By Cheryl Kepes
Photos courtesy McWilliams family
Hilltop Farms incorporates a variety of agricultural endeavors into its operation to ensure sustainability.

Elmer McWilliams leads a life accustomed to the ebbs and flows of production agriculture. A farmer to the core, Elmer owns and operates Hilltop Farms in Asbury, Missouri. The family-run operation produces seedstock Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle, row crops, and hay. Even though his farm to-do list consistently remains woefully long, Elmer finds time to drive a school bus each day, safely delivering kids to and from school.
Elmer’s oldest son, Brad, works full time at Hilltop Farms. Elmer and Brad collaborate daily to keep the diversified operation running smoothly. Elmer’s youngest son, Benny, who works as an ag teacher in Carl Junction, Missouri, focuses on developing Hilltop Farms’ show string.

Hilltop’s Beginnings
The McWilliams family manages the farming operation established in 1960 by Elmer’s parents, Warren and Geraldine McWilliams. Since its origin, Hilltop Farms has operated as a family-run business focused on row cropping corn, soybeans, and soft wheat. Hilltop Farms is one of the few Missouri farms that continues to harvest and bale native prairie grass hay.
Though part of Hilltop Farms’ operation always included cattle, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle became an integral part of the business. It started after Elmer’s father-in-law gave him a Gelbvieh bull to utilize on part of the cow herd. The progeny from that Gelbvieh bull convinced Elmer to incorporate registered Gelbviehs into the operation.
“I dove in headfirst and started to buy some registered Gelbviehs and built my herd since then,” Elmer McWilliams explained. The registered Gelbvieh segment of the business took off in no time. The family currently manages 300 head of Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle.
In addition to their registered cattle program, the McWilliams run approximately 200 head of commercial cattle. Some of the commercial cattle serve as recipients for Hilltop Farms’ ET program.

Genetic Diversity
The McWilliams AI all their heifers and when time allows, they AI second-calf cows. Due to the time demands of their extensive farming operation, the rest of the cow herd is bred via natural service.
Hilltop Farms takes an approach to its cattle management that focuses on developing seedstock for customers. “We have a unique system where we have several pastures where we can put 15 to 20 cows with a bull. This system ensures we have a lot of new bloodlines coming on every year for our repeat customers,” Elmer said.
The diversity of genetics plays a critical role in the marketing of bulls to customers. Hilltop Farms hosts an annual bull and female sale on the second Saturday in March at the Joplin Regional Stockyards. The McWilliams sell 50 bulls in their sale each year and sell as many as 50 through private treaty on the farm.
Hilltop Farms markets its females through its annual sale as well. Prior to last year, the McWilliams offered only open heifers in their sale. But last year they started to market a few of their cow/calf pairs, bred heifers, and cows. “We hope to grow that and get that part of the sale a little bit bigger. It seems like there is a lot of demand for Gelbvieh and Balancer females. We need to grow that market if we can,” Elmer stated.
Elmer credits the growing popularity of the Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle to the strong maternal nature of the females. “I think it is just the maternal side of the Gelbvieh breed itself, the females make really good mommas, and they produce a lot of pounds for the size that they are, those calves come off the momma weighing pretty good, and the cows milk well,” Elmer shared.
Winning Ways
Throughout their years raising Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle the McWilliams have had much success in the show ring. Benny takes the lead with the operation’s show cattle. Hilltop Farms’ progeny have made their mark on the show circuit. The family has raised junior national champion bulls, national junior show champion females, and this past summer a Hilltop Farms’ steer won the national Gelbvieh steer show in Oklahoma.
The McWilliams campaign their own show string at shows throughout the country. They also sell show heifers to juniors who are looking to be competitive in the show ring.

Developing Bulls
Hilltop Farms continues to grow and evolve as time passes. The family has exercised patience in its plans to expand and make changes. “It just didn’t happen overnight,” Elmer said.
Ten years ago, the McWilliams added a silage pit to their operation. This addition gave them the ability to feed corn silage to the cow herd. For years, Hilltop Farms sent its bulls to be custom fed and developed in Kansas. But last year, the McWilliams added a feedlot with an inline bunk system. The new facilities give the family the opportunity to mix all their own feed and develop bulls on the family farm.
“We try to raise all our own forage. We have the facilities to feed them here now, so it is a lot easier to watch the bulls and see what we have coming on. As opposed to them being 200 to 300 miles away and not seeing them but a couple of times in the winter,” Elmer shared.
Crops and Hay
In addition to the registered and commercial cattle herds, the McWilliams raise corn, soybeans, and wheat. They utilize the crops to create their own silage to feed their cattle and they sell the rest. They farm about 2,500 acres of row crops.
Their farming operation also includes cutting and baling 400 to 500 acres of native prairie grass hay. The native prairie grass is baled into small and large square bales as well as round bales. The McWilliams feed the hay to their cattle and sell it to other cattle producers as well. “There’s nothing better to start calves on, as far as their forage,” Elmer stated.

Key to Success
Elmer’s been emersed in production agriculture his entire life. Through the years he has expanded and improved the operation. Though he’s incorporated changes along the way, once thing remains the same – the operation is diverse.
“Production agriculture is getting harder and harder every day it seems like. I think you have to be diversified to survive,” Elmer shared. Hilltop Farms continues to thrive from one generation to the next, and there is no place Elmer rather be than on his family-run farm.

Upcoming Sale:
Saturday, March 8, 2025
12:30 pm - Joplin Regional Stockyards
learn more at www.hilltop-farms.com
Comments