Making a Name in the Angus Breed | March 2025

By Sarah Hill

Photos courtesy McCurry family

The McCurry family, Hutchinson, Kan., is building on their Angus roots.

The McCurry Ranch, Hutchinson, Kan., is one of the Angus breed’s up and coming breeders, producing moderate-framed, stout seedstock and bulls for commercial cattlemen.

Evolving and Expanding

John McCurry’s roots in the Angus breed run deep. He’s a fourth generation Angus breeder, and his great-grandfather McCurry started in the Angus business in 1928. McCurry’s parents, Andy and Mary, both came from cattle families who also raised Angus. John’s maternal grandfather was a director on the American Angus Association board when Certified Angus Beef® was formed. Andy and Mary met at Kansas State University where Andy was completing his animal science degree and Mary pursued a master’s in meat science/food science.

Approximately 90 percent of the current herd goes back to six cow families that the couple combined when they married in 1977 as a first generation start up operation. Initially renters, they purchased their home place in 1981.

Both Andy and Mary had off-the-farm jobs in addition to the cattle herd. Andy went back to school and became a pharmacist at age 40, while Mary worked in research and development for a precursor of Tyson Foods and Cargill. The last 20 years of Mary’s career, she transitioned to human pharmaceuticals. All the while, Andy and Mary were working to expand their cattle herd to around 100 head and sell bulls through private treaty, while John and his sister showed cattle as they were growing up.

“The operation just kept evolving,” John McCurry recalled. “They kept artificially inseminating and marketing cattle. In the early 1990s, my parents sold some cattle through the Kansas Beef Expo and Angus Futurity.”

McCurry returned to the farm in 2004 and knew what he wanted to do - create more market and awareness. He sold some females and show heifers to help cash flow his expansion into the commercial bull market.

John and Melody got married and became parents to Aubree, Molly, and Drew, who are 13, 10, and 8 now. In addition to the ranch, John works part time brokering distiller’s grains, while Melody works in crop insurance sales through the Farm Credit system.

Focus on Structure

Today, McCurry Ranch is home to 700 total head, including 100 commercial recips. McCurry selects cattle for disposition, udder structure, doability, and phenotype. He said he likes resilient, fault-free, low-maintenance cattle, and their customers have gravitated to them because of that approach.

“We like cows that are dense, deep and stout while emphasizing structure and feet and legs,” McCurry said. “Structure leads to longevity. We also use embryo transfer and keep as many replacement heifers as we can. We want to give them a chance, but we do cull based on fertility and performance.”

Every female gets a shot at AI, but clean-up bulls are used to keep all calving within a strict 60-day window. While most calves are natural, the McCurry family has about 50 ET calves per year.

“When you look at the core of our cow herd, they’re out of SAV Final Answer 0035, SAV 8180 Traveler 004 and Connealy Countdown,” McCurry said. “Currently, we’re using Sitz Barricade 632F 1AN1476, Sitz Stellar 29AN2025, KG Justified 3023 AN1348, SAV Checkmate 8158 1AN01467, B&J Cavalier, and DB Iconic G95.”

Half of the purebred cows calve from October 1 to December 1, with the other half calving starting March 1, along with the commercial cows.

Native Grazing and Covers

The McCurry herd grazes on native pastures, including brome, fescue, Jose tall wheatgrass, Bermuda, and crabgrass. The family plants a cover crop blend in the summer to extend the grazing season, such as triticale, rye, millet or Sudan grass for either grazing or hay.

The herd is rotated through parcels based on water or shelter. In the fall, crop residue and wheat pasture are grazed as well. Developing bulls are reared on a diet supplemented with corn, dried distiller’s grains and free choice Bermuda hay, while heifers receive stockpiled Bermuda and crabgrass and protein supplements.

A Decade of Bull Sales

McCurry hosted open houses and continued selling bulls through private treaty until 2015, when the family hosted their first bull sale, which is a tradition they’ve maintained. The 2025 sale will include 125 yearling bulls, with an additional 75 more bulls sold through private treaty and at the sale barn.

“We stay in contact with our customers, so we know if there’s ever any issues with our cattle,” McCurry said. “We want to be the first to know so we can make it right.”

McCurry said that the bulk of their clientele are return customers that bring a neighbor or friend. The McCurry Ranch sells bulls consistently in the central region of the U.S., encompassing about 15 states.

“Word of mouth is still our best marketing tactic,” he said. “A lot of our bulls end up going West into very tough, arid climates with limited forage or resources. Those herds require an easy fleshing, moderate-framed, sound structured bull with plenty of power.”

Success In and Out of the Show Ring

The McCurry family has enjoyed quite a bit of success in the show ring, including winning the National Junior Angus Show in 2003 and reserve in 2004 with heifers and taking champion bull in 2005. A McCurry heifer won at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in 2008 and the American Royal in 2010. The family received reserve pen of heifers at the National Western Stock Show in 2015, 2016, and 2017. John and Melody’s children are now beginning to show at junior shows.

The beef industry has taken notice of the McCurry family’s hard work. The family was recognized in 2015 as the Seedstock Producer of the Year by the Beef Improvement Federation, and last year, was named the inaugural Young Breeder of the Year by the American Angus Association.

“We’re always wanting to make our cattle better and try to do as much customer service as we can,” McCurry said. “We want to keep connecting the dots between commercial customers and feeder cattle to give our customers the most premium we can to help keep them in business.”

John and Melody hope that they can build up their operation enough so that if any or all of their kids want to return to the farm, the opportunity is there for them as fifth generation Angus breeders.

Annual Bull Sale:

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Burrton, Kan. - Bid online at cci.live

learn more at www.mccurryangus.com