The prime of his life

Arizona commercial cattlemen awarded for commitment to excellence

Story and photos by Morgan Boecker

October 2021

Ross Humphreys’ adept gait tells of many days in and out of the saddle checking his herd, fence lines, water tanks, and grass availability. Yet at 72, he can still drop down and roll under the barbed wire fence quicker than most men half his age.

But Humphreys is not your typical cowboy. He’s a chemist, book publisher, family guy, conservationist, and rancher.

He wears many hats, but his black felt wide brim fits most naturally, shading him from the sun at San Rafael Cattle Company, south of Patagonia, Ariz., along the Mexico border. When off the ranch, you can find him in Tucson managing stocks and his publishing company.

Grit in every venture makes him a successful businessman, and his unrattled spirit makes the best of challenges. However, it’s his relentless drive for raising high-quality beef that earned him the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) 2021 Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award.

A different background

Humphreys grew up an army brat, traveling and moving most of his childhood. He went to college on the east coast and earned a degree in chemistry.

After a career as a newspaper photographer, chemist then a metallurgical engineer climbing smokestacks, he decided to go back to school for a Master of Business Administration. That sent him to New York for a new career in strategic business consulting.

In 1980 he moved to Tucson to manage a newspaper family fortune and later launch a cancer diagnostics company. Along the way, he and his wife Susan bought Treasure Chest Books, adding “book publishers” to their resume.

There was also a short stint when he found a new job study, consulting ranchers with the Malpai Borderlands Group.

In 1999 at 50-years-old never having owned cattle or managed a ranch, he divested from his cancer diagnostics business interest and bought San Rafael Cattle Company. Admittedly, he took an unusual path to the cattle business.

“The ranch had been in one family’s name for almost 100 years,” Humphreys says. “I stood on one of the hills with my older daughter and said, ‘Anybody could run a cow on this place because you can see her wherever she is.’ So that’s how we got started.”

Consistent little changes

Most ranchers learn from their parents or grandparents, but Humphreys went straight to the University of Arizona and bought a Ranching 101 textbook.

He started out doing what many of his neighbors did, raising black baldies and selling calves at weaning. Always curious, his questions led to new acquaintances, and Mark Gardiner, of Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas, became his teacher and connector.

“I’ve hardly ever spent any physical time with Gardiners,” Humphreys admits, “But if I called them up, they’d spend two hours on the phone with me answering questions.”

They guided Humphreys, never telling him what to do but pointing out issues to consider – planting ideas that would turn small changes into significant results.

“When I think of Ross, I think of the book called Moneyball, because he looks at the numbers,” Randall Spare, Kansas veterinarian and Humphreys’ mentor, says. “He knew the expected progeny differences (EPDs), and he knew focusing on those numbers would work.”

Humphreys leaned on sound science and good information – it’s what drove him to the business breed. No ranch decision is made without running some math and looking at a spreadsheet.

That mindset transformed his herd when profit-driven cattle marketing, like retained ownership, was gaining popularity.

His Hereford-Angus cows quickly shifted after he started buying registered Angus bulls from Gardiner. He focuses on selecting for calving ease, docility, ribeye area, and marbling to pursue balanced cows that can raise replacement females and a calf crop that produces the best beef.

In 2013 Humphreys attended a lecture in Kansas about genetic testing. Looking at the other cattlemen in the room who he had watched buy bulls the last decade, he thought, “I’m definitely not in their club.”

He started testing all his cows and each annual set of replacements and watched the average genetic profile of his heifers climb.

Steady progress built on buying a little better bull than the year before, Humphreys confirms his plan works with results at the feedyard. Loads of his fed cattle have improved from 20% Prime in 2013 to 95% CAB or higher, including nearly 85% Prime today.

Emphasis on uniformity makes it easier for his feeding partner to manage his cattle and achieve those results.

Humphreys determined he could be a cattleman who buys cheap and sells cheap, conserving financial resources, or he could sell food.

“I decided that I want to raise beef,” he says. “My goal is to try to produce the best carcass I can. So, I keep trying to nudge up my cow herd so that the calves will be even better the next time.”

Preserving today for tomorrow

Conservation is as much part of the San Rafael story as the cattle. Named after the San Rafael Valley, the ranch is nestled in Arizona’s high desert country bordering Mexico. It’s the north end of a rich ecological site that looks like the Great Plains and is home to various plants and animals, many on the endangered species list.

“We’ve implemented protection and re-introduction plans and learned so much about the animals and plants that live here,” Susan says.

“Ninety-five percent of this ranch is perennial native grasses,” Humphreys says. “We are the last shortgrass prairie in Arizona.”

The Nature Conservancy established two conservations easements on the ranch the year before Humphreys bought it, making the ranch an attractive investment for the couple.

“We’ve always been interested in conservation,” Susan says. “And that was one of the reasons we bought this place.”

Conversations with conservation groups ensure that the ranching operation, endangered wildlife, and habitat are protected from housing or industrial development. The easements with Arizona State Parks and the Nature Conservancy led to work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“I think that this is the most beautiful, rich biological valley in Southern Arizona,” Humphreys says. “As a student of NRCS, I know that we can out climate anybody else in my ecological site.”

The most important habitats on the ranch are water sources, including the Santa Cruz River, several springs, and stock tanks. The endangered Sonoran Tiger Salamander is only found in stock tanks in the San Rafael Valley. Humphreys has developed water sources with support from NRCS grants – creating a mutual benefit for the cattle and wildlife.

“The salamanders probably wouldn’t be here if not for the stock tanks,” says Doug Duncan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist. “And that’s where the value of livestock in this valley really benefits many of the aquatic species.”

Wetter years to come

Environmental investment is key to Humphreys’s long-term goal of sustaining the land as a working ranch. Collaboration with NRCS helps him set standards and objectives for improving the land and preparing for years when Mother Nature is unkind. The current Southwestern drought continues to challenge his resources.

“After two years of severe drought, the ranch isn’t beautiful anymore,” Humphreys says.

Thoughtful and strategic management of resources is vital in an area that seems to get dryer every year. The 34 square miles of the ranch is split into 25 rotational grazing pastures. He moves the cattle once 40-50% of the grass is consumed and returns for re-grazing only after it rains.

Even with intensive management, the land still needs water. As a result, Humphreys sold roughly 65% of his cow herd this year.

