HEARTY HEREFORDS
For 109 years the Ashburn and Kinkead Families Have Raised
White-Face Cattle On Their Missouri Farms.
By A. S. Denton

      Producing cattle that can make their own living has been the philosophy of Vincent Kinkead since the early 1950s.  Through performance testing and managed grazing he has accomplished his goal of producing efficient, hearty Herefords.

     Vincent is the third generation to manage his family farm in St. Francois County, Mo.  Kinkead Herefords was recognized by the AHA as a century farm at the 2004 Annual Meeting.

     Vincent’s maternal grandfather, Paca Vincent Ashburn, purchased his first Hereford in 1895. The operation was passed to his wife and then their daughters.  In 1953 his grandsons - Vincent and Bob Kinkead - assumed the management.

Built in the 1860s by slaves, the Kinkead house is an "L" shaped two-story brick home with a limestone foundation.  The Kinkeads have lived in the home for 45 years and raised five children.

     At one time the brothers owned three farms totaling 880 acres near Farmington.  Along with a Hereford operation the Ashburn/Kinkead family also planted a lot of grain crops but since 1980 the farm has consisted of all grassland. After Bob’s passing, Vincent began downsizing the operation, selling one farm in 1981 and another in 1991.  Today Vincent and his wife, Evelyn, continue to own the original 340 acres.

     In March 2004, Vincent and Evelyn (83 and 75 years old) decided it was time to sell their herd.  Neal Hendrix purchased the cows and leases the farmland.  Today the herd remains on the farm that has been in the Kinkead and Ashburn family for more than 100 years.

~BREED OF CHOICE~

     Vincent says hardiness is why Herefords have been the breed of choice for his family.  “In the early years, the cows and calves were turned out in the nearby forest during the summer,” he explains.  “They were checked on maybe once a week and salt was taken to them.” 

     From the 1930s to 1993 the Ashburn/Kinkead herd was commercial based using registered Hereford bulls.  At one time the operation included 180 Hereford cows, but in recent years the herd has numbered 60 registered cows with a handful of commercials.

     From 1985 to 1999 Vincent and Evelyn’s son, David, was part of the family operation.  “He got very interested in Hereford genetics and read the Hereford Journal cover-to-cover,” his dad says.   David left the farm in 1999 to pursue other agricultural interests.  He is currently employed by Kinze Farm in Williamsburg, Iowa.

     In 1993 the Kinkeads decided it was time to get in the Hereford seedstock business full time.  “We wanted to get in the purebred business to sell seedstock.” Vincent recalls. “There’s not a better cross than a Hereford bull on an Angus cow.”

     For the last 10 years, Vincent has worked to improve the conformation of his herd.  In 1993 Line 1 Dominos were added to the Kinkead breeding program and in the 90s they purchased seedstock from Herbels in Kansas, the Cooper and Holden herds and the Miles City Experiment Station in Montana.

     Vincent has tried artificial insemination on a limited basis.

~MANAGING WITH VISION~

     Vincent is a man of vision.  He’s not scared to try and implement programs to improve the efficiency of his herd.

     For more than 40 years Vincent has been collecting birth and weaning weights.  In 1960 the Kinkeads were featured in the Weekly Star Farm as early adopters of collecting calf weights.

     Vincent was the St. Francois County beef producer who suggested that the county purchase a set of scales to weigh calves.  The Kinkeads were part of a group of producers in the county that participated in the production testing program.

     Their marketing program has mainly been by private treaty selling registered bulls and replacement heifers.  They also sold feeder calves at the sale barn and some directly to Illinois feeders.

     Through the years the Kinkeads witnessed Hereford cattle selling better than crossbred cattle. “Raising the white faces for a good many years was a good way to make a living,” Vincent says.

~GRAZING MANAGEMENT~

    In 1996 the Kinkeads implemented a managed grazing system including 7,000 feet of water line to water 35 paddocks on 315 acres. 

     Vincent’s hope with the project was to be able to carry more cattle.  “With proper management you can enjoy year-long grazing.” he says.

     The last three winters the Kinkead cow herd consumed a total of 15 bales of hay.  In 2004 the total feed cost for the herd was $22/head.  “This is a cow herd that pays for itself,” says new owner Neal Hendrix.

“They were the most economically efficient cows I had ever seen.” he says.  “The bottom line is it is a profitable operation.”

     Hendrix was very impressed with the grazing system and how the cow herd was uniquely adapted to its environment.

     “Vincent went through life paying attention,” Hendrix says.  “He is very knowledgeable.  I enjoy visiting with him and being able to bounce ideas off of him about the management of the cows and how the grazing system works.”

     Although Vincent and Evelyn have sold their herd, they continue to be Hereford ambassadors. 

The above article was published in Hereford World Magazine, April 2005, and republished
here with the permission of Vincent Kinkead.