May is Beef Month

By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer

MANSON —

When a blizzard blasted northern Iowa right before Christmas 2022, it unleashed the kind of weather that can spell trouble for livestock producers.

Jackson Quade’s cattle feed bunks kept filling up with snow as the relentless winds raged.

“I didn’t mind the challenge,” said Quade, 17, who is carrying on his family’s farming heritage east of Manson.

While he hasn’t graduated from high school yet, Quade isn’t waiting to start farming. He bought his first group of 22 beef cattle in November 2022, sold them in early April and bought another 51 calves this spring.

“I buy them at 350 to 400 pounds and sell them around 800 pounds,” said Quade, who is building a reputation at area sale barns, from Algona to Denison to Dunlap, for raising highquality cattle. He’s also one of the newest members of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

“I like raising steers, and I prefer black cattle,” said Quade, who will receive his diploma from Manson Northwest Webster High School this May.

Quade farms with his dad, Paul, and his uncle Tim Quade, plus he started sharecropping 75 acres of corn and soybeans in 2022.

For his cattle business, Quade uses the concrete feedbunks and shed that his grandfather Richard Oberhelmer used when he was raising cattle. Quade also invested in a water tank, bulk bin, bale feeder, livestock trailer and manure spreader, plus he converted some hog buildings to hold his smaller cattle.

“I’d like to get started in the cow-calf business someday soon and also have a small feedlot,” said Quade, who plans to study agriculture at Iowa

Manson teen grows cattle business

Central this fall.

Rooted in agriculture

Farming has been a lifelong passion for Quade, the youngest of five children (and the only son). When Paul and Kim Quade were selecting new carpeting for their home when their children were young, their son made his preference known.

“I wanted the carpet that made the best tracks when I drove my farm toys on it, so I could see where I’d been,” Quade said.

Not only did Quade enjoy helping on the farm, but he also accompanied his dad to meetings so he could learn more about agriculture. When he was in eighth grade, Quade helped start the FFA Discovery Chapter at his school and served as the chapter president.

In high school, he continued to grow his leadership skills through FFA, earning the FFA Chapter Degree and FFA Iowa Degree. Quade also credits his grandfather Richard Oberhelman for helping him learn what it takes to succeed in cattle production, including saving money for the lean times.

“Farming presents different challenges every year,” said Quade, a National Honor Society member. “It seems we can get a few good years, and then they’re erased quickly by several bad ones where you go into recovery mode.”

Oberhelman, 85, raised

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livestock for 65 years. He enjoys stopping by the farm to see how Quade is getting along.

“It’s great to see Jackson’s excitement for agriculture and his interest in raising beef cattle,” said Oberhelman, who raised polled Herefords, as well as Angus and Simmental cattle.

Quade works closely with Colin Carlson, head salesman and nutritionist for Webb’s Feed Inc. in Rockwell City. “Jackson is a very sharp guy who asks a lot of smart questions about feed rations and nutrition,” said Carlson, who also operates Carlson Cattle, a show cattle business focused on Angus show heifers and purebred Simmental heifers. “He wants to learn how to maximize his feed in terms of cost per head per day. He keeps price in mind, but he doesn’t want to throw quality out the window, either.”

Where are the young cattle producers?

Iowa remains a prime location to raise cattle. It’s among the top five states in America for the number of cattle on feed, according to January 2023 data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Yet there are challenges ahead regarding beef farm succession, noted Lee Schulz, an Iowa State University Extension ag economist.

-Farm News photos by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby JACKSON QUADE, 17, of rural Manson, bought his first group of 22 beef cattle in November 2022, sold them in early April and bought another 51 calves this spring.

BELOW: Jackson Quade works closely with Colin Carlson, head salesman and nutritionist for Webb’s Feed Inc. in Rockwell City, to provide high-quality feed rations and nutrition for his beef cattle.

Dinner Bell Creamery is about as close as you can get to buying directly from the dairy farm — without having to take a gravel road. ASSOCIATED MILK PRODUCERS INC.

