The Ridge Dean Jessie lines are known for their ability to calve naturally and are very fertile. Jessie herself produced 129 pedigree calves registered. As a breeder, it is so nice receiving calls from USA and Australia reporting of natural calvings and Ridge Dean progeny making top prices because of the style and power of their calves.

But with careful selection comes some important criteria. I never compromise on muscling ability, but have purposely selected female and male lines with less slope to their plates.

It's all about providing maximum pelvic room for an easy calving, so I look for females with width of pelvis, shape and length of pin to hook bone. The pelvis is the last part of the cows' skeleton to fully mature, taking as long as six years.

Using Limousin and Aberdeen-Angus bulls for the first time on heifers has aided calving ability and helped produce quality show calves. From here I have the right genetics to use on recipient cows and have pedigree cows continuing to naturally calve at 17 years old.

Only the best cows which haven't had calving difficulties are then flushed.

And when it comes to the right bull, I’m never cautious of using a bull with large forequarters. Many breeders believe it's the forequarter that causes calves to get stuck, when in fact it's the stifle joints on the back legs which get caught behind the cow's pelvis causing difficulty. After many years of breeding, I have significantly decreased the size of the stifle bone in the Ridge Dean herd.