Groendyke Ranch, Nash, OK, was named the Commercial Producer of the Year at the 2025 World Hereford Conference and American Hereford Association (AHA) Annual Meeting Oct. 25. The Commercial Producer of the Year distinction honors a cattle operation that demonstrates how progressive producers can increase profitability with Hereford genetics.
Each year, this award is presented as a nod to the vital role Hereford genetics play in the commercial cattle industry and as an example of how progressive producers use the bald-faced advantage for heterosis.
“Groendyke Ranch sets a great example for how commercial operations can maximize production using Hereford genetics,” said Trey Befort, AHA director of commercial programs at the time. “Along with careful genetic selection, they also do an outstanding job of putting in the extra effort to market their cattle.”
Groendyke Ranch uses top quality, genomic-tested, multi-trait-selected, curve-bending sires from progressive Hereford breeders to cover more than 70% of the operation’s 1,500 Angus and Red Angus cows.
Ranch manager Paul Koffskey tracks the additive effect of bald-faced hybrid vigor with the operation’s extensive record-keeping system powered by GEM herd management software. With eight years of data collected across the cow herd, ranging from weaning weight to calving intervals, Koffskey chisels away at the Groendyke commercial cow herd’s inputs while optimizing outputs. His numbers prove the Hereford influence not only pencils but pays.
Using genomic-tested sires allows Koffskey to confidently make mating decisions, and the added accuracy of buying Hereford herd sires with genomic-enhanced expected progeny differences helps the ranch make more rapid genetic progress. Groendyke Ranch carefully evaluates its bull battery’s performance with the data they collect, including recording individual weaning weights.
The operation applies the same scrutiny and high standard to its cow herd. The cows graze native grasses in north central Oklahoma, and they’re expected to wean calves half their body weight by 205 days actual age and breed back with no added inputs outside of harsh winter weather. The operation’s record-keeping system separates the low-performers and females that fall outside of their calving window; these cows are culled on their first strike with no questions asked.
The cows are then grouped into herds of 50 to 100 head according to their performance. They are paired with multi-trait selected Hereford sires, some more terminal and some more maternally minded, to optimize their genetic potential. The resulting baldy offspring are high-performing and in high demand. Koffskey’s performance data showed the Hereford-sired calves averaged more than 600 pounds at 210-220 actual days of age.
Groendyke Ranch’s Hereford-influence steer calves are enrolled in the Hereford Advantage program provided by the AHA and IMI Global. These age- and source-verified calves must adhere to specified vaccination protocols and be sired by Hereford bull batteries ranking in the top half of the breed for AHA’s Certified Hereford Beef® Index. For the past three years, Groendyke calves enrolled in the program brought top dollar in the Cherokee Sales Co. Hereford-influenced Special in Cherokee, OK. A consignment of 400 Hereford-sired calves brought $11-13/cwt more than any lot at the sale.
A few years ago, Groendyke Ranch established a bred commercial female sale to further capitalize on the genetic selection and evaluation behind their operation. The commercial heifer sale started as a way to diversify the operation’s income beyond the feeder calf market. Koffskey saw there was a need for quality replacements, and each year, the sale has grown alongside the demand for the Hereford-sired replacements they have offered.
Recently, Groendyke Ranch calved out the operation’s first set of baldy females after retaining some of the Hereford-sired heifers they raised. As first-calf heifers, the group weaned calves weighing 575 lbs. at 205 days of age with a 92% breed-back in a 60-day breeding season. Koffskey and his crew are excited about the addition of these F1 females. Repeat buyers of the ranch’s commercial females show other commercial cattlemen feel the same way.
Whether marketing feeder calves, replacement females or calving out Hereford-sired heifers, Groendyke Ranch’s data clearly shows the bald-faced advantage of Hereford influence. — AHA