“It was terrible,” he admits. “Except I sold them to two of my best friends.”

Unsure if he will ever get back to pre-drought herd numbers, he remains committed to this final career as a rancher.

“I want to come home to a beautiful place,” he says. “I started doing this when I was 50, but I like the work. I like the cows.”

Ever the student, he meets each new challenge with a thirst for knowledge, determined to sustain, and focused on raising the best, one step at a time.

Originally published in the Angus Journal and Angus Beef Bulletin.

Everything They Have

by Morgan Boecker | Sep 18, 2023

Progress is a necessity on the Guide Rock, Nebraska, ranch where Troy Anderson manages a commercial Angus herd, small grower yard, his 10-year-old son, and a testing environment. Troy’s approach includes respect for his livestock, people and land. For that, Anderson Cattle was honored with the CAB 2023 Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award.

Showing Up, Every Day

by Morgan Boecker | Sep 18, 2023

Thirty-five thousand cattle may fill these pens, but it’s the Gabel family who set the tone for each day. Steve and Audrey persistently create a people-first culture, echoed by their son Case and daughter Christie, who work alongside them in the yard office. The Gabel’s drive to effectively hit the high-quality beef target earned Magnum Feedyard the CAB 2023 Feedyard Commitment to Excellence award.

From the Ground Up

by Lindsay Runft | Sep 18, 2023

Benoit Angus Ranch, a seedstock operation that markets more than 150 bulls annually, is a multi-generation family business with sons Doug and Chad now heavily involved. Focused on serving the commercial cattleman, the Benoits built a reputation for high-quality cattle that perform on the ranch, in the feedyard and on the rail. With always-improving cattle to support that renown, and the will to back it up, Benoit Angus Ranch earned the CAB 2023 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award.

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U.S. Premium Beef named CAB Progressive Partner

by Miranda Reiman

September 22, 2021

Fear is a powerful motivator.

In the mid-1990s, beef demand was tanking and that scared the whole industry.

“Our product was bad, and nobody wanted it. We were losing market share at a record rate,” says Mark Gardiner, Ashland, Kan., Angus breeder.

Cattle feeders couldn’t get cattle sold. Each Monday they hoped the show list had enough “fancy” cattle to use as a bargaining tool to sell the remaining finished animals on inventory. Commercial producers who invested in good bulls and vaccinations found their cattle selling for the same price as those from ranchers who didn’t.

That fear brought individual farmers, ranchers and cattle feeders together with a collection of ideas and U.S. Premium Beef (USPB) was born.

“That team became very, very synergistic,” says Tracy Thomas, USPB vice president of marketing. To date, USPB has processed more than 17 million head—with individual data collection on each one—and paid $625 million in grid premiums to cattlemen.

For their influence on the beef business, shifting toward quality and value-based marketing, USPB earned Certified Angus Beef’s (CAB’s) 2021 Progressive Partner Award.

Mark Gardiner, Gardiner Angus Ranch

Tracy Thomas, USPB

Kansas State University fraternity brothers Steve Hunt and Mark Gardiner swapped ideas over a Pizza Hut lunch buffet, and more and more alums joined their cause during the next few months.

“We really bought into it because at the time, we were losing a lot of money feeding cattle,” says commercial cattleman Roger Giles, of Ashland, Kan. The better cattle came with lower health cost and gained better, but “you were just getting killed when you sold them.”

Near Scott City, Kan., cattle feeders discussed everything from building their own plant to hiring a czar to sell their fat cattle.

“I’ve said it before, but the success of a rain dance has a lot to do with the timing,” says Joe Morgan, Poky Feeders, a founding USPB member. “One night we all shook hands that we’re going to leave every night as friends, no matter how upset we got during the meeting. I think that was a real key.”

In late 1995, a formal group assembled and started selling an idea. Soon enough, cattlemen from across the country were pledging support to the developing business model.

They signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 50% of what was then Farmland National Beef Packing Co. LP (FNB). It was the fourth-largest beef processor in the United States.

Roger Giles, Giles Angus Ranch

Joe Morgan, Poky Feeders

John Fairleigh, Fairleigh Feedyard

The USPB stock offering went live in October 1997, and by December the new company was buying up to 10,000 head of cattle a week from its producer members. Each share carried the “right and obligation to deliver one head to your processing plant,” Thomas says, and the minimum point of entry was 100 shares.

“It was a very, very big investment, kind of rolling the dice and throwing it all in one basket,” says John Fairleigh, Fairleigh Feedyard and fellow founding member. “We all thought when we started U.S. Premium Beef that our cattle were way better than our neighbors’ — and for sure better than the industry.”

Nationwide, less than half of fed beef was grading Choice, and USPB soon realized its harvest ran lower still.

“It was very difficult for us the first few years for people to accept that they needed to make genetic change,” Morgan says.

An initial grace period with FNB guaranteed them at least the market average each week, and with individual carcass data in hand and a grid target to hit, cattlemen got to work.

It’s been more than two decades since the USPB grid was introduced, and now every major packer has marketing options to sell cattle on individual carcass merit.

In 1997 some 40% of all USPB cattle graded Choice, and fewer than 10% qualified for CAB. Last year, USPB cattle averaged 89% Choice and Prime — a record high — and annual CAB percentage has averaged 28% the past five years, with an additional 3% CAB Prime.

“We had seamless information to guide our guesses as to what consumers wanted,” Fairleigh says.

The cattle changed from the “rainbow coalition,” Gardiner says, to a more solid set of uniform cattle. The Angus breed led the improvement.

“We have created a tremendous product now and got consumer confidence, consumer acceptability and we’ve got the demand now,” Morgan says.

USPB members have collectively earned $2.1 billion in payments, grid premiums and cash distributions from ownership in processing. Today, USPB has more than 2,900 members and associates in 38 different states, and an approximate 15% ownership interest in National Beef Packing Co.

The USPB mission includes increasing both the quality of beef and long-term profitability for cattle producers. Beef demand is up more than 30% on the year.

“We’ve only just begun,” Gardiner says.

One tour at a time

Oklahoma’s Pfeiffer family earns the Certified Angus Beef Ambassador Award

by Kylee Kohls

September 22, 2021

“I’ve never been this close to a cow before.”

John and Gaye Pfeiffer hear that phrase nearly every time they host a group on their farm. For most, seeing cattle up close is a moment they won’t forget.

