Making It Better

One family’s journey from town to the peak of premium beef production earns the CAB Sustainability Award for Wharton 3C Cattle.

Story and photos by Nicole Lane Erceg

October 2023

Most sane folks don’t choose to go into business with Mother Nature. She’s a fickle and unpredictable partner.
So, how did two people with zero agricultural background, no generational land, wealth or genetics carve a profitable partnership with her in Southwest Kansas?

“Shannon is the brains and I’m the brawn,” Rusty Wharton jokes.

The real answer is a little more nuanced.

An Oasis on the Plains

The view of Wharton 3C Ranch, near Syracuse, Kansas, in the summer of 2023 is so green Shannon and Rusty Wharton might have better luck convincing people it is a slice of heaven rather than the harsh, drought-ridden environment locals know.

Don’t expect to make a visit to the ranch without a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The cattle will tell you; it isn’t always this pleasant. In fact, a few years ago, there wasn’t a cow in these pastures, lack of rain left the soil unable to produce much more than dust.

The commercial outfit is made up of about 600 head spread across more than 35,000 acres, most of that a Western Association of Fish and Wildlife conservation easement. A 1,000-head grow yard prepares calves for finishing. The Whartons have been managing it for various owners since 2005.

“We either had enough money to buy the land or to buy the cattle, never both,” Rusty says.

The last time it changed hands in 2017, they made the numbers work, purchasing the cattle and a little land, leasing the rest.

A mix of puzzle pieces built over time made the unlikely a reality for this military service veteran and a horse girl from Pennsylvania who carve out their own place in the cattle business.

Becoming Experts

The Wharton family story started in Kentucky where the couple met and married. Rusty fell into commercial ranching via a rodeo friend; Shannon found her passion for cattle through Block and Bridle at Penn State. After her master’s degree in cattle breeding and genetics from the University of Kentucky, she wanted to go to west to Montana. Texas was calling Rusty’s name.

They split the difference when the only job opportunity that made sense was a position for Shannon at Grant County Feeders in Ulysses, Kansas.

“My dad thought I was crazy,” she says. “He asked what in the world I was doing with that master’s degree. I was driving a feed truck and chasing dreams.”

The decision to learn the feeding business was strategic. Already familiar with the commercial ranching, they decided making it in the cattle business would mean learning all the sectors.

Their family mission statement then is a bit fuzzy now, but it boiled down to working together to make the cattle industry better.

Humble, willing to work hard, listen and learn, the path to their own operation took them across the Midwest managing ranches and working in feed yards. Their teachers read like a cattle industry hall of fame, including Mark Gardiner, Sam Hands, Minnie Lou Bradley and Larry Corah, among others.

“There were a lot of opportunities that opened up for us because of our willingness to work hard, but also because of our open, business-focused, progressive way of thinking,” Shannon says.

Decades of learning, growing, raising all types of cattle in diverse environments under different philosophies provided a list of lessons that would direct what to do (and not to do) if they ever had full control of the reins.

“What we thought were setbacks at the time were actually learning opportunities that made us better,” Shannon says.

At Wharton 3C Cattle, if you want to know the details of the land, grass, wildlife and irrigation Rusty has forgotten more than most will ever know. When it comes to genetics and data-based decision-making and running the balance sheet, Shannon is the expert. Equal partners with a shared passion for the cattle.

“We each have our areas of expertise, and they don’t overlap except for the cows,” Shannon explains.

“If she passed tomorrow, I’d be so out of luck,” Rusty admits. “I don’t even know how to open Quickbooks.”

Shannon rolls her eyes with a smile, sharing she’d also be up a creek without a paddle if he weren’t by her side.

A Better Way

Unburdened by tradition that sometimes saddles generational ranches, the Wharton’s mindset is business first. Follow the science and data in selection and management, then work to get better every day.

“We have our goal towards quality, not only quality in the meat we produce, but also quality of the land,” Shannon says. “What’s the point of doing it if you’re not striving to be the best you can be?”

Involved in retained ownership since the 1990s, the couple tracks everything from conception to carcass data. A recent load of cattle were 100 percent Certified Angus Beef ^®, including 92 percent Prime. They achieved 87 percent or higher CAB and Prime across all their 2021 fed cattle. Premiums on those cattle add some extra black ink to the bottom line.

But it’s about more than data and dollars.

People and an industry-wide vision drive them to build not only their section of the cattle business, but the entire industry.

“We all need each other,” Shannon explains. “Without the cow-calf producer restaurants don’t have great beef to serve, without the packer, our product doesn’t get to those restaurants and consumers don’t have access to it. And commercial producers need someone to feed and finish those cattle. So, it’s very important that we all work together and realize in the end, we’re all producing the same product.”

This thought process for greater industry engagement led Shannon to get involved in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB).

“It’s such a neat organization where we can have the whole supply chain sit down together and say, okay, from the producer all the way to the retailer, we’re producing this beef. Let’s do it to the best of our ability. Let’s make sure we’re not impacting the environment negatively. Let’s ensure we’re taking care of the animals and our employees.”

The USRSB framework aligns with the Whartons’ mindset on management.

“We have to be sustainable to be in this business.” Rusty says. “If we don’t do the right thing with the grazing management plan, if we don’t take care of the cattle properly and if we fail to bring together our customer base, then we’re not going to be in business.”

Rusty admits he’s been one to store cattle or grazing data in his head or scribbles in a dashboard notebook. However, technology to sort and the discipline to keep records allow him to run their cattle operation like any other business. That recorded and analyzed data enables good decisions, workable drought plans and meeting the requirements of take 1/3, leave 2/3 when grazing the conservation easement.

“It helps you stay focused when you need to make a move,” Rusty says.

The most valuable takeaway for the couple’s USRSB involvement has been opening new avenues of communication. Shannon has firsthand experience in how simple management tools like Beef Quality Assurance certification and written grazing management plans can align values across the beef supply chain.

“Being involved in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has impacted how we communicate what we do, because we’ve been doing this for a long time and this is what we believe in,” Shannon says. “So, our communication about sustainability is improved by the Roundtable.”

“We have to be sustainable to be in this business.” Rusty says. “If we don’t do the right thing with the grazing management plan, if we don’t take care of the cattle properly and if we fail to bring together our customer base, then we’re not going to be in business.”

Building for the Future

Rusty and Shannon’s children, the three C’s of Wharton 3C Cattle; Catie, Clayton and Cara have taken the lessons learned growing up on ranches, crawling around feedyard offices and riding in feed trucks into their own careers. All went to college to study agriculture. Catie works for Plains Cotton Growers in Lubbock, Texas. Cara is finishing her degree in agriculture economics with plans to farm with her fiancé in Nebraska and Clayton just moved home to Syracuse to join the family business and teach high school agriculture at the local school.

“You maybe aren’t going to be a millionaire working in agriculture, but money’s not everything,” Shannon says. “And if you go to work every day and you’re passionate about what you do and you love what you do, then it’s not work. Then it’s just fun.”

It also takes grit. The balance of pure joy from the hard work of doing something they love and riding out the rough storms along the way turned two first-generation cattle ranchers into legacy builders.

Honored with the Certified Angus Beef Sustainability Award in September at the brand’s annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Whartons embody progress and ways to leave things better than they found them.

“I hope the legacy of our ranch is quality,” Rusty says.

Originally published in the Angus Journal.

Excellence by Everyday Improvement

Saskatchewan Angus ranch earns award for superior conservation and cattle production.

By: Lindsay Graber Runft, director of producer communications

October 2023

The cattle business awards no trophies for participation. Nor does any rancher plan and work each day in hopes of wider recognition for doing things right.

Yet caring for their land and livestock with a daily devotion to “excellence in practice” quietly switched a spotlight on JPM Farms. Jean-Paul and Marlene Monvoisin with their adult children, Colton Monvoisin and Josee Monvoisin-Garner, operate the quality-focused seedstock Angus ranch in the rolling hills near Parkbeg, Saskatchewan.

They lean into viable sustainability, with immense focus on the environment and a long-time partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada. The perpetually progressive learners naturally work hard to improve their cow herd and grasslands.

“Our philosophy is to treat the land, the cattle and our family the best we can every day to make it a better day than the one before,” Marlene says. Outstanding results earned JPM Farms the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) 2023 Canadian Commitment to Excellence Award. The Monvoisin family was recognized at the CAB Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, in September.

Destination Ranchland

Just 100 miles north of the Montana border, JPM Farms sits in the heart of the Missouri Coteau, a hilly plateau that parallels the river southeastward into the Dakotas—the “duck factory,” as Jean-Paul says.

“It’s rolling hills, with natural, native grass all over,” he says. “There are too many rocks, too many hills—it’s meant for cattle. There’s no other use for this land.”

Except for sharing it wisely. The symbiotic relationship between grazing cattle and wildlife is clear in the “green years” of abundant moisture that fosters vegetation growth.

