careers with cattle raised on the same ranch. "Nosotros accept tailed many heifers and kids into the ring at the National Junior Heifer Prove, but knowing I will be tailing my own in this year is a feeling similar no other," Jenna says.

At the upcoming 2021 National Junior Heifer Show in nearby Chickasha, Oklahoma, Caddo will showroom at his first junior nationals, 25 years subsequently his mom. The heifer – CGCC Dottie 013H ET — will also be a bred and owned female person for him.

"I hope Caddo and Teddi dearest the American Inferior Maine-Anjou Association and junior nationals as much as I did," Jenna says. "I tin't expect to watch them grow inside the association as individuals, equally well as develop relationships with people across the country that will last into machismo."

MAINE-ANJOU Junior Update

MADISON LOSCHKE AJMAA AT-LARGE Manager

2020-2021 AJMAA Lath OF DIRECTORS

President - Whitney Walker, Arkansas Vice President - Cassidy Barker, Missouri Secretarial assistant/Treasurer - Kaleb Miller, Iowa

REGION one Whitney Walker, Arkansas Madisen Joliff, Ohio

REGION 2 Kaleb Miller, Iowa Dexter Small, Kansas

REGION 3 Cameron Luedtke, Texas Chancee Clark, Oklahoma

AT-Large Madison Loschke, Kansas Emma Preston, Illinois Macie McCollum, Texas Cade Austin, Wisconsin Cassidy Barker, Missouri

2020 ROYALTY

QUEEN Mckenna Striegel, Ohio

PRINCESS Jaelin Wolfinger, Nebraska Mikell O'Hara, Montana Abree Belcher, Iowa

AMAA YOUTH Commission Jirl Buck, Oklahoma Marker Beauprez, Colorado Cali O'Hara, Montana Andy Jones, Illinois

The weather is warming up which means nosotros are that much closer to letting the practiced times whorl in Chichasha, Okla. I hope that each and everyone of you are as excited as I am. This will exist my 4th Junior National equally a AJMAA board member and as I look back, I could not be more thankful.

Being a junior board member has given me so many incredible opportunities and friendships that are irreplaceable. In my mind there is no better style to give back and sever others than by being a junior board fellow member. One of my favorite memories every bit a junior board member was YBIC in Ohio. Information technology was a unique experience to run into friends from all breeds and states somewhere besides a cattle show. Lifelong friendships came from that trip. Notwithstanding, there is nothing like the bond that comes from working the show band for hours with your boyfriend board members.

As my time on the board comes to an terminate, I want to say cheers to everyone who has been apart of the journey. I can non even believe how lucky I am to have met such astonishing people in the Maine-Anjou breed. At that place is no other breed out there that does information technology like nosotros do. I have so many memories that I will cherish forever. Thank yous AJMAA for the all-time 4 years ever.