ALTHOUGH OUR HISTORY DATES BACK TO THE GELBVIEH BREED, WE NO LONGER RAISE OR BRED GELBVIEH CATTLE.  The history of the Rocky Top Farm begins in 1989 when we bought three pure bred Gelbvieh heifers and a pure bred bull from Eric Smith of Lazy S Farms in Colorado. He had just relocated to Grandview, Tennessee where his farm is now located. Old Johnston Valley Road in Kingston, Tennessee is where we bred those cattle on a 15 acre farm with 200 leased additional acres. We also had a few commercial heifers, meaning they were a mixture of breeds. We bred up from that stock, and purchased more Gelbvieh females to breed additional cattle to improve the genetics.

 

In 2010, we relocated to a 263-acre farm in Crossville, Tennessee. Through the selection of the best females, we have developed our breeding stock over the last twenty-three years. In 2011, we added a registered Red Angus bull to develop Balancer females. In 2021, we purchased 2 Full Blood South Poll Bulls.  We are breeding them with our Balancer and PB Gelbvieh Females to produce an animal better suited to finish on grass.  By 2026 we have phased out most of the Gelbvieh and will be breeding mostly South Poll-influenced cattle.