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BCV Farms: Two Families United by Friendship and Limousin Cattle

Published October 17, 2024

BCV Farms is a joint partnership between two long-time friends, Ben Petre and Caleb Miller in Somerset, Ohio. Together, Ben and Caleb operate a purebred Limousin and Lim-Flex cow herd that spans across 400 acres in a small rural community an hour east of Columbus in Perry County. 

Ben and his family moved to the Somerset area in 2001 and since then, Caleb and he have been friends and business partners. The Petre family consists of Ben and his wife, Josephine, along with their five children, Sophia, Kayla, Evan, Sawyer and Elle. Ben grew up on a dairy farm in Tennessee and in November of 2001 moved to Ohio. “I was very familiar with cattle and I enjoyed them, so that is the reason I took an interest in the veal industry,” Ben explained. 

The Miller family includes Caleb Miller and his wife, Dorcas, their twin sons, Carter and Colton, and their youngest son Cayson.

In addition to their partnership of BCV Farms, Caleb and Ben both have other pursuits. Ben owns Petre Enterprises, a general construction contractor that is 80% residential and 20% commercial. Caleb is the Vice President of MQS Structures, a custom pole barn and post frame building business. 

The partnership of BCV Farms began in 2003 when Ben and Caleb built a barn together to raise veal. The letters in BCV stand for Ben and Caleb Veal. In 2015, they sold the barn and sold out of the veal business to explore the purebred cow-calf side of the cattle business. “When the veal industry tanked, Caleb and I looked for an alternative way to stay in the cattle business and our love for the Limousin breed led us to where we are today,” Ben remarked.

Today, Ben and Caleb have grown their Limousin cow herd to 120 Limousin females where they calve out 100 cows and approximately 20 heifers each year. BCV Farms makes 90% of their own hay and they lease land to grow corn and soybeans. They utilize the corn they grow to feed the cattle.  

The history of Limousin cattle at BCV Farms dates back to 1989 when Caleb Miller’s late father, John, purchased 15 Limousin cows and a Limousin bull in Missouri. John had seen Limousin cattle in Kentucky and appreciated their thickness and muscling compared to the Angus of the day. That’s when Limousin cattle first arrived in Somerset, Ohio.

Throughout the years, John always made sure to have a Limousin bull on hand for his Limousin-based cow herd  as well as his commercial cow herd.

In 2015, BCV Farms transitioned to all registered Limousin cattle. At the time, Ben had a handful of registered Limousin cattle of his own and Caleb needed a new Limousin bull for his cow herd. It had always been a desire of Ben’s to purchase a bull from Wulf Cattle at their sale in Minnesota. 

Together Ben and Caleb drove their truck and trailer from Ohio to Minnesota with the goal of purchasing a Limousin bull at Wulf Cattle’s 2015 Opportunity Sale. Ben and Caleb purchased two bulls from that sale, one for a connection of theirs in Tennessee, and one for their venture together. Later that summer, Ben and Caleb purchased a third bull from Wulf Cattle.

In 2016, they purchased Wulfs Cartwheel 5209C, who later became BCV Farms’ leading donor female. At that point, Ben and Caleb knew about the cooperator program Wulf Cattle offered. Ben had asked Casey Fanta if they could send a handful of bulls out to Wulfs, Casey agreed and the following year, in the fall of 2017, BCV Farms sent their first group of bulls to Wulf Cattle. 

In the same year (2017), BCV Farms purchased Wulfs Conversion 3970C from Wulf Cattle. “Wulfs Cartwheel 5209C and Wulfs Conversion 3970C were our two, big name individuals at the time for our program. We still use eggs from Cartwheel today, she’s still alive and producing—she is visually the most impressive cow on the farm yet today,” Ben explained. 

The donor that truly put BCV Farms on the path to success was COLE Miss Xrated 354A, the dam of COLE Cadillac 05C, COLE Genesis 86G and COLE Homerun 51H. Ben and Caleb purchased flush rights on COLE Miss Xrated 354A from Coleman Limousin Ranch at their fall female sale. 

