Greg gets an interview with the founder of his South Poll breed, Teddy Gentry.

[@billhickson8712]

Thanks for this great conversation with Teddy Gentry. He is truly an authentic and down to earth individual. You and Teddy are the real deal.

[@johncourtneidge]

Yes!

[@chivociso3887]

Thank you for allowing us to meet Teddy, the pioneer of southpoll cattle virtually and hear his personal opinions

[@DustyBottomBoysAK]

His home really is in Alabama, and his cows are Southern born and southern bred! You can really tell that his heart is in it and he does it for the right reasons. Much respect, Mr. Gentry. -Dusty

[@vonmajor]

Thanks Greg for going to the source! I like his beginnings. He didn’t come from a bias or mindset of that’s how we have always done it. I started somewhat that way until I found a Small nation podcast with Greg. Been following this program every since to regenerate my played out farm.

[@DarrinsDaffs]

What an honor and a thrill to listen to Teddy Gentry! Thanks, so much Greg for sharing this with all of us❣️

[@shawnh8754]

We are also so glad he put in the work. Love my South Polls. Sometimes it takes someone with an open mind to shake things up.

[@georgeheller2281]

I love our South Polls! They make a living on very little. And thank you again Greg for all the help and information you have given to so many. Have a wonderful day.

[@swamp-yankee]

You’re up north right? Been wondering for years.. why not the polled Devon’s? They seem like a northern bred south poll to me, but a lot of the best graziers seem to be importing south polls and overlooking them. Kinda wonder if they’re just in the east, or maybe have some flaw I haven’t noticed since I mostly raise steers. Keeping my first two heifers this winter. They have a little Hereford too.

[@georgeheller2281]

@swamp-yankee well I am just a beginner, and I was very impressed with the low maintenance of the south poll. In addition to our very cold winters, we also have hot and humid summers. We have been in drought d3 or d4 the last three summers, the south polls do very well on very little. I don't really have a comparison, just really liked the breed so decided to try it out.

[@swamp-yankee]

@@georgeheller2281 ok, thank you. I’m a beginner too. Been grazing 7 years, and am only just getting into cows. Hope you get some good rain soon. We have hot summers too. The hottest I’ve seen is 103 and the coldest was -22. I’d be interested to hear somebody like Greg who knows cattle well and the grazier community’s thoughts on Devons.

[@1916dnicolas]

Help me please. How long? How many? I just want to make a modest living on 40 acres of pasture and I'm willing to invest. Suggestions?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

@1916dnicolas if you have 40 acres, start with a small number of cattle and see how you get along. 4-5 steers or cows.

[@kkeenan536]

Great to hear the back story from the man himself! Thanks for a wonderful interview

[@1916dnicolas]

Greg and Jan, I have been a KZbinr for years. This is the first time in ALL those years I have commented on anything. I have watched your channel from the beginning. This is without a doubt the granddaddy of them all when it comes to your interviews. Thank you so much for taking the time to film and post it. My acreage is finally cleared and will be fenced this winter. I needed a reminder of why I sold EVERYTHING I own and moved to an area in which I can do this. It's Southpoll for me thank you!

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

All the best to you in your grazing endeavors !

[@willienelson2078]

Blessed start to the day, getting to hear a conversation between these two.

[@ddennison001]

Really glad you captured this for posterity Greg!

[@tomk2147]

