It all started with two cows. As a young teenager, Rodney Hollman selected two female Gelbviehs that are still the main foundational pedigree lines for Royal Western Gelbvieh.
Hollman and his wife Tanya, along with their three sons, run the livestock operation east of Innisfail, Alta, that he started 26 years ago.
Hollman grew up with Black Angus cows on his family’s cattle farm and developed a passion for the Gelbvieh breed when he saw how well the Gelbvieh commercial cross cows did.
They were looking for more embryos to implant, and Hollman saw the breed as having the industry’s best maternally efficient females with increased fertility and mothering ability.
He bought his first purebred Gelbvieh cow in 1998, added another the following year, and his cattle operation grew from there.
Royal Western Gelbvieh has sent embryos to customers in locations all over the world including Paraguay, Australia and the United Kingdom, and live animals as far Mexico. Their operation is known for their carcass quality.
“We are probably the only seedstock Gelbvieh program in Canada that has carcass ultrasound data,” Hollman said
Royal Western Gelbvieh is also known in the industry for their dedication to elite cow families, and some of the bulls they’ve sold and placed with other programs have become leaders in semen sales.
These relationships with other producers are part of what Hollman loves about owning a cattle operation.
They host a couple of tour groups every year from countries including Australia and the United States.
“The people in the industry are the most rewarding part of being in the livestock industry,” Hollman said.
The relationships with their cattle are also important to the family. Hollman believes the better job they do caring for their cattle, the better their production is.
Royal Western Gelbvieh held their annual bull sale earlier this month and they market up to 30 bulls every year. The operation also partners with other producers on a female sale annually during the first week of December.
Heading into the spring season, Hollman says on the frozen genetic side they are a good source for semen and embryos and offer lots of options for sires.
Nicole Starker Campbell
ECA Review