“When we’re green and wet here, we have a lot of pothole wetlands, and great upland vegetation that supports nesting habitat for waterfowl,” says Ross MacDonald, conservation programs specialist at Ducks Unlimited Canada. “That’s also what allows ranchers in this area to thrive.”

The ecosystem here depends on wildlife. The Monvoisins credit waterfowl, other birds and deer with helping increase sustainability in their native grassland pastures.

“Ensuring that you have a resilient, highly functioning soil provides biodiversity across the landscape—and distribution of landscape dynamics needed for different wildlife species and cattle grazing resources,” MacDonald says. “If you want a healthy, functioning wildlife population, you need healthy, functioning habitats.”

Partnering with Ducks Unlimited promotes improvement in JPM Farms’ working grasslands for environmental and ranching wins.

“Ducks Unlimited has been a huge help to us and a benefit to our operation,” Jean-Paul says. “We have a half section that we’re going to be putting cattle on this year, and we haven’t had cattle on it for two years.”

Conservation and Cows

Cattle are good for the grass. “I don’t think there’s another animal that could be as efficient in maintaining the landscape,” Jean Paul says. Without them, dormant native grasses could become a fire hazard.

Grazing management underpins the Monvoisins’ operation, and that includes resting pastures.

“We take pretty good care of it,” he says, balancing stocking rates to leave enough grass for a good start next year.

Careful not to push the native grasses too hard, JPM Farms strictly limits grazing to maintain sustainability. The challenge requires constant monitoring.

“JP always says we’re only six weeks away from a drought,” Marlene says.

The green years come and go. Accustomed to a drier climate, the Coteau is typically arid to semi-arid with little rain or snow. While native grasses tolerate drought more easily than other varieties, all pastures run the risk of grass quality deteriorating quickly.

Drought also impacts water availability. Without adequate snow in the winter, ranch ponds will not provide drinking water in grazing months. Even if the Monvoisins aren’t yet forced to haul water, they must monitor the pond sources for sulfates that can make water undrinkable for cattle.

Ever looking to improve, the family began a project within the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program to construct a pipeline that carries water to remote pastures. As those are on conservation easements, the water lines help distribute grazing and give purpose to Coteau land otherwise unusable for ranching.

“It’s big and uninterrupted, and we’re so lucky we get to live here,” Marlene says. “There’s a lot of nature, a little bit of heaven on earth.”

Feet, Function and Selection

Their cowherd has adapted greatly to the big hills and rocky climate since Jean-Paul’s grandfather brought registered black Angus cattle to Saskatchewan in 1941. Cattle must walk across the large summer pastures where sound feet determine survival, putting a premium on structural correctness.

“In the long run, you have to have good feet,” Jean-Paul says. “That’s the most important thing I’ve found.”

The wide-open country says a cow has to be maternal, Marlene adds, noting they’re charged with providing steady care and raising a quality calf.

“The mother cow is the biggest way you’re going to be profitable,” she says. “A good cow will always produce a good calf. Your whole goal is always to produce the best quality females you can.”

JPM Farms relies on those females to produce the bulls their customers need, as well as calves with superior carcass quality and red meat yield that the Monvoisins market independently.

They dial in on performance genetics and convenience, too. “Animals that aren’t going to give ’em any grief,” Jean-Paul says. Ideally, the calves will be moderate birth weight and grow quickly, with the only assistance that of a mother cow that milks well. Achieving that ideal calf can be trial and error as new genetics are introduced.

Using an unproven bull can make breeding decisions more challenging, but the JPM team always looks for proof in the maternal evaluation of daughters.

“A lot of times you buy a bull and don’t really know what you got until about three years when these bred heifers are milking,” Jean-Paul says. “It’s a long road and you’ve just got to keep picking away to make the right breeding decisions.”

That selection path carries over to JPM Farms’ bull business.

“The biggest compliment that I can get as a purebred producer is to see my customers’ calf weaning weights go up a year or two after they start using our bulls,” Marlene says.

She says the best way to improve a herd and profitability is culling from the bottom end and build the top end. They are doing it in their own herd using expected progeny differences (EPDs), and strive to help customers do likewise. With better bulls come higher weaning weights and greater carcass quality, all adding dollars.

“It’s a huge part of sustainability,” Jean-Paul says. “We have to get paid for what we’re doing.”

Incorporating embryo transfer and a robust data collection system, the Monvoisins are geared toward progress. They are also committed to education, both in explaining EPDs to customers and learning for themselves. Jean-Paul and Marlene travel to other Angus ranches to spend time studying different genetics and attend customers’ brandings to see JPM genetics at work. At times, education means evaluating sires in the United States before they are available for Canadian ranchers.

The Goal, Not the End

It seems to be a recipe for success. Careful consideration of Angus genetics. Continuing education. Serving customers as bull buyers or helping them market their calves.

“I feel ownership in the Certified Angus Beef brand,” Marlene says. “There’s immense pride in having Angus cattle in our herd and producing Angus for our customers, ourselves and the consumer.” But excellence?

“I don’t think anybody can ever say they’re the best at anything. Excellence is a goal, not the end,” Marlene says. “It’s all the extra work that you do to be successful or just to make your own operation better.”

At JPM Farms, it means approaching each day with the attitude that you will make things better than they were yesterday— for your cattle, the land and how you treat other people. Going the extra mile and working hard at what you love.

Originally published in the Angus Journal.

When ‘Someday’ Becomes Today

Ranch Covey Hill earns CAB Canadian Commitment to Excellence Award.

By Miranda Reiman, freelancer for Certified Angus Beef

Emmanuel Chenail of Havelock, Québec, had a dream in his heart that he just couldn’t explain.

The French-speaking son of a construction contractor grew up operating road graders and riding his moped through town. When he went to school it was to study business, not animal science.

Still, Emmanuel often spoke of his boyhood dream to his wife and later their three children: “To have cattle on a hill.”

It was specific yet abstract, but they never doubted it would happen. If Emmanuel has a big idea, it’s his nature to make it so. In 2018, after a career as president of his family’s construction business, the dreamer sold his company and Ranch Covey Hill was born.

“My wife Brigette and I were out on a drive when the name came to us, just like that,” he says. “It’s perfect for this hillside.”

That’s where a winding driveway leads through front pastures and up to the well-appointed ranch headquarters. Bits of history mix with modern buildings and their completely remodeled home. Off to the west, the maple forest or “sugar bush” flourishes with more than 20,000 taps ready to produce syrup come late winter. Near the sugar shack sits the carefully planned salebarn.

“What inspires me every morning is, we’ve started something that isn’t over yet. It’s just beginning,” Emmanuel says.

Just a few years ago, Ranch Covey Hill showed no signs of an Angus destiny. It was a country estate in disrepair as owners stopped coming out from Montreal in the summers. The Chenails had been looking for land, a place where they could build a herd. They saw potential.

The day the family got the deed, they began the transformation.

“When we first bought this place, I don’t think anybody would believe it looked that way, compared to now,” says eldest daughter Sabrina. “We couldn’t get through the main driveway, couldn’t even tell there was a pasture there – no fences, rock chains everywhere, no barns – the house was not habitable.”

The family, which includes daughter Camille and son Raphael, has checked projects off the list one by one, dedicated employees providing steady support.

“One day we might be done, but we’re always working on it,” Sabrina says.

That continual pursuit of the best and finding the right people to help caught the attention of the world’s premium beef brand. Their eagerness to support of the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand mission earned Ranch Covey Hill the 2022 CAB Canadian Commitment to Excellence award.

Building in Quality from the Start

Their first 10 Angus females came from neighbor, mentor and friend David Sample, Mac Angus Ranch.

“One thing I’ve learned about Angus breeders is they’re always willing to share what they know,” Emmanuel says. “They open their doors, give you a tour. They’re open-minded. That’s a huge advantage and I really appreciate what people have done for us in that way.”

They quickly grew the herd to 75 cows and hosted their first annual Hillspride Sale at the ranch in February, along with Mac Angus Farm and PJ Ranch from nearby Hemmingford.

The three operations have separate programs but similar philosophies.

“The ideal cow is moderately-sized, good-tempered, not too demanding and maternal—easy to look at. That’s my ideal,” says Emmanuel. “You can’t overlook how important the cow is in terms of herd continuity, easy keeping and ultimately marbling.”

Sabrina explains why calving ease was a top goal from day one.

“We were new to the business, new to calving cows, so the less intervention we had to do at calving, the better it was for us,” she says.

That provided some initial confidence as they adjusted to a steep learning curve.

“We had to learn everything,” she says. But for all the disadvantage in that, there are also benefits.

Maybe that’s why they’ve never understood the debate between carcass and maternal.

