Tyler Koehn of Bogue Chitto Cattle Company in Macon, Mississippi has been working hard over the years to create exceptional cattle that thrive in the Southeast area of the United States.

“The whole program isn’t based around just selling popular genetics to others… We want our cattle to be able to improve any rancher’s herd,” Tyler said.

Currently, Tyler grazes around 150 head of registered cattle and 300 commercial animals on the same piece of property that his grandfather bought in the 1960s. Bogue Chitto Company uses their commercial cow herd as recips in their embryo program to create the next level of southern Brahman cattle.
Since Bogue Chitto Cattle Company operates in an area that averages 70 inches of rain a year, it is imperative that their cattle have correct feet and legs.

“The ground is soft and there are no rocks to self-trim the hooves, so they must be perfect footed cattle to survive out here,” Tyler said.
Tyler aims to breed powerful animals on the larger side of frame size scale with ample spring of rib so they can take in and process lots of forage.

“We try to keep a happy medium between frame size and overall build of an animal,” Tyler said.

Bogue Chitto Cattle Company focuses on producing cattle that can be sent out to the pasture and not need to be seen every day.

“We aren’t just selling show heifers, we want a cow that will produce a good calf with a moderately low birth weight,” Tyler said.

It is important to him that his cows gain pounds, have good milk production, and produce a solid quality calf on grass. He also has a strict policy where his cows must be able to produce a calf once a year, or they will get culled.

Bogue Chitto Cattle Company has rigorously collected carcass ultrasound data from their Brahman calf crops. These calves were fed out and scanned to help target which bulls and matings worked.

Tyler is apt to note that a producer cannot have tunnel vision when breeding and should not focus on just one characteristic.

“When you are only focused on carcass data, you can sometimes lose sight of phenotypes,” Tyler said. “Good feet,
easy fleshing, udder quality, marbling and carcass traits are the top five things we focus on every day.”

Tyler told a story where he knew of a bull that had an outstanding ribeye area, but his feet were terrible. So, he researched the animals in his pedigree to find out what genetics were used to produce the remarkable ribeye area in this bull.

Bogue Chitto Cattle Company has invested in top quality bulls for their breeding program.

Multiple trait leader and 2006 International Champion (+)JDH KARU MANSO 800 has had a big impact on the Bogue Chitto herd. He has used him extensively in his ET program and has seen how (+)JDH KARU MANSO 800-influenced calves tend to have a better scanning number than others.

“Karu is an outstanding herd sire for us and has helped our program with carcass traits,” Tyler said. “He produces excellent heifers that have perfect feet and udders that are just powerful animals all the way around.”

Another bull that has produced exceptional cattle for Bogue Chitto is the well-known +JDH MR MANSO 840 “The Graduate”. Straight from the J.D. Hudgins show string in Hungerford, this 2014 ABBA National Grand Champion Gray bull caught Tyler’s eye. He believed 840 could take his breeding program to the next level and he has done just that.

“This bull has produced champions and has produced a large amount of simply great cattle,” Tyler said. “Every one of them has the characteristics that we look for.”

Tyler Koehn and his family have enjoyed being involved with the Brahman breed and want to inspire a younger generation of Brahman breeders. They currently offer what they call their “Free Ride Heifer” once a year.

“We sell a heifer to a kid that has never showed Brahman cattle before.” Tyler said. “Then we pay for their show entries and feed, and we give them a straw from one of our bulls whenever they are ready to breed the heifer. It’s supposed to be an all-inclusive package that gets more kids involved with the Brahman breed,” Tyler said.

Tyler knows that livestock projects teach kids valuable life lessons. He feels starting kids down a livestock career will not only help those kids grow into responsible adults, but also help keep agriculture current in the next generation.

“These kids are the future. The farm life in America is slipping away, and we want to give an opportunity to help out possible future breeders because the need for cattle will never disappear,” Tyler said.