She was a truly special person.” Cherry Knoll Farm was a dominant force. Tim recalls his show days with them: “We got on a winning streak. Winning Denver is the hardest thing there is, but once we won, it was like a landslide. There were years where we had both the Champion Heifer and the Champion Bull.” The backstory of Cherry Knoll’s genetics is a testament to the power of the connections made throughout a lifetime in the industry. The foundation of the Cherry Knoll base cowherd tied directly back to a connection Tim made growing up. Living just two hours west of Connealy Angus as a kid, that relationship proved instrumental to the future of Cherry Knoll Farm. “It’s kind of a special deal because a lot of people buy show heifers or embryos to build their herd,” Tim explains. “We were lucky. We went to Connealy Angus out in Whitman, Nebraska. The Connealys are known for selling bulls, but we picked 10 head out of their replacement females three years in a row to build our base cowherd at Cherry Knoll Farm.” A strong connection was the foundation for Tim’s next and current
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venture. When Margaret Duprey started to downsize the cattle side of her farm to focus on horses, an opportunity presented itself for Tim to join forces with Mitch Ferree in Sullivan, Indiana. Mitch had purchased a heifer from Cherry Knoll earlier and was able to watch Tim at the shows. Tim said, “he liked the way I was with families that we sold cattle to and the way we showed with my two boys, Brody and Bryce. He said, ‘I am looking for a cow herd to buy; but I’m also looking for a manager of the cattle and someone to be involved with the kids, Houston and Mercedes Ferree going through the show ring.” Having had the desire to move back further West, Tim loaded up everything from Cherry Knoll in April of 2020 and Ferree Fitzgerald was born. Strong connections were also the foundation for Tim’s next and current venture. When Margaret
Duprey began downsizing the cattle operation at Cherry Knoll to focus on horses, an opportunity arose for Tim to join forces with Mitch Ferree in Sullivan, Indiana. Mitch had previously purchased a heifer from Cherry Knoll and had closely followed Tim at the shows. Tim recalls, “He liked how I interacted with the families we sold cattle to and how I worked with my two boys, Brody and Bryce.” He told me, ‘I’m looking to buy a cow herd, but I’m also looking for a manager who will be actively involved with my kids, Houston and Mercedes, as they go through the show ring.’” Wanting to move back further west, Tim loaded up everything from Cherry Knoll in April 2020, and Ferree Fitzgerald was born. When asked about their current focus, Tim says, “We want to raise a superior product. We are trying to raise a very high-quality animal that is going to make a great cow for these kids.”
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