Five Star Barn We are fourth-generation breeders of registered Angus cattle. Abbie's great-grandfather, Thomas Ryan, was one of the firsts to import Angus from Scotland. Thomas' son Earl, and his brother-in-law, Charles Escher, acquired the W.A. McHenry herd and with it the great sire, Earl Marsall. They bred some of the best cattle in the early 1990s. For the past 20 years Five Star Land and Livestock has been located in Sacramento County, Calif. Our land base consists of 100 acres of irrigated pasture, 220 acres of winter range and two leased ranches. We calve 90 cows in the spring and 80 in the fall. Of our calf crop, 80% is AI sired and embryo transfer produces 38%. Our goal is to genetically refine the Angus breed to suit the demand of commercial cow-calf producers. Our herd is a continuation of the three generations before us, with records from the mid-1850s. While maintaining birth weight our weaning and yearling weights have increased more than 20% since 1984. Now our genetic improvement program includes ultrasound in our quest to improve carcass value and assist in value-based marketing of commercial cattle. No matter how the beef industry evolves we are willing to incorporate new technologies in if they will help our customers' bottom lines. Bull Development Over the years, we have strived to genetically produce bulls that meet our customers' needs. We've determined those needs by asking questions and genuinely caring about our customers' breeding programs. With the use of peformance information and EPDs we look for the genetics that will help our customers get top dollar for their calves. Traits that are important to us are fertility, conformation, udder structure, disposition, moderate frame and body capacity. Disposition is especially important to our customers who feed out their calves. Disposition relates to feed efficiency, which affects profitability. Bull calves are currently being developed at Smith Valley Cattle Feeders near Smith Valley, Nev. The bulls are placed on an alfalfa-based, high-roughage growing ration for 120-140 days. After the feed test, the spring-born bulls are summered in an 80-acre pasture in Smith Valley, Nev., on a roughage-only ration prior to the bull sale. To help in the selection process, we provide performance information on each bull, including birth, weaning and yearling data; 140-day test rate of gain; ultrasound data at 12 months; three-generation pedigree; and scrotal circumference. Future plans Mark and Abbie plan to use their two ranches in Oregon to complement their seedstock operation by phasing in a commercial cow herd. The commercial cows will be used for sire evaluation and for embryo transfer.