Telling their story to the cattle curious was awkward at first for the Pfeiffers.

“I realized that we were going to have to show people what it means to raise cattle and what all is involved,” John says.

 Now, the Pfeiffers look forward to hosting hundreds of visitors each year. They share everything from the beef cattle life cycle, animal care, vaccination protocols, and sustainability practices to why they choose Angus cattle on their central Oklahoma farm. 

The Pfeiffers’ dedication to teaching and connecting with those further down the supply chain earned them the 2021 Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Ambassador Award.

The Angus way

Whether it was a calling or an inborn fondness for black cattle, John knew from a young age he would do whatever he could to follow in the footsteps of the three generations before him in the Mulhall-Orlando area. 

“One of the first things my grandad did as soon as all his grandkids were born is make them members of the American Angus Association,” chuckles John.

The Pfeiffer family brought their first Angus bull to Logan County in 1907.  

Seventy-four years later, John and Gaye began their venture with 30 cows, just a few miles from where the origin bull roamed. Those cattle became a part of the upbringing for the farm and their now-adult sons, John Christopher and Andy.           

Today, the family calves out 300 cows each year.

The Pfeiffers witnessed progress in their own herd through intentional planning and commitment to data. They select sires and cow lines that work for their environment and their customers, plus target the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.

The couple typically keep about 20 steers back from both his fall and spring calves to feed for carcass data, which serves as a report card on their genetics. Recent groups earned 70% CAB or better. Groups of feeder cattle are marketed through AngusLink, using the Genetic Merit Scorecard SM to showcase the quality built into their herd and test his own cattle in the value-based marketing avenue available to his customers.

Their focus is quality consistency in the bulls they breed and across their herd.

“The Angus cow has made Certified Angus Beef successful. Certified Angus Beef has made the Angus cow more profitable,” John says. 

Telling their story 

Together, the Pfeiffers’ mission is to make their communities better and more approachable. They often serve together in county, state, and national organizations, with local cooperatives, school boards, Farm Bureau, cattlemen, and Angus Associations.

Giving back was something both John and Gaye were taught to value from a young age, but they learned storytelling along the way.

“This is a partnership,” John says. “It’s just unbelievable – the fact that we make it possible for [partners] to do what they want to do by selling a quality product, and they make it possible for us to continue to stay here and raise that product.” 

Hosting groups and tours help keep them connected to those further down the beef value chain, Gaye adds.

“We consider it a privilege to be able to host groups,” she says. “It’s always been our obligation we thought as producers to interact with all the different segments Certified Angus Beef interacts with to explain our role and how it all fits together.”

After forty years of progress, John and Gaye continue to share their up-close-and-personal experiences with their cattle and community.

Thanks to the vision, service, and progress they started, the fifth John Pfeiffer could now raise cattle in the same area his family began farming in more than a century ago. 

“A legacy to me means more than just acres and cows,” Gaye explains. “A legacy to me means you are also sharing your values. You’re sharing the love of the land, the importance of feeding the world, and the importance of doing whatever it takes to make things better in the end.” 

Bradley 3 Ranch Earns Certified Angus Beef Sustainability Award

by Abbie Burnett

September 22, 2021

Minnie Lou Bradley is not sure what surprised her more: there were roots, or that they were alive. Nothing above ground promised either.

“I didn’t know until later,” she recalls, “But no one had ever owned this piece of country for over 10 years without going broke.”

Sixty years later, grasses are nearly stirrup high, water is no farther than a half mile away from any direction and the Bradley 3 Ranch (B3R) herd is doubled in size and expanded acreage several times over.

The changes are a result of investments over time, making the land better through cattle. Consistent progress and creative methods in developing their ranch earned the Memphis, Texas cattle family the 2021 Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Sustainability Award.

In the early 2000s, Minnie Lou’s daughter Mary Lou Bradley-Henderson and husband James Henderson sold their meatpacking company, B3R Meats, and returned to the ranch. They mapped out a 20-year plan, picking up work Minnie Lou started. The fruits of their labor are evident this year.

With an average annual 18 inches of rainfall, water is the elixir to life in these parts.

The plan: build more opportunities for water, gouge out the scourge of water-guzzling brush one by one, and bring back the grass while managing a quality-forward seedstock business.

Droughts are not an “if,” but a “when.” James and Mary Lou do their best to prepare for them, but the record drought of 2010 to 2014 changed everything.

They thought they had a drought contingency plan, says James, “But we didn’t have enough of anything – grass, hay, or money.”

B3R Sustainability James Henderson and Mary Lou Bradley-Henderson

They formed a new plan. First, they invested in stock tanks (West Texan for ponds).

It takes about 10-years to fill them. There are nine operational ponds now, and more on the way.

In 2019, Mary Lou and James began implementing Aqua balls on their water troughs. The black, palm-sized polyethylene spheres cover about 95% of the water surface area, preventing water evaporation, loss to wind, and surface algae growth.

“We’ve got 45 tubs on the ranch, all about 2000 gallons each,” says James. “They’d typically be dry come springtime, and we’d lose another 4,000 gallons in the summer to evaporation. We’re saving several thousand dollars a year.”

Other touches include solar-powered wells with overflow ponds. Brush removal has brought back wildlife, now able to drink from springs that have emerged.

To Mary Lou and James, sustainability is as much about the efficiency and quality of the animal as it is about land and water.

They’ve built indexes around the performances of their cattle and focus on cows that can raise a calf, breed back, do it on minimal resources and maintain their flesh. With their background in meatpacking, Mary Lou and James always keep carcass quality top of mind.

“We’re trying to get a very highly productive cow,” she says. “One that will have calves that’ll work downstream for some of the CAB steaks later on.”

While the genetics and performance indexes are finely tuned in a detailed spreadsheet, grass management for nutrition is just as intentional.

“To maintain grasses in a fragile environment, you’ve got to be able to let them grow plenty of roots,” James says. “If we are grazing those grasses, then they regrow and refresh and redo. If you don’t, they become stale and basically worthless from a nutritional standpoint.”

This year their cows weaned 61.4% of their body weight and averaged a body condition of 6 to 6.5. A big deal in the Panhandle, says Mary Lou.

“For us, if you don’t have the bottom line, we’re not here,” says Mary Lou. “We’ve got to make it work. Truly, we are sustainable, or we’re not.”