Teddy Gentry thank you for your passion for creating the South Poll Breed. At the time you were trying to create the South Poll Breed; you had an extreme passion for music. Thank you for your major contribution to Country Music! The amazing thing is you did not have to do nothing in the cattle business. Because your music business was a success for you. But your hobby at the time and the extra hours on your tour bus changed your life and the lives of many small to large farmers. When I was younger we had 2 beef that my parents raised from early spring to late fall for our own meat source. One criteria was anytime a cow had short legs that was a keeper and bid on it for our meat source. Because long legs meant one thing that was a “milk cow.” It could have been a Hereford, Black Angus, Red Angus or Charolais. But the one problem was with Hereford, we.would purchase the cows at the local auction barn. Three times the young heifers were pregnant, they were not supposed to be pregnant but they were and sadly two were not successful. One was a breach birth lost the calf and the other heifer was too young and the vet had to put down the heifer/cow as well as the unborn calf. The other factor was sometimes high strung cows. One time in particular I was in the field and walking toward a cow near the small corral and that “nut case cow” she charged me. I was lucky she did not hurt me I was about 10 yrs old at the time. It scared me but from that point I had a cautious respect for any cow. The Red Angus or the Charolais were usually the breed of choice but not always available when at the auction in early spring. It would have been nice to had the ability to have the South Pole breed available but that was not the case. The Black Angus were “nut cases” the group we bought at auction all jumped the fence and went to the neighbors farm. But we always had beef and the processor would say I hated to process many of your beef because they were so nice they would have been great brood cows. But beef source was our focus not a cow calf operation. Thank you Greg and Jan Judy for your KZbin channel excellent education resource for raising South Poll Cattle Breed.

[@tomk2147]

opps just realize my error South Poll not Pole sorry for the misspell

[@JoshPiland]

Appreciate you Teddy, Greg and Jan! 🇺🇸

[@Antonio_Martinez1]

Cool interview Greg! Can’t imagine the work he put in to develop the breed. Wow

[@WellGrazed]

We are so blessed to have access to this world class information at our fingertips. Thank you Greg for keeping it coming

[@savageairsoft9259]

Thanks Teddy and Greg!

[@Getawaymoments]

Great video, so positive and inspiring.

[@dertythegrower]

Cool to hear how it started. Thank you sirs.

[@cordovanbee]

Very nice interview! Thanks Gentlemen!

[@revhankreid5843]

Finally, I got to finish this video today! What a fine "Southern Gentlemen"! I met Randy Owen in 2004 at Herferd National Junior show in MS. Randy Owen was there with his daughter showing heifers! My daughter Cassie was selling stuffed cattle toys, Cassie's Luvem's! I always feel at home in the South! Southern born & Southern bred! #naturalGramma Hank and Laura Reid

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

What a great guy! And to think he was a musician who learned about cattle on the side. Amazing.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Yes, Teddy is a data hound. He knew what he wanted to build and he built it!

[@marvinbaier3627]

Thanks for the video! It’s an excellent interview! I’m so glad you both put in so much hard work to get where we are in the South Poll breed. I have so many things to do on my bucket list, and one is going to South Poll Field Day. Another is going to your school too. A lot of things on my bucket list has to do with animals. Thanks again for my start in the South Poll breed.

[@jrisnerny]

Awesome. I got Teddy to sign a book and hear him speak at a cattle conference in Greeneville TN. Great guy. Good to hear him give some props to Greg on popularizing the South Poll breed-even if the Pied Piper analogy is a bad one. The legend goes that he was a predatory flautist who lured children to a cave never to be seen again after not being paid for his work ridding the town of rats. That's not the Greg I know!

[@charleswalters5284]

Greg probably would have let the rats go back to that town and crossed it off his list, then collect in advance from the next town. I would have led all the rats back to the first town. Greg's good character and temperment have served him well.

[@tommathews3964]

Teddy is THE MAN! He had the foresight to ignore the trends (namely BIG and BLACK) and work to develop that breed that’s adaptable and has the longevity to not only survive, but thrive, in our tough Alabama conditions! Profitably in cow/calf is a long term game not just today’s price at the sale barn! Thanks to both of you pioneers!

[@johncourtneidge]

Your South Polls put me very much in mind of our Red Sussex Cattle here i Sussex, England.

[@eweandmeranch4024]

Great conversation

[@fiatjoe2184]

Great interview Greg! I've always wondered where you got your first south polls.

[@sflfarmer9131]

What a great honest guy! Hopefully I will get some south polls started in south fla soon.

[@wadepatton2433]

Ft. Payne is only two hours South of me. I'll have to ramp up my progress so I can get into cattle-I mean South Poll of course. Good interview.

[@3vFord426]

Thanks Greg !

[@virginiaspeciale8641]

Glad to visit your channel. Homestead Horsemenship directed me to you. Care of the pasture is interesting, especially to a horse 🐎 loving city girl like me.

