Rafter 9 Ranch

10/14/2026

10/12/2026

EPD 1: How to read a bull catalog

Every bull catalog is a wall of numbers. Here’s how to read them in about a minute.

Those numbers are EPDs, expected progeny differences. They predict how a bull’s calves will perform compared to another bull’s calves.

Take R9R Home Town 406. His weaning weight EPD is +81. Put him next to a +61 bull on the same cows and you’d expect his calves to wean about 20 lb heavier on average.

A number means little on its own, so check the percentile. +81 puts him in the top 20% of Angus bulls.

Only compare EPDs within the same breed. And the numbers are one tool. Walk the bull and know what you’re buying.

Registered Angus bulls, private treaty, Fallon, Nevada. Link in bio.

10/08/2026

The Founding Class. Nine registered Angus bulls, born in America’s 250th year and named for it.
That’s Minute Man and Battle Born out on spring grass in May.
Mark’s three picks:
🇺🇸 610 Minute Man, by our own Home Town 406. Top 4% of the breed for low birth weight. He’s the heifer bull.
🇺🇸 604 Battle Born, by Ellingson Prolific. Top 10% ribeye. 850 lb at weaning.
🇺🇸 607 Liberty, by Basin Jameson 1076. Top 25% weaning weight. 825 lb at weaning.
Also in the class: Militia, Patrick Henry, Washington, Freedom, Jefferson, Hamilton.
Selling private treaty off the ranch for 2027. Now taking inquiries.
Link in bio or DM us · rafter9.ag/bulls

10/05/2026

Home. Fallon, Nevada has been home for over 40 years. Over those years we’ve learned a lot, but mostly that God is good.

09/30/2026

Last week it was the heifers. Now the bulls.
That first shot is Battle Born at one week old, back in January. On September 24 he weighed 850 lb.
We weighed the nine registered bull calves on September 24. No grain, no creep feed. Raised on their mothers and stem hay.
• 688 lb average weaning weight, adjusted to 205 days
• 2.8 lb a day, birth to weaning
• Top of the pen: Battle Born 850 lb, Liberty 825 lb, Minute Man 750 lb
This is the Founding Class, selling private treaty off the ranch for 2027.
Link in bio or DM us · rafter9.ag/bulls
Rafter9Ranch

09/28/2026

Improving a cow herd means making some hard decisions.

Recently, we had to let go of a young female we really liked because of reproductive issues. We also culled two established cows… still with plenty of productive years ahead of them…because their feet and legs weren’t holding up the way we expect.

There was a lot we liked about all three. But continuing to improve the Rafter 9 herd means being disciplined about fertility, structure and longevity; even when it means moving on from cattle we’d rather keep.

Breeding better cattle isn’t only about what you add to the herd. It’s also about what you’re willing to take out.

What’s one trait you won’t compromise on in your cow herd?

09/24/2026

Weaning weights are in on the 2026 heifers. The bull calves get weighed in the next few days.

These gals were raised on their mothers and stem hay. No grain, no creep feeding.

Adjusted 205-day average: 715 lb
Birth to weaning: 3.0 lb/day

📈 Top two:

🥇608 R9R Jilt: Boyd Bedrock x KR Jilt 0416. 980 lb actual, 120 ratio, 3.74 lb/day.

🥈606 R9R Burgess: RSA True Balance x R9R Burgess 216. 925 lb actual, 114 ratio

R9R Burgess 216 has now weaned calves at a 100, 113 and 114 ratio over the last three years. Her 2024 son, 412, sired 612 in this same pen, out of a first-calf heifer we raised.

Those numbers leave out 603. She’s one of the prettiest heifers we have, but she got hurt early, lost part of a hoof and hasn’t caught up on the scale. Ranch life.

We will have some bulls for private treaty starting early 2027, plus one lot at a bull sale in February.

📬 DM us to get on our mailing list.
You’ll hear about the bulls first.

09/17/2026

Buying a bull has always been an investment. Today, it’s a much bigger one.

Registered Angus bull prices have more than doubled since 2020. And while we have more data than ever to help make the decision, the fundamentals still matter: structure, feet, disposition, genetics, and the cow behind him.

Know what you’re buying. Know what you’re breeding toward.

Come walk the pen.

09/14/2026

Is the timeline cleanse still a thing?

❤️ this picture.