Nothing is a one-year thought process, she says. Just like building a fence, Mary Lou asks herself whether their decisions will last the next 50 years.

For the generation before, the progress made is already worth the struggles.

“It’s taken 60 years to figure this all out, but we are about to get those grasses back that stirrup height,” Minnie Lou smiles. “It quite grabs my heart when I walk into those pastures and remember what they were and what they are today.”

Arizona commercial cattleman awarded for commitment to excellence

Story and photos by Morgan Boecker

September 23, 2021

Ross Humphreys walks like a cowboy and talks like one, too. His adept gaits tells of many days in and out of the saddle on his ranch just south of Patagonia, Ariz. His story shares decades of learning by doing, most of which weren’t on a ranch. He isn’t your typical cowboy.

He wears many hats, but his black felt wide brim fits most naturally, shading him from the sun at San Rafael Cattle Company, south of Patagonia, Ariz. Off the ranch, you can find him in Tucson managing stocks and his publishing company.

A different background 

Humphreys grew up an army brat, moving frequently throughout his childhood. He earned a degree in chemistry and worked as a metallurgical engineer for a bit before going back to school for a Master of Business Administration. That sent him on a new route.

He’s held a lot of job titles in his 72 years, from strategic business advisor to book publisher and CEO of multiple companies, just to name a few.

In 1999 at 50-years-old, never having owned cattle or managed a ranch, he bought San Rafael Cattle Company. Admittedly, he took an unusual path to the cattle business. 

“I stood on one of the hills with my older daughter and said, ‘Anybody could run a cow on this place because you can see her wherever she is,’” he says. “So that’s how we got started.”

Consistent little changes

With no agricultural background, Humphreys went straight to the University of Arizona and bought a Ranching 101 textbook.

Always curious, his questions led to new acquaintances, and Mark Gardiner, of Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas, became his teacher and connector.

“I’ve hardly ever spent any physical time with Gardiners,” Humphreys admits, “But if I called them up, they’d spend two hours on the phone with me answering questions.”

Humphreys leaned on good information and sound science. No ranch decision is made without running some math and looking at a spreadsheet.

By genetic testing his herd, he saw steady progress by buying a little better bull than the year before. He focuses his selection to ensure balanced cows that can raise replacement females and a calf crop that produces the best beef.

Humphreys confirms his plan works with results at the feedyard. Loads of his fed cattle have improved from 20% Prime in 2013 to 95% CAB or higher, including nearly 85% Prime today.

“My goal is to try to produce the best carcass I can,” he says. “So, I keep trying to nudge up my cow herd so that the calves will be even better the next time.”

Preserving today for tomorrow

“Ninety-five percent of this ranch is perennial native grasses,” Humphreys says. “We are the last shortgrass prairie in Arizona.”

Conversations with conservation groups ensure that the ranching operation, endangered wildlife and habitat are protected from housing or industrial development. The easements with Arizona State Parks and the Nature Conservancy led to work with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 

The most important habitats on the ranch are water sources, including the Santa Cruz River, several springs and stock tanks. The endangered Sonoran Tiger Salamander is only found in stock tanks in the San Rafael Valley. Humphreys has developed water sources with support from NRCS grants, creating a mutual benefit for the cattle and wildlife. 

Looking ahead

Environmental investment is key to Humphreys’ long-term goal of sustaining the land.

Even with intensive management, the land still needs water and the current Southwestern drought continues to challenge his resources. As a result, Humphreys sold roughly 65% of his cow herd this year.

Unsure if he will ever get back to pre-drought herd numbers, he remains committed to this final career as a rancher. 

“I want to come home to a beautiful place,” he says. “I started doing this when I was 50, but I like the work. I like the cows.” 

Ever the student, he meets each new challenge with a thirst for knowledge, determined to sustain, and focused on raising the best, one step at a time. 

Customer First Mentality

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Kansas Feedyard Honored by Certified Angus Beef

Story and photos by Morgan Boecker

September 22, 2021

Much of the cattle feeding business is outside of a manager’s control, but quality cattle caretaking is one thing Kendall Hopp can guarantee.

He plans for the volatile, hopes for the best and deals with the rest as it comes. The first thing on his list begins with treating people right. Hopp knows happy folks manage cattle more consistently, leading to healthy livestock that perform.

Different skillsets make Shaw Feedyard thrive. Hopp manages the feedyard, Bill Shaw handles the books and his son Brett Shaw takes care of the farm, stockers and other duties as assigned.

Their teamwork, values and ability to consistently raise high-quality beef earned Shaw Feedyard the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) 2021 Feedyard Commitment to Excellence Award.

Optimized management

The 7,500 head feedyard is in an area Hopp likens to Main Street for prime cattle country. 

Just 45 miles from two major packing plants in Dodge City, with a network of quality-minded cattlemen nearby, Shaw Feedyard fits the locality like a trendy restaurant downtown. The climate is favorable for keeping pens of fed steers and heifers comfortable and thriving.

They’re surrounded by rich grain resources, chopping silage and grain from their own fields. Any outside feeds – like hay, wet distillers grains and corn – are sourced within a hundred-mile radius.

Like the restaurant, if they can’t sell a good plate, there won’t be a customer tomorrow. As a custom feeder, it takes the right genetics (or ingredients), and Hopp focuses on making them reach their full potential.

It’s a different sense of local. Accessing their supply and supporting the state economies until harvest, when much of their beef is shipped to higher populated areas. 

“It’s our job to feed strangers,” Brett says. “It’s not a burden because I know the beef that we’re putting in front of them is a consistent, efficient, sustainable product. And it will be for generations to come.”

Handled with care

Everyone at Shaw’s specializes in individualized cattle care where comfort is a priority. The pens are kept clean, dry and stocked with freshwater giving them everything they need to convert feed to beef. 

It’s vital to both customer and cattle management. Healthy animals are crucial to performance, and as a custom-feeding yard, their reputation for top-notch management keeps the pens full.

Everyone at the yard is Beef Quality Assurance certified. It’s their guarantee that animals have been well taken care of and will produce a good product.

A mix of human touch and technology power the yard today. Steam-flaked rations, mixer trucks, GPS monitors, a consulting veterinarian, nutritionist, digital data and reporting support the Shaw crew in their mission for quality.

It’s not unusual to see pens grade 100% Choice with a high percentage meeting CAB and Prime. 