“Customers want quality. That’s not negotiable: you need to get it right the first time. It’s a priority,” Emmanuel says. “Customers come to us to buy a good breeding bull and maybe to produce cows for their operation. They’re looking for sound legs, calving ease, healthy teats, and meat for Angus steers is known for its marbling.

“At the end of the day, we do it to put food on people’s tables,” he says.

That enthusiasm led the family to CAB in search of educational resources.

“They don’t want to keep the secret of quality to themselves as something only they can be good at,” says Kara Lee, CAB director of producer engagement. “They want to help their customers understand how they can continue to excel at the ranch, and from the perspective of consumer eating satisfaction”

This spring’s salebook included materials from the brand, and Ranch Covey Hill invited CAB staff to participate in their fall customer event.

“They had a very fresh set of eyes in terms of the value in pursuing maternal and carcass traits in the cow herd. They realized there are tools and diversity in the Angus breed that let us achieve improvement in tandem,” Lee says.

Most bull buyers come from within the province, but they have been showing a small string of cattle to get the ranch name out.

“We think it’s a good opportunity to meet more people. It’s just for fun,” Sabrina says.

Dad’s Vision, Everyone’s Mission

When Sabrina talks cattle these days, it would be easy to assume the beef business was a long-time career aspiration. In truth, it was more that her dad’s dream eventually became hers, too. Emmanuel has a way of inspiring people to believe.

“I got into the cattle business by accident because when my dad bought the ranch, what interested me was the maple trees,” she admits. “He needed someone to help him out with the registrations and all that because everyone at the association speaks English and my dad doesn’t speak English.”

Sabrina started doing the registrations and eventually became hooked.

“I guess it’s just being able to see them being born, and then raising them and then seeing after a year what they can look like,” she says.

Soon Sabrina wanted to know more than just what looked good in the pastures.

“I didn’t study this, but I wanted to understand. I had all these people around me talking EPDs (expected progeny differences) and genetics and cow families, asking me what my cows were out of, and I couldn’t answer,” Sabrina says.

Today, she can—a fact not lost on her father.

“I want to instill in our children, in our family, a taste for a job well done, for doing things right the first time,” Emmanuel says. “I’m demanding. I ask a lot of them. I’d like them to keep asking a lot of themselves and of others.”

They each have their roles.

“Sabrina looks after the genetics and the calving. She likes to find which bull will provide the best genetic mix,” Emmanuel says. “Camille is responsible for sales and marketing. She works with cuts of meat to imagine very creative dishes. Brigette takes care of everybody and makes sure we’re all happy.”

Raphael is away at school right now, but comes back as he’s able.

“I like working with my family because we’re all kind of the same, and we’re intense people,” Camille says. It’s easier to uphold high standards, when you’ve been raised with them, she notes. Each has a unique skill they bring to the table. “So when we work together, we balance things up and make things work out.”

Then there are Amelie Barbeau, Corrie Patterson and Jason Poole, who have been with the family since the beginning. They do everything – building projects from the ground up, day-to-day cattle care, accounting and maple-tree tapping.
“A large team is something else, but a small team has a lot going for it,” Barbeau says. “It’s more like a family; it’s more close-knit. We’re all close to one another.”

When the Chenails sold their business, she transferred from that office out to the ranch. There was no question, she’d go wherever Emmanuel went because his work ethic matches hers.

“Giving 100% all the time means you care about what you do. We love what we do and so giving 100% comes naturally,” she says.

From their wraparound porch, the Chenails see a pasture filled with Clydesdale horses, foreground to another with their main group of cows. They can name the ones “that belong to” (sired by) Untouchable, Captain or Intimidator. And think about the very different life they had just a few short years ago.

“Me and my family are intense in the sense that we love things that move quick. We love to make things happen,” Camille says.

So long ago a young boy gave them the dream to act on when the time came to move.

“It’s like I imagined,” Emmanuel says, his eyes glistening a little, “but I didn’t think it would be this beautiful.”

Originally published in the Angus Journal.

Carcass Quality Spreads Pop

by Paul Dykstra | Mar 26, 2025

High quality steak and roast items such as ribeyes, strip loins, tenderloins and sirloins carry an outsized share of the load when it comes to generating pricing separation up and down the carcass quality spectrum.

Colvin Scholarships for Food and Agriculture Students

by Kylee Kohls Sellnow | Mar 18, 2025

Investing in the future of the beef industry, Certified Angus Beef will award $100,000 to college students passionate about food and agriculture from the Colvin Scholarship Fund. Applications are across three categories and open through April 14.

Chuck and Round Cutout Contribution Increases

by Paul Dykstra | Mar 13, 2025

In the past two years the chuck and round carcass primals have edged their way upward relative to their contribution to total carcass value. One of the primary reasons for this is the decline in domestic supply of lean grinding beef from cull cows.

A Drop of Hope, A Heap of Hard Work

New Mexico family’s recipe for ranching earns the CAB Sustainability Award.

By Kylee Kohls Sellnow

Manny and Corina Encinias start each day together with two hours of prayer, devotions and mass.

“From 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., we are in faith mode,” Manny says. “When you ranch, you have to rely on faith to get you through the challenging times and truly understand the blessings you do have.”

By 7:00 a.m., the entire family is up and working.

Ranging from 22 to 2 years old, Marley, Bella, Mia, Ellie, Carly, Rio and Zia bring distinctive personalities and interests to the family dynamic. Even if they don’t all end up on the land, their parents hope the ranch upbringing makes them more compassionate and empathetic.

For Manny and Corina Encinias’ family of nine, sustainability runs deep. They are stewards of a legacy, working the land dating back to 1777, when the first generation began herding sheep in the nearby Moriarty community. Today they focus on cows well suited to the harsh New Mexico desert, fostering community strength and creating opportunities for others to follow in their footsteps.

“My ranching philosophy is adapting to the ever-changing environmental and marketing climates,” Manny says.

Their holistic approach earned the Encinias family and their Buffalo Creek Ranch the 2022 Certified Angus Beef Sustainability Award.

Restoring the Land

Manny brought his wife to view their current ranch in 2016.

All she saw was the mountain of work it would take if they bought the choked and rundown property with its three-bedroom house for their growing family of seven.

Still, she trusted Manny’s vision to restore the land and help it flourish.

“The first part of sustainability is consideration for the natural resources,” he says. “In the desert Southwest, those are fragile, yet resilient.”

Dormant grasses, the sound of a creek bed crunching beneath boots and a lone, dry cottonwood point to the tenacity life requires in this part of the world. Named for the creek that typically runs through its heart, Buffalo Creek Ranch relies on water from a closed basin and monsoon season — something they haven’t seen in years, to nourish its native grasses.

“We’re living on one month of rain last year in August,” Manny says, noting no significant precipitation since.

“Our gold in this country is water. And it’s what keeps me up at night. Water will always be of concern, for myself and future generations, because it is so precious. I don’t believe people recognize it as a fragile resource in everyday living here in the United States.”

Beyond the rain gauge, Manny looks to wildlife in his pastures as a measure of ecosystem health.

“We know that when we start seeing multiple species of wildlife in our pastures, we’re managing appropriately,” Manny explains. “It’s just like managing rangelands. When you can manage the grasses for multiple species, instead of just one predominant species, their presence is indicators that our management is in sync with the environment.”

They depend on the cow herd to cultivate the brittle native grasses. Each step activates roots for deeper growth and creates divots for water to pool when the rain does come. Cattle are part of his plan to restore the land, taking care to only stock as many as the acreage can maintain.

In 2021, the family responded to persistent and extreme drought by downsizing to 90 of their best Angus-influenced cows. They stock at only 30% today – one cow for every 40 to 100 acres depending on the pasture.

Their genetic goals are multifaceted. Key considerations include Angus cattle that can adapt to the unforgiving environment yet achieve carcass merit and qualify for the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand. For cows to stay they must be easy fleshing, structurally sound with maternal instincts that can handle the 7,300-foot elevation. The ones still thriving are a testament to an Angus cow that can meet consumer demand for high quality in a way that works for both the caretakers and a rugged landscape.

cattle in New Mexico at Buffalo Creek Ranch

The 98%

“The consumer drives a lot of what we do,” Manny says. “We have embraced that as a responsibility. I think it’s important to have a seat at the table with the 98% not directly involved in agriculture, not only as beef consumers but as policy makers.”

He considers transparency in varied platforms part of his responsibility to the industry.

Foodservice salespeople and chefs are welcomed to the ranch as part of Certified Angus Beef Ranch Days. He patiently explains the effect of the water-saving night irrigation that limits evaporation and the importance of rotational grazing, sharing things all in a day’s work for the Encinias crew. These moments serve as eye-opening experiences for people selling, serving and enjoying the beef that comes as a product of their toil.

His work goes beyond simply opening the ranch gate. Consistent improvement and communication of their ranching principles is fueled through further education and industry programs.

“I think Beef Quality Assurance as a program has evolved to really take in a lot more of the important consumer-based issues like animal welfare,” he shares.

