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Salacoa Valley Farms
2017 Annual Production Sale
Welcome to
Salacoa Valley:
The staff and I would like to welcome you to our annual production sale. It’s always great
to see familiar faces and meet new people. We are excited about the offering we have this
year. When the Tribe bought the cow herd in 2013, I was tasked to stock the ranch. We
have gone through the growth phase, and are currently stocked just above drought level.
After going through the drought last year, we’ve decided to lighten our load, and take
some pressure off the forage. We will be offering females that we normally would not sell,
especially this early in their productive life. As John Mauer would say, “Take Advantage”.
With all the tools available today, of weights and measures, we are in the process of making your bull buying experience a
little easier. You will see, we’ve added the Seminole Pride™ Beef Index. You will read an explanation following in this catalog.
Keep in mind, this is a terminal index, and should be used as such. We are working with IBBA to build a maternal index as
well. You will see more of that coming soon.
As many of you have read in The Ear publication, or the Brangus Journal, research that is ongoing with The University of Flor-
ida’s Dr. Raluca Metesscu, on heat adaptability and fatty acid composition along with carcass influences in Bos indicus cattle.
We are excited as the IBBA has joined us in funding the genomic mapping portion of this study. Many of these cattle will be
derivatives of our Herd Sire Evaluation program ongoing at the Brighton and Big Cypress Reservations, as well as St. Thomas,
and Parker Island leases.
We would like to invite you to join us on, Friday, November 17th, for lunch followed by our female sale. There will be Fall pairs,
Spring splits and 3n1’s, a special group of Bred Heifers, and offering pick lots on all of our Fall heifer crop. These are females we
hate to see go, but know they will make an impact in your herd. We will start the female sale a bit earlier this year, because of
the number of animals offered. Then we will enjoy Seminole Pride™ Beef sirloin steak for dinner.
Then, on Saturday, November 18th, join us at 10:00 am EST for our Bull Sale. We will be offering 220 lots for your appraisal. I
am very pleased with the bull offering this year. If you have any questions about the offering, don’t hesitate to contact Todd
Harvey, American Marketing Services, or myself. We will be glad to assist you in any way possible.
In closing, we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge our colleagues in the agricultural community affected by the recent
natural disasters. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and of course the many wildfires in the west. Our prayers are with each of you.
Don’t be afraid to go where the data takes you!
Christopher G. Heptinstall
General Manager
Salacoa Valley Farms
Chris Heptinstall