“Certified Angus Beef provides the best consistency of any product I’ve seen,” Brett says. “And that’s a direct result of how we handle our cattle.”

They are just one piece of the larger puzzle that supplies premium beef, but hitting the high target is no accident. For the team at Shaw, it’s intentional management, planning each day to do their best for each other and the livestock.

“If we can do that consistently,” Bill says. “We know we’ll keeping feeding cattle.”

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Targeting Excellence in All They Do

Yon Family Farms Earns CAB Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award

Story and photos by Jessica Wharton and Nicole Erceg

September 22, 2021

Family. Commitment. Value. It’s more than a catchy saying or after-thought marketing slogan on sale books. It’s the Yon way of doing business.

First-generation seedstock producers Kevin and Lydia Yon, along with their children, Drake, Sally, and Corbin, have been continuously improving their farm since 1996 when they drove the first fence posts on what was a 100-acre abandoned peach orchard.

Today, a herd of nearly 1,500 Angus cattle graze their lush green pastures on the coastal plains outside of Ridge Spring, S.C.

Establishing a world-class seedstock operation in the Southeast didn’t happen overnight, and the family humbly insists they’re no different than many others. Indeed, their vision, use of technologies, and dedication to deliberate improvement make them unique.

The pursuit of quality in every detail of their operation earned the Yon family the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) 2021 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence award.

The bottom line

Early adopters of technology, the Yons learned to leverage data. From utilizing artificial insemination and embryo transfer to embracing carcass expected progeny differences (EPDs) and value-based marketing before they were the norm, the family harnesses the power of information for strategic decision making.

“We’re a family-owned seedstock operation that lives and works with the cattle,” Kevin explains. “If we always make decisions about breeding better cattle, well then, we will breed better cattle. We have a long-term vision of always moving the cattle in a positive direction while keeping an eye on important economic traits.”

Next to many bulls in the Yon sale book sits a small logo that holds significance for a rancher’s bottom line. The CAB Targeting the Brand™ logo signals genetic value and potential, telling buyers which sires’ progeny are most likely to qualify for the brand.

“We target, and our customers target the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand,” Drake says. “Number one, they’re going to get paid more for a calf that qualifies for Certified Angus Beef, but they also feel a real sense of pride when their calves do meet Certified Angus Beef ^® standards.”

The logo highlights registered Angus bulls with a minimum marbling EPD of +0.65 and an Angus Grid Value Index of +55 or higher. In the last four years, the Yons raised more than 600 sires that meet these standards. That’s 72% of the more than 450 Angus bulls they market through their production sales annually.

“We target the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand because to us, it’s the mark of excellence. It’s the mark of quality,” Kevin says. “It’s the best of the best. And we don’t want to just be good. We don’t want our customers just to be average. We want to strive for excellence in all we do.”

The cattle that customers want

Kevin does mean all.

“Although we put a lot of emphasis on marbling and ribeye and carcass traits, we can never take the eye off that mama cow. Or just off those basic traits that will help cattle to thrive in their environment,” Kevin says. “And that’s the good thing— Angus cattle can do both.”

To serve their southeastern customer base, they focus on developing cattle that thrive in a grass-based, humid, long growing season.

They strive to be a one-stop-shop for maternal, carcass, and easy to manage cattle. They also market 250 females through an on-farm sale each year, but not before the cows prove their value.

“With our registered females, we give them time to make cows and measure longevity,” Kevin says. “It’s not about breeding for the next sale; it’s about a long-term breeding philosophy. We really care about making the cattle better.”

Building Together

The Yons built their farm as a family, and what began as Kevin and Lydia’s hopeful vision, each child has now embraced as their own.

Committed to creating something worthwhile together, sharing values and value with others is their shared pursuit.

“It’s not always a great way to make a living, but it is truly a great way to live,” says Kevin. “We feel like this is what we were put here to do. To raise high-quality beef, raise cattle, raise grass, raise children, and raise grandchildren.”

And to do all with excellence.

Customer First Mentality

by Morgan Boecker | Sep 23, 2024

From Modest Beginnings to Excellence

by Courtney Weekley | Sep 20, 2024

From White House to Farmhouse

by Courtney Weekley | Sep 20, 2024

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Smith receives Industry Achievement Award at Feeding Quality Forum

by Abbie Burnett

August 27, 2021

The hands of a veterinarian hold the life cycle of an animal in their care. The mind, however, directs the hands.

Anyone who’s met Dr. Bob Smith knows the way he thinks is something else.

“There was one time he told me I needed to look at the 1993, page 4, 2^nd edition of the Bovine Practitioner for a problem I had,” says Miles Theurer, the research director for Veterinary Research and Consulting Services (VRCS) and Hy-Plains Feedyard near Montezuma, Kansas. “I was like, ‘yeah, okay.’ But I actually pulled it up and he nailed it spot on.”

What Theurer – and anyone who’s worked with Smith – has come to understand is, the vet knows his stuff.

It’s come from more than 30 years in the industry caring for its people and cattle.

Smith joins the rankings of people like Larry Corah, Jerry Bohn, John Matsushima and Topper Thorpe with the 2021 Industry Achievement Award presented at Feeding Quality Forum, August 24 in Fort Collins, Colo.

Smith grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas – five miles from Missouri and 20 miles from Oklahoma. His dad worked off the farm but the Smith family ran a few beef cows, milked a few dairy cows and had some horses.

He joined the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) research efforts 30 years ago and hasn’t looked back. When he got involved, injection site lesions were known to diminish beef quality. He helped create new best practices, moving injections from the top butt to the neck. He developed BQA trainings about the procedure.

“We went from about 24% of fed cattle carcasses having injection site lesions down to virtually none,” he says.

In the early 2000s, he became chair of the BQA group studying cattle welfare. The group learned stress suppresses the cattle immune system, making cattle more susceptible to disease and other problems. They developed a guide on cattle handling and started stockmanship schools around the country.

“We’ve improved the quality of our product a lot, but we’re not sitting on our laurels,” Smith says. “We’re looking for new opportunities and not forgetting what we’ve accomplished in the past.”

Outside of his work with BQA, he’s spent nearly 25 years in post-education positions and nearly the equivalent in the private sector. Currently, he’s a vet with VRCS, which serves around 60 feedyards.

He’s accumulated much knowledge over his nearly four-decade career and shares as much as possible in the personal, one-on-one encounters he cherishes.

