Early Mornings, Late Nights and Creativity — Galen and Lori Fink Join The Angus Conversation

In 1977 newlyweds Galen and Lori Fink had two full-time, low-paying jobs. Their only pasture ground was literally their back yard, and yet, they started a seedstock Angus business.

“We never did our own thing first. We always did our own thing last, and it was some very, very, very early mornings and some very, very, very late nights,” says Galen Fink.

He and Lori recently joined The Angus Conversation to talk about building the herd from scratch.

Near Manhattan, Kan., they grew Fink Beef Genetics on leased ground and with rented space in commercial cows, pioneering the embryo transfer (ET) model many use today.

In 1990 they took a leap of faith and left their day jobs to put all their effort into the program that was creating cattle that worked for a growing base of commercial customers.

“I was scared to death — I don't know about Galen. But you come to a point where we’ve got to do this. It’s now or never,” Lori said. They’d just had their daughter Megan, and the time felt right. “We had to come up with our own identity.”

All along they’ve chosen to invest in their cows first; land came later, and still today they own very little equipment.

“I think that’s important in today’s world, that you do things maybe not the way everybody else has always done them,” Galen says.

To learn about their innovative programs, how they take care of customer and their advice for other beginning breeders, listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts or by following this direct link: https://www.angusjournal.net/episodes/episode/7b6bb757/starting-from-scratch-the-fink-beef-genetics-story