Here it is from where I decided to begin the saga. I was raised in town and always dreamed of raising my children in the country. My wife, Retha, and I, bought some land and moved to the farm when our older daughter, Mandy was one. When she turned nine and entered the 4 -H Program, she wanted to show a pig. That went on for three years when our younger daughter followed suit. By this time we were just beginning to realize how little we new as to how to play the game. Missy, our younger of the two, decided she wanted to show a heifer. I had been running 5 to 10 steers through the summer months and much preferred the cattle over the hogs. I told the girls that we needed to get some cows and try to raise our own show calves. We went to every show we could find within reason and just watched. I would visit with the winners and their parents, ag teachers, 4-H leaders, etc. I studied the cattle jockies at work and tried to squeeze information from them.
	We all agreed that the Maine-Anjou calves were the 'prettiest', so that was our breed. There were two Maine breeders listed in Oklahoma at that time. One was Ferris Ranch. I knew Glen Ferris just through some business deals, so I called him about some possible show heifers to keep for cows. He explained to me the single most important thing I have ever learned about show cattle. He said," it's all about the cows. Great cows can be purchased for a fraction of the value of an equivalent show heifer". He sold me a bred heifer in 1990 for $3000. That cow was the first Strutt daughter ever exhibited. I bought a close match to her from Glen Elliott and stole her for only $2000. Both cows had heifer calves and we were off and running.
We had been to only two shows when Glen Ferris convinced me to load up the family and head to Kearney, Nebraska to the 1991 National Junior Maine-Anjou Show. Glen told me "the best place to learn it right is running with the Big Boys". He was right again. The heifers placed 11th & 12th out of twelve, but we were hooked. The events and the relationships were incredible. Our family has since planned our vacation each year to be the Jr. Nat'l Show. We completed our “Show Life” in 2000 at the National Junior Show at Enid, OK. Missy was attending classes at ECU that summer and tried to drive back and forth all week. That didn’t work out too well, so her last show was not the best, but our Oklahoma contingent did an incredible job of hosting this great event. Retha and I have since been to the 2001 and 2002 shows, but have missed the last two. Having top quality cows is definitely the #1 priority to this city boy’s philosophy. I believe that being as involved as possible in a breed association is #2. Our girls have developed life-long friendships with their peers from all parts of the U.S. God has blessed our family endeavor immensely with the calves we’ve raised to show.
	An ag illiterate like myself certainly can't take the credit. In 1996, at Wichita, KS there were five division winners in the Bred & Owned Grand drive. The Asklund girls owned three of them. In 1998, at South Dakota, Missy had two calves she had bred in the Grand Drive & the Bred & Owned. Not only were they the only heifers not purchased, they were also the only two not touched by a professional fitter. She walked away with the Res. National Champion and Grand Champion Bred & Owned, beating over $100,000 worth of heifers in the Grand Drive alone. We have taken great pride in the fact that our show operation is our own; not hired to the highest dollar.
Our family and our record provides living proof that you can not only make this ‘Show Business’ work, but also that it can be done on a budget. The cow herd now stands at seven, plus four bred heifers, and some calves. We raised a Simmental Meyer 734 son, Genesis who has proven to be a truly amazing bull, by the calves he has sired out of our Maine cows. Our cows have produced the progeny to boast as some of the best in the USA. Now here’s what has taken place in the last few years: Retha and I are now Empty Nesters, and she has moved me off the farm and into town. I still get to visit my cows every day and continue to raise fantastic Show Calves. Both girls received their degrees in Computer Science from East Central University, got married and moved to Arkansas.

Thanks to our wonderful kids, the family is growing.  Mandy & Clint Bean have a beautiful daughter, Ainsley and a handsom son, Grady.  Missy & Gary Schubert have two adorable daughters, Hailey and Chelsey.  Our lives are so richly blessed with our beautiful Grandchildren.  They are so much more fun than their parents.

The Summer of 2007 produced a HUGE change at Asklund Acres. We sold the herd, and shipped them to Venus, TX. Please welcome our "Partners", Clint, Kelly, Henry & Georgia Blackwell. Look out Texas. The Blackwell kids are going to be bringing the HEAT!

If you have not already done so, you should contact the AMAA and get the new directory. There will be at least a few Maine breeders in your area, no matter were you live. Good Luck. Buy Great Cows. Get involved with an Association, even if it’s not Maine-Anjou. Have fun!!!! Let God do the Work.

Give me a call anytime you have any questions. Home phone is: 580-332-6292. I love to see families get started in something they can do together. It's just way life was intended to be.