“We need landowners who care more about helping the next generation get started in farming than earning top-dollar rent. I’m here to prove that the future of farming is in good hands and won’t end with me. I want to help our farms remain family farms.”

JACKSON QUADE, Manson teen, cattle farmer

AT THE HELM

By KRISTIN DANLEY-GREINER Farm News writer

The New Year kicked off with a new executive director at the helm of the Iowa Beef Industry Council.

The IBIC board of directors chose Mike Anderson of Ames to lead the Iowa Beef Checkoff.

As a farm kid who played an active role on his family’s Garner operation, Anderson spent the previous 17 years with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach where he served as the state 4-H livestock specialist.

“I was responsible for all statewide events and curriculum for youth livestock programs, served as the 4-H livestock superintendent for the Iowa State Fair, managed other state 4-H program staff and managed overall leadership for the 4-H ag and natural resources program area,” Anderson said.

The Iowa State graduate has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in animal science. After graduation, he worked two years as a manager of a beef carcass ultrasound processing laboratory in Ames. Then in 2004, he took a position with Purdue University Extension in Indiana as a 4-H educator for two years.

“I’ve been a farm kid my entire life. As the youngest of four siblings, most of our time was spent out on the farm where we raised row crops, cattle and hogs. I always had a passion for the cattle business, participating in 4-H and FFA throughout my youth while showing cattle all over the country,” Anderson said. “Today, my older brother does the farming but I still am involved as much as I can be in our family’s cattle operation where we market purebred and

percentage Limousin and LimFlex cattle.”

As the executive director of the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Anderson plans to travel extensively in his first year and have conversations with auction markets and meat processors to gain insight into their wants and needs as they are the entities that typically collect beef checkoff dollars from producers and oftentimes receive the brunt of the complaints about what the checkoff really does.

“I think there’s great opportunity in educating our youth about the beef industry and I feel my background in this area will hopefully be a great asset with my partnerships with universities across the country and the beef industry in general,” Anderson said. “The Iowa Beef Industry Council is currently at a strong and successful position. We also are looking at new and unique ways to recruit members to our board of directors from a variety of experiences in the industry. That may be cow/calf producers, feedlot producers, those in the packing industry, retail meat markets, or other fields.”

The IBIC represents more than 25,000 operations in Iowa and contributes more than $6 billion in economic activity. But Anderson said people oftentimes say they’ve heard of the council and are familiar with the beef checkoff logo but don’t really know what the organization does.

“It oftentimes is a struggle with any entity to get your message out there. Our two main goals are to educate Iowa’s beef consumers on the positive advantage beef has and to educate our cattle producers on where the money is being spent,” Anderson said. “In Iowa,

there are two aspects to the beef checkoff — one is the national checkoff where $1 per head is assessed on all Iowa cattle sold and the other is the Iowa checkoff where an additional $.50 per head is assessed on all Iowa cattle originating from Iowa.”

From the national checkoff, $.50 per head is kept in Iowa along with the full $.50 per head Iowa checkoff. Not all states have a state checkoff like Iowa does — but several do, Anderson noted.

“This allows the Iowa Beef Industry Council to focus on needs here in Iowa, especially in the field of research. We have funded several thousands of dollars of research projects aimed at helping cattle producers increase their profitability by funding projects in the fields of nutrition, reproduction, feed efficiency, health and disease treatment and prevention, and general management practices,” Anderson said.

Many producers and consumers also are not aware of the work the checkoff funds do across the globe, Anderson added.

“Our international markets are huge, and after a trip I was able to attend in Japan and South Korea, it was truly eye-opening of the value our U.S. beef product has overseas. My staff continues to do a tremendous job aiming marketing and partnership efforts to consumers and retail partners to promote beef,” Anderson said. “We have and continue to reach out to schools, grocery retail stores, athletic departments at colleges, and other key partners to establish working relationships and marketing campaigns to help keep beef as the protein of

See ANDERSON, Page 7C

ANDERSON, executive director, Iowa Beef Industry Council

-Submitted photo

MIKE ANDERSON is the new executive director of the Iowa Beef Industry Council. He assumed the new position in January 2023.

