J&K Livestock
Composite Cattle

Here at J & K Livestock, we not only raise Lowline Cattle, we also raise Lowline, Tarentaise, Angus, Red Angus and Shorthorn Composite Cattle that have the natural fleshing ability, thickness, and performance to excel in the toughest commercial environments. Our composite cattle will work in the most strict, grass fed / grass finished beef programs, including the fescue pastures here in Kentucky. This is not a new concept for us. The pair pictured to the right was taken 17 years ago. We have been putting an emphasis on natural fleshing ability, since the 1980's! This is the reason why our genetics & steers have worked so well for several grass fed beef operations & it is also the reason why they will work well for you too!

Back in the early 1980's, our neighbors (Charlie & Joe Baird) began raising small to moderate framed, low input Tarentaise and Tarentaise composite cattle, on forage alone, without supplemental grain or creep feed. This was not the popular direction to follow at that time. However, Charlie & Joe developed many of their philosophies after closely following the Hatfield's High Desert Ranch / Oregon Country Beef "Fault Free" Composite program for several years. After we had watched the Baird's Cattle for a few years & after we tried a few in our own herd, our family decided to start raising Tarentaise cattle ourselves. Most of our original Tarentaise genetics came from the Baird's Tarentaise herd. Our powerful, small to moderate framed, easy fleshing Tarentaise genetics caught the attention of Kit Pharo, who purchased a black Tarentaise bull, Bluegrass Energizer, from our herd back in the mid 1990's. According to all the promotional material that we have seen, Bluegrass Energizer has performed very well for Pharo Cattle Company. Bluegrass Energizer sired the highest gaining forage tested bull (Over 3 lbs. per day!!) in one of the Pharo Forage tests, according to a Pharo Sale Catalog. If you want low input cattle that are PROVEN to work in the toughest environments, including Kentucky high endophyte fescue pastures, then you need to try our composite genetics. Our cattle have been bred to excel in a commercial environment, on pasture & roughage, for 20+ years & many of our cattle have been selected for centuries to perform on nothing except grass alone. Not all percentage Lowlines are created equal!! We've found that while the Tarentaise influence will marble extremely well, they are a leaner breed than the Lowline Angus & they seem to trim more exterior fat (waste fat) off the typically fatter Angus influenced carcasses, resulting in a higher yield of red meat. Any retailer will tell you that more high quality red meat = more money! The Lowline Angus & the Tarentaise compliment each other exceptionally well.

At J&K Livestock, we believe that the Lowline X Tarentaise cross is virtually unbeatable for grass finishing & probably the best part of that cross is the tremendous mother cows that you end up with!! We must not be the only ones who think so. We've noticed that quite a few breeders across the United States are now utilizing the Lowline X Tarentaise cross in their operations too. Oregon Country Beef, Hatfield's High Desert Ranch, Padlock Ranch, Hole in the Wall Ranch, Pharo Cattle Company, Leachman Cattle Company, Hat Ranch, and others have all used Tarentaise X British Breeds (Angus, Hereford, South Devon, etc.) to make composites in their operations. Why? Because the Tarentaise X British Breed composite is proven to work extremely well in strict commercial herds all over the USA & we feel that the best Tarentaise X British Breed Composite is the Lowline X Tarentaise! If you are thinking about getting into the grass fed beef business, why would you not want to eliminate all of the guess work & all the gambling? Why not buy stacked, proven, predictable genetics from an experienced beef producer like J&K Livestock?

J&K Paprika was one of the very first Lowline X Tarentaise composite heifers that we bred and raised here at J & K Livestock. She was sired by a fullblood Lowline bull and she was born unassisted out of a first calf, Tarentaise heifer. Her actual birth weight was 52 lbs. and her dam actually calved 30 days earlier the following year!! J&K Paprika was only a few weeks old when this picture was taken and she is typical of the quality Lowline X Tarentaise composite cattle that we are striving to raise. J&K Paprika's March 2008 bull calf, J&K Rockin Ronnie (pictured below & to the right) is a 3/4 blood Lowline X 1/4 Tarentaise, has developed into a very nice looking bull. J&K Rockin Ronnie is currently owned by Shaufler Ranch, who run 300+ head of commercial cows, in southern Illinois. If you like the looks of Paprika, you would loved our Lowline X Tarentaise composite calves sired by Doc Holliday, our main Lowline bull. At the 2008 NAILE Lowline show, 2 of those 3/4 Lowline X 1/4 Tarentaise heifers, exhibited by Megan Pedigo, were named Reserve Champion JR Owned Heifer & Reserve Champion Percentage Lowline Heifer Calf, respectively. A 1/2 Lowline X Tarentaise heifer, also sired by Doc Holliday, was named Reserve Champion Junior Yearling Percentage Heifer at the NAILE Lowline Show. Our 2010 Lowline X Tarentaise compsite calves are starting to arrive right now & they are looking very impressive! Stop by in late spring or sometime during the summer & check them out for yourself!

Half Lowline X half Tarentaise 1st calf heifer grazing with 4 month old half Lowline X Tarentaise baby calves - Tarentaise X Angus females have been a long time favorite of low input, commercial beef producers, all over the United States. Tarentaise females (like the Tarentaise cow/calf pair pictured at the top of the page) are typically moderate framed with picture perfect udders and produce rich milk that is high in butterfat content. In their native French Alps, Tarentaise have been used for centuries as as grass fed dairy cattle, that are milked in order to produce a special cheese. Tarentaise also produce high quality carcasses. When you cross Tarentaise genetics with Lowline Angus Cattle, you end up with an animal that will excel in virtually any commercial environment. Not to mention that they are much more heat tolerant than our Red Angus cattle and Lowlines. These Lowline X Tarentaise heifers make great momma cows and they will raise extremely nice calves. Lowline X Tarentaise steers are making a lot of fans in the grass-finshed beef industry too, just ask Ron Skaggs, Indian Valley Beef, in Tiskilwa, Illinois. Half Lowline X half Tarentaise cows are the best creep feeder that money can buy!

J&K Superman was named the Grand Champion Percentage Lowline Bull at the 2007 American Royal Lowline Show in Kansas City, Mo. At 11 months of age, this Lowline X Tarentaise bull, passed a breeding soundness exam & had a 38cm scrotal circumference. J&K Superman had an actual birth weight of 64 lbs., a 205 day adjusted weight over 600 lbs. & a yearling frame score of 4.5. Several club calf enthusiasts have favorably compared his phenotype to a deeper sided, smaller framed version of the extremely popular Maine Anjou sire, Irish Whiskey. J & K Superman, is truly is a "super" Lowline X Tarentaise Composite Bull. This undefeated Lowline X Tarentaise Composite should sire calves that will excel in commercial pastures, as well as, in the show ring. This Lowline X Tarentaise composite bull is SOLD!! Superman and 4 other great composite bulls will be making their new home at RW Farms. Thank you Richard Wahl of RW Farms, Wa Keeney, Kansas!

Lowline Sired Steers Excel!

Lowline bulls, and their Lowline sired offspring, performed very well during a 3 year study conducted by North Dakota State University - Dickinson Research Extension Center. The study concluded that not only do Lowline bulls offer superior "calving ease", Lowline sired calves perform very well in the feedlot & Lowline sired calves will also make money on the rail!

NDSU-Dickinson Lowline Study

Please check back soon as we will be adding more information about our Lowline Composite Cattle!

J&K Lowline Cattle