Indianhead Polled Hereford Association: Featured Farm and Hall of Fame

2018 Indianhead Polled Hereford Association Hall of Fame Recipient

is Steve Kruse of Kruse Polled Herefords.

Steve Kruse has been raising Herefords for over 50 years. His first registered Hereford was purchased from Kelly Land and Cattle Co. over 50 years ago. Since she was a purebred Hereford Steve named her " Purebred". When he got married which will be 50 years this year, he brought with him, 4 Herefords. The first years were mainly building his herd, with getting a new bull every two years and basically selling the calves in the fall keeping some replacement heifers.

When son Todd began showing in 4-H, that's when the real learning began. Todd chose his Heifer by her looks not by standards but how pretty she was. As time went on and his three children began to show more and more in 4-H, Steve learned more about the breed. Breeding and selecting cattle that met or exceeded industry standards. Looking for uniformity and consistency, a Boulder son was purchased. This added muscle and thickness to the herd. By this time, Todd was married and the father and son were working together to better their herds. Looking for bulls that would provide excellent growth and improved milk production.

Starting with herd bulls only, now it has progressed to using AI on many of their cows. About Time, Tailor Made, Tailor 112D, Commitment 654 are some of the AI sires that they are using, and the herd is consistently improving. Next, was to use Embryos. He got his embryo program well on its way by purchasing the right to flush two well know cows: RRR 122L Giselle 0408 ET which he flushed with heifer sexed semen from UPS Undisputed ET. This flush produced some nice heifer calves. The second cow that is being flushed now is MS Dakitch MDK Classy Miss 29C using CRR 668Z Commitment 654 semen, Steve is looking forward to some beautiful calves out of this mating. He also is in partnership with Lakes Area Herefords on a Donor cow named MCF 2296 Intergrity 1713 ET.

MCF 2296 Integrity 1713 ET has been successfully IVF flushed and they have sexed heifer embryos from Tailor 112D, About Time and Twenty Twelve. So their embyro program is in full swing and it looks like the sky is the limit on how far they can go with it!

Steve and Becki Kruse definitely raised their children to love the farm and the cattle. Becki has been very supportive of this farming venture. The three children learned how to groom and show. Daughter Kari recalls the life of showing cattle as a continual learning experience and watched her father who was determined to have the best breeding stock. In the show ring, Kari would look to her dad, watching for his signals to best show off the animal . Kari said "I remember those times fondly. I learned so many things about cattle and life from Dad."

Kari's daughter Ashlynn spent many hours with her Grandpa Steve, showing cattle at the various shows, fairs and even showing a heifer in Denver!

Ashlyn brought home a big honor by winning Champion Hereford Steer at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair!

Steve has mentored many youth in the 4-H program. They don't have to be Herefords just cattle. He has much patience and a huge heart when it comes to teaching these children about cattle. From how to feed them, to proper grooming and total care of these precious animals. Steve always takes the time to mentor youth or help the Association. He is definitely worthy of the Hall of fame award.