[@othnielbendavid9777]

I appreciate you both. Blessings!

[@wallacewimmer5191]

Alabama was a life changing band. Seen them several times ❤❤🎉🎉. Plus Southpole cattle 😊

[@charlesbelser7249]

I just retired and am hoping to start back having just bought a small 112 acre place with about 60 acres of pasture ( so far and hoping to get more). I am leaning towards south poll although I am un sure about some aspects of it along with spending as much on bred heifers or three way lots as I see that they cost etc. ( I remember trying to talk an acquaintance down from $1,000 each for awesome registered Angus 1407 heifers which I could have had bred to his ( famous syndicated bull) 13 years ago ) . I also just moved 300 miles north of where I was and have few contacts up here so I am at a disadvantage selling direct and also with only one processor any where near me who is booked " one year out". I spent years studying EPDs which I came to believe to be the most important thing having to do with cattle and to be able or to sell them to individuals or to prove their ability in the feed yard , to get a premium and to have superior auction aggressively on your load of cattle in case you wanted to go that way . I am trying to decide which direction to go . There are lines of Red Angus that do hold up well under these conditions and I was contemplating starting with about 25 or so bred heifers and then experiment with a good forage based Red Angus bull registering the off spring in both registries in one of the several red Angus ones and whichever one was best in the south poll registry. I hate to wish bad things on anyone but I don't see how this can happen for me until prices drop especially since I always want the best . Until then , I will continue to build fencing and more water infrastructure for rotational grazing and get ready for the right opportunity . I would be interested in considering making a deal with someone to utilize my little ranch when it is ready in Holly Pond AL in exchange for my choice of a few heifers that are born .

[@palmettopurist5549]

Very interesting and inspirational man.

[@certifiedhoarder]

What a humble fellow. Great stuff

[@markrunion1769]

Thank you for this video!

[@jamesmarshall6877]

Excellent conversation, very insightful. Thank you both!

[@dwaynejones1146]

Great content...Thank you.

[@bonniehatcher8198]

This is such Great News! Especially for small homesteaders...senior homesteaders like me! Where can I get ahold of one of these wondrous new ladies to begin cattle life on my farm as I am not in the deep south but way up in WA state.

[@williammisener2389]

A successful Music career and he also developed a successful cow breed. Teddy Gentry is a true Polymath.

[@RedCowsGreenFields]

Great stuff. Thanks for posting this!

[@CravoFarm]

Good stuff right there

[@markshepardsongs]

This was awesome! Particularly when he talks about small cows vs large ones. As a musician I appreciate where he came from and why he developed a breed that farmers could make money with. Do you htink he could develop a "NORTH Poll" breed for us Northerners? :o)

[@Marilou-g5t]

I would guess breed south poll bulls to black angus females might be the best to have black-hided cattle that soak up the sun in winter. Barzona, Senapol, Hereford, Black Angus (instead of Red Angus).

[@brucemattes5015]

The 4 breeds of cattle that make up *the South Poll breed* are the *Red Angus breed, the Hereford breed, the Barzona breed, and the Senepol breed,* in roughly equal proportions. The 4 breeds of cattle that make up *the Senepol breed* are the *Red Poll breed, the N'Dama breed, and the Criolla breed,* in roughly equal proportions, with a trace of *the Zebu breed* also in the mix. The 4 breeds of cattle that make up *the Barzona breed* are the *Afrikander breed, the Hereford breed, the Beef Shorthorn breed, and the Red Angus breed;* in roughly equal proportions. The suggestion to substitute/add *the Black Angus breed* to the South Poll breed makes eminent sense if one were to develop a new breed of small-to-medium-framed cattle more suited for Northern climates with long, cold, snowy winters.

[@swamp-yankee]

We already have red Devon’s and they’ve been here longer then the United States has been a country. We might as well just play with them. I’ve never understood why folks keep wanting to bring south polls north. Maybe they’re just a north eastern thing? Nobody I’ve ever met grains them because they get obese. Great grass cows. If you threw one or two in with a group of south polls it would be tough to tell who’s who. They’re beautiful, short, and big gutted just like we like. I’ve got a couple now and they had significantly less flies then the dairy cross steers due to (I think) their oil, but also they’ve got the thickest hide of any breed. They’re wicked tough critters & yield wonderful marbled beef on grass. A lot of times people ad Hereford or red angus to them.

