Hilltop Farms “Home of the White Face”

Polled Hereford cattle came to our farm in the 1930s when John McCallum introduced Hereford bulls to breed dairy cows . Later, in 1939 John purchased the first registered females from herds in the midwest such as T.E. Whitfield, Ralph Painter & Sons, and Wilson Brothers. John’s son James McCallum took an early interest in the Hereford breed, purchasing his first registered polled heifers in 1941 at the age of 14. In the following years, they would take this “seed” herd and adapt it to the Southeast environment, a testament to the resiliency of the breed. In the early 1950s, John and James consolidated their herds under the AHA breeder name of J.W. McCallum. James’ son Jimmy came alongside his father and together they continued introducing top genetics to the herd through the 70s and 80s. During this booming time for the Hereford breed, and the cattle industry in general, the father-son duo hosted their first production sale in 1981. In the mid 1990s due to increased interest in Angus genetics they began crossing Angus bulls to produce one of the most sought after crossbred animals, the “black baldie”. Today Jimmy and his son Jason manage the cattle operation. Hilltop Farms is a Gold TPR breeder committed to the performance program that the AHA sponsors. We also incorporate genomic testing on replacements to add accuracy to the performance data we collect. Today’s breeders must incorporate both qualitative and quantitative selection to remain competitive, and we believe that with this combination we can propel the Hereford breed and the cattle industry to greater production, efficiency, and sustainability.