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Erickson Stock Farm
Then
The Stillmeadow Years
On June 1st, 1985, Tim married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Squires. Nancy was a Hatton, MO native and grew up in a multigenerational grain farming operation. Tim also received an Animal Science degree from the University of Missouri in 1985. He stayed on for a Masters under Jerry Lipsey, coached the livestock judging team, mapped the UMC cowherd for fescue endophyte tolerance, repaired the feed efficiency testing units at the test station, assisted in the first large scale heritability study on beef pelvic area at Nichols Farms, and the first major assessment of pork cutout value based on measures previously used only to measure percent lean. The Stillmeadow herd topped the tested bull sales on occasion and a 6.7 frame bull became the fastest gaining 112 day test to that date at 5.28 pounds per day.
NWSS 1999
Still, frame sizes, mature weights, and birth weights crept upward almost everywhere and the Stillmeadow herd was no exception. By the mid 90’s, as an idea man, Tim was blessed to be a planning member of the Focus 2000 Conference after which the course of our breed changed toward moderation, calving ease, enhanced eating quality, and solid color patterns. Tim A.I.ed the first cows mated during the young sire carcass progeny test and followed the calves through the feedlot and kill plant. He helped Dr. R. J. Lipsey and the ASA board usher in shear force testing, longevity EPD, docility, hair and fescue tolerance, PTP shows and the Young Gun Conferences for ASA.
Erickson Farms Years
These cattle embodied the traits that drew new attention to the breed, accelerated our commercial acceptance and broader usage, and introduced Simmental as a critical maternal component of the club calf industry. The Burnhams of Prickly Pear Simmental Ranch in Helena, MT added 70 top leased cows the next year, including Miss Prickly Pear 615F, the dam of PPSR NoPhault as well as the dam of PPSR Montana Irish. From 1997-2002, Erickson Farms sold lots of bulls, added several sires to AI stud roles, added a daughter Grace and later a son Parker to the family and worked themselves to the edge of exhaustion. At the dispersal day of the full Erickson Farms herd in 2002, many of the base cowherd became the start of the Lucas Ranch in Cross Timbers, Missouri and bolstered herds like Nichols Farms South, RA Brown Ranch, Paradise Simmental, and Joe Garretson’s Three Cedars Farm.