[@swamp-yankee]

@@Marilou-g5t I don’t think we want black cows even up north . Where I’m at we get cold winter, but near Appalachian summers. Saw -22 this winter and summer highs around 100. I don’t think the solar gains in winter justifies putting them through summer in that color. Basically all winter is cloudy anyway and it gets dark so early they’re gonna spend most of the winter without that color doing anything for them.

[@fredperry9360]

Teddy lives 40 miles north east of me. Mr Gentry is a very humble man.

[@wadepatton2433]

Then you live 150 miles due South of me. Somewhere around Gadsden. Do you have cattle?

[@bks7842]

Awesome.

[@BosnWayne]

Roll On!!

[@joeholthaus5394]

Legends

[@adriendesjardins9015]

If I could meet one country music legend and superstar it would be Teddy Gentry.

[@jhost0311]

How did he select the 22 cows from the sale barn? We’re they south poles or did he buy the “ingredients” to create the South Pole from the cattle he bought?

[@emmbabyrocks6830]

this is just cool 😎

[@C.Hawkshaw]

What a cool guy. I would never imagine that a country singer would spend his days studying in the back of the tour bus before his gigs, but there you go, Teddy Gentry!

[@revhankreid5843]

Cool beans. Good people! #naturalGramma

[@chivociso3887]

Where are you located Hank?

[@revhankreid5843]

NW Missouri About 70 miles W of #gregjudy

[@jamesvowels2972]

awesome

[@craiglaplante9822]

Will this bred handle the winters up in northern mn, nd. Or should they be crossed with a Galloway ?

[@rajbeekie7124]

Teddy is either a genius or very lucky. To produce a breed with all the characteristic of the South Poll I would have thought it would taken decades and a lot of money.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

It took a lot of work and a lot of Teddy's money to build the South Poll breed.

[@1916dnicolas]

Not lucky!

[@rajbeekie7124]

@@1916dnicolas There is a saying used by many wildly successful people that goes, "The harder I work the luckier I get." There are also many researchers and scientists who have worked for decades and never got the break through they were looking for. Both Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey have many times stated luck was part of their success. Warren has many times attributed his success to luck of the genetic lottery. He was just lucky to be born in the right time and place.

[@C.Hawkshaw]

Both!

[@tjsorensen1892]

I’m a first generation farmer. I’m hoping to start my perimeter fence this year and start with 2-4 cattle next year. As far as saving up to buy these, roughly how much does it cost to buy a South Poll? Thankfully I’m in Alabama and close to Fort Payne 🙌🏼 Also for someone running less than 5 cattle what would you recommend? 4 cows and a bull? All cows and just artificially incriminate? Thank you for everything you’re doing!

[@1916dnicolas]

I'm doing the same now. They're not cheap but, I'm a believer!

[@wadepatton2433]

I'd consider using insemination rather than a bull with only a few cows. I'm starting with sheep, hope to expand quickly into SouthPoll. Mid TN-92 miles North of Ft. Payne.

[@aaronh4963]

Greg, what are your thoughts on the south poll breed in Alberta?

[@wadepatton2433]

I'm no Greg, but you've been waiting a year here: You may want something with more hair on it. Consider crossing back to Hereford maybe, they're the wooly one.

[@robinsonjohn4975]

Just to clarify... The South poll is a combination of Sentapo, Barzona, Hereford, and (red) Angus?

[@davidhickenbottom6574]

It's OK to make money in the short term as well. My friend has some in Litchfield County Connecticut just a start but going full steam.

[@vivhall6198]

Would love to know who your friend is in Litchfield county, as I currently live in CT and hope to buy some land in that county in a year or less, and would also like to learn more about the South Pols' ability to thrive in this New England climate.

