Best Angus & Quarter Horses

Best Angus & Quarter Horses started as a 4-H and FFA project in 1987 with the purchase of a heifer from the placement pen at McCumber Angus Ranch. Many of the cows in the herd are descendants of the original heifer, Rosetta 622 of McCumber. Best Angus grew slowly focusing on quality. Pete and Vawnita Best worked together in building their business; Vawnita worked as a meat inspector and Pete worked as an Agricultural Lender. The Best’s continued to keep top heifers as replacements and invested in a few elite females from ranches whose programs they respected.

Opportunity arose for Best Angus in 2007 when Pete and Vawnita moved to her parents’, Kurt and Rita Hovet, ranch in the Badlands southeast of Watford City, ND. There, they started marketing bulls locally by private treaty in 2008. In 2014, Best Angus & Quarter Horses had their first annual production sale.

Currently, Best Angus runs about 250 registered cows. They Al approximately 50% of the cowherd and use the other 50% of the herd as recipient cows for their donor program. Best Angus believes firmly that by flushing their top cows, they can provide more quality bulls at a better value for their customers. Through this, they can also build a stronger herd that will fit their environment.

Best Angus believes that it is their duty to breed cattle that will make their customers’ herds and lives better. Focusing on cattle that are going to easily maintain their flesh allows Best Angus to extend their grazing season, which in turn lowers costs and reduces labor. Calving ease and vigor are at the core of their breeding decisions, and they think cows and heifers should be able to calve under range conditions with no assistance and raise a healthy, heavy calf.

Structural soundness is important at Best Angus, especially when it comes to udders, feet and legs. They do not believe that beef cattle should have to be milked by hand to get a calf started. Best Angus also believes in not creep feeding their cattle; they want to know exactly what their cow did to contribute to the profitability of their ranch.

Best Angus has been ultra sounding for carcass traits since 1995 to make sure they are raising genetics to meet the consumers’ needs. They want their customers to feel that they have received an exceptional value. Many of their customers are friends and neighbors, so they do not take their responsibility lightly.