As a former BQA trainer and extension agent, it’s not about box-checking or catering to media noise.

“I think we can all lend ourselves to becoming better—better handlers of animals and our environments by just evaluating our systems through the Beef Quality Assurance principles,” he shares.

Being a Good Neighbor

Manny teaches courses in animal science and business at Mason Lands Community College. Experiences consulting on ranches from Hawaii to North Dakota fuel his teachings. In the between hours, he also serves as a translator for Mexican veterinarians looking for experience at U.S. feedyards and dairies.

“Instead of just performance or profitability, it’s trying to be the kind of ranch you’d want to live next to if you weren’t in production agriculture,” Manny says. “This just expresses who we are, who we’ve always been, who we were when we first arrived here in this region. And it’s really being a good neighbor, caring for each other.”

He’s a man who walks the talk.

Manny can often be found on the phone, talking cattle marketing or management as a trusted advisor to Indian nations across the Southwest.

Under his guidance, tribal stockmen developed confidence in Angus genetics, data and producers. As a result, the cattle move on to commercial feedyards with greater performance and grade opportunities, many qualifying for CAB.

“Over the last 20 years, these cattlemen have sought out elite Angus seedstock genetics from Texas to Montana,” Manny says. “Today, if you were to go and look at the cattle, you would never believe they originate from Indian country. The quality is there.”

That’s the Encinias specialty: Finding ranch profit opportunities from raising quality beef for consumers.

“If you focus on both the environment and that 98%, you can put yourself in a unique profit opportunity,” Manny says.

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Three generations of Encinias live in the Moriarty, New Mexico area, all involved in agriculture.

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Faith in the Future

The long hours of work and service are driven by a mighty purpose.

“My goal is to secure the land we’ve invested in and a future in agriculture for our kids,” Manny says.

Daughter Mia has been Manny’s shadow for the last 20 years.

Now, her little brother is Mia’s sidekick on the ranch.

At preschool graduation, Rio’s announcement that he wants to be a rancher took the family by surprise – no one had ever asked him before. The spirited 5-year-old’s is already adopting Dad’s vision as his own.

Mia’s dream is to come back to the ranch after her animal science degree at West Texas A&M University.

“I grew up riding around New Mexico with my dad, meeting different people and ranchers,” Mia shares. “Bouncing along with him in the truck, I fell in love with ranching.”

She watches and learns from her dad, from fixing water tanks to breeding decisions to preg-checking cows.

“We have a growing world to feed,” she says. “I want to do my part in figuring out how we can raise cattle better and more consistent beef through high-quality genetics.”

Producing beef in the desert Southwest is a way of life that requires a certain resolve, found in each member of the Encinias family. They know to realize their vision will take patience, hard work and a steadfast faith.

“When we work together as a family, it’s amazing to see our kids learn to love this ranch and start to see what Manny did from the beginning,” Corina says. “If you do the work, you can provide something greater than you imagined.”

For now, they will keep praying for rain.

Story originally published in the Angus Journal.

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Going Above and Beyond

Sharing their dedication to ranching earns the Walter family the 2022 CAB Ambassador Award.

By Jessica Travis

A cool morning fog slowly lifts to unveil a herd of black cattle juxtaposed against the towering Rocky Mountains. Riders moving around them come into focus, trotting along on horseback.

It’s a normal day near Hudson, Colorado for the Walter family, yet the view is uniquely awe-inspiring for visitors who have never stepped foot on a ranch. As cows come in closer visitors take in the far-reaching pastures and breath-taking mountain views.

Some snap photos as they feed the cows a handful of grass while others shyly inch away as a curious young calf moves closer.

“My favorite thing to showcase on the ranch is definitely our cattle and our cattle practices,” Trevor says. “I take a lot of pride in the quality we have and the way we raise them.”

For the Walter Family, there’s no better backdrop to introduce people to the place where beef begins.

The spirit of hospitality and work to share how they raise high-quality beef earned the Walter family the 2022 Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Ambassador Award.

A Targeted Approach

Teaching an appreciation for Angus cattle is something that comes naturally to Terry and Becky Walter. They’ve built Walter Angus into a fifth-generation Angus seedstock operation with their children, Trevor, Ty and Katelyn. Today the family specializes in high elevation, high quality genetics.

“We’re always trying to make balanced cattle,” Terry says. “Birthweight is absolutely important to us, and growth of every kind. For me personally, marbling is king. We’re trying to put as much marbling in these cattle as we can, without sacrificing functionality. But in my opinion, marbling is what pays bills.”

Cows still have to get the job done. Their dedication to genetic improvement is matched with their focus on high altitude performance.

“We put a big focus on elevation— there’s a lot of good quality mountain grass pastures that can only be utilized by running cattle on it,” Terry says.

The Walter Angus herd spends at least six months in these mountain pastures which range from 6,000 to 11,000 ft in elevation. Bred to handle the altitude, they also slowly graze cattle during the warm summer and fall months, training them over time to adjust to the elevation. All bulls marketed through their annual February sale are tested for pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) at 10,000 feet.

Another key component of their breeding program is docility. They’re effective at creating cattle that can be good working partners, knowing this ties to performance on the plate.

“The docility and how we treat the cattle through our handling practices ultimately creates a better end product,” Trevor says. “Otherwise, any stress will carry through the animal.”

Indeed, their dedication to low-stress management and intentional breeding practices pays off.

A look through sale catalogs shows the CAB Targeting the Brand™ logo next to most of their bulls. Over the last four years, 97% of their cattle graded Choice or higher, with 51% qualifying for CAB, and 13% grading as Prime.

(left to right) Trevor, Melissa, Cealy, Tilden, Hadley, Ty, Jazlyn, Becky and Terry Walter

A Good Story

Raising great bulls that produce high quality beef is a feat on its own, but the Walter family takes the next step to connect with the people merchandising the beef their genetics create. For Terry, engaging with folks unfamiliar with ranching is an extension of his business philosophy.

“You don’t get very far in the bull business if you don’t have total honesty,” he says. “Respect has to be earned.”

Many of the groups who visit Walter Angus are foodservice salespeople who merchandise CAB every day or chefs serving the brand at their restaurant. They’ve also hosted food bloggers, media and made time for video and photo crews to capture their story to share in CAB training materials and ad campaigns.

“I enjoy talking to people, especially as society gets disconnected from agriculture,” Terry says. “I want people to know that ranching isn’t easy, it takes a lot of work producing high quality cattle so people can feel good about eating beef.”

Ty says interacting with those groups offers “a meeting of the minds” and the opportunity to learn from each other, answer questions and understand how the different sectors of the beef industry rely on each other.

“We’re just one family, really,” he says. “What other company or brand out there brings everyone together to collaborate and learn from each other, and see where we can go in the future?”

Hosting people also offers the opportunity to showcase their work and dedication to raising cattle to higher standards.

“It’s really rewarding to be able to show that the product they sell as the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand is no accident and demonstrate how much time and thinking ahead goes into it,” Ty says. “The quality, care, and all the little details that go into our product that many don’t realize.”

Opening their ranch is more than putting a face to the hands that raised a delicious steak, but understanding the intention behind each decision, taking care of both the land and livestock.

The mountain pastures are great for cattle, but the Walters want people to know that cows are great for the pastures, too.

“The cattle help break up the decomposing trees that have succumbed to beetle rot,” Trevor says. “Grazing helps prevent wildfires and creates a positive ecosystem for the land they’re on.”

Their grazing encourages deeper roots and healthier grasses.

“We make the land better with our cattle,” Ty says, noting the increased forage production and soil health. “God created this land to be grazed by cattle. Without them, and the grasses and sagebrush, the land would blow away to Kansas.”

Trevor adds, “This ground would sit vacant, so we’re able to bring our cattle on and graze the ground. And in doing so, it’s a huge benefit to the ecosystem, grasses, and biodiversity.”

Much like everything else on the ranch, hosting a tour is a family affair. Terry, Trevor, and Ty showcase the livestock and speak to their genetics. As for Becky and Katelyn, along with Trevor’s wife, Melissa and children Tilden and Cealey, and Ty’s wife Jazlyn and daughter Hadley, share about life on an Angus ranch.

Pulling out of the driveway visitors head home with more than a camera roll full of beautiful pictures and cow selfies to post on social media. They leave as friends who know that CAB is raised by good families, in a way that’s good for animals and the environment — inspired to sell more of it.

“I want groups to leave our ranch knowing that there’s a family in Hudson, Colorado that loves Angus cattle,” Terry says. “That we’re striving to make the best beef possible, and our mission here is hitting that CAB target, but more than that, it’s knowing that we care about the cattle.”

Story originally published in the Angus Journal.

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Progress, Not Perfection

Kansas farm family earns the 2022 CAB Progressive Partner Award.

