STANLEY MARTINS FARMS

thepublished by

ASA Publication, Inc.

One Genetics Way, Bozeman, Montana 59718 USA 406-587-2778  fax: 406-587-9301 www.simmental.org  email: register@simmgene.com

Canada Publications Agreement Number: 1875183

ASA Publication, Inc., Board of Trustees

Chris Ivie, Chairman  Tim Clark, Vice Chairman

Doug Parke  Chad Cook  Ryan Thorson

Wade Shafer, PhD, Executive Secretary-Treasurer

CEO Business Manager

Wade Shafer, PhD Chip Kemp

141 Hwy 18 • Postville, IA 52162 563-419-2444 (c) • 563-864-7305 (h) stanmartins1234@gmail.com www.stanleymartinsfarms.com

ASA Board of Trustees

Executive Committee

• We sell bulls every month of the year.

• 90% of our bulls sell from $3,000-5,000.

• We export.

Doug Parke, Chairman  Chris Ivie, Vice Chairman  Chad Cook, Treasurer

Tim Clark  Ryan Thorson  Wade Shafer, PhD, Executive Vice President

Barry Wesner, Immediate Past Chairman

North Central Region

Tim Clark (2024) 1999 18th St NW Turtle Lake, ND 58575  701.799.7752 Tim.Clark@hubbardfeeds.com

Loren Trauernicht (2025) 901 E Pine Rd Wymore, NE 68466  402.230.0812 mtrauernicht@diodecom.net

Matt Aggen (2026) 27133 146th St Harmony, MN 55939  701.866.3544 mattaggen@hotmail.com

Troy Marple (2026) 9450 Michaels Rd Westmoreland, KS 66549  785.250.0522 troy.j.marple@gmail.com

Eastern Region

Western Region Chad Cook (2024) PO Box 174 Walsh, CO 81090  719.529.0564 bridlebitsimm@gmail.com

Maureen Mai (2025) 427 Peaceful Way Bonners Ferry, ID 83805  208.660.2726 rymocattle@gmail.com

Ryan Thorson (2025) 1725 Road 261 Glendive, MT 59330  406.694.3722 ryanthorson7@gmail.com

Quin LaFollette (2026) 1476 Hwy 14A Powell, WY 82435  307.899.3553 Quin@Blacksummitcattle.com

Managing Editor Advertising/Editorial Coordinator

Lilly Platts Rebecca Price

Sales Manager Media/Website Administrator

Nancy Chesterfield Kathy Shafer

Design/Production

Joel Coleman

Gretchen Jensen

Jenna Wacker

American Simmental Association

One Genetics Way, Bozeman, Montana 59718 USA 406-587-4531  fax: 406-587-9301 www.simmental.org  email: simmental@simmgene.com

Chris Ivie (2024) PO Box 264 Summertown, TN 38483  931.215.0316 iviejc@usit.net

Doug Parke (2024) 153 Bourbon Hills Dr Paris, KY 40361  859.421.6100 office@dpsalesllc.com

Barry Wesner (2024) 1821 W 700 S Chalmers IN 47929  219.863.4744 wesnerlivestock@yahoo.com

Brandi Karisch (2026) 648 Polly Bell Rd Starkville, MS 39759  225.717.3324 mbkcattle@gmail.com

Scott Trennepohl (2026) 6591 W 625 N Middletown, IN 47356  765.620.1700 sttrennepohl@yahoo.com

South Central Region: Brandon Callis (2024) 26123 State Hwy 152 Minco, OK 73059  979.204.1265 callissteer@yahoo.com

Victor Guerra (2024) PO Box 92 Linn, TX 78563  956.607.5515 vgg03@aol.com

Joseph Hensgens (2025) 136 Deer Park Ln Rayne, LA 70578  985.992.9119 joehensgens@yahoo.com

Greg Burden (2026) 890 VZ CR 2205 Canton, TX 75103  405.780.0372 greg.gbcattle@gmail.com

by Ryan Thorson, Western Region

Narrow your focus, broaden your appeal. Before my family and I moved to the ranch full time, I had the opportunity to work for an agricultural cooperative for close to 20 years. One of the leaders of the cooperative during that time had a saying: “Narrow your focus, broaden your appeal.” It obviously has had an impact on me as I still remember it today, but not only do I remember it, I think about it often throughout the year as we make decisions on our ranch.

The American Simmental Association is very diverse and wideranging, from Purebred, Fullblood, Percent Simmental, Simbrah, SimAngus, SimAngus-HT, and even other breeds that can be registered through the ASA. With all that falls under the ASA umbrella, one can question: as a breed association, how does the ASA go about the simple task of narrowing its focus to broaden its appeal? The answer is not hard to find if we refer to our mission statement, which was created by your charter members over 50 years ago: “The success of the American Simmental Association is dependent on our members’ cattle making a significant genetic contribution to the beef industry. By utilizing the most advanced science, the highest priority is to maintain services and products which bring value to the ASA members’ customers.”

This mission statement has served our association well over the years and one could argue that when the breed has struggled,