The next January, Coleman’s took a pen of three purebred bulls to Denver and won the 2020 National Western Stock Show Grand Champion Limousin Pen of Three Bulls. The lead bull was COLE Genesis 86G and that win was what catapulted COLE Miss Xrated 354A’s notoriety as a donor female. 

Wulfs Genius 5293A is currently in production at BCV Farms and has outsold their Wulfs Conversion 3970C bull on semen sales. “He’s our biggest name bull and he’s been very popular,” Ben remarked. BCV Farms also acquired Wulfs Envision G012K last year to add to their herd. 

Another bull that helped put BCV Farms on the map is Wulfs Joint Venture G579J. He was raised by BCV Farms and went out to Wulfs. He then went on to win the 2023 Black Hills Stock Show Supreme Champion Bull Over All Breeds. He was also the Reserve Champion Limousin Bull at the 2023 National Western Stock Show. 

This past spring, BCV Farms held their Inaugural Online Bull Sale with Limousin365 and offered 14 of their top bulls. “The most valuable thing from the sale has been getting our name out there and people continuing to call us even a month after the sale and throughout the spring in need of a Limousin bull,” Ben explained. 

From Ben’s perspective, the honesty and transparency BCV Farms has with their customers is what sets them apart. “We strive to produce the kind of bull we would be comfortable turning out in our own herd to breed cows. We always take care of our customers if they have a complaint and find a way to correct it so they’re satisfied. We also try to be at the forefront of the breed, use the most progressive genetics available, as well as not get too far away from the tried and true and proven,” Ben explained. 

“Our goals right now are to grow our online bull sale and our customer base in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia,” Ben said. “We want to produce the kind of bull that the customer wants.”

Ben and Caleb have several generations of individuals that have guided them throughout the years of partnership owning and operating BCV Farms. 

The late John Miller, Caleb’s father, “was very influential and helpful for us from the beginning,” Ben said. “Casey Fanta has always been very straightforward with me and supportive of BCV. 

“Ben and Caleb have always been great to work with,” says Casey Fanta of Wulf Cattle. “My relationship began with them sourcing females and key herd sires to grow their herd. It then developed into them being satellite bull providers for Wulf Cattle for several years with them providing very marketable seedstock. They have since developed their own marketing plan and I would encourage buyers to take advantage of the quality genetics they have available. They have always selected popular pedigreed genetics with exceptional performance and EPD profiles and strive to create the same in their own program.”

Ben continued, “I bounce ideas off Trent Coleman a lot when it comes to asking about what he sees and utilizes in his program. I’ve knocked heads with Josh VanHorn more than anybody, but I’ve also learned a lot from him over the years. Kiley McKinna always provides support with advice for our business and marketing strategy.” 

Kiley McKinna of MC Marketing Mangement said, “The principals at BCV have a progressive breeding approach, centered around problem-free cattle that perform. It’s that “Industry First” mentality, along with their dedication to customer care, that keeps their program at the forefront of the industry.”

Trent Coleman of Coleman Limousin Ranch in Charlo, Montana said, “we have always enjoyed working with Ben Petre of BCV Farms in Ohio. Ben and Caleb have bought donor cows, bred heifers, embryos and bulls from us. They buy cattle for their program that are structurally sound and have great EPDs. The bulls in their online bull sale reflected the quality of their program.”

“If we as breeders continue to work with and grow our customer bases, the future should be great for Limousin cattle. The Limousin breed gives commercial cattlemen an excellent breed to use with their Angus-based cattle. If we address some of the issues with scrotal size and continue to look at sires that will increase marbling, we can stay competitive in the future to keep the Limousin breed relevant,” Ben said.

ABOUT

Limousin cattle deliver to your bottom line. With superior genetics, a simple crossbreeding plan and state-of-the-art selection tools, the Limousin breed will serve profit-minded cow/calf producers. In today’s competitive markets, taking advantage of all available opportunities is key. The Limousin breed offers a variety of options from Fullblood to Purebred to the Lim-Flex® hybrid (Limousin x Angus cross) to match your program’s needs and market goals. Crossbreeding for the right blend of muscle, maternal ability and profit is easy with Limousin seedstock.