HAVERHILL — Early mornings, late nights, manual labor and economic uncertainties come with the territory when you’re a farmer. But the passion for the work is what has kept Mark Ohrt raising Hereford cattle since 1974. He was recently inducted into the Iowa Hereford Breeders Association Hall of Fame, an organization he’s been part of since he bought his first cow.

“Mark is a very humble man, and we’d love for him to receive some of the recognition that he deserves,” IHBA Administrative Secretary Marilyn Lenth said.

Mark and wife Bonnie reside on a 56-acre farm in rural Marshall County — between Laurel and Haverhill — raising horses, chickens, alpacas and Polled Hereford cattle. Semi-retired, Mark is on winter layoff from a local concrete plant and is also helping son Wes work on his house. In the middle of calving season, Mark says an outdoor camera makes it a bit easier to monitor the mothers-to-be. Mornings on the farm begin around 3:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. with a plethora of chores to do.

He currently has 13 Polled Hereford cattle — a breed he’s admired for decades.

“I run enough cattle to grow my own hay, and I have room for the wintertime to keep them…My grandpa started in 1926. His oldest son, my uncle Marvin, when he worked for grandpa, got paid in cattle. When my grandpa passed away, in 1949-1950, my uncle took over. He always had cattle. When we got old enough to be in 4-H we wanted to show so we bought heifers from him to start with.”

Marvin was a noted Iowa Hereford Hall of Famer. Mark’s brother Merlin Ohrt also purchased a calf from their uncle Marvin, which initiated the boys into the show ring that summer at a SOP (Standard of Perfection) Polled Hereford show at the Iowa State Fair.

“I was a first place winner on my first heifer. That kind of helped hook me a little bit,” he said.

Mark and Merlin would buy heifer calves every year, primarily at the Hawkeye Polled Hereford Sale in Cedar Rapids, from McFarlands, Dittmers, Krugs and Downey Lane Farms.

Mark grew up northwest of Marshalltown on Sand Road, with his family raising cattle and horses. He started milking cows when he was in kindergarten, noting his folks sold the milk in town. He graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1977 then spent two years at Hawkeye Tech studying animal science. At the time, he wasn’t sure if he’d end up working on someone else’s farm or starting his own. After school, he took a temporary job at the Iowa Veterans Home working in maintenance. He met Bonnie, got married, and moved to the Haverhill area with his young family.

“I’m very proud of him receiving this award. And thank God that He’s enabled us the ability, and good health to keep raising these cattle that he loves. I’ve enjoyed working with him these past 40 plus years and wouldn’t dream of any other life,” Bonnie said.

Becky Simpson, IHBA newsletter editor, said Mark is well known and respected in the Hereford world.

“Mark is always willing to help with whatever needs to be done and is a great ambassador for the breed and IHBA. While he doesn’t do it for the recognition, the Iowa Hereford Breeders Association is honored to recognize Mark Ohrt as the newest member of the IHBA Hall of Fame,” she said.

Simpson added that Mark has served many terms on the boards of both the Iowa Polled Hereford and Iowa Hereford Breeders Associations.

“He was one of six ‘polled’ members elected by the IPHA to serve on the first board of the IHBA when the horned and polled associations merged in 1999. He was one of two IHBA representatives to the Iowa Beef Breeds Council during the association’s first three years and volunteered for numerous committees, including show & sale and scholarship. What he enjoyed most, he says, was working on the tours and Hall of Fame nominations, because that gave him the opportunity to meet and talk with a lot of breeder members,” she noted.

Polled Hereford is bred to be naturally hornless.

“You don’t have to worry about running them through a cattle chute or anything as far as the horns getting in the way, and they got a mellower attitude,” Mark said. “They’re real good crossbred. It’s called hybrid vigor. When you cross a Hereford with blacks, you get a hybrid vigor, and they just do a little better.”

Today, he continues to help out at the Iowa State Fair, taking records and placings and keeping the ribbons straight for presenters to hand out.

Mark has witnessed changes in the cattle industry. He said he’s pleased to see registrations and memberships going up after a slump.

“But as a whole, the cattle business is shrinking,” he said. “Almost every farmer used to have a herd of cattle and hogs, and now a lot of them are grain only. Financial is part of it, but the other part is maintenance. But with the big grain farmers, they don’t have time to work with the animals. This is my opinion.”

His family includes daughter Casey and son-in-law Joel Faircloth, their children Cooper and Peyton, plus son Wes and wife Amber, and their daughter Riley. Mark plans to continue to raise cattle.

“Wes and his wife have owned some cows that we run up here together,” Mark said. “My daughter-in-law is interested in showing at the state fair this year. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve shown there, but we’re going to take a couple of heifers.”

The Ohrts also sell bulls private treaty.