For the second straight year, G. Patrick White is donating one of his bulls to be auctioned for breeding. Last year, White’s bull fetched $2,600. The proceeds were distributed among four missionaries. “We hope to do better than that this year,” he says.
White raises an all-breeding stock of Charolais cattle, which came from France in the 1930s. The bulls are known for strong muscles, for being lean and considered by many more healthy than other beef choices, and for growing at a faster rate than many other breeds in the United States, such as Angus and Hereford.
White, 60, did not grow up farming cattle, but always loved the animals, he says. He began raising cattle in the early 1970s. He has maintained a herd of roughly a dozen animals since moving to Michigan nearly 20 years ago.
Prior to last year, White purchased semen from a bull that had died 12 years earlier to inseminate his cows. That led to the birth of four bulls and three heifers nine months later.
When the calves are weaned, they are taken to a feedlot to fatten. Over the next several months, the Michigan Cattlemen’s Association and Michigan State University test and evaluate the bulls based on numerous criteria, including the ratio of weight gain to food eaten, temperament, and the animal’s ability to reproduce.
White’s bull this year weighed 975 pounds when it was weaned at seven months. Less than a month later it had grown to 1,075 pounds. Now at nine and a half months, the bull has reached 1,270 pounds. “That’s excellent,” White says. “There are a lot of bulls that will never pull that (weight) at a year.” The pastor/farmer adds, “This is probably the best bull I’ve ever had.”
Of the 115 bulls that are submitted for evaluation, the top 60 are chosen to be sold at public auction and are used for breeding, White says. Breeders come from across the state, as well as out-of-state and Canada. The rest of the animals are processed for the meat.
White enjoys hearing the bull announced at the auction. “It’s always a delight to hear them say the bull is owned by Christ Community Church,” he says. “We’re the only church that does this.” The pastor also delights in having the smallest herd from which cattle are drawn for the auction.
The animals graze on White’s pasture and other land around the church. Parishioners can watch the animals from the church. “It’s really a pretty sight,” White says.
White hopes Covenanters in other parts of the country will bid on the animal when it is auctioned next year. “We would even deliver it, just for the uniqueness of it,” White says.
Christ Community also demonstrates its love for farmers around the world through its special Christmas offering that is given through Heifer International. The organization enables people to purchase an animal or “a share” of an animal to be used by impoverished farmers overseas.
The organization allows people to pick the country to which they would like the animals sent. Several years ago, a group from Christ Community traveled to Vietnam and was able to visit the farms where pigs they had purchased were delivered. “It was a great experience,” White says.
Visit the Heifer website for more information about its work. For more information about White’s project or bidding on the bull, call the church office at 269-673-2329.
