Welcome to another episode of the American Cattlemen Podcast and our Producer Profile. Just ahead, we have Gale McKinney, the Publisher of American Cattlemen, and Flint Drake with Drake Simmental as they discuss the upcoming Bull & Female on January 31 at the Drake Sale Facility in Centerville, IA. Now in their 125th year on the home farm, the Drake Simmental operation is a multi-generational enterprise comprising four distinct farms: Drake Simmental, Drake Cattle Company, Iron Creek Cattle Company, and Harlan Cattle Company. The operation is guided by four core principles established by Charlie Drake: finding the best genetics, using advanced science in selection, maintaining an artistic eye for cattle structure, and providing honest service to customers. Today, they've evolved from pulled Herefords to a focus on Simmental and Simmental-Angus crossbreeding. Their upcoming sale on January 31, 2025, features an impressive lineup of bulls and bred heifers. The bull offering includes fall and yearling bulls with diverse genetic backgrounds. Highlights include sons of top-performing sires like Deadwood, Jackson, and Hooks Eagle, with a mix of purebred Simmental and Angus-cross bulls. Special attention has been paid to addressing breed-specific challenges, such as improving foot quality in Angus cattle. The 28 bred heifers represent a carefully selected group from their "keeper" lines, bred to their top bulls. Many of these heifers come from notable donor lines and offer comparable genetic potential to the bulls being sold. Flint Drake emphasizes their commitment to developing cattle that excel in multiple traits - combining calving ease, growth, maternal characteristics, and carcass quality. They've achieved this through disciplined breeding strategies, sourcing genetics from across the country and using advanced reproductive technologies like embryo transfer. The sale will be held at their facility near Centerville, Iowa, with live online bidding available. Bulls will be kept and fed until April, reflecting the family's commitment to service and supporting their commercial customers.

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