Anderson leads Iowa Beef Industry Council, works to connect with producers, consumers

“I think there’s great opportunity in educating our youth about the beef industry and I feel my background in this area will hopefully be a great asset with my partnerships with universities across the country and the beef industry in general.”

MIKE

A BOOST FOR IOWA

By KRISTIN DANLEY-GREINER

Farm News writer

A planned carbon-neutral beef packing plant being built in western Iowa will boost the state’s ag economy, infuse farmers’ bottom lines and create impressive job opportunities for the area workforce.

With the goal of becoming a niche packer, the estimated $550 million Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Co. aims to process an estimated 2,000 head per day at its 132-acre site in northern Mills County.

Karis Capital out of Florida has invested $150 million in the innovative processing plant that’s utilizing European technology and will have an on-site daycare, bank for cashing paychecks and medical center. The plant will have a workforce of up to 800 people working a single shift and aims to break ground late summer-early fall.

Chad Tentinger, chief executive officer of Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Co., said it’s a tragedy that so many producers lost their operations during the farm crisis. With the new processing plant, he aims to bring back upwards of 400 family farms to the state of Iowa.

“All our feedstuffs are grown in Iowa within 10 miles from the plant and the manure goes back onto that ground. In the South, they’re running out of water and railing in corn and forage from thousands of miles away, which is expensive and a carbon footprint,” Tentinger said. “We have the ability to get to a zero footprint.”

Technology Cattlemen’s Heritage will be using includes an algae-based wastewater treatment system to capture and offset thousands of tons of carbon dioxide each year. The nitrogen and phosphorus will be converted into fertilizer that will be applied to the fields from where the plant pulls its feed.

“We laid out the plant for maximized efficiency and then put a box around it. It’s a differ-

ent way of doing things — the technology will be new to the U.S. but has been used for 20 years in New Zealand and Europe. I issued a mandate to the designers and engineers that the technology must be fully vetted, proven and consistent because we can’t afford to be down,” Tentinger said.

When choosing the site for the new plant, the Cattlemen’s Heritage leadership team brought in Don Baske, an expert in finding the perfect sites for food processing plants. They wanted to be located in the Midwest and Baske found the Mills County site that’s already zoned for this type of project, near major trans-

New packing plant to process about 2,000 head per day in western Iowa

formed the Legacy Beef Coop, which allows farmers to buy shares in the co-op that delivers cattle to the plant. They’ll own up to 20 percent of the Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Co. plant and operations.

“Every farmer that feeds cattle today should be looking at getting in on this. It’s true ownership in a processing plant, so when you sell your cattle, you’ll have fairer pricing. We’ll have a profit coming off the cattle coming in now, and then a fairer pricing structure as the plant makes money and the farmers have the opportunity to share in the profits on a back side that’s never happened in beef before,” Tentinger said. “This is about bringing the producer closer to the consumer.”

So far, the plant’s leadership team has been contacted by 80 companies to buy the product yet to be produced at Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Co.

portation avenues and a viable workforce.

“Starting salaries will be $55,000 plus benefits. So we’ll have a husband and wife with kids who can come to the plant to work and use the daycare that will be in a separate building outside.

“We’ll have on-site healthcare and the ability to cash checks onsite. A family can make $110,000 plus benefits, know that their kids can go to work with them, be picked up at the plant for school and during the summer walk over and take their breaks with the kids,” Tentinger said. “We want to create longterm employees with a great

family culture here. Our break rooms are designed to look like upscale cafes with windows. We want our employees to be happy and come to work happy to be a part of this team.”

Leaders plan to have the plant up and running within 18 months, a goal that’s aided by the fact the plant is being built during the cattle cycle at a point where the herd is rebuilding and the plant will come into full capacity just ahead of the height of the herd.

“If history runs true, we’ll be opening up in the eight-year stretch of building up the herd,” Tentinger said.

Cattlemen’s Heritage also has

“Instead of buying from someone else, buy from us. The big four packers are moving 25% of the beef in the country on a daily basis, and we’ll be focusing on 1.5 percent of the beef traded per day. It’ll all be sold before we even start,” Tentinger said. “The cattle producers we’ve spoken with have all been positive. This business model isn’t because we need a plant; it’s because we want a fair pricing mechanism and enable producers to share in the profits. This plant is a necessity for us to get that.”

