Opportunity lies beyond the ranch gate

For many of you, getting time away from the ranch isn’t something that happens very often and it takes a special occasion to pull you too far away from the cattle. For Jimmy Thomas, it took winning our Commercial Producer Commitment to Excellence Award in 2003.

It was at the Certified Angus Beef ® annual convention in a restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, where Jimmy met the winner of the 2003 Feedlot Commitment to Excellence Award, Terry Beller from Lindsay, Neb. The two shook hands and what began as a conversation more than 10 years later has blossomed into a friendship and a successful business partnership.

In 2003, Jimmy’s cattle were grading about 50% CAB and Terry was just beginning to make a name for himself as a feeder of high quality Angus cattle. In 2004, Jimmy began shipping his cattle to Nebraska to be finished and together they have worked to make the cattle better.

Over a plate of pizza, Jimmy handed me a paper with their latest results. The last load from Homedale finished 97% CAB and Prime with over 50% Prime.

Data like that isn’t the result of luck.

“You have to set goals and be disciplined in your genetics,” Jimmy says. “You need to know the traits you are selecting for and stay on that same line towards them.”

Together, the men set a goal of getting a load of cattle to reach 100% CAB and Prime. Since 2004 they haven’t gone backwards in CAB acceptance rates and enjoy having their hard work pay off in premiums.

“We just want to keep trying to make those calves better. Until we get a group that is 100% CAB or better, we haven’t made it yet,” Jimmy says.

To do this Jimmy selects for what consumers crave, and animals that fit his ranch environment. He places emphasis on high IMF bulls that gain 4 lb./day with ribeyes that scan at least one inch per hundred pounds of live weight. He favors moderate-framed cattle that can survive in the dessert of Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho, but then perform when he moves them into his backgrounding program.

His management and genetic decisions help him produce high marbling carcasses that rarely go above a Yield Grade 3. But Jimmy also depends on the data he gets from Terry to make herd decisions. He says what he has learned from their partnership has allowed him to be successful.

Terry says the same.

“What started out as a feeding relationship has blossomed into much more than that, friendships and additional feeding partners,” he says. “Because of that, we’ve gotten to feed some of the best cattle in the world.”

Leaving the farm for a few days can often be extremely difficult, but for these two cattlemen it paid off in more ways than one.

Until next time,

Nicole

PS- To read more about Jimmy Thomas check future editions of the Angus Journal.

Freelancer Nicole Lane first appeared on our blog as a 2014 CAB summer writing intern. The Oregon native and current Kansas State University student continues to contribute to the Black Ink team, fostering her love of good beef, and the men and women who create it.

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