Kansas State University

search

Kansas Profile

Tag: Natalie Hoagland

Dirck Hoagland, Black Herefords

Let’s visit a birthplace – not of a president or a general, but the birthplace of a cattle breed. Today we’ll learn more about an innovative family that helped develop a new breed of cattle in rural Kansas.

candid photo, dirck and natalie hoagland
Dirck and Natalie Hoagland

Last week in this column, we met Dirck and Natalie Hoagland of J&N Ranch near Leavenworth. Dirck’s parents, Joe and Norma Hoagland, bought the place near Leavenworth in 1985 and have expanded operations since. For years, they raised registered Hereford cattle.

Hereford cattle are recognized for having a white-colored face and a red-colored body. During the 1990s, the Hoaglands and their friend John Gage had the idea of trying to breed Herefords that had the traditional white face but were black in color.

To traditional cattle producers, the name black Hereford might sound like an oxymoron – a contradiction in terms, like jumbo shrimp or single option. Yet these breeders wanted the carcass quality and market premiums of black Angus, while retaining the hardiness, docility and versatility of the Hereford breed.

They did so using the same process as that used by other breeds; namely, by introducing Angus genetics and then selecting for black hair color in the descendent generations.

When Joe Hoagland’s friend, John Gage, passed away from cancer, Joe purchased cattle and records from his estate and established the Black Hereford Registry in the barn office at the J&N Ranch in 1999. Joe and Norma registered the first black Hereford and purchased the first membership in the American Black Hereford Association.

Continue reading “Dirck Hoagland, Black Herefords”

Dirck Hoagland, J&N Ranch, part 1

Today let’s learn about a cross-section of agriculture. Let’s talk to a cattle feeder, a timber producer, a crop farmer, a stocker cattle grower, and a beef seedstock producer.

Family of six standing in farm field
(Left to right) Joe Hoagland, Natalie Hoagland, Dirck Hoagland, Dayton Hoagland, Norma Hoagland, and Reed Hoagland.

To cover all of these, we could bring together a panel of people from across the state. Or, we could meet a single innovative family which has diversified into multiple segments of the agriculture industry.

Dirck and Natalie Hoagland of J&N Ranch are owners of the family operation that includes multiple components of agriculture. It began in 1866 when Dirck’s ancestors homesteaded near the rural community of Tecumseh. The population of Tecumseh and the nearby areas is 696 people. Now, that’s rural.

“We still own part of that original farm ground,” Dirck Hoagland said. Known as the Decker Farm, it is mostly native prairie that is now leased to local producers.

Hoagland’s parents, Joe and Norma Hoagland, started raising registered cattle in 1978. In 1985, they bought a ranch along the Missouri River near Leavenworth and moved their cowherd to that site. Using their initials, the place was named J&N Ranch. Later, the Hoaglands acquired the Gunbarrel Ranch in Wabaunsee County and the F. Morgan Feedyard near Leavenworth.

Continue reading “Dirck Hoagland, J&N Ranch, part 1”