[@vonmajor]

I recently butchered an old cow but noted for breed tenderness. I butchered her at 6 years. Not expecting much. Thought she would grade mostly hamburger. However after just grazing, occasional lick tubs over the winter ( my only input outside of grass) the only thing she got was a couple cans of ground corn over 4 days to train her to go into a trailer. After 21 days of hanging she came out as a high choice, just barely below prime. My first steak and burgers were be best I have had from my farm from when I started six years ago. Genetics rule!

[@rayseals8764]

Had coffee with alabama n Peoria 2am 40+ years ago. 2am cold 10 degrees. The had a old 30 ft ex greyhound bus. They didn't have a hit song yet. I thought when they pulled out that old bus would breakdown and they would freeze. Polite young general.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

That is a good story, thanks for sharing!

[@mihacurk]

Does anybody know of anybody that breeds the South Poll breed over in Europe?

[@jhost0311]

Greg did you know the USDA is currently pushing regulation to require all farmers to electronic ear tag their cattle? What are your thoughts on the is? Definitely hurts small farmers. Would you have a conversations with KY Representative Thomas Massie, if he agreed, about stopping this issue and passing the PrimeAct to empower farmers? Would be great to have the popular natural farmers on KZbin help fight off the Feds and their burdensome regulations.

[@swamp-yankee]

Do you know what tags cost? It seems like potentially a non issue as a sheep guy with bit of cattle. The state already says we have to tag anything older then a year in our flock and it’s not a big deal at all. Seems like a valuable tool for tracking the movement of stock if there was a devastating hoof & mouth outbreak like the UK had a few decades ago. I know they all have to tag everything.

[@mithall4198]

@@swamp-yankee Well sheeeit. Sounds like you'll be first in line when the state wants to tag you.

[@swamp-yankee]

@@mithall4198 I’m not saying I’m for it I’m just saying sheep guys have been doing this a long time and it’s a real non issue because a tag is a small fraction of a dollar and I’d be tagging everything anyway. Are you worried about the stock that leaves your farm being tracked back? I’m not.

[@jhost0311]

@@swamp-yankee it’s another layer of red tape and control. A free society should be free to raise and sell livestock without burdensome government involvement.

[@jhost0311]

@@swamp-yankee terrible argument. That’s like saying if you have nothing to hide you shouldn’t mind if we take away your right to privacy. Completely Un-American.

[@papaal7014]

hair looks so natural.

[@wadepatton2433]

Troll much?

[@wallacewimmer5191]

😊

[@ziauddin7948]

Good South Pole breed genetic creation through crossing 2 different gentic breeeds # 👍 🇵🇰

[@wadepatton2433]

Four breeds: Senepol, Barzona, Red Angus, Hereford. Poll not pole.

[@borowland5744]

Man, it has to be a chor moving a heard from pasture to pasture, but I'm not a cattlemen. I'm a Mississippi chicken farmer! Haha

[@wadepatton2433]

If you'll watch some more good videos you might find the one where they move 8300 head of cattle, up to 4x daily. It takes TWO PEOPLE a short time to do it. Cattle that get accustomed to FRESH GRASS every single day, are very easy to move if they're aren't any wild ones in the bunch. Wild ones go to the butcher the sooner the better. You can watch Greg Judy's crew (two young men) move his 400 or so cattle 2 or 3x daily in many of the hundreds of videos Greg has posted. It can be VERY easy and quick once the herd learned that fresh groceries are waiting for them. Paddock changes can be FULLY AUTOMATED such that the cows move themselves-multiple times. The cows move themselves every time anyway. WE only have to open gates into new paddocks, take down old paddocks, set up new paddocks, move the mineral feeder, check/setup the water supply. Done. It's FAR simpler than cutting hay, baling hay, moving hay, hauling hay, and will eliminate a great bit of any rancher's need to purchase hay. There's no grain bins to keep filled, there's no grain feeders to tend. There are no routine drugs to apply (only Black Leg inoculation is required). There's no chemicals to add to the fields after establishment (which may require little), and there's no haying equipment maintenance/storage. No buildings needed at all. I was NEVER interested in conventional farming and destroying the landscape with animals, NOW I can see how much I MUST do this on my land and I intend to rent the lands of others to expand if things work out. It is my retirement plan.

[@jonerlandson1956]

that was a good tour....