By Kylee Kohls Sellnow

Most know her as an advocate for agriculture. Countless farmers and ranchers respect her as an enlightened Angus breeder. Many call her a friend, neighbor and mentor.

She will ask you to just call her “Debbie.”

Debbie Lyons-Blythe works alongside her family in the Kansas Flint Hills to raise the best beef, paving the way for a more sustainable beef supply. They do it one breeding decision, management practice, farm tour and conversation at a time.

“Cattle producers and consumers, we are all vitally important to the progress of our environment, the progress of animal welfare and the progress of making sure our businesses are profitable,” she says.

Working toward a better beef business earned Blythe Family Farms the 2022 Certified Angus Beef Progressive Partner Award.

Kids and Cattle

It’s a labor of love, obvious in the way she lights up explaining their family’s 33-year effort to proactively adapt Angus cows to their land.

A lifetime of telling stories from the pasture or kitchen has resonated with nonfarm consumers as much as fellow ranchers.

“Everything we do is about cattle, but it’s also about family and connecting our kids to the land and to the cattle,” Debbie says.

The three boys have all moved back home, bringing a diversified skillset to support their family legacy.

Trenton works fulltime on the farm and runs Level Creek Outfitters, a guided pheasant hunting operation with his wife Brier. Selling agriculture equipment during the week for a local manufacturer, Eric and his wife Cece spend evenings and weekends helping on the farm. Similarly, Tyler works fulltime with agriculture technology and equipment for the local co-op by day and farms with his family in any spare time. The Blythe sisters’ careers have taken them out of Kansas, but they’re still co-owners in the farm.

“My parents taught me it didn’t matter if you were a guy or a gal, the work needs to be done,” Debbie says. “Meghan and Allie’s commitment to the farm, alongside their brothers, has helped build the operation.”

Blythe family receiving CAB Progressive Partner award

(left to right) CAB President John Stika, Jeff Cather, CAB EVP Production Bruce Cobb, Allie Cather, Tyler, Duane, Debbie, Trenton, Brier, Eric, Cece Blythe, Lance and Meghan Shriver

Planning Ahead

Succession plans aren’t what everyone talks about at the table with their 20-something children and spouses. But it is a frequent topic at a Blythe Sunday dinner.

Duane lost his father when he was 14 and decided to take on management of the family’s farm. It resulted in more lessons learned the hard way than he cares to count – and the realization he never wanted his children to feel that way.

Looking at the couple, anyone might assume Duane and Debbie have many more able years ahead, but they’re already in the process of transitioning the farm to their five children.

“With the opportunity of our family and our children working together, I’d like to think we’ve helped them, at least at this point, to overcome a lot of those challenges and created an opportunity for them to learn the best practices from us,” Duane shares. “Certainly, they’re going to find ways to build a better fence down the road, but they’re not going to make the same mistakes that I made.”

He chuckles at the memory of the first fence he built and knows how much quicker and stronger that fence would be if it were built with the help of his boys today.

“They make us all look better, but it’s been a fun ride for Debbie and me to raise our family and to pass on the information we’ve been able to acquire over time with them,” he says.

Part of that transition kit includes a computer file with photos of pastures, plants and notes on weather patterns and dates Debbie worked on for years. She says it’s easy to reference the grazing management plan when they have questions on when to move cattle or to control-burn a pasture.

The forward-thinking model helps all of them find opportunities to make the farm better.

Numbers Don’t Lie

The Blythes rely on history and data to make improvements.

“Progress is difficult to define without a measurement, without the ability to compare to a baseline and show how much change we’ve made,” Debbie says. “We’re not making any more land. We have to be able to utilize this land in such a way that it will raise more food. We have to follow best-management practices and make sure we are doing a better job with what we have, to see progress.”

This mindset shifted the family’s purebred Angus operation to what it is today: 175 registered cows, 225 commercial Angus females and a 375-head commercial Angus heifer development program.

With the rich native grass resource, they decided 17 years ago their time, skills and resources would be best spent in a commercial heifer program.

They start with about 450 females each fall.

“We typically purchase heifers from families with cattle that have genetics we know,” Debbie says. “I prefer that they be weaned and preconditioned with two shots and bunk broke. That’s not always possible, so we’re willing to do the work, but we’ve found that the longer we own them, the better those heifers settle to AI.”

The first cull factor? Temperament.

“We pay attention to how they enter the chute, how calm they are, how they gather,” Debbie says. “We just don’t keep anything that has a bad disposition.”

They collect data throughout the year to decide which heifers stay.

In January, they work with a veterinarian to get a pelvic measurement score and identify the shape of the pelvis, serving as a preliminary sort for females that will perform with longevity.

Debbie and her sons artificially inseminate (AI) as many as they can for February 1 calves. She’s proven her simple breeding program: one shot of Lutalyse followed by 10 days of heat detection.

“I spend a lot of time walking through those heifers, teaching them how we work around them, making sure that they’re not afraid of people on foot,” Debbie says. “And by the end of those 10 days, I can do anything I need with those heifers by myself.”

After the heifers have been AI’d once to a proven sire, they are sent to native grass pastures with Blythe Angus bulls for 60 days, targeting a tight calving interval.

Debbie uses an EPD (expected progeny difference) benchmarking system she’s created to identify ideal matings: birth weight, weaning weight and marbling are priorities.

“We rely heavily on genomics when we’re selecting bulls,” she explains. “I believe strongly in carcass EPDs, especially marbling. If the hot new bull doesn’t have a good marbling score, I won’t use him. I just feel like it’s my responsibility to be able to create good beef.”

Her bull customers rely on her decisions, too.

Many have commercial herds and retain ownership of their calves, but they leave the EPDs to Debbie. Making sure they meet both cattle customer and beef consumer demands, the Blythes often retain ownership on their own calves at Tiffany Cattle Company.

Their last pen sold in 2021 graded 97% Choice or Prime, with 90% making CAB or CAB Prime.

Just more data pointing to progress, if not quite perfection.

A Sustainable Future

Debbie and Duane decided early on that it was important to communicate and connect with people that want to know who raised their food.

“When we had the first opportunity to host a tour with Certified Angus Beef, we jumped at the chance,” Debbie says. “We work very hard to not only host people on the ranch, but also to stay connected with them.”

The cattle business as we know it today is only sustainable if there’s demand for high-quality beef. And healthy, productive land to raise it on.

“I’m proud of our family for being open and connected to various organizations over the years,” she says. “I believe that my involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is what will make it possible for my kids to farm and ranch in the future.”

Today, she serves as the organization’s 2022-23 chair, helping to define sustainability across the beef supply chain.

“To me, sustainability is taking care of the land, taking care of the animals, taking care of the people and making money,” she says. “Every farmer and rancher is committed to those things. That’s nothing new. But now we are able to measure and communicate more clearly along the entire beef value chain through involvement on the Roundtable from both Certified Angus Beef and farms and ranches like Blythe Family Farms.”

Similarly, Trenton’s outfitting business adds another tier of sustainability to the farm’s available resources.

“The cattle and farming business go hand in hand with the outfitting,” he explains.

The open winter pastures and cover-cropped farmland make hunting migratory and upland birds feasible all season.

Along with making the land healthier and diversifying revenue streams, cattle care is a part of the Blythe’s long-term sustainability.

“Beef Quality Assurance certification is vital when talking about sustainability,” Debbie says. “If you ask a consumer, ‘What is sustainability?’ For the most part, they say ‘animal welfare.’ So, we want to be able to prove we are trained in the best way to handle cattle.”

Tools, data and continuing education give the couple confidence their legacy will be around for another 100 years.

“Angus cattle are vital to the future of Blythe Family Farms,” Debbie says. “My kids are going to make a lot of decisions that are different from what I’ve made, but I really believe they will continue to have black cattle on this land.”

Originally published in the Angus Journal.

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Like Father, Like Daughter

Triangle H accepts the 2022 CAB Feedyard Commitment to Excellence award.

By Morgan Boecker

Cattle have a way of stirring the soul.

It happened when Marisa Kleysteuber was riding through the cows checking for heats. The weight of this responsibility was light as a kid, but her dream to one day make decisions took shape as she sat horseback beside her dad.

For most of her life, she’s followed in her father’s footsteps.

Sam Hands attended Kansas State University for animal science with a business option, three decades later so did his daughter. He was a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) student at K-State and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army to serve in Vietnam. He made his way back to Kansas in 1973. His daughter earned a Master’s in ruminant nutrition before coming home in the mid-2000s.

“This is a passion,” she says. “I’ve just always wanted to come back and be a part of the legacy that my dad created and carry it on.”

Home is Triangle H where they care for more than 8,000 fed cattle between a feedyard in Garden City and another 20 miles west in Deerfield.

