NEVER SACRIFICE

I am a 5th generation Oklahoman rancher on a mission to raise world class angus cattle applying ideas, technologies, and genetic combinations never offered before. My family's original homestead in Yukon was claimed prior to the 1889 Oklahoma Landrun and has been in our family since. There has always been a commercial cow-calf component, but the family farm began to gain notoriety when my great grandpa built his dairy in 1904. By the 1970's, my grandpa Dick operated a large dairy, composed of registered Holstein, spanning locations in Oklahoma and Kansas, with the headquarters based in Yukon, OK on the original homestead. Ball Farms was on the leading edge of reproductive technologies and breeding strategies. As one of the first dairies in the United States to implement embryo transfer, it quickly became one of the most progressive dairy seedstock operations of its time. Grandpa worked with Dr. Grey Peoples, and would truck donor and recipient cows from Yukon, OK down to San Antonio, TX to transfer embryos. Soon, Ball Farms had a national presence and sold multiple record-breaking Holstein bulls, cows, and heifers. In the year 2000, my grandpa passed away and the dairy closed its doors, and the family transitioned solely to commercial cow-calf operations.

 

Growing up, we'd buy bulls from all over and keep as many replacement females as we could afford. It was a good opportunity to observe genetics that worked and didn't work. After purchasing my own a ranch in Gracemont, Oklahoma, the reality was clearer than ever, the available angus seedstock was insufficient to capitalize on each segment of the beef supply chain. There simply were not enough cattle that could thrive in a rough pasture environment and simultaneously, convert feed efficiently in the feed lot, all while supplying USDA Choice Plus beef. You could have 1, maybe 2, but never all 3 - certainly not if you wanted the cattle to be physically attractive with correct structure and soundness.

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I was so tired. Tired of bulls that fell apart. Tired of bulls that looked like steers. Tired of cows that were hard doing and couldn't thrive on grass. Tired of "maternal" cows that offered zero performance and were closer to being goats than cattle. Tired of lazy breeders using buzz words like "balance" or "maternal" as an excuse for animals that offered nothing but being alive and breathing. How did we get here? Why aren't there complete genetic solutions that offer more pounds, of better quality, produced more efficiently, while retaining excellent structure, foot quality, udder quality, and fleshing ability?

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My history and education as a scientist, businessman, and longtime cattleman paired with an obsession for genetics and statistics presented a unique opportunity to develop a new line of angus seedstock.  Are you tired too? Let's work together and build the new future of angus genetics.​

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Our brand, VICCI pronounced (vee-chee), is a Latin name meaning "victory," similar to the better-known Latin verb "VICI" (also pronounced vee-chee) which means "victory" or "to conquer" as used famously by Julius Caesar after winning a battle in Asian Minor (present day Turkey). VICCI represents our mission for the commercial cattlemen. With nearly every economic and societal pressure against the American Rancher, we intend to provide the angus genetics of the future, helping all of us defy the odds and preserve this way of life. True Victory for the American Rancher.

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Josh Bedell, Owner & President

VICCI Cattle Company

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