Uwharrie Ridge Farms History

Welcome to Uwharrie Ridge Farms LLC. We are a seedstock Angus and Charolais ranch nestled in the foothills of North Carolina. The ranch is located in the valley between the Uwharrie Mountains and the Uwharrie River in Southwestern Randolph County. We are a small family operation that consists of myself (Mark Wilburn), my wife (Jessica Wilburn), and our daughter (Mereighan Wilburn). The ranch consists of roughly 300 acres of owned pasture, 300 acres of rented pasture, and approximately 300 acres of crop/hay ground. We currently calve between 200 and 250 females each year and hold a production sale on the first Saturday of December. We pride ourselves in providing seedstock that flourish in any environment and offering top notch customer service to the folks who do business with us. Our customers’ confidence in our product is how we benchmark our success.

We are a first-generation ranch which is rather rare this day and time. That’s right, nothing was inherited or given to me, we had to purchase every single item and inch of ground we have. The ranch started in 2007 with the purchase of 30 acres of open farm ground just seven months shy of my 22nd birthday. The ground at that time was planted in early soybeans at purchase and an agreement was reached to allow the farmer to finish his crop before pasture was created. In the spring of 2008, we purchased two commercial Angus based cows at a special sale at the local stockyard. Boy I was green. So green in fact, I didn’t have a fence built and had to ask a local farmer to keep the cattle in his pen till I could construct a rudimentary 5-acre pasture. To top it all off, when cattle were turned in one of the two ran off the trailer and never broke stride jumping the fence and disappearing into the woods. Two weeks later she was found in a neighboring pasture and stayed there for four months until she could be caught. Needless to say, but not the ideal start. The first two years were full of learning experiences and hardships. We hauled water twice a day over 29 miles each direction. Luckily, we were able to build more fence during that time and were finally able to drill a well and install watering stations on the farm. It was then that I took a long hard look at how to maximize the acreage we had and landed on Angus as our breed of choice.

Upon further examination and building relationships with trustworthy folks we decided to dip our toe in the purebred business. In March of 2010 I attended the Blue Q Ranch production sale and was fortunate to purchase a cow, Whiteston Pride T020, which would become the start of the purebred herd. Through friendships with Mitchel Scheer at Blue Q Ranch and the Yon family in Ridge Spring, SC, we were able to assemble a small base herd of 10 cows. We implemented AI from the very beginning of the journey and have said that it was the best decision we could have made. In 2014 we decided to take the next step and began our journey in embryo transfer. Through diligent research and the best stroke of luck ever, we were afforded the opportunity by the Yon family to purchase Yon Sarah Y79. Little did I know at the time that this cow would change the whole trajectory of my life and afford me the opportunity to live out my dream of being a full-time rancher. People talk about that one cow that leaves a lasting impact and boy was Y79 just that for us. She not only produced top tier offspring, but she propelled our program upward in so many ways. She continues to leave a lasting impact on our program through her daughters and granddaughters and has placed several donor cows in programs throughout our region. She will forever be the Queen of the Uwharries in our mind.

In 2017 we achieved another milestone as URF Homegrown 1619 was purchased by ABS to enter their stud. It was a shock to say the least, but also a very humbling moment. I never thought a small program in North Carolina owned by a first-generation rancher could achieve such a feat. Then in August of 2020 a phone call came from a gentleman I had significant admiration for. Ben Eggers reached out to ask about a bull named URF Alpha G138. Long story short, a deal was reached and G138 headed to Mexico, MO to begin his career as resident herd sire at Sydenstricker Genetics and the Origen Stud. To say this meant the world to me is an understatement. To have a fellow breeder of that caliber who has accomplished so much in the breed take an interest in one of our bulls sent me over the moon. In the fall of 2020 the decision was made to construct a sale barn here at the ranch. As you can imagine, the pandemic made this quite the task. The barn was completed in late 2021, unfortunately not in time for the 2021 sale, but was ready for the 2022 sale and consequently the week before the birth of Jessica’s and myself daughter, Mereighan. The arrival of our daughter has been the greatest blessing of both our lives.

Fast forward to today and we hold an annual production sale the first Saturday in December that consists of nearly 50 bulls as well as purebred and commercial females. Our operation today is nearly 40% embryo transfer with the balance being AI sired calves. We still do utilize cleanup bulls for 35 days each year and those calves generally account for around 10% of our calf crop. We pride ourselves in running cattle in a commercial environment on grass just as our customers do. It is pretty simple here, each cow is an employee, if she doesn’t do her job to our standards, we will find a replacement that will. May seem harsh, but there are no second chances here. We feel it is imperative to the overall efficiency of the operation that the cow breed back on time every time, wean an above average calf, and present no structure or health problems at any time. If the cow breaks the deal at any stage, we will part ways with her.

Our cows are not pampered as we do not have the resources available to do so. Once a cow reaches three years of age she is expected to make it on native fescue pasture with no exception. Our developing cattle are fed a diet that consists of 78% grass and only 20% grain supplementation with the other 2% being mineral supplementation. They are expected to exercise as they as raised in large traps designed to make the cattle travel. We do not believe in developing range cattle in a feed lot. Our breeding philosophy is quite simple. We try to choose sires and utilize donor females that match the environment of most our customers while keeping in mind the industry demands. The bottom line is that our cattle have to go and work in a pretty tough environment and that is a lot to ask of a black hided high-performance animal. We feel that we have achieved a good balance of high maternal ability and growth while keeping carcass traits well within the industry standards. We rarely produce an animal that will rank in the top percentiles of the breed, but we do produce animals that go out and are profitable for their new owners. Our customers’ success is our number one goal.

Be sure to check our sale offering out each December, we feel there is something for most everyone in it. We always welcome visitors and truly cherish the time we spend with friends in this business. Our local area has a lot to offer throughout the year so load up the family and come, spend a long weekend with us and take advantage of what the Uwharries and the surrounding area has to offer.