Why we bet the farm on South Poll cattle
A heat-tolerant, forage-efficient breed built for the Appalachian foothills - and for beef that tastes like where it's from.
Ellett Valley
2025-09-12
Photo · Ellett Valley archives
Fifty years ago we were running commercial black cattle like everyone else in the valley. The economics worked, barely. The land didn't. Overgrazed paddocks, compacted soil, and a herd that couldn't finish on grass alone.
"South Poll changed the arithmetic. Bred in Alabama by Teddy Gentry - yes, the Alabama Teddy Gentry - the breed was engineered from Hereford, Senepol, Barzona, and Red Angus stock to thrive on nothing but pasture in the humid Southeast."
Ours calve unassisted, finish on grass at 20 months, and hold condition through a Virginia August. The beef carries a golden fat from the carotenoids in the grass, and a mineral finish you don't get from grain-fed animals.
We keep the herd small on purpose. Every steer is on the ground here from the first day to the last, walked out of a pasture we can name.
- Ellett Valley, from the porch, Blacksburg VA