For Hands, there’s no short answer to anything. Problems are approached with thoughtful consideration to every possible outcome. Solutions are executed with care. It’s more than a suggestion on how to treat everything from people to cattle to equipment, it’s simply the Triangle H way. They work to be the best in everything they do – a mindset that he’s passing on to his daughter.

The Right Tools

Located in the heart of prime cattle country, there’s no shortage of genetics that excel at the ranch and the feedyard. In their own commercial Angus herd, they select sires knowing those calves will be in their pens in 15-18 months.

“I just hope from a feeder’s standpoint that we don’t prevent them from reaching their genetic potential,” Hands says. “Whether we’re raising corn, alfalfa, wheat or beef, it all starts with good genetics.”

Then it’s all on the shoulders of the caretakers.

“Good cattle can’t afford to have a bad day,” Kleysteuber says. “So we do everything in our power to give them every opportunity to perform and express the genetics that are there.”

Optimizing a calf’s carcass quality has been their specialty since the 80s when they started marketing on the grid. At that point, Hands and his dad were already using artificial insemination (AI) and retaining ownership for years. Decades watching calves from conception through harvest means they know how changes at the ranch affect what happens in the yard.

Today, Triangle H consists of separate business entities – a feedyard, commercial cow/calf ranch and farm – that funnel into the other. The father-daughter pair take care of the livestock while Hands nephew Tyler manages the grains.

“We grow our own high-quality grain products and really pay attention to the details in our timing of feeding and timing of market,” Hands says. “It’s this dedicated effort that ensures our customers and us are competitive.”

Hands is the kind of man who wants to understand an entire process. In the 70s and 80s, he and his wife Janet spent hours in coolers of packing plants tracking their cattle through harvest to know exactly how they were performing.

“If I’m going to produce a product knowing I’m going to sell on the rail then I want to know if I’m getting the dollars that I hope to reach,” he says. “I’ve got to be on target.”

Marisa Kleysteuber and Sam Hands in feedyard pen

The Right Customers

Size and scale allow them to uniquely serve their customers’ individualized data on cattle performance. Electronic identification (EID) tags track calves at each stage of finishing. Once slaughtered, Triangle H customizes an index with each animal’s carcass and feedyard data.

“This is a powerful tool that we can share with our customers to make improvements with their herd and add more value to their bottom line,” Kleysteuber says.

A tool regularly put to the test. After working for Hands for seven years, Shannon and Rusty Wharton stepped out to pursue their own Angus herd with Wharton 3C Cattle in the Kansas sandhills. They send calves to Triangle H at 900 lbs. to be marketed through US Premium Beef (USPB). Fifteen years ago, they were grading 30% Choice, but with the data they get from Triangle H, now they’re hitting 100% Choice and Prime.

But data and the right genetics can’t replace a knack for knowing when cattle are ready. For that, there’s no one better.

“Sam just knows. He knows their genetics. He knows how to feed them and what to expect. He’s the best about sorting cattle to make sure we get the best premiums,” she says, noting their two-year average of $280 per head over cash for cattle grading 40 to 60% Prime and 50% CAB.

Through the USPB grid, Hands knows each carcass’s performance. As long as they stay above average, they see black in their bottom line.

And they do. In the first quarter of 2022, Triangle H averaged 97% Choice or better, 18% Prime and 44% CAB resulting in a $91.60 per head premium. But at certain times of the year, premiums can reach more than $200 per head.

“We need cattle that have high-quality carcasses,” Kleysteuber says. “At the end of the day, the consumer needs to have the best eating experience possible so that the demand for our product stays strong.”

It’s this sharp focus on quality and thoughtful customer service that earned the Hands family the 2022 Feedyard Commitment to Excellence Award from Certified Angus Beef (CAB). In September, they accepted the award at the CAB Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

(left to right) Fernando Obregon, Brodie Sweeney, Kris Rose, Bill Hager, Marisa Kleysteuber, Sam and Janet Hands

“Good cattle can’t afford to have a bad day,” Marisa Kleysteuber says. “So we do everything in our power to give them every opportunity to perform and express the genetics that are there.”

The Right People

Rocking in Adirondack chairs on the patio, a glass of tea in hand, the duo make their game plan. The only slow part of their day is now, reflecting on what happened, how to improve and what needs attention next.

A reoccurring question is how to bring in good employees to help them grow and develop.

“We may not be a big yard, but we feel there are some natural niches where we can give opportunities to a person to have a career opportunity,” Hands says. “Especially those who may not be in a position to marry into ag or inherit it.”

Their investments pay off with tenured employees.

“We give them a lot of responsibility to make decisions and keep things moving,” he says. “This lets us focus on more of the business side at the office.”

Even at 74 years old, Hands puts in his share of hours.

“Growing up and even watching my dad today, he’s the hardest working person I know,” Kleysteuber says.

She follows his lead and starts each day with the team helping process cattle, cover silage pits or clean water tanks. Mutual respect comes from being part of the three-man crews at each yard.

“They give it their all and I feel like I need to be right there alongside them,” Kleysteuber says. “Because if I ask them to do it, I need to be there doing the same thing.”

“We’re only here for a short time,” Hands says. “Hopefully we can provide an environment for people that gives them a reason to get up in the morning and go to work and feel good about what they do.”

Knowing No Different

Every day Kleysteuber accepts more of the daily weight that comes with managing a feedyard.

“Over time dad has helped me gain more confidence in different areas of the business,” she says.

Planning, learning and teaching are integral pieces of succession preparation, though not an easy process. “Blessed” is how Hands describes having his daughter step up in their cattle business.

“I haven’t ever known anything different,” Kleysteuber says. “It’s just always been natural for me to be out working the cattle.”

The succession plan isn’t etched in stone. It’s more of an understanding that the Triangle H values will continue to pass through the generations, either through the Hands family or the people who are integral there today.

She naturally fills the role but continues to take full advantage of the time she spends with her dad. “As long as he can get up and come out here, I plan on us working side-by-side.”

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The Competitive Drive

An athletic mindset earns Wyoming family Certified Angus Beef Commercial Commitment to Excellence honors.

By Laura Nelson, freelancer for Certified Angus Beef

Whether it’s in the curved panels of an auction ring or the arch of a boundary line on a wrestling mat, the Wasserburgers of Lusk, Wyoming, know what it takes to enter an arena, eager to compete.

The Bootheel 7 brand that marks the hips of their herd could stand for the seven state wrestling titles held between three boys in the fourth generation, but that mark far predates their competitive drive. It’s been the brand carried by Wassserburgers looking for the ‘W’ since the homesteading era.

In September, their hands were raised in the winners circle again, in Phoenix, Arizona, as recipients of the 2022 Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award. The honor marks years of channeling such athletic intensity into success on the ranch.

Cousin Trey Wasserburger wrote the nomination. He and wife Dayna own and operate TD Angus at Rishel Ranch, North Platte, Nebraska. The Bootheel 7 steers handily won their TD Angus Feed Test “Highest CAB Percentage” category two years in a row with pens at 64% and 65% CAB and 100% Choice or higher.

Those moves are the work of JD and Laurie Wasserburger, with their sons Eric and Andrew and his wife, Anne, built on family legacies of pioneer great-grandfather Henry and his son, Henry Jr.

The 1916 homestead title started it all, but Henry felled cedar fenceposts in the Buck Creek Hills for neighboring ranches before he could claim one of his own. He spent those first years in a “soddy” of stacked native prairie adorned with a cowhide door flap but then established a ranch and passed the Bootheel 7 brand down to the son who began buying other area homesteads and grasslands.

Henry Jr. built up the modern ranch with sheep and cattle that JD further diversified with new businesses to support the next generation. They sold the sheep and JD started a freight company to serve the area’s oil and gas industry. His foresight paid off with two sons back on the ranch, proudly carrying the Bootheel 7 brand into its second century.

“There’s no such thing as being OK with where we are, even though we are extremely grateful for every single thing we have,” Anne says. “We’re growing, looking for new ways every day to integrate all aspects of farming and ranching: raising our own feed, feeding our own cattle, following them through to the plate. Whatever it takes to understand the whole process and figure out how to be the best at it.”

Building the Program

Around the table in the original homestead’s kitchen of a house grown and modernized apace with the ranch around it, Andrew pulls out a three-ring binder from his range management class at North Dakota’s Dickenson State University. It’s a snapshot of the Bootheel 7 Livestock before he joined his older brother in the business.

Eric bought his first farmland in 2005 while at Chadron State College in Nebraska, setting the pace for “can’t wait” expansion. In 2010 when Andrew’s final college project had him mapping the main ranch for soil types and grazing capacity, he planned new ways to build and manage grazing inventory. The brothers were staged to move the ranch into a new weight class.

That notebook tracked the grazing plan for three herds totaling 500 mother cows. A dozen years later, they’ve more than tripled that capacity, building quality in every gain. Today, Eric takes the lead at Buck Creek Freight and all farming enterprises as Andrew leads on the ranch.

