Setting the standard

As we followed the winding dirt road leading to Kirk Willoughby’s ranch, a cloud of dust crept over the hill. Maneuvering the tractor around the ranch, Kirk was finishing up his afternoon chores.

I’m nearing the finish line with my internship here at Certified Angus Beef, and had the pleasure of doing another on-location ranch visit, this time with my boss Miranda Reiman tagging along.

We met the loyal cowdogs while we waited for Kirk to get up to the house to great us.

A majority of his day is spent getting his daily chores completed. For this one-man show, that’s a full-time job. Nestled just miles from the Nebraska-Kansas border, Kirk and his Angus cow-calf operation reside just outside the small community of Reynolds, Nebraska.

We loaded up on the four-wheeler and headed for the pasture to get a better look at his herd. (Modern day cowboy conveniences I’m used to having at home!)

Kirk’s no-nonsense attitude when it comes to animal health has rendered consistency within his herd. His reputation in the area and at the local sale barn for having good cattle brings buyers to town when it’s time to sell.

“When my calves come in, bidders know they’ve had their shots and whole herd health programs,” Kirk told us.

While a pre-conditioning vaccination program is fairly common today, he was one of the first producers in the area to being using one in the early 1990s.

Since starting this program, Larry Junker, owner and auctioneer at Fairbury Livestock Company, has seen an increase in buyers returning to the sale barn to purchase Kirk’s calves.

“I’ve got buyers calling saying, “Isn’t this the time Willoughby’s calves are selling? Are they coming this week or next week?” Larry says.

For 26 years, Willoughby has sold everything through that auction market, and some years he even knows the buyers.

As luck would have it, we even got to see Kirk’s 2015-born calves nearing a finish line of their own as Reiss Bruning and his family showed us around Bruning Farms earlier in the day.

Sometimes cattlemen selling through the salebarn don’t care to follow up and to see how their calves are producing, but not Kirk. He is interested in seeing how his genetics played out.

Larry’s observations sum it up: “He’s a really good guy with a huge heart who takes his cows very seriously.”

~Jenny

—

Jenny Keyes grew up as the fifth generation on her family’s Springfield, Neb., farm. Her early experiences—which included showing Angus cattle—inspired her to keep on learning about all things agriculture. Our current industry information intern, Jenny is a senior ag communications major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

You may also like