Iowa’s economy also will benefit from this plant. It has the potential to make a $1.1 billion economic impact, which Tentinger said is “significant.”

“When you include ancillary jobs, we will see 3,400 jobs created in Iowa and Nebraska,” Tentinger said.

Tentinger plans to remain CEO of Cattlemen’s Heritage as long as he continues to have industry experts at the helm alongside him.

The fourth-generation cattle

See CATTLEMEN'S, Page 7C

“Every farmer that feeds cattle today should be looking at getting in on this. It’s true ownership in a processing plant, so when you sell your cattle, you’ll have fairer pricing.”

CHAD TENTINGER, chief executive officer, Cattlemen's Heritage Beef Co.

-Submitted photo

WITH THE GOAL of becoming a niche packer, the estimated $550 million Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Co. aims to process an estimated 2,000 head per day at its 132-acre site in northern Mills County. Chad Tentinger, chief executive officer of Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Co., said he aims to bring back upwards of 400 family farms to the state of Iowa.

FOURTHGENERATION TRADITION

By KRISTIN DANLEY-GREINER

Farm News writer

MARCUS — Growing up on a farm until he was a tween, Jordan Marks of Remsen knew he was destined to be involved in agriculture all his life. What he didn’t know was that he would be launching his own meat locker as a college student with a price tag of $1.7 million.

The senior recently graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in animal science, which heightens the life experience he’s had in the processing industry. In fact, after crossing the stage at graduation April 29, he returned to Marcus to start working fulltime at his own business.

“I’m a fourth-generation meat cutter. I’ve been around it my whole life and worked in my uncle’s meat locker since I was 14,” Marks said. “I decided it was better to be an owner than a worker. I’m so fortunate to be able to have this opportunity.”

It was between his sophomore and junior year that Marks decided he wanted to open his own meat locker.

“My dad and I were talking about what I would do after graduation and the idea came up. We did some research, asked questions, spoke with the board and mayor of Marcus, and everything started to fall into place,” Marks said. “It’s been a lot of work. I had help from my dad, especially since I was in school the whole time. There’s been a lot of talking to the city, the bank, the board.”

The town of Marcus was chosen for the location of the future Jordan’s Meat Market 10 miles from where he grew up.

“I picked Marcus because I went to high school there. I know a lot of people in the community and will get support from them. There also hasn’t been one here since the 1970s and we have a lot of community backing behind it,” Marks said. “Everyone loves the idea of it so far and we hope the support continues.”

With an estimated cost of $1.7 million, Marks was fortunate to secure an $800,000 loan guarantee to cover construction and provide working capital for the northwest Iowa project. The

Marks comes from long line of meat processors ISU senior plans to open meat locker in Marcus

building measures 60 by 120 feet and will be ready for its grand opening on June 1 from 3 to 7 p.m. The facility essentially was designed by Marks’ dad, who compiled the best part of all the lockers he has visited in his job as a meat locker inspector for the state.

“There will be six doors all filled with frozen retail products and a separate case with fresh products, too. That will be in the front half. The back half is where the processing will be done. We have pens that can hold 12 cattle,

before we officially open.”

The customers not only will hail from Marcus and the immediate surrounding areas, but Marks expects to draw from further out.

“There aren’t a ton of locker plants around us and I feel that it’s a plenty big enough market to sustain everyone,” Marks said. “We’ve received nothing but positive comments and support from everyone.”

While he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, Marks said he has thought about how he could expand Jordan’s Meat Market once it’s fully established, possibly with a second location or growth of the original site to open up capacity. At first, he’ll have half a dozen employees with the ability to retain up to 10.

“My dad will still help and my uncle on my mom’s side will come work for me,” Marks said. “We’re ready to go and we want to work, so if anyone is in the area, stop by and check us out.”

Lee Schulz, livestock economist for Iowa State University Extension, noted that the addition of Jordan’s Meat Market will boost area farmers’ bottom line and Iowa’s ag economy.

