is a diversified family farming operation that began using registered Shorthorn bulls in 1902. From the early 1900’s through the 1940’s all three breeds of cattle, Angus, Hereford, and Shorthorn, grazed the sandhills and marsh ground at Waukaru. Later, Walter Jordan determined that the Shorthorn cattle had distinct advantages: they were simpler to manage, more adaptable to various feed and fodder resources, and they lasted longer. Through selection and culling, Walter designed the nucleus of Waukaru that could thrive in various environments, required little management, and could convert grass and crop residue to meat and milk. As the years went by and new technologies emerged, we embraced these emerging tools as a way to make decisions better and simpler. Waukaru began performance testing and collecting carcass data in 1960, and has become a leader in the Shorthorn breed in data submission. The 1970’s brought the wide use of artificial insemination and then non-surgical embryo transfer and Waukaru was quick to employ these two great tools to help accomplish our goals. In 2003, planned matings between Waukaru’s elite donor females and the Red Angus breed’s most proven bulls laid the foundation of the Durham Red composite. states, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, South Africa, and China. We understand that our product must perform as predicted in environments that are extremely different from one another. To compensate for this diversity, Waukaru genetics are selected to be sound structured, athletic in their movement, and have the ability to forage low quality feedstuffs yet thrive. The cattle must grow; early and rapid growth is paramount, yet this growth curve must end before adding unneeded mature cow size. Through decades of carcass evaluations, we understand that muscle and marbling are demanded and we continue select for these traits; yet, before these things matter, the dam must calve unattended, milk, and rebreed quickly. We work hard to keep these fundamentals at the forefront of our breeding strategy. Waukaru sells the top 2/3 of the bull crop in The Gathering, held every March at the farm. In September, Waukaru is host to the longest running production sale in the Shorthorn breed, where an elite group of the females themselves are merchandised. The Jordan family has seen many successes and changes over the years, from the selling of butter off the farm during the 1930’s Depression years, to utilizing gene marking and mapping to identify sires that are more prepotent to economic relative traits today. It has always been our utmost goal to produce fundamentally sound cattle that can generate profit for the clientele of Waukaru, on any hemisphere. Waukaru will continue to employ all available tools and technologies to help identify, document and prove the value of our product to make the breeding, feeding, and marketing decisions easier and more accurate for both Waukaru and our customers.
