C & J Red Angus Ranch is owned and operated by Keith Merritt, DVM, as well as his nephew, Chris Roberts, and ranch manager, David Pipkins. The name of the ranch is honor of Keith’s grandparents, Chester and Jesse. They serve as his inspiration and were the original owners of the farm.

Chester (Pawpaw) had the first registered herd of Charolais cattle in Mississippi when Keith was a kid. He eventfully switched to crossbreeding them with Beefmaster cattle to produce great commercial steers and heifers. Pawpaw was Keith’s inspiration to become a veterinarian, which he has been since 1985.

After Pawpaw passed away the farm was leased out for row crop production until Keith acquired the property in 2018. He wanted to put cattle back on it as his Pawpaw had. Keith researched breed after breed to find docile cattle that would tolerate the heat of Southeast Mississippi until he settled on Red Angus. The herd started with 13 bred registered Red Angus heifers in August 2019 from Little Creek Farm.

Keith was instantly impressed by their docility, their growth, and how they were out grazing when the black Angus cattle across the road were lying in the shade. The herd has grown considerably in the years following thanks to the help of Ryan Ludvigson and Craig Bieber.

The Ranch is a percentage owner of LSF SRR New Balance 1088J, LSF BJR High Voltage 1803J, Bieber Forefront J105, Bieber Franchise J279 and Bieber Rou Deep End 80J.

C & J Red Angus Ranch represents over 100 years of family involvement in the cattle industry. Although we have only been in the seedstock business since 2019, there is a long history of raising cattle the right way.