The Gage Vision

The American Black Hereford Association was established as a non-profit corporation in 1994, by the late John Gage. Gage was an attorney in the Kansas City firm of Lathrop and Gage, which dates itself back to 1875. He was a West Point graduate who practiced almost exclusively in agricultural law. His clients included most of the cattle breed associations based in and around Kansas City. The Gage family owned Blue Jacket Farm near Lawrence, Kansas, where they raised Hereford cattle. Gage was a past president of the American Royal Livestock Show and served on the boards of several polled and horned Hereford associations. He also was once named Kansas Hereford Breeder of the Year. When John Gage founded the Black Hereford Association in 1994 he relied heavily on his friend and Hereford Hall of Fame breeder, Frank Felton, to design the genetic basis for the new breed. J&N Ranch purchased the Black Hereford Association and John’s cow herd from his estate sale.

 ABHA History

 Selection for this new breed of cattle was based first and foremost on fertility. Bulls were selected for testicular size. Then maternal and calving ease traits were emphasized. Obviously, to create a new breed of cattle from scratch requires calving heifers and turning generations as quickly as possible. Selection was made for milk, pelvic size and low birth weights.

The first Black Herefords to qualify for registration were recorded in 1997. In 2000, the Association installed a customized breed software. It can track herd and breedwide performance data and generates pedigrees. In 2003, Black Herefords received international breed designation by the National Association of Animal Breeds. In 2005, the breed implemented its own EPD’s.

Today there are breeders in several states. Check the Membership List on this site for the latest details.
The Felton Influence
 The late Frank Felton of Maryville, Missouri, was an internationally acclaimed Hereford breeder and pioneer in the use of performance testing and genetics. He traveled throughout the world speaking on livestock issues and was known for his precise record keeping. In 1962, he was one of the first cattlemen in the nation to begin collecting weaning weights. In the mid 60’s, Felton took some of the first scrotal circumference measurements on yearling bulls. Birth weight measurement began in 1965, followed by pelvic measurements in 1970. During a ten year period of AHA sire summaries, Felton bulls were trait leaders 28 times. Half of the top 18 bulls for scrotal circumference EPDs were Felton bred. That plan has been in continuation at J&N Ranch which purchased six bulls from Felton over the years for use in their program and continuing development of the Black Hereford breed.