“I just get out of the way and let them work,” JD says with a laugh. “They’ve got what it takes to be bossing me around now.” He’s active on all fronts, but both he and his father are proud to let the younger generation lead. Laurie recently retired from teaching to manage accounting for the multi-faceted business. Anne serves as the local county attorney with a law practice in town, while wrangling the fifth generation of Wasserburgers on the ranch.

Andrew refers to them all as spokes in the same wheel, each contributing to the circle they hold together and keep rolling forward. There’s the inner hub, too, which includes eldest brother Jason, an oil and gas attorney, and his family in Cheyenne, plus in-laws with connections to the restaurant industry and cousins in the seedstock and feeding business, all contributing with unique insight.

Like generations before, Eric and Andrew looked for every opportunity to build and buy, now selling high-quality alfalfa and most recently building a grow yard for another element of control in cattle marketing. They can background their calves for the off-peak-season sale in February and develop bred heifers for sale in November. They planted their first crop of silage corn this year while penciling the numbers on holding steers into yearlings when the timing is right.

The only way to keep tradition alive, they figure, it to allow it to change and evolve.

It’s the echo of a sentiment grandfather Henry shared earlier in the day, “You’re either making progress or you regress. There’s no standing still in this business.”

Driven by a Competitive Spirit

“If you’re not competitive, you might not be a Wasserburger,” Eric smiles.

Others in the family joke: “Wasserburgers? Competitive?! Good grief, we can’t play cards without it getting heated!” – “Those boys can’t walk up the stairs at the same time without making it a race.” Still, they know the hearts of true competitors beat to better themselves.

“If we don’t top the sale one day,” Andrew explains, “it’s not that we’re wishing the other guys’ cattle were worse, we just want to know, how can we make ours better? How do we get ourselves where he is?”

Of course, they have topped plenty of sales over the years, more frequently as the years go by. It’s competition that drove Henry and JD to move the cow herd to an Angus base decades ago, and competition drives Andrew and Eric’s selections today.

“It didn’t take sitting in many sale barns to see the black-hided calves were bringing more money,” JD says, looking back to when he returned to the ranch. Still, it was maternal traits rather than color that drove bull selection.

“In this country, you just have to have cows that can do it themselves,” Andrew says, nodding across the wide, Wyoming prairie of big grasslands cut by deep coulees and rocky enclaves. “If she has bad feet, she’s not going to travel to water, she’s not going to travel to cake or mineral, which means she’s more likely to slough a calf, or short him on nutrition. It just doesn’t work.”

He studies their performance records, willing the cows into a competition with one another. Is there room for second chances in the Bootheel 7 herd?

“No. There’s a thousand other cows out there that aren’t lame, why do you need to be lame? There’s a thousand other cows that kept their calves alive during that storm, why did you lose yours? There’s a thousand other cows I didn’t have to spend $350 to sew up, why would I spend it on you?” Andrew says. “If we keep cows like that around, we’re just asking for more of the same next year.”

The fertility window keeps getting more competitive, too. They recently moved to a 42-day breeding target and use that scorecard as another opportunity to cut the least competitive mothers.

This exacting race to the top drives buyers, too. The last load of heifers through the TD Angus sale ring earned $200 per head over the day’s market average.

“Those buyers come back every year because they understand what we’ve done to produce females here,” Andrew says. “We feel like if you do that job right, raising cows that will raise heifers that will raise the next generation, the steer calves will fall in right behind.”

Tech Takes Training to the Next Level

Andrew points to one definitive training tool that helped the ranch grow to support multiple families.

“The use of technology is really what inspires me to keep moving forward, because you can actually measure progress on ranches now,” Andrew says. “Any way you can imagine, you can measure your range, your grass, your breeding, your carcass, everything. You have a marker so you can know when you’re getting better. It’s your scoreboard.”

About six years ago, the family got curious about how competitive their beef could be on the plate, too. They started ultra-sounding potential replacement heifers to gain a clearer picture of marbling ability and ribeye size and soon moved to scanning every heifer on the place, sorting to ensure every keeper had the targeted 1.1 square inches of ribeye for every 100 pounds of body weight and an intramuscular fat (IMF) score over 3.5 – the threshold for Choice marbling.

This year, they invested in genomic testing for each heifer, with an even-more-detailed analysis of maternal, carcass and performance traits. Now they know exactly what the scorecard will show before they step into the ring

“That’s the fine-tuning,” Andrew says. Again, the competition is stiff. They tested all 690 heifers this year, all earning composite scores in the upper half of the Igenity database. After sorting phenotypically for the top 500, they used the genetic data to sort by ribeye size, IMF score and weight.

“So we’ve got 500 heifers in there we’d be proud to breed on our place,” he says, “but we only need 300. You can watch five, 600-pound, nice-looking heifers go by that look identical on the outside, and now we can narrow them down to the ones with that ideal ribeye inside, too.”

In the 2021 and 2022 TD Angus Feed Tests, they not only won the Highest CAB Percentage category, they came out on top of the Percentage Prime category, too. Topping two out of five categories was an honor, a brief moment to glance at the scoreboard and be proud to see their name in lights, “But we didn’t win ‘em all; that means we still have a lot of work to do,” Eric says.

The Real Winner’s Circle

As much as they learn and lean on technology and the wisdom of past generations, the most valuable tool is still the skill as old as the ancient sport of wrestling or that of tending livestock: a strong social network.

Among others, JD points to the late western Nebraska feeder Dallas Larson, who got him started feeding his own cattle and taught him how to evaluate their potential for performance and profitability beyond the ranch gate.

“This is a tough business – it always has been,” JD says. “But you can’t let it get you down. I never saw Dallas Larson have a bad day; that’s probably the most important thing I learned from him.”

Eric shakes his head, remembering that first purchase of farm ground.

“I tell you, it was some tough love for a few years. We had one old tractor, no experience running a pivot, and that thing was breaking down, flat tires, stuck in the mud, all the time… it was just terrible. But we stuck with it. Asked for a lot of advice. Got better.”

“It helps if you talk to someone smarter than you every day,” Andrew says.

They each point to good neighbors, growing business partners, and a strong community as inspiration to keep learning, growing and helping the next generation.

“We all help each other out, make each other better,” JD says, driving across the same ranch trails his father and grandfather before travelled. His grandkids clamor in the back. “We want kids to be proud of where they came from, proud of what we’re doing here. We want the chef to know when he’s serving a steak that came from here, it’s something he can be proud of, too.”

Now in his second decade as coach on the mat, JD knows that, like wrestling, ranching is not necessarily a test of brute strength. Rather, it’s a trial of endurance and control in the face of adversity.

“Wrestling’s a terrible sport to lose at. I don’t know why, but some kids are just devastated when they’re beat,” he says. The only way to overcome the heartache and bounce back to get better, he figures, is to help a kid feel proud of himself. It can’t be a pride of arrogance, but it must include an earned confidence that comes from knowing they’ve worked hard and used every tool and training to be their best that day.

“If you can make a kid feel proud of himself like that, you’ve got it whipped. And boy, I tell you what, when the kids are proud of themselves, the parents are prouder,” he smiles into the rear-view mirror. “That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

This story was originally published in the Angus Journal.

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Following Second Dreams

Larson Angus Ranch recognized for the 2022 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence award.

By Morgan Boecker

Dust gathers on sketchbooks and drawing pencils while other plans take shape. Years ago, Brady Larson set aside his passion for art to master a new calling.

That echoes his dad’s stepping away from a dream of horse training to work on building the best Angus herd.

In 1977, Dan and wife Becky answered a more literal call when his own father, Floyd Larson, asked the couple to come back to Sharon Springs, Kansas. Dan took a pen riding job at nearby Kan-Sun Feeders and she drove a feed truck and worked with the processing crew.

The feedyard was a good place to start the horses they were raising, and Dan soon started feeding cattle there as he worked on up to assistant manager and became more involved after hours at home working for his father and leasing cows and farm ground. But he wasn’t sure this was meant to be. Though he grew up in the cattle business, his younger self didn’t think it would be a career.

Sometimes walking away takes you exactly where you need to be.

Economics and a newfound passion led him back to the family ranch, where he jumped into studying genetics and the Angus Journal. They’ve since grown Larson Angus Ranch to 800 cows. Since 2007, that’s been with the help of their son Brady along with his wife Kyla, bringing up a fifth generation on the land.

Cow work, genetic improvements and breeding plans are on the table for hours because building the perfect cow takes constant adjustments to the plans they lay out. The Larsons are working on a masterpiece that moves their families and customers closer to “best” every day.

Their determined journey toward elusive perfection helped Larson Angus Ranch earn the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) 2022 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence award.

Power of the Cow

Fields of corn, wheat, alfalfa and milo spread across the landscape, till Ladder Creek marks a shift, where black cows dot the rough, rocky terrain.