In 2016, the daily slaughter capacity was estimated to be less than 25 percent of the daily fed cattle production in the state, Schultz said.

but there will be a consistent flow of us taking them out of the pens and the animals being dropped off,” Marks said.

Jordan’s Meat Market will offer hogs, beef, chicken and venison when it’s in season. Marks said he’ll also make available products that his customers want him to carry.

“We’ll have all the popular cuts like steak, jerky, bratwursts with skin on and skinless. If a customer walks in and wants us to sell something and it’s beneficial for me, then I’ll definitely put it on the shelf,” Marks said. “We want to get some products in the coolers

“Cattle slaughter and beef processing contribute significantly to the economy. A lack of slaughter and processing facilities for fed cattle represents a lost opportunity in Iowa’s economy,” he said. “Iowa is competitive in the commodity beef business, but Iowa’s additional strengths lie in quality specification products for the beef market. Iowa has a reputation for producing high quality cattle due to its proximity to an abundant supply of corn and corn coproducts, quality genetics and excellent stockmanship.”

Schulz noted that packing plants of all sizes have important roles to play in the beef industry.

“Finding a role is all about responding to beef customer and consumer interests and providing a constant supply of consistent, high-quality beef at competitive prices,” he said.

-Submitted photos

JORDAN MARKS plans to open Jordan's Meat Market in Marcus after he graduates from Iowa State University this spring with a degree in animal science. He is a fourthgeneration meat cutter.

BELOW: The new building that will house Jordan's Meat Market is shown here. The new business will offer pork, beef, chicken and venison when it's in season.

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-Submitted photo

THE PLANS for Jordan's Meat Market were primarily designed by Marks’ dad, who compiled the best parts of all the lockers he has visited in his job as a meat locker inspector for the state.

ROOTS

By DOUG CLOUGH

Farm News writer BATTLE CREEK — The Schmidt family has been farming and raising cattle for five generations in Ida County.

“I bought my first cows in 1982,” said third-generation owner Deron Schmidt. “I grew up farming with my grandpa, my dad, and my brother. I started driving tractors when I was 11. Back then, we did a lot of bean walking, baled a lot of hay, and threw a lot of square bales. I started out with a scoop shovel, pitchfork, hoe, and a corn knife.”

Deron’s father Edward farmed the land before him as did Edward’s father Ernest; Ernest, the first-generation Schmidt, started the operation by purchasing land in the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s. Deron now farms with his son Dylan, another generation of Schmidt father-son farming.

Eventually, Dylan’s children Cade, 14; Tucker, 4; and Taytum, 6; the fifth generation, will farm with their dad.

Deron’s wife Tracey has been an integral part of the operation as has Dylan’s wife, Tiffany.

“Our kids love being involved with the farm and helping and learning with the cattle,” said Tiffany Schmidt.

All in all, the Schmidts have had farmland in their family for nearly 100 years with Deron’s grandfather purchasing land in 1931.

“My brother and I farmed fulltime right out of high school,” said Deron. “I bought my first gilts from Tracey’s grandparents. We’ve always been a family operation. Dad and Grandpa always fed quite a few cattle for the era they lived in. We always had chores to do; sometimes, we stayed home from school to help them grind feed. I was a typical 1970s farm kid.”

When Deron and Tracey Schmidt began farming in 1982, they farmed 300 acres. With Dylan and Tiffany, they farm 2,200 acres.

“We have 150 acres of pasture for our cattle,” said Deron Schmidt. “In ’82, I just bought some old cows, and I was going to feed them, take the calves off, and sell the cows.

“Throughout the years, we’ve bought a lot of Black Angus bulls and created a Black Angus herd. Through the ‘90s, with the addition of other bulls, I came out with a set of nice cows.”

Selling beef online has roots in five generations of the Schmidt family

ing feeder cattle at 750 to 800 pounds. We are transitioning back to feeding our cattle out.”

The reason? The Schmidts — specifically “Schmidt Beef Co.” — is on the brink of opening an online store, shipping their beef product to customers’ doors or offering local pickup.

