Registered Hereford cattle are a family tradition for Jim, Fred and Wayne Helbling. The horned red and white stock has grazed their pastures southwest of Mandan, North Dakota for 75 years. Their grandfather, Peter V. Helbling, recognized the benefits of the Hereford breed and began the family seed stock business in the 1930s. Their father Matt and his wife Christine started their own operation in 1945. Today the family partnership owns and manages a 400-head Line 1-based herd.

Helbling Herefords began using CRYSTALYX^® products more than twenty years ago during drought conditions. Supplementation helped to support grass conditions and maintain herd health. At the time 12% CRYSTALYX^® was available, and later 20% was introduced. Now CRYSTALYX^® BGF 30™ is the standard, and has been well received because of less consumption at a lower cost per head to gain the same results.

"We generally use CRYSTALYX^® to supplement late summer and fall grazing," Fred Helbling said. "An added bonus is grass management and herd health." Customer service representative Jim Roshau suggested using CRYSTALYX^® for grass rotation as well as late summer grazing. That has meant that the Helblings have been able to move cows to less traveled area of their units.

"When using CRYSTALYX^® we have noticed less pulls or treats on both yearlings and cow/calf pairs," Fred said. "The key is consumption; CRYSTALYX^® is easy to manage and has a great fit for grass rotation. The cattle always find the barrels."

"We would not hesitate to recommend CRYSTALYX^® to any cattlemen. We intend on using CRYSTALYX^® for years to come. The staff is a pleasure to work with. Customer service and product knowledge are second to none."

Helbling Herefords was asked to participate in a new product demonstration for the CRYSTALYX^® BioBarrel^®. They placed four BioBarrels^® containing BGF 30™ in a 35 head cow/calf unit in the fall of 2006.

"The barrels were not placed in a common area as we wanted to move the cattle like we had all summer to different location to help utilize the grass," Fred said. "The cows readily found the barrels at the new locations."

After 22 days the product was all but gone. The consumption for the period was measured at one pound per cow/calf pair.

"We like the BioBarrels^® for pasture use for several reasons," Fred said. "They're "cowboy friendly," there are no empties to pick up, we are getting the same quality product and the same results, and it's environmentally safe."