|
| | ||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
| HOME | ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE | NEWSSTAND LOCATIONS | ||||
| ||||
|
|
| | |
Pangburn stands tall in livestock industry Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Agri News staff writer
NORTHWOOD, Iowa --As far as Buck Pangburn can tell, he's the only one who has been honored as the Iowa Seedstock Producer of the Year for both hogs and cattle. He's also been recognized as Iowa Commercial Cattlemen of the Year.
Buck, whose family has farmed near Northwood since 1860, was honored for his purebred Durocs in 1971 by the Iowa Pork Producers Association. He won the Commercial Cattlemen of the Year in 1993. Now this year the Iowa Beef Breeds Council and the Iowa Cattlemen's Association honored Buck and his wife, Beverly, with the Iowa Seedstock Producer of the Year for their Simmentals
"In 1971 the award said Milo Pangburn and son for my dad and me,'' Buck said with a grin. "In 1993 it said Pangburn Stock Farm for me and my son, Don. This time it says Buck and Beverly Pangburn. After 50 years, she deserves it. She's been the one common factor in all this. You don't get all this done without somebody supporting you.''
When the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last summer, Beverly surprised Buck by wearing her wedding dress.
"I was speechless,'' Buck said.
"That doesn't happen very often,'' Beverly said.
Buck purchased his first purebred Durocs when he was a high school sophomore and continued in the purebred Duroc business for 52 years.
After graduation from Iowa State College and several years in the military, Buck and Beverly returned to the Northwood farm, and Buck and his father began improving the cow herd.
"Having a lot of river bottom pasture, cattle are an important part of the farming operation,'' Buck said.
In the late 1950s they bought a Hereford bull followed by a Charolais-Angus bull in the 1960s. They bought their first Simmental bull in 1971 from Goode Stock Farm, Laconia.
"We could see that the weaning weights of the calves from the Simmental bull were 50 to 75 pounds heavier,'' Buck said.
Beverly said Buck has always adapted new technology.
They've used artificial insemination since the 1970s and found the genetic improvement brought dramatically increased weaning weights. Their son Don went to A.I. school and is now their herd technician. In 1990 the Pangburns started using embryo transfer. The family keeps records on every cow and has participated in Iowa and Minnesota bull tests for many years.
Buck strives for performance cattle with eye appeal. He wants to continually improve the quality of his Simmentals and acceptance of Simmental bulls in commercial operations.
"I'm looking for that perfect animal,'' Buck said. "I'll probably never find it, but I'll keep striving. You need a cow that will raise a 1,200 calf in 12 months and will grade choice. We've done that on an individual basis, but not on a herd basis.''
Buck's mother, Marjorie, is 92 and still takes an interest in the operation. Don and his wife, Bryn, have four children, Nigel, Grayson, Paige and Payton. Don works off the farm but plants, harvests and does A.I. work. The children are involved with 4-H beef projects. Don and Bryn operate a corn maze during the summer and fall.
Buck and Beverly also cared for a foster daughter and raised a niece and two nephews.
Beverly served on the school board for six years and was a county supervisor for 16 more. During her tenure, Top of Iowa Welcome Center was developed and Northern Iowa Wind Power came to the county. Buck refers to the welcome center with its red barn and silo as "Beverly's barn."
Buck has been active in the Worth County and Iowa Cattlemen's organizations and the Iowa and American Simmental Associations. Buck has sold cattle continuously in the Worth County Club Calf Sale. He served on the North Iowa Fair Board and has been a member of the Worth County Extension Council and the Worth County 4-H Committee. He auctioneers the North Iowa Area Community College's "Pigs in Purple" hog sale and club calf sale.
In 2003 the Pangburns were awarded the Minnesota Simmental Association Traveling Bell Award, the first time it went to an out-of-state breeder. The Pangburns received the Bob and Namoi Christensen Elite Award for Outstanding Service to the Iowa Simmental Association in 2004.
The Pangburns currently have 75 cows but say they hope to downsize to 50. At its largest their herd consisted of 130 cows.
Buck says he enjoys working with local 4-H'ers and giving them chance to have a cattle project.
"It's his greatest joy to see a young boy or girl take a cattle project and grow with it,'' Beverly said. |
| | |
| |
Copyright 2008 Agri News
All Rights Reserved