“We’ve worked with state-certified, USDA-approved Cherokee Locker for over a decade,” said Tracey Schmidt. “They built a brand-new locker, and we’ll continue to use them for our online customers.”

Tiffany Schmidt earned a marketing degree from Briar Cliff University, and she is eager to put her credentials to use.

-Farm News photos by Doug Clough

ABOVE: From left to right are

Tracey, Deron, Tiffany and Dylan Schmidt, owners of Schmidt Beef Co. out of Battle Creek. Deron is a third generation cattleman, and his son Dylan is fourth generation. The father-son duo transitioned to Red Angus cows, seen here, when they established their partnership.

BELOW: Seen here is a sample box filled with product from the Schmidt Beef Company. The Schmidts work with Cherokee Locker to process and package their product, which is then stored in freezers at their farm and shipped upon order; customers can also pick up at their Battle Creek location.

Dylan Schmidt bought the first Red Angus cows in 2012, breeding heifers for the first time in 2007.

The father and son agreed to convert entirely to Red Angus when they partnered. “I found some nice Red Angus cows by the Dunlap and Logan areas,” said Dylan Schmidt. “We bought those heifers for two years and then some registered Red Angus heifers from another cattleman.”

“On the beef-side,” said Tiffany Schmidt, “Red Angus are well-known to have tender, flavorful and well-marbled meat.”

“I would agree just by eating it,” said Tracey Schmidt. “We’ve butchered our own

meat every year Deron and I have been married, and we find it more flavorful.”

“The genetics of the Red Angus have come a long way, especially with the marbling, which creates its consistent great flavor,” said Dylan Schmidt. “We’ve been selling this to friends and family for over 10 years, and all are repeat customers.”

Deron noticed behavioral differences from the Black to the Red Angus. “Our cows have been pretty tame because we are always around them,” said Deron Schmidt, “but the Red Angus tend to be more docile. They’re also more fly resistant which means less pinkeye.”

The Schmidts feed their Red Angus a total-mix ration of distillers, corn sileage, hay, and grind up stock bales as well.

“We shell our own corn for feed, bale our hay, and chop our silage,” said Deron. “We have alfalfa and brome which helps to reduce input costs.”

The Schmidts are a cow-calf operation, breeding about 120 heifers; however, they are developing into feeding their own cattle to fat and butcher.

“What we don’t butcher,” said Deron Schmidt, “we’ll keep for breeding stock and sell as replacement heifers. I’ve fed fat cattle to finish at 1,300 to 1,400 pounds until ready to butcher. We’ve also been sell-

“Dylan and I have always talked about marketing our beef somehow, sharing it with others. Having three kids and working full-time off the farm, this is my way of contributing by using my knowledge and sharing what we love. We have freezers full of meat that will continuously be refilled for future orders and maybe someday we will open an actual storefront,” said Tiffany Schmidt. “The execution of the online sale happens here, but the locker will process the meats the way we want to offer them online.”

The Schmidts have partnered with ChopLocal, an online farmer’s market; the company assists farmers with best-shipping practices, the online webstore, and other resources. ChopLocal provides an online storefront which allows customers to buy from Schmidt Beef Co. Then they are notified by email of an order received.

“We get the order and prep it for shipping or local pickup or delivery,” said Tiffany Schmidt. “The customer will get an email once their order has been received, shipped, and delivered. It’s a time-sensitive product, so regular communication is key.”

Customers can find family history, product information, recipes, and a “Shop Now” button at www.schmidtbeefco.com.

The Schmidt family’s aim is to have repeat customers from afar just as they have with locals. “We pride ourselves on raising great cattle,” stated Deron Schmidt. “Our family, since 1931, has always had a passion for cattle. Selling online is just an extension of five generations of our family bringing quality meat from our farm to your table.”

For the Godbersen family GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES

By DOUG CLOUGH Farm News writer

ARTHUR — The Godbersen

trio of men are proof that good things can come in threes.

