2021 COMMERCIAL BREEDER OF THE YEAR RECIPIENT

Buford Ranches

Buford Ranches LLC was established in the fall of 1997 and is equally owned by Stephen Buford, Sam Buford, and Sharon Buford Linsenmeyer. They are proud to carry on and expand their family’s legacy of ranching which started in 1941 when their grandparents founded the Dunkin Ranch in Hominy, Oklahoma. Today, Buford Ranches operates nine ranches in threeOklahoma counties and also in Sedan, Kansas. They maintain over 8,000 females within the commercial and purebred operations. The black baldy cow is the cornerstone of the Buford program and they are proud to produce high quality crossbred replacement heifers and feeder steers. The two-breed rotation with Hereford and Angus genetics has greatly improved the quality and longevity of the livestock. The operation successfully produces high-quality steers that convert feed efficiently, and also produces sibling heifers that become the foundation of the herd.  They have primarily focused on improving the reproductive and udder longevity of the females. The ranch implemented a tagging system to compare the F1 females to the 3/4 blood Angus females. At weaning, the steers are sold off of the cow, and the heifers are

developed for an additional forty-five days. They keep the very top end of the females for replacements, and the balance is sold for feeder heifers.