He’ll see that yard personnel follow protocols correctly. When driving the yard, he carefully observes pen riders, handing them 3×5 cards with detailed notes.

Tom Jones, manager of Hy-Plains Feedyard, friend and client of the veterinarian for more than 30 years, says Smith lives and dies by education, stockmanship and protocols.

“Doc Bob likes to use stockmanship as his number one antibacterial,” Jones says. “But his priority when he visits our yard is education. He spends more time with our doctors and cowboy crews than he does in the office with me.”

Smith’s work ethic is legendary, according to Jones. To his knowledge, few people have necropsied more cattle or have as much experience. “He loves to find out what went wrong,” he says.

“I think partly why the businesses that I’ve been around have done okay is because of the guidance of Doc Bob,” Jones adds.

Every year Smith helps host an antimicrobial resistance meeting at the Hy-Plains Education and Research Center. Attendees represent nearly a third of the U.S. fed cattle production.

He thrives on providing solutions to big challenges like respiratory diseases or growth performance.

“It’s where the producer gets the most return,” Smith explains.

With years of experience, his white hair, and suffering chronic back pain, clients may wonder when he’ll stop coming by.

“If my golf game was better, I might’ve quit by now,” Smith jokes. “But I’m a terrible golfer, and I still enjoy getting up and going to work.”

He hopes to be remembered as a “pretty good veterinarian;” someone who loved his profession, his family, his God and gave it all he had.

“There are so many people that are deserving of this award,” Smith says. “Really it’s a shared award. No matter what you’ve accomplished, someone has helped you. But I’m deeply grateful.”

Of cattle care & human flourishing

Long-time veterinarian honored for service to cattle industry

By: Abbie Burnett

Originally ran in the Angus Journal

It’s second nature for veterinarian Bob Smith to reach for a 3X5 notecard. He’s used probably tens of thousands in his four decades of service to the beef industry, recording advice, ear tag numbers, and the names of people he has met.

Sure, there are other numbers: three academic degrees, 45 research studies, membership in 16 organizations and more than 200 publications and textbooks published. And, 25 years of service on the NCBA Beef Quality Assurance Advisory Council, where he helped set up protocols and trainings for cattle care and injection site measures.

He’s spent up to 240 nights a year on the road, gave 750 presentations at veterinary conferences or producer meetings, and conducted countless BQA trainings.

But it all comes back to the people.

The 2021 Industry Achievement Award recipient could go by numbers, but he sees success born in the progress of cattle and people… one notecard at a time.

A Walking Encyclopedia

The hands of a veterinarian hold the life cycle of an animal in their care. But the mind directs the hands.

What Theurer – and anyone who’s worked with Smith has come to understand – the vet knows his stuff.

His early years were much like the life of famed English vet James Herriot. Knowledge was mostly learned in the field. He was working before products like Draxxin® and Micotil®, synchronization drugs or embryo transfer existed.

He grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas – five miles from Missouri and 20 miles from Oklahoma. His dad worked off the farm, but the Smith family ran a few beef cows, milked a few dairy cows and had some horses.

“Although my dad had many interests, mine kept focusing on agriculture,” Smith says. “I was particularly intrigued by our local veterinarians who came out to care for the cattle.”

Between his home and alma matter Kansas State University were feedyards, which piqued his interest.

He spent nearly 25 years in post-education positions and nearly the equivalent in the private sector. Currently, he’s a vet with VRCS, which serves around 60 feedyards.

He’s accumulated so much knowledge over his nearly four decade career, but he imparts as much as possible.

“One of my favorite things that I’ve done in my practice and university life is to speak at various meetings around the world and country – everything from a little room in a sale barn to some large auditorium,” Smith says. “Answering things like how we can do better, asking people their problems and how to solve them. Each of those is enjoyable.”

dalebanks perrier seedstock commitment to excellence

But it’s the personal, one-on-one encounters he cherishes.

He likes to push cattle while observing at the same time. On that 3X5 notecard, he’ll count the number of prod touches, cattle that slipped or dropped to their knees, or ones that bawled with no interaction.

He’ll see that yard personnel follow protocols correctly, and when driving the yard, he watches pen riders, handing them his little cards with detailed notes.

“Cattle are animals of prey,” Smith says. “You have to make them comfortable and keep checking so that they’ll relax. You can see their true form if they’re sick and not hiding it. I tell the pen rider to pull the slightly sick one first because it’s easy to go back and find the real sick one.”

Tom Jones, manager of Hy-Plains Feedyard, friend and client to Smith for more than 30 years, says Smith lives and dies by education, stockmanship and protocols.

Smith’s personal pursuit of knowledge never ends. He is senior editor of a few publications, which he says forces him to learn things he normally wouldn’t pay much attention to.

“It’s so you don’t get in your own little corner and think you know everything. You get out and mix it up with other people and obtain new information to guide you in your professional career.”

Smith’s work ethic is legendary, Jones says. To his knowledge, few people have necropsied more cattle or have as much experience as Smith. “He loves to find out what went wrong,” he says.

“I think partly why the businesses that I’ve been around have done okay is because of the guidance of Doc Bob,” Jones adds.

Smith has guided the Hy-Plains team the last 25 years. His insights helped inspire the creation of the Hy-Plains Education and Research Center.

Every year Smith helps host an antimicrobial resistance meeting at the Center. Attendees represent nearly a third of the U.S. fed cattle production.

He thrives on tackling big challenges like respiratory diseases or growth performance.

“It’s where the producer gets the most return,” Smith says.

All things wise and wonderful

Smith’s mission is help others improve their operations. But he gets the most satisfaction from his work by nurturing others’ personal and professional growth.

Theurer considers Smith a mentor. It was Smith who told him: “Don’t be afraid to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, you know, here’s what I thought was wrong. Let’s go out and collect some data and go out and prove or disprove that,” he recalls.

Smith is known for going above and beyond the industry norm. He works with cowboys, processing crews and the doctors, suggesting improvements all the while.

Jones asks, “How many consulting veterinarians do you know that if I’m having trouble with one of my seedstock guys, or retained ownership people, Doc Bob will actually initiate a phone call where they’ll interact on his driving hours or on his own time? And if we’re really having a problem, Bob and I will go visit them. He’s done that countless times over 30 years.”

