Daryl and Roxy Miller

Roxy Miller

Ranch History

The Broken Bar M brand was officially registered in 1970 shortly after the marriage of Daryl and the late, honored Roxy Miller. At that time, their long-term goal was to move to the Flint Hills to raise cattle. Until that move was possible, they remained in central Kansas as farmers and small-business owners and began putting the pieces of the ranch together.

One of those pieces was their base herd of cattle. They began with a modest herd of registered Hereford cattle that was originally put together by Daryl's parents in the 1940s. Daryl and Roxy's marriage in 1970 marked the beginning of three decades of experimentation with different cattle breeds, colors, sizes and university, industry, and breed recommendations. At different times in the early years, you could see Hereford, Charlaois, Angus, Longhorn, and everything in between in the pastures.

They were striving to build a herd that bears all of the necessary qualities to consistently put an excellent steak on the plate and still remain an easy-keeping herd whose care does not detract from the bottom line. The goal was to satisfy all elements of the marketplace with one product, one herd, one purposely-enhanced breed.

Their experimentation was naturally accompanied by the usual successes, failures, embarrassments, lulls, and triumphs, but it finally arrived at what you see now on the Broken Bar M Ranch in our commercial herd. But don't worry, we're not stopping there.

Another piece that Daryl and Roxy added to the ranch-building puzzle in the 1970s was us, their children, Jarrod and Jessie. They also added our sister, Leona, through adoption in the late 70s, but unlike us, Leona is not interested in cattle or horses and currently pursues goals off the ranch.

Our attraction to cattle and horses surely comes from our family history. Jarrod, the cattle manager, gets his interest in cattle and ranching from his father, his father's father, and his father before him. Jessie, who raises and trains the horses, learned these skills from her mother, who learned from her maternal grandfather, who learned on the prairie and in the fields.

We are now putting together our own pieces of the ranch and building toward the future using the foundation hard won by our parents, uncle, and grandparents. We're adding technology through AI, DNA testing, sonograms, and Websites, as well as new crossbreeding techniques and ideas to further enhance the goals of our parents.

We've also added our own invaluable partners to this endeavor and are slowly adding our own children, who one day may find this lifestyle as challenging and rewarding as we do.

We are a work in progress, but we know where we come from, and we are confident in where we're going.

Link to:  The Ranch Family

Contact  |  Broken Bar M Ranch  |  1668 Road 11, Howard, Kansas  |  67349  |  620-374-2078