LOWESVILLE, VA – Deer Creek Farm is a registered Simmental and SimAngus operation owned by Mark and Dana Campbell. Located in western Nelson County with 3,000 feet of frontage on Piney River, the operation focuses on producing cattle which perform well on grass.

“Our heifers have been bred over the years to function in a forage environment,” said Mark Campbell, “and our bulls hold their condition when on pasture.”

While heifers and bulls are provided supplemental grain, the cows at Deer Creek Farm are fed only with grass and hay.

There is a small stand of native warm season grasses for summer grazing on the farm, and Campbell is renovating a pasture to establish a stand of novel endophyte fescue. There is no plan to eliminate conventional fescue.

“It’s here to stay and we’ve got to have cattle which are adapted to it,” Campbell said. “We’ve bred our cattle to be adaptable to fescue – they slick out early and don’t have a heavy coat in the summer.”

The pasture renovation project began last year. Campbell planted Ray’s Crazy Summer Mix and was going to plant the novel endophyte fescue last autumn, but because last year’s growing season was so dry, he decided to plant a triticale and rye cover crop instead. That was followed by millet this summer with novel endophyte fescue being established this autumn.

Campbell practices managed grazing, moving the cows every three to seven days in summer. “Shade is a limiting factor,” he said. In late autumn and early winter, he strip-grazes the standing forage and can move the cows every one to two days.

“Because the grass is dormant,” he said, “you don’t have to worry about back grazing.” Also because of the time of the year, there is less concern about heat stress and shade availability.

The herd, which is mostly fall calving, is bred AI. In the past they have used embryo transfer.

The farm first brought Simmental to its herd in 1988. At the time, Campbell’s parents were running a commercial cow/calf herd. Campbell’s sister was looking for a show heifer and wanted something different than Angus. So, she bought a red and white spotted Simmental.

“She won Grand Champion that first year at the State Fair of Virginia and that kicked it off,” Campbell recalled.

Today, Campbell’s two sons show cattle. Hayden, the oldest, is a senior at Kansas State. Daniel is a junior at Virginia Tech. Campbell himself is a Virginia Tech alum, having been a member of both Block & Bridle and the Tech Livestock Judging Team.

In addition to cattle, Campbell also raises sheep, mostly Dorset x Hampshire. His current flock ram is a registered Dorset, purchased at the Virginia Tech ram sale two years ago. Campbell does have a couple rams at the ram test program at Steeles Tavern.

He also has a number of bulls at the Virginia BCIA bull test station in Culpeper. He sells about 15 bulls a year, some through the test sales and the remainder private treaty.

Deer Creek sells not just breeding stock but also halves and wholes as beef shares and halves and wholes of lamb. A local restaurant sought out the farm for its hamburger, eager to promote the managed grazing aspect of Campbell’s farm practices. He also sells retail cuts at the farmers market in Lovingston.

In addition to farming, Campbell works a public job as senior district field services director for Virginia Farm Bureau. His district includes five counties in central Virginia. In his role, he supports producers of livestock, orchard fruits, row crops, nursery plants, vineyards and more. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Thomas Jefferson Soil & Water Conservation District.

Deer Creek’s cow herd numbers in the low 60s, but Campbell plans to grow that by 20. He also wants to increase his sheep flock.

“With managed grazing we feel confident that we can increase the cow herd and sheep flock,” he said.