Black Walnut Cattle Farm Named American Gelbvieh Association 2022 Breeder of the Year
The American Gelbvieh Association named Black Walnut Cattle Farm, Batesville, Mississippi, the AGA Breeder of the Year for 2022. Pictured above (left to right): Owen, Susan, Weston, Jason, Sadie, and Edye Morris.
Black Walnut Cattle Farm is the recipient of this year’s Breeder of the Year award. The honor was presented to the Morris family at the AGA National Convention on Friday, December 9, 2022, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Black Walnut Cattle Farm is located in Batesville, Mississippi, and is owned and operated by Jason, and his wife, Susan, along with their children, Sadie, Owen, Edye and Weston.
The Morris family is a key component in the Mississippi Gelbvieh Association and was very instrumental in the success of the 2021 AGJA Southern Hospitality Classic. The family is great advocates for youth in agriculture, supporting FFA, the AGJA, and area livestock shows in Mississippi.
A purchase of Balancer® bulls and a show heifer for their daughter, Sadie, began the AGA journey for the Morris family. The family started purchasing more Balancer heifers to grow their herd and start selling bulls to other producers. The family strongly focuses on EPDs in their animals along with their phenotypes and production outputs. The production of their cattle must line up with the EPDs to stay successful.
“Working with several progressive breeders has allowed us to bring proven genetics into our herd and help us focus on the goal and speed up the process of raising good Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle that will work in the south,” explained Jason Morris.
Black Walnut Cattle Farm is a family affair. The kids spend the summers working with show cattle in the barn, Susan maintains the paperwork of the cattle, and Jason, along with his dad, works through the operation management of keeping the farm moving forward.
“Gelbvieh is a great breed and a great association to be involved in,” said Morris. “It’s very family-oriented with a lot of focus on family and kids. The kids are our future and will be in the AGA for years to come. It’s a great group of people to be associated with and a great organization to raise your kids in while giving them leadership experience.”
The American Gelbvieh Association is a progressive beef cattle breed association representing 1,100 members and approximately 40,000 cows assessed annually in a performance-oriented total herd reporting system.
###