On a sweltering June day, 10-year-old Audrey Bennett was busy in Knoll Crest Farm’s air-conditioned office. She answered phones and ran errands and would later help move rocks.

“She’s our intern,” kidded her 26-year-old cousin, Dalton Bennett, who is the youngest partner in the Campbell County family farm. He works with his dad, Jim Bennett; uncles Brian and Paul Bennett; and his grandfather, James Bennett. James’ father, Paul D. Bennett, started the farm in 1929. It was primarily a tobacco farm, but cattle were always present, Brian Bennett explained.

The farm became a seedstock operation in 1944 when the first polled Hereford bull was purchased. Seedstock are cattle typically registered with a breed association and considered genetic suppliers for other herds.

“That started our purebred beef cattle business,” Brian noted. In the early ’80s, the family bought Gelbvieh cattle—the first of that breed located east of the Mississippi River. In the early ’90s they added Angus cattle. Today they sell about 400 performance bulls through direct sales and two annual auctions at which Dalton serves as auctioneer.

“When the auctions are going on, all the cousins are around to help out,” Dalton noted. 

Brian said he considers it a blessing that so many family members are involved in the business. And he said family cooperation has helped with the farm’s success.

“The average life of a purebred cattle breeder (business) is seven years, and we’ve been doing it since 1944.”

The lion’s share of Knoll Crest bulls are sold locally, but the animals also have been shipped to 22 states and Canada.

“Our job is to make good commercial bulls for this area,” Dalton Bennett explained. “We hope each calf crop is better than the one before because of the breeding genetics.”