About Us
Our Story
History
Barnes Herefords is nestled in the foothills of northwest Georgia just a few miles from the Alabama state line. It was started in the late 1990s when former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes retired from his political ventures and decided to return to the roots he had as a young boy–raising Hereford cattle.
Roy grew up following his dad around to various stockyards and witnessed first hand how his daddy’s keen eye could pick out an underpriced cow or bull without the use of today’s modern technologies such as EPDs, scans, or even pedigrees. The late Mr. Barnes specialized in furnishing fresh milk cows to family dairies which then dotted the North Georgia landscapes. He made sure to keep the white-faced Hereford cattle for himself however, as those were his first love.
Just as they were then, Hereford cattle are gentle, efficient, and pretty to look at. The advancements made by the breed have brought about a higher milking ability, increased calving ease, and many other breed characteristics that are a testament to the breeders critical selections over the years. We have prided ourselves on trying to stick true to what we believe benefits both the purebred Hereford producer as well as the commercial producer that sees the value in the Hereford breed. By doing this, we focus on birth weights that are close to breed average with a higher calving ease number, increased carcass merits, as well as increased maternal merits in the selection and maintenance of our herd.
Beyond this, we have seen the downfall that can come from focusing on the numbers too hard and have spent the last several years culling heavily on feet and leg structure. As a result, at Barnes Herefords, you will find structurally sound cattle that can get out and perform in both purebred and commercial cattleman settings.
What We Believe In
Our slogan is Genetics that matter! and we believe that a sound foundation in Genotype + Phenotype = The Cattleman’s Type. Through trial and error, we have found that when we selected primarily for the genotype alone, structure issues began to arise. As a result, we believe in selecting cattle based on both our goals genotypically as well as the physical appearance of the animals.
In more recent years, after seeing the structure issues that arose with a strong focus on purely genetics, Kevin has been extremely critical of feet and legs on the cattle that are retained as replacements for ourselves and that are offered to customers. We stand behind these cattle and know that they can perform in a variety of situations for any cattleman. Whether you are a purebred cattle producer or a commercial producer that sees the value Hereford genetics can add to your herd, here at Barnes you will find structurally sound cattle that can get out and perform in a variety of settings.
Building a Legacy
Some of our greatest enjoyment comes from seeing youth succeed. From local support to national support we believe in what the junior livestock industry affords youth the opportunity to do and want to do all we can to ensure juniors are set up for success.
Juniors are the future and we believe that investing in them is the best way to ensure our future.
To help with this, we have just recently started investing in cattle that are more show oriented and hope that by crossing them with our more number oriented bulls we can begin producing cattle that will succeed in the showring yet will still make quality cattle for these young cattlemen to build a strong foundation on.
The Future of Barnes Herefords
The Barnes Herefords Team
Roy and Marie Barnes,
Owners
Kevin Atkins,
Manager
Nick Moore,
Herdsman
Shelly Patton McQuaig,
Marketing and Records