Robert, 73, Bryce, 44, and Brecken, 11, represent three generations of Godbersen cattlemen; Bryce’s first 4-H show calves were Polled Herefords in 1989 when he was just 10 years old, and this began their Hereford herd.

All three men display topnotch work-ethic at Godbersen Herefords, tending to cows and their calves. All three also experienced something that had never happened on their 97-yearold farm: Polled Hereford Triplets — another gift of three.

As if the number three wasn’t already a key part of this story — their birthdate was March 13 of 2023.

Robert, with his wife Twyla, have been married 46 years and live on the farm located to the northeast of Arthur. Their son Bryce and grandson Brecken are involved in their farming operation as is their daughter Leah, 41. Robert’s handwritten note states that the triplets are comprised of a boy with white front legs weighing 67 pounds, a girl with one red eye — good for keeping flies away — at 53 pounds, and another boy with a white spot on his back at 65 pounds. The weights were noted two days after their birth on March 15.

Reproduction experts estimate triplets happen in roughly one in 100,000 births. This trio is even more special in that all were born healthy and without any intervention — save bottle feeding — from the Godbersens.

The triplets’ mom is a tough girl from Wyoming and, within five hours, delivered her triplets.

“Mom is a big cow, but we have a lot of big cows,” said Robert Godbersen. “There was no way we could have known she was going to have triplets. The first one came at 3 p.m., and we thought we were done. Leah came into the house at 4 p.m. and told us we had a second calf.

‘Well,’ I thought, ‘we have twins,’ which isn’t all that uncommon. Then, at 8 p.m. — four hours later — Leah told us we had triplets.

-Submitted photos

ABOVE LEFT: Lester McQuigg, left, and Clifford McQuigg, show cattle at the Iowa State Fair in the 1930s. Clifford is Twyla Godbersen's father, and both have a background rich in raising cattle.

ABOVE RIGHT: Good things coming in threes extend to Twyla Godbersen's lineage as well. Twyla, her grandmother and daughter all have Virginia as part of their name, and all graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City. Pictured her are Leah and Twyla Godbersen with their diplomas.

“I’ve preferred Herefords because they are so quiet. Mom was certainly quiet about having a third come along.”

The Godbersens specialize in Polled Herefords, naturally hornless cattle which were developed by Des Moines lawyer

William Gammon after he saw the breed in Omaha in 1898.

The Gammon Barn Museum, which is the birthplace of Polled Herefords, is now located on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Robert and Twyla volunteer as guides one day of the fair each year.

The Godbersens have 50 head of cattle between Robert’s farm place and Bryce’s.

“It amazes me that these three went to full-term,” said Twyla Godbersen. “I would have thought we’d have had preemies.

We’re not the biggest farmers, but

we’ve had 15 births recently.” The Godbersens still use their traditional barn and another outbuilding to house their cows and calves. Square hay bales are stored in the haymow. There is evidence of milking stanchions and five wooden headgates from years gone by.

“Getting those square bales up to the haymow is work,” said Robert Godbersen. “Nobody wants to do that anymore.”

A white board on the wall keeps track of the heifers, the number of calves — heifers or bulls, and the date they were born. There is also an incubator close by for preemie births, which “has saved quite a few and paid for itself time and again.”

All the feeding is done by hand in both the main barn and calving barn as is the cleaning. The Godbersens also crop farm with 200 acres of land, a portion of it going to pasture.

The farm was handed down through the generations through Robert’s side of the family.

Twyla’s grandfather, Joseph Young Trimble, traveled to the U.S. from Ireland in 1915 at 19 years of age, working for farmers in Arthur, Schaller, and the Silver Creek Township. Joseph married Virginia Maude Fair in 1917, and they established their home on the Fair home farm; they were parents of two children, one being Mildred Virginia in 1919. Mildred Virginia married Clifford L. McQuigg in 1943; they had four daughters, one being Twyla Virginia. Twyla married Robert Godbersen in1976; they have two children, Bryce and Leah Virginia. If you haven’t been counting, that’s four “Virginias.”

