Backed by a Broad Base
A southern family raises seedstock for commercial producers and balances a highly diversified operation.
by Lilly Platts
Simmental and Red Angus seedstock, burley tobacco, purebred hogs, and a variety of crops make up Bart and Sarah Jones’ Red Hill Farms. Their 500-head seedstock operation supplies bulls to commercial producers through two annual sales. The majority of the genetics come from within, enforcing their philosophy that it takes both data and knowledge of how each female performed over her lifetime to better predict progeny success.
Bart’s great-great-great grandmother purchased the original farm in the late 1860’s, and the family also owns Sarah’s home place in Monroe County, Kentucky, making it a seventh generation family operation. Despite this long history, the cattle enterprise is relatively young. Bart’s father, Gordon, held a 40-year professorship at Western Kentucky University, and the family lived in town. Bart was still highly involved in agriculture, participating in 4-H and agricultural activities. After graduating from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Animal Science and minor in Agricultural Economics, Bart chose to move to the family farm, based in the rolling green hills outside Lafayette, Tennessee, where his grandfather was raising purebred Duroc hogs.
Photo left: Barty, Ty, and Sarah Jones. Photo right:
