When Walter Shealy was 14 years old, he and his county extension agent, Ollie Dunkle, paid a fruitful visit to a widow lady in Newberry, SC.  The two were there to see what the chances were that she might lease an enthusiastic, enterprising young man (Walter) her 44-acre farm to house his 4-H project – Angus cattle.  At 16, Walter approached a local banker to apply for a loan to purchase that same tract of land when the family decided it was time to sell.  Even as a youth, Walter always had a plan and a strong work ethic.  He picked up pecans, ran paper routes, and worked odd construction jobs.  He presented the banker with his plan and showed him how much income he could make with his cattle and hay, along with house rent, and with his after-school/summer jobs.  Apparently Ollie and Walter were convincing, and 44 years later, Walter Shealy is still raising Angus cattle on that same tract of land, now known as Black Grove.

Walter’s interest in Angus cattle began with showing Angus heifers in 4-H.  He credits much of his early successes with his projects to his mentor, Dunkle.  He also was an original member of the SC Junior Angus Association.  While his passion has always been Angus cattle, Walter’s family history is a story in itself that might shed some light on how he came to be the successful businessman, community leader, and top-notch cattleman that he is today.

When Walter’s father was 36 years old he had a successful ice cream business in Charleston, SC.  It was then that he became a Christian, went on to college, and then became an inner city minister.  He saw troubled children and youth and thought how much they could benefit from a rural environment.  In 1960, the Shealys sold everything they had and moved to Newberry, SC, to begin the Boys Farm.  Forty-six years later more than 400 boys have benefited simply because this couple saw a need and put into action what most folks wouldn’t have the courage to do.  Today, the Boys Farm (click here for more information) is a growing, non-denominational, privately-funded mission that operates in the black.  Farm animals live on the land and Walter hopes to see more livestock projects initiated at the children’s home.  With some help from the Newberry Cattleman’s Association, of which Walter is a member, the boys have the opportunity to show goats and steers as 4-H projects and earn scholarships for their efforts.

Walter was 11 years old when his family moved to Newberry.  He grew up at Boys Farm, with two roommates and “lots of brothers” over the years, many with whom he has stayed in touch.  Walter credits his resourcefulness to run a cattle farm as a teenager to the values of family, hard work, personal and financial discipline, love and respect for each other and God’s creatures, that were instilled in him and the other children growing up at Boys Farm. Add financial necessity and you have a formula for success.

But Walter’s entrance into the beef cattle world was blessed with good fortune and his first four brood cows produced a total of 13 consecutive heifer calves to result in a nice-sized herd in a fairly short time.  The local Purina dealership noted Walter’s enthusiasm and love of cattle and on their recommendation Walter Shealy was named the Ralston Purina Youth of the Year in 1965.  In addition to his odd jobs and his farm, Walter managed to play three sports in high school.  And quite proficiently it seems, as he was asked to play football at Presbyterian College in Clinton, where he met his future wife, Jean.  While Walter loved football, it took some prodding from family and friends to persuade him that he should go to college.  He leased his beloved cattle to a family friend for five years and ended up landing a part-time job at the very farm his friend managed, conveniently allowing him to keep a close eye on his Angus herd.

Walter completed college and was off to enter the banking business in Atlanta.  After career moves to Los Angeles, CA, and Milwaukee, WI, he settled in Miami, FL, in 1984 where he became president of a $10 billion savings bank and founded his strategic consulting company, WDS Investments, Inc. in 1989.  All the while Walter kept adding acreage to his farm in Newberry, now totaling more than 400 acres, which he visited as frequently as his business would allow.  As an absentee owner, Walter is convinced that his herd developed strong survival skills and hardiness during his time away.  In 1989, Walter and Jean began making plans to make a permanent move to Newberry.  Walter wanted his sons, Dixon and Russell, to grow up understanding their heritage and enjoying the benefits of a rural environment.  In 1994, they returned to live in the very house that was on the original 44-acre tract that Walter bought and rented as a 16-year-old boy.  Today, Walter is President and chief operating officer of ITC Holding Company which still requires him to travel a great deal, but he manages to spend as much time as possible in Newberry surrounded by Angus cattle, his family and their heritage.

Around 70 breeding-age Angus females make up the nucleus of the registered cattle at Black Grove.  Walter has heavily focused on using Embryo Transfer (ET) in his program and has more than 20 donor cows, Walter contracts with several commercial cattlemen to raise his ET Angus calves until weaning.

Walter’s breeding philosophy is short and sweet – “Fundamentals survive fads.”  He selects genetics using multiple-trait selection criteria including phenotype, performance EPDs, carcass data, gene markers technology and longevity analysis.  He looks for cattle with bloodlines from animals that have longevity (a trait not presently measured by the Angus Association).  He believes longevity translates into functionality because logic dictates that cows who live a long time would have been culled if they were not functionally sound.  If a cow did not have good feet, good teeth, good udder, milk well or maintain her fleshing ability, remain productive or fertile she would have to be culled. Walter’s conclusion is if we can breed cattle that function for 12-15 years we will cut our turnover by more than 50%, thereby cutting the expensive capital cost of replacement heifers in half.

To that end, we have been working to develop a new longevity trait selection index which allows us to identify animals that should have a higher probability of living longer. The result is less turnover of productive females (our factories), lower capital investment in replacement heifers, and therefore, higher profitability and improved return on investment. We believe longevity/functionality is one of the most important selection traits for any commercial or registered cow-calf operation.

On our Misc Page, you will find an explanation of the Black Grove Longevity Trait Selection Index. All Black Grove females offered in our future sales will be ranked using a simple one to five star system derived from mathematical formulas which have been reviewed and validated by an actuary.

In addition he also looks for cows that are low maintenance, structurally sound, calve easy, have strong maternal instincts, easy fleshing (energy efficient) and docile.  Cattle with these characteristics have proven to perform well in our Southeastern environment which is dominated by hot, humid summers and fungus-infected fescue grazing in the winter.  Walter said, “Our culling criteria is simple, we don’t reproduce those cattle that don’t work for us in our environment.”

Within the Black Grove herd, one can find some of the most well-known Angus cow families in existence.  In addition, Walter has bred a number of promising young herd sires to go along with SVF Right Time 126G, Black Grove’s Senior Herd Sire, whose dam was the great donor GDAR Forever Lady 163 who lived to be 19 years old.

Since his return to the farm, Black Grove has had three production sales beginning in 2002.  Due to his travel requirements and the graduation of his sons from college the Shealys decided to hold a Mature Cow Dispersal on October 31, 2004.  This sale turned out to be quite an event – setting the all-time record average of $5,057 per lot.  The goodwill from forty-three years of breeding registered Angus cattle translated into more than 400 people attending the sale and cattle being sold into 13 states.  The Black Grove herd is now recognized as one of the most powerful breeding programs in the country.

As outlined in his letter regarding the dispersal, the Shealy family is not going away but instead has adjusted their strategy until Walter can be home again full time.  The strategy calls for rebuilding the herd by outsourcing the raising out of his ET heifers and bulls.  The goal was to have another sale in three years, but the demand for Black Grove genetics has been so strong that the family decided to have another sale on October 29, 2006, with help from two guest consignors.

Today Walter sees the beef business as an exciting playing field with tremendous strides being made in the scientific research arenas.  Feed conversion is a subject that Walter has a great deal of interest in and as a former banker, he is well aware that this arena is the single largest cost component of producing beef.  He hopes to see the American Angus Association join hands with private researchers and universities to tackle this challenge head on, realizing the tremendous impact that identifying cattle with lower feed to gain ratios could have on the beef business.

As for the future, Walter is optimistic that significant improvement in the selection process can be made with advances in information and DNA technology, like GeneStar and the work being performed by Dr. Jerry Taylor's Angus Genome Project at the University of Missouri, which indicates new DNA markers in addition to those already identified for tenderness and marbling will continue to be identified for many new traits including feed conversion and longevity.  Identification of these additional traits through science will make it easier for individuals entering the Angus business to select profitable cattle and compete in the business. 

Today the Angus Association focuses on individual breeder reported contemporary group statistics, its industry-leading database, terminal influence traits, and branded beef marketing programs such as CAB®.  Walter believes the Association must be open and receptive to the new DNA technology which will provide more accurate data with less chance of manipulation.  The DNA will not have the bias towards turning generations which exist in the present software of our Association’s database.  He believes the Association should use either national or regional breed averages as the traits for comparative analysis in place of the individually reported contemporary group. This should greatly reduce some of the extremes being reported. He also wants the Association to focus more on the traits and characteristics of the females of the breed which are the most efficient and productive manufacturing plant in the cattle industry.  In so doing, he is convinced the breed will maximize its potential and continue to be the most logical breed for new young and older entrants into the cattle business.

Speaking of youth, if you don’t find Walter at the farm, you might find him devoting his time to some other worthy endeavors.  He is Chairman of the Board at Boys Farm, Inc., and a director of the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities. He previously served as President of the SC Angus Association, member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the SC Cattleman’s Association, served on the Board of Trustees at Presbyterian College for nine years, coached American Legion baseball for three years, and he is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and is a proud father of two sons, who both recently graduated from college, and a devoted husband to his wife, Jean.