Good things coming in threes is not purely relegated to the Godbersen men. Three of the “Virginias” are Sioux City Morningside College graduates: Virginia Maude in 1905 MDCCCCV (her diploma is handwritten on sheepskin), Twyla Virginia in 1973, and Leah Virginia in 2003.

Mildred Virginia, Twyla’s mother, broke the mold by graduating from Storm Lake’s Buena Vista College. “Our family’s uniqueness seems to be based on threes,” stated Twyla Godbersen. “We’re fortunate that, for us, they are all good things.”

-Farm News photo by Doug Clough

ROBERT, BRYCE, AND BRECKEN GODBERSEN of Godbersen Herefords proudly display their triplets born on March 13, 2023. All three went to full term and were at healthy birth weights.

Cattlemen's

Continued from Page 3C

farmer actively farms in northwestern Iowa with his dad and brother on ground that’s been in the family since the late 1800s. The men each have their own operations but work together. His daughter Kristin also works with him at TenCorp and Cattlemen’s Heritage. TenCorp builds cattle facilities across the country. Kristin Tentinger also is starting to feed cattle on her own, he said.

“If I don’t have the right controller and the right senior sales on board, I will happily step aside for another CEO who can be a hands-on manager,” Tentinger said. “Kristin is an active part of the management team and it’s a lot of fun bringing a kid into the business.”

Lee Schulz, Iowa State University Extension beef economist, said that in 2016, it was estimated that daily slaughter capacity was less than 25% of the daily fed cattle pro-

Anderson

duction in the state.

“Cattle slaughter and beef processing contribute significantly to the economy. A lack of slaughter and processing facilities for fed cattle represents a lost opportunity in Iowa’s economy,” Schulz said.

“New plants like Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company strategically locating near Glenwood, Iowa, could lead to narrower spreads between fed cattle prices and beef prices if the plant is able to operate at least as efficiently

Continued from Page 2C

choice with consumers.”

While he doesn’t have a lot of free time, Anderson enjoys being outside and on his family’s farm whenever he can. He also loves to spend time with his family, which includes Delaney, 15, Avery, 12, and Colin, 10. Anderson has played sports since he was young and still does to this day. His kids also are heavily involved in their own activities.

“I continue to help with my family’s cattle operation, so it’s a fun time of year discussing the upcoming breeding decisions with my older brother for the cowherd,” Anderson said.

Even though he maintains ties to his family farm and continues to promote agriculture, Anderson recognizes that not all consumers are as versed in farming as he and other ag leaders.

“The average consumer is now three generations removed from agriculture. My experience in my previous job and with

my own kids has done nothing more than prove we have a lot of work to do in order to keep agriculture relevant and alive across this nation,”

Anderson said. “If there was any silver lining at all with COVID, one positive that came from that was consumers either cooking more of their own food at home or just simply wondering how/ where their food comes from.

“As an ag industry, we are positioned very well to tell our story. We’ve spent too much time defending our industry and I feel we’ve really turned a corner and gone on the offensive,” he said. “Efforts continue to educate consumers on beef cattle production, how we’ve been sustainable as an industry before that term became the latest buzzword, and the care cattle producers take to create a safe, wholesome and nutritious product.”

Quade

in terms of marginal costs as existing nearby plants. This is directly relevant for current policy discussions because on Jan. 3, 2022, the White House announced that it would be allocating $1 billion to expand ‘independent’ meat and poultry processing capacity in the United States,” Schulz added.

“According to the fact sheet released by the White House, the additional slaughter capacity will result in ‘better earnings for producers.’”

Continued from Page 1C

“People are the most important asset in Iowa’s cattle industry, but they’re aging,” Schulz wrote in the November 2019 report, “Challenges and Opportunities to Beef Farm Succession.”

“Almost twice as many cow-calf and feedlot producers are over 64 as are under 35.”

Specifically, the average age of Iowa cow-calf and feedlot producers is 53.2 and 52.9 years, respectively. A fourth (25%) of Iowa cowcalf producers and 22% of Iowa cattle feedlot producers are over age 64. An additional 25% of cow-calf producers and 28% of feedlot producers are between 55 and 64.

In addition, many of these beef producers do not have a succession plan. