About Us
John with his 1951 Illinois State Fair Grand Champion Steer sired by Homeplace Eileenmere 16. |
The origin of the Blue Ston herd dates back to 1936 when John’s dad, Lawrence Cutrin, purchased some Angus heifers as 4-H projects for John’s older brothers — Leo, Bill, and Larry. They proved to be a very wise investment. As the herd was being developed over the years, most of the bulls were purchased from the famous J. Garrett Tolan herd of Pleasant Plains, Illinois, in particular the Eileenmere line of cattle. One of the most successful Eileenmere bulls, however, came from J.C. Penney’s Homeplace Farm in Missouri. The bull was Homeplace Eileenmere 16. He was the sire of many champions, most notably John’s 1951 Illinois State Fair champion steer.
In 1957 upon the recent death of his father and returning home from the University of Illinois John married his wife, Alice, and they formed a partnership with John’s mother and that began Curtin Angus Farm. Curtin Angus Farm had several joint production sales throughout the years with John’s brothers, Larry and Bill, and Uncle Con Colbrook. Then in 1983 John and his oldest son Fred decided to go into partnership and they renamed the farm its present name today, Blue Ston Farms. The name Blue Ston comes from a combination of the two towns they farm ground between, Blue Mound and Stonington. This arrangement continued until the early nineties when John’s youngest son, Jim, joined the partnership. The most recent change came to the farm in 2000 when John decided to retire from farming and the fourth generation— T.J., Fred’s son—returned home to farm after his graduation from the University of Illinois.
In August 1995 the Curtin family was recognized for 50 continuous years in the Angus business. Pictured left to right: Bill Curtin, Fred Curtin, Larry Curtin, John Curtin, Alice Curtin, Jim Curtin and Dick Spader.
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Today Blue Ston Farms consists of approximately 5,000 acres of corn and soybeans, 300 acres of pasture and 200 registered Angus cows. We also operate Blue Ston Farms Trucking LLC, specializing in hauling grain, rock and fertilizer. The majority of the cattle are marketed through our production sale, the second Friday in March at the farm. With the use of artificial insemination, embryo transfer and ultrasound technologies, Blue Ston Farms strives to produce Angus cattle that have balanced EPDs and pedigrees along with function and eye appeal. Thank you for stopping by our Web site. Any further comments or questions are always welcome.
