About Us

Farm History

Mt. Hope Farm and the surrounding hills of western Pennsylvania have a long and interesting history. Prior to European settlers, the area was the home and hunting grounds for Native Americans for about 19,000 years. The Meadowcroft Rock Shelter, located a few miles from Mt. Hope Farm, is believed to be the oldest site of human habitation in North America. In the 1700s the area was claimed by the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania. In addition, the French had several trading posts, the most notable being Fort Duquesne, now the city of Pittsburgh. The French and Indian War ended their claim to the area. The first settlement land grants were issued in the mid 1700s by Virginia. In 1786, Virginia surrendered all claims, and the area officially became a part of Pennsylvania.

Mt. Hope Farm is named after a Presbyterian church and cemetery that was founded in 1803 on four acres that had been transferred from our farm. The church was named “Mt. Hope Presbyterian Church.” Only the cemetery remains. The inscriptions on the grave markers show that the early settlers not only came from the colonies, but from Ireland, Scotland, England, and Germany, and several served in the Revolutionary War or Civil War.

The tract of land, that we now call Mt. Hope Farm, was first deeded to the Revolutionary War veteran John Lawrence, whose son deeded over to the Grimes family. Our home was built in the 1870s by Thomas Grimes, a grandson of William Grimes, who immigrated from Ireland. One article, dated 1893, states that he (William) “came to this county (Washington) before the Indians had abandoned this area as their hunting grounds.” In 1954, a great grandson, John Lemon Grimes, sold the farm to Roy and Gertrude Buck, and we became its owners and caretakers in 1990. Since then, it has evolved from a small cow/calf herd, to Registered Angus, and presently a small select herd of Angus Donor cows.

Our Donor/Lease Program

Our program is designed to be a source for elite production-oriented embryos that cow/calf producers can use as a basis for herd improvement programs. Our customers realize their continued success depends upon having calving-ease cows that consistently wean above average calves that also possess the carcass traits needed to produce the type of quality meat demanded by today’s consumer. Further, not all calf markets have the same requirements as to weight, carcass traits, etc. By the careful selection of sire/donor matings, we can, to a degree, produce a cow that will wean a calf with traits that meet the demand of a specific market. The use of female-sexed embryos as a basis for an ongoing herd improvement program is the most efficient means to achieve this goal. Even the best conventional AI program could take 3 or more generations to accomplish what embryos can do in one.

How We Select Our Matings

We spend a great deal of time and effort researching the breeding programs of farms and ranches that have cows with pedigrees similar to ours, especially operations such as Express and Gardner. Then, using this data, we search for sires that complement and/or add to each donor’s genetic makeup. We only select proven sires. That is, sires that have produced a sufficient number of progeny to warrant a high accuracy (ACC) rating. The higher the ACC number the better the chances they can actually produce what their EPDs reflect. In addition, all sires selected must be DNA tested and have genomic-enhanced EPDs, which further increases the EPD accuracy rating. Finally, all matings must reflect that their progeny will exceed the CAB requirements.

How to Utilize Our Program

We provide two alternatives for the cow/calf operation to produce high-quality replacement heifers:

1. Purchase female-sexed, IVF-produced embryos from matings we design. Contact us for a list of embryos available.
2. Lease one or more of our donors, select the sire of your choice. All the embryos will be yours. This program offers you access to quality donors without the expense of purchasing and maintaining them. We guarantee 3 quality embryos per flush. Contact us for details.