“We’re turning grass pastures that can’t be farmed into a high-quality protein source,” Dan says. “We can count on our Angus cows in this region. They work hard for us for 10 or 12 years and produce calves that have a lot of vigor.”

Investing in the right foundational pieces takes upcycling in the short-grass prairie where grazing is good in the summer. That’s if there’s enough rain to make it grow. Drought is part of the cycle and they’re accustomed to managing through them. The cold winter months they rely on cornstalks from neighboring farms.

“We take care of the land and the cattle, in turn, it takes care of us,” Kyla says. “That’s a very short answer for everything that goes into it.”

What works are medium-frame cows with moderate milk production, good udders, calving ease and sound feet to travel. Fertility and carcass merit are non-negotiable.

“It’s one of those things that you just constantly build on,” Brady says. “You’re never gonna get the perfect animal, but you just keep building on it and build on it and build on it.”

Just like each brush stroke adds detail to a painting, every bull mating brings them closer to their goals.

They quickly adopted artificial insemination (AI) in 1989 and within a few years started using embryo transfer (ET). That inspired Brady to pick up custom AI through ABS Global to keep him even busier during breeding season.

Today, they put in 150 embryos and give cows one chance with timed AI. Whatever doesn’t stick gets another chance with the turnout bull.

“We don’t do it on a huge scale compared to other people,” Dan says, while noting their ET work contributes to most of the 100 bulls they sell each March. “This really helps us speed up genetic progress.”

Cows must prove themselves before trusting them to produce an embryo, but they’re seeing that in younger cows all the time.

Technology takes out most of the guesswork. Ninety days after breeding, Brady ultrasounds the cows to match pregnancies to the breeding method and due date. From there, cows are split into calving groups and electronic identification lets them track the data and sort it in spreadsheets.

“We can better manage them, especially in the wintertime,” Brady says. “When we start calving and a blizzard hits and we need to bring some back to the barn, we know almost exactly when cows are going to calve.”

There’s no room for abstract; every little detail matters in the final picture.

Technology helps them stay on target. They use EId tags to track data on all of their cows, which they’re able to then use throughout the year to manage cows individually.

“I certainly think you can have both, maternal instinct and carcass merit,” Brady Larson says. “It’s not easy. I don’t know if the best animal will ever exist, but we strive every day to reach that.”

Customer Focused

Whether it’s in a pasture or on a plate, the family wants everything their customers want.

“Our customer base is not just selling calves at weaning, though some of them do,” Brady says. “We’ve got a lot of customers that come to us because they want to put their cattle on a grid and make extra money.”

The Larsons have the same priorities. Only the top bulls make the annual sale and the best heifers become replacements while they finish the other 600 in their own feedyard to market through US Premium Beef.

“Our goal was to get 100% Choice and years ago we got to that,” Dan says. “And then we tried for 100% CAB and we reached that goal. Now we’re feeding groups of cattle that grade nearly 80% Prime and dress at 64%.”

“If there was a quality grade above Prime, we’d try to target it,” Brady says. “But we also think there’s a multitude of traits we need to focus on to make a complete, balanced animal.”

Hitting the mark means the cattle have to excel across all EPDs and look good do it, he adds. Seven of their top-selling bulls ranked in the top 3% for $C (Combined Value), which combines $M (Maternal Weaned Calf Value) and $B (Beef Value). This helps them and their customers intending to keep replacement heifers and retain ownership through the feedyard.

Sitting at 4,000 feet of elevation, high altitude disease becomes a concern and pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) a critical trait to watch. They see it affecting the youngest calves on feed.

“We feel we need to select more for this or get a little more frame on our calves before they go on feed,” Dan says. “Right now, the best tool we have at this stage is the PAP EPD.”

It’s a balancing act to dance among the relevant traits.

“When we’re really exceptional in one area, then we back up and try to self-audit and see where we really need to improve,” Brady says. “Is it fertility? Is it PAP? Foot quality? Udder quality? Is it growth and calving ease? But we try to really look at where we can be better.”

It’s a progressive mindset, seeking traits that ensure quality and carcass merit are expressed to their full potential. The quest goes on because that’s what pays.

“I was talking to a corn farmer and he told me how envious he was of us being able to add value to our product and that he did not have that ability or any extra way he could to add value,” Brady says. “And that kind of gave me the perspective: a brand, Certified Angus Beef, came out early and it’s been the most consistent product out there. And it’s a product that pays us back good premiums.”

Their sights are set on 100% Prime. Together, they’ll reach it.

Home is With Family

Seven miles is all it takes for Becky and Dan to be at any of their sons’ homes. Farming opportunities made it possible for Beau, Bret and Bart to return, supporting the ranch with the grains they grow and helping when they’re available.

“I don’t know what more a mother or grandmother could ask for,” Becky says. Most days the grandkids saddle up and take barrel racing lessons from Becky or even help move cows. At the end of the day, garage gatherings are common dinner stops.

“I would say this is the American dream. Not a lot of people get to make their livelihood doing what they love,” Brady says.

He and Kyla hope to pass that on to their four kids. Sustaining and improving the water, grass and cattle so each day is the best it can be. That means they’re always getting better.

Whether riding along in the Ranger to check cows, water or put out minerals, the kids are learning by example.

“We try to prioritize, and we don’t always get it right,” Kyla says. “But just getting up the next day and trying again, it’s a lot of hours. I think you could work and work and work and never get it done. But for us, it’s doing the best for our family. Get the cows taken care of, get the work done.”

So they’ll keep working to meet this second dream, skillfully adding brush strokes to make it better.

This story was originally published in the Angus Journal.

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Triangle H Named CAB Feedyard Commitment to Excellence Honoree

Sam Hands and Marisa Kleysteuber recognized for feeding high-quality Angus at the Certified Angus Beef 2022 Annual Conference.

by Morgan Boecker

October 5, 2022

Rocking in Adirondack chairs on the patio, a glass of tea in hand, Sam Hands and daughter Marisa Kleysteuber make their game plan. It’s the only slow part of their day, reflecting on what happened, how to improve and what needs attention next at Triangle H.

Together, they care for more than 8,000 feeder cattle between a feedyard at Garden City, Kan., and another 20 miles west near Deerfield.

For Hands, there are no short answers. Problems are met with careful consideration of every possible outcome, solutions executed with care and evaluation. It’s simply the Triangle H way to deal with every challenge from people to cattle to equipment. Work to be the best in everything they do – a mindset Hands is passing on to his daughter.

Their sharp focus on quality and thoughtful customer service earned Triangle H the 2022 Feedyard Commitment to Excellence Award from Certified Angus Beef (CAB), presented Sept. 23 at the brand’s Annual Conference in Phoenix.

Located in the heart of prime cattle country where genetics excel equally at the ranch and feedyard, bulls for the family’s own commercial Angus herd are selected knowing calves will be in their feeding pens within 15-18 months.

“I just hope from a feeder’s standpoint that we don’t prevent them from reaching their genetic potential,” Hands says.

Raising premium beef starts with genetics, then it’s on the shoulders of the caretakers.

“Good cattle can’t afford to have a bad day,” Kleysteuber says. “So we do everything in our power to give them every opportunity to perform and express the genetics that are there.”

Hands is the kind who wants to understand an entire process. In the 1970s and ’80s, he and wife Janet spent hours in the packing plant coolers tracking their cattle through harvest to know exactly how they were performing.

“If I’m going to produce beef knowing I’m going to sell on the rail, then I want to know if I’m getting the dollars that I hope to reach,” he says. “I’ve got to be on target.”

Size, scale and decades of experience allow them to uniquely tailor each customers’ feedyard and carcass data to best cattle performance.

“This is a powerful tool that we can share with our customers to make improvements with their herd and add more value to their bottom line,” Kleysteuber says.

Through the U.S. Premium Beef grid, Hands knows individual carcass performance. As long as a pen stays above average, they see black in their bottom line.

And they do. In the first quarter of 2022, Triangle H averaged 97% Choice or better, 18% Prime and 44% CAB resulting in a $91.60 per head premium. At certain times of the year, premiums can reach more than $200 per head.

But cattle don’t perform to their greatest potential without the right people. A reoccurring question for the father-daughter duo is how to bring in good employees and then help them grow and develop.

Their investments pay off with tenured employees.

“We give them a lot of responsibility to make decisions and keep things moving,” he says. “This lets us focus on more of the business side at the office.”

“Over time dad has helped me gain more confidence in different areas of the business,” Kleysteuber says. Every day she accepts more of the daily weight that comes with managing a feedyard.

She naturally fills the role but continues to take full advantage of the time spent with her dad. “As long as he can get up and come out here, I plan on us working side-by-side.”

Making It Better

One family’s journey from town to the peak of premium beef production earns the CAB Sustainability Award for Wharton 3C Cattle.

Story and photos by Nicole Lane Erceg

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