‘Commonsense operation’
Kenny Gilliam manages a beef venture that works
Story and photos by Glen Liford
‘Commonsense operation’
Kenny Gilliam manages a beef venture that works
Story and photos by Glen Liford
During his time as a beef producer, Kenny Gilliam of Rogersville says he has seen a lot of ups and downs in the beef industry. But through it all, his commitment to his vocation and his love of farming has not changed.
A Hawkins County native, Kenny grew up farming with his parents, who operated a dairy in Bear Hollow not too far from the Co-op in Rogersville. In the 1960s and 70s, they milked a few cows and grew tobacco.
“We milked by hand back then,” he says. “I started around the time I was six years old and did it until I got out of high school. That was fun stuff.”
Kenny would milk the cows at 4:30 in the morning before school, and in the afternoon after he got home. He and his brother, Darrell, finally talked their dad into switching to beef cows for the 15 years before the elder Gilliam passed away in 1993. The herd rose to about 75 cows. Kenny says although they enjoyed working with the dairy cattle, the beef operation was a better fit for all the family.
After he graduated high school, Kenny bought three cows of his own and rented a small farm in nearby Butcher’s Valley.
“I sold the three calves I raised off those cows and bought another cow the next year,” says the longtime Hawkins Farmers Co-op customer. “The next year, I had four cows with four calves, and I sold them and invested in two more cows. Before long, I had 10 cows. The good Lord just kept blessing and increasing. I did the work, but he did the increasing. And he still does that more than I deserve.”
From those meager beginnings, Kenny has made a life for himself centered around farming and raising beef cattle. He has followed the same model he began as a youth and has grown his herd to more than 250 mama cows, selecting only the best heifers to add to the herd, while keeping other calves to precondition before sending to local markets.
“I learned the importance of preconditioning by watching and listening to [noted cattlemen] Lemmie Wilson and Randy Hodge back in the 1980s and 90s,” he says. Those lessons still guide Kenny today as he makes choices to improve his operation and cope with a changing cattle industry.
Kenny praises the advice and guidance that he receives from Co-op employees like Hawkins Farmer Manager Matthew Ball and Salesman Ryan Anderson. He says he is in the Rogersville Co-op nearly every day.
Those lessons still guide Kenny today as he makes choices to improve his operation and cope with a changing cattle industry.
“The last few years have been good for the cattle business,” he says. “But I’m skeptical of how long it will last. The row-crop farmers are getting lower prices for their crops right now, and the cattlemen are prospering. But who knows when the tables will turn.”
As a hedge against any potential change in the market, Kenny has maintained a close relationship with his Co-op, including Hawkins Manager Matthew Ball and Salesman Ryan Anderson. He looks to Co-op personnel for advice and guidance as he continues to search for ways to improve his operation.
One of the latest additions to his methods is the new Co-op Beef Generator Feed with Monensin (#470).
“I switched over to [the new ration] last fall,” he says. The calves did well on it, seemed to have more energy, and grew better. It's a good weaning feed, because just about anything will eat it.
Kenny says he normally puts the calves in the barn for a week to wean them and gives them all the feed and hay they want “until they quit balling for their mamas.”
All the calves are then given the recommended vaccinations and dewormers for preconditioning and are placed in a contained area with two bunk feeders and plenty of fresh water. They stay there for 2-3 days to get accustomed to having the ration available before Kenny turns them out to pasture and offers the feed through self-feeders. It’s a process he has followed for years.
“I mostly raise my own calves, but if I run across someone selling some, I’ll try to pick up a few,” he says. “I can replace some of my older mama cows that way.”
Once the heifers reach 700 to 750 pounds, they are turned in with registered Angus bulls.
“I don't do it perfectly all the time,” he admits. “Sometimes I'll mess up and wean some a little too quickly. It's not a perfect operation, but it works. It's a commonsense operation to me.”
Kenny says he raises most of the calves for his operation from the 250 or so mama cows that he maintains on the farm, though he occasionally buys others if he comes across the opportunity.
Kenny has been using the new Co-op 14% Beef Generator Feed with Monensin (#94470) since last fall and has been pleased with the results. He especially likes how the calves take to the course pellets of the ration and the way they seem to grow.
Though Kenny utilizes high-quality registered Black Angus bulls, genetics of the mothers sometimes reveal other colors in his herd, and he will keep them if they provide good calves.
Story by Glen Liford,
Contact gliford@ourcoop.com