ROBERTS, Idaho — Justin and MaryAnn Holloway both grew up farming in southeastern Idaho.

MaryAnn’s grandparents had purchased their farm in 1944. It had been homesteaded in the late 1800s.

MaryAnn’s father took over the farm in the 1970s when his parents passed away. He raised dairy heifers and sold them to dairies. Justin grew up near Rigby, Idaho.

“Both our fathers and my mother were schoolteachers and farmed on the side,” Justin said.

Justin’s father also raised dairy heifers, so they both grew up around cattle, but it was dairy cattle,” MaryAnn said.

Both of them were in 4-H with cattle projects.

“We loved cows. I started with beef cows when I was in 4-H,” MaryAnn said. “As a teenager I bought my first cow — a pregnant Hereford cow — and started building a small herd of commercial cattle. When Justin and I got married, he had a couple beef cows and I had a small herd.”

Together they had 15 commercial cows.

Justin was an artificial insemination technician, so they utilized AI. Their farm near Roberts, Idaho, is 16 miles north of Idaho Falls. Justin works at Mountain River Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary technician and reproductive specialist.

MaryAnn had seen some Murray Grey steers in 4-H and really liked them.

“Justin had never heard of them, but I’d kept them in the back of my mind,” she said. “When we got married and I told him about this breed, he said, ‘Let’s find some semen and AI our cows to a Murray Grey.’”

They did, and also bought some Murray Grey cattle and soon had two herds — Angus and Murray Grey.

For many years they had about 120 pairs.

“In recent years we downsized because our kids grew up and left home and they were our best help!” she said. “When you work a full-time job it’s hard to do the ranching, so now we only have 55 pairs — half of which are Murray Grey.”

Justin does cattle hoof trimming and AI for clients in the Upper Snake River Valley area. They also raise Quarter Horses and Australian Shepherd dogs.

They sell seedstock and butcher beef.

The Holloways have a strict set of standards that every animal must pass before it becomes a breeding animal. Any individuals that don’t measure up are sold as butcher beef.

“People really like Murray Grey beef. It is known as the world’s best beef-eating experience,” she said.

The breed wins carcass competitions around the world and is known for natural tenderness and flavor.

These cattle are hardier than Angus and have a calmer disposition.

“They don’t get as excited when you move them, and are very smart,” MaryAnn said. “The cows are protective mothers, but still respect people. If they’ve just calved, they know it’s OK for us to approach and weigh the calf, iodine the navel, etc., but if a dog or predator approaches they aggressively protect their calves.

“Our kids were small when we started building our herd, so disposition was very important to us,” MaryAnn said. “The kids were with us, working the cattle, and our parents were out there, too — and they were elderly. There’s no reason to have a cow or bull you can’t trust.”