He never gets angry but will press and press, says Jones. He knows Smith doesn’t want to be at a feedyard that doesn’t listen to him because he feels it’s a reflection on him if they’re not doing well.

“You treat everyone with equal respect whether it’s the man over here cleaning a water tank or the manager or feed caller, because those people are bright people,” says Smith. “They could be where you are today. It’s just that we took a different path. Do you care? Do you try to nurture them along and help them to grow?”

A pretty good veterinarian

With years of experience, back pain, and his white hair, clients may wonder when he’ll stop coming by.

“If my golf game was better, I might’ve quit by now,” Smith jokes. “But I’m a terrible golfer, and I still enjoy getting up and going to work.”

He hopes to be remembered as a “pretty good veterinarian.” A person who loved his profession, his family, his God and gave it all he had.

Smith joins the rankings of people like Larry Corah, Jerry Bohn, John Matsushima, and Topper Thorpe with the Industry Achievement Award. They are the people who shaped the industry. He’ll be presented with the award at the Feeding Quality Forum August 24^th in Fort Collins, Colo.

The industry is deeply grateful, too.

Smith explains procedures to a new veterinarian

Bob Smith talks with Tom Jones of Hy-Plains Feedyard

Moving the needle

Veterinarian Bob Smith remembers it was all about roughing the cattle up, yelling and getting them through the chute when he was growing up. “When I was a kid, we weren’t always the best stockmen,” he says. “We learn from those things.”

Smith joined the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) research efforts with 30 years ago and hasn’t looked back. When he got involved, injection site lesions were a problem. He helped create new best practices moving injections from the top butt to the neck and created BQA trainings about the procedure.

“We went from about 24% of fed cattle carcasses having injection site lesions down to virtually none,” he says.

In the early 2000s, he became chair of the BQA group studying cattle welfare. They found that stress suppresses the cattle immune system, making it more susceptible to disease and other problems.

So, they created a guide on cattle handling and started stockmanship schools around the country.

Just as Smith helped move the needle for injection sites and BQA practices, he’s constantly elevating research, data collection and science-based decisions for the future standard of cattle care.

Cattleman leading feedyard cattle at Hy-Plains

Quality Wins, Again

by Morgan Boecker | Oct 9, 2023

Sara Scott, Vice President of Foodservice for Certified Angus Beef, emphasizes the importance of taste over price in the beef market during the Feeding Quality Forum. As consumer demand for high-quality beef grows, Scott highlights the need for increased supply and encourages communication with packer partners to meet the demand for Prime beef.

You, Your Cows and Their Feed

by CAB Cattle Crew | Sep 29, 2023

Expert guidance from Dusty Abney at Cargill Animal Nutrition shares essential strategies for optimizing cattle nutrition during droughts, leading to healthier herds and increased profitability in challenging conditions.

Marketing Feeder Cattle: Begin with the End in Mind

by CAB Cattle Crew | Sep 29, 2023

Understanding what constitutes value takes an understanding of beef quality and yield thresholds that result in premiums and/or discounts. Generally, packers look for cattle that will garner a high quality grade and have excellent red meat yield, but realistically very few do both exceptionally well.

They run deep

Roots anchor the Dalebanks program, helps them grow

By: Miranda Reiman

A difficult place to put down roots—that’s an odd feature for a prairie really, but it’s true of the Kansas Flint Hills.

The pastures at Dalebanks Angus near Eureka, Kan., hide the plants’ challenge well. Native big and little bluestem adapted over the ages to thrive in the shallow soil, only a few inches deep in places, that blankets the underlying limestone. Shards of flint mingle with the roots.

“It’s exceptional grass from the middle of May until late July, first of August,” says Matt Perrier, who is the sixth generation to ranch and the fourth to raise Angus cattle there. “Before and after that, I’d love to be able to move these cows about anyplace else because this native tallgrass prairie falls apart pretty quickly. You either have to find ways to grow or deliver feed outside of the native tall grass.”

It’s a difficult place to put down roots…unless you’re an adapted cattleman. Then it’s exactly the kind of place to build a life, and a program that helps others do the same.

A name, some land and a commitment

The Dalebanks name traces back to ancestors who settled this spot and kept a trace of their English heritage alive by bringing their farm name to the Kansas plains. The family tree is dotted with cattlemen.

“Our breeding philosophies are generations deep,” Perrier says. His great-grandpa saw these “unique” cattle at the American Royal in 1903, and brought the first Angus to their ranch the next year. Then his grandpa crafted a simple phrase, which the family has further distilled to the tagline for their whole program: “Practical, profitable genetics.”

The Perriers are more concerned with their customer’s bottom line than their own, knowing strength in the former will naturally help the latter.

Dalebanks Angus—Matt, Amy and their children, along with his parents Tom and Carolyn—earned the 2020 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award from the Certified Angus Beef ^® (CAB^®) brand.

Always improving, never wavering

As a boy, Perrier remembers concerns with lower beef demand and a fledgling high-quality Angus beef brand. Anyone who thought CAB was a real target?

“They got laughed at,” he says. “When I see that logo, I see folks who believed that there was a reason to breed cattle that met consumers’ demand. I see folks who shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘I don’t care that the rest of the industry is telling us to go the exact opposite way.’”

His dad was one of those who did it anyway. Yet, it took an entire shift in the industry before it made sense to everyone.

“We needed a way for cattle that were more desirable for our consumer to get rewarded for that kind of production. It wasn’t happening in the ’80s and early ’90s,” says Tom Perrier. “Now it has accomplished what it set out to do…and I’m glad that we’ve been a little part of that.”

It’s one of the reasons his son carries on the tradition of keeping cattle consistent, moderate in size and balanced for all traits, while making improvements on multiple fronts.

“Our advertising program in the ’70s was not really to sell Dalebanks bulls, it was just to sell Angus cattle,” Tom says.

But as the breed found favor in his generation, his son has worked to set their own program apart by communicating their straightforward goal of good cows that raise good calves with good carcasses.

“We know we could breed cattle that are fancier, but we also know through the centuries, our customers have looked to us, not just for prettier cattle or cattle that excel in one trait, but that are profitable for them,” Perrier says.

The sale catalog is full of cattle that bear the Targeting the Brand logo. The 2019 book featured 109 bulls with the mark, or 73% of their offering.

“It gets a little redundant when we put them in there and they’re on nearly every bull in the catalog, but hopefully that proves, even though we breed for bulls and females that are of exceptional maternal value, we’re making simultaneous improvement in both of those areas,” he says.

Perrier uses technology like RFID tags for record keeping, but says the best tool is good data submission and analysis. That’s why he’s supportive of the American Angus Association’s Maternal Plus program to aid in fertility improvements.

Perrier spent seven years as a Regional Manager and later Director of Commercial Programs for the American Angus Association and Tom served on the board in the ‘80s—they both know that programs only work with participants and advancements in breed only happen when the data informs tools.

At the edge of his land sits an old horse-drawn hay rake “that was a pretty good technology at the time,” and now serves as a reminder of how fast innovations can revolutionize a business. The smart phone in his pocket does the same.

“We still have to recognize that Mother Nature and the environment we’re in is either a pretty powerful ally or enemy,” Perrier says. “If we try to use technology and overcome her completely and feed our way out of ‘problem cattle’ to cover up an issue in the genetics that should have been allowed to show, then we get ourselves in trouble.”

So he’s honest with himself and the cattle are honest with him. They learn to walk to water and travel on the rocks and hills, or they don’t stay.

Like his father and grandfather before him, Perrier is conservative, but not slow to change when there’s a reason. Sale day is one of the cattleman’s favorite times, even with its heavy workload and added stress, because it’s a chance to get direct feedback from his customers.

A prayer and a plan

The auctioneer never came. The blizzard was one for the history books. Everything was ready on sale day, but nobody showed up.

When Perrier wakes, the memory is vivid, but it’s a relief to know it wasn’t real.

“Dad and I always kind of laugh about who has the first pre-sale nightmare,” Perrier says. “They usually start in August. You sit up in a cold sweat, say a prayer and make preparations to make sure it doesn’t actually happen.”

The closest thing to a real-life nightmare was 2008. The Recession was already in full force, but the housing market collapse and general unease on Wall Street heated up about two weeks before their late-November sale. It left ranchers uncertain.

Perrier relays his longtime auctioneer’s account of the day: “I climbed up on that auction block and I looked across there and I saw nothing but fear in the eyes of those buyers.”

The sale average settled 30% to 40% below the year prior.

“Nobody wanted to pay too much for a bull that day,” Perrier says.

dalebanks perrier seedstock commitment to excellence award

That’s the nature of a business where risk is inherent and sometimes all a rancher can do is have a little faith.

“We sold bulls for less than we had in several years. Those bulls went out and did their job well, and a lot of those customer that were first customers in ’08 are still customers today,” he says.

That year may have been the first one where it really sank in, the gravity of their decision to come home in 2004.

“Most jobs, you put in more hours, you think smarter, you make good decisions and your outcome is generally going to be better that someone who just shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘I’m not going to show up today,’” Perrier says. But there are always threats of hail storms and unpredictable markets. Sometimes extra effort means no more money in the bank.

“I think it still teaches a lot of these farm and ranch kids, that you don’t give up.”

The path not taken

Every so often he and Amy do ask themselves, “What if?” What if they had stayed in the city, with a comfortable suburban life and guaranteed paycheck?

Their firstborn, Ava, was seven months old when Tom asked his son if he knew of anybody looking for full-time ranch work. The family’s hired man was leaving.

Perrier called the next day and said he would like to apply for the job, and that cemented the couple’s path to put down rural roots in that flinty range. Ava is now 17.

What if he’d sent a few names along in place of his own?

Fourteen-year-old Lyle may have never learned to rope (it’s his favorite ranch chore); nine-year-old Henry may not know exactly what to do with those plastic toy cows he runs through a Little Buster chute. How would Hannah (11) know that working cattle all together as a family is one of her favorite things? And one-and-half-year-old Hope might never look so natural in the saddle.

“There’s always moments of, ‘I wish we could have done this or that,’” Amy says. They gave up career opportunities and conveniences with the move, “but they’re always nullified by the fact that we have such a wonderful opportunity here with our children and Matt’s parents.”

Perhaps Perrier would get to spend more time at ballgames, but knowing their dad as the most devoted fan would be to miss out on having him as the most patient everyday teacher.

“Everybody pitches in and gets it done,” Perrier says, with quite a bit of fulfilment in knowing early investments are paying off now. Today, when they vaccinate calves or move pairs, almost everyone contributes. That’s because all along the way he’s showing them how and why, and doing a fair bit of observing, too.

“We try to be constant learners and get better every day in whatever we’re doing. With our faith, with our sports and activities, with our school and learning and with our work around here. We try to make ourselves and those around us better every day.”

Roots are a strong foundation, a place to grow from, and their Flint Hills ranch is indeed the perfect place for that.

North Dakota Partnership Earns CAB Progressive Partner Award

by Kylee Kohls Sellnow | Sep 25, 2023

The Bruner and Wendel families earned the 2023 CAB Progressive Partner award by selling high-quality beef through Dakota Angus, LLC, as part of the CAB Ranch To Table program. They focus on their commitment to quality, data-driven decisions, achieve impressive CAB and Prime percentages and offer high-quality beef directly to consumers in their communities.

Kansas Ranchers Recognized for Sustainability Efforts

by Nicole Erceg | Sep 25, 2023

Kansas’ Wharton 3C Ranch thrives despite droughts, winning the CAB 2023 Sustainability award. The data-driven, quality-focused approach of first-generation ranchers, Shannon and Rusty Wharton, yields 100% CAB cattle. Their commitment to sustainability and industry collaboration sets a bright future for the cattle business.

Saskatchewan Angus Ranch Earns Certified Angus Beef Award

by Lindsay Runft | Sep 25, 2023

JPM Farms in Canada quietly gained recognition for its dedication to environmental sustainability and quality cattle. The Monvoisin family earned the 2023 CAB Canadian Commitment to Excellence award for their outstanding results and partnership with Duck Unlimited, showcasing their commitment to improving the land, cattle and family daily.

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Of cattle care & human flourishing

Long-time veterinarian honored for service to cattle industry

By: Abbie Burnett

Originally ran in the Angus Journal

A Walking Encyclopedia

All things wise and wonderful

A pretty good veterinarian

Moving the needle

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They run deep

Roots anchor the Dalebanks program, helps them grow

By: Miranda Reiman

A name, some land and a commitment

Always improving, never wavering

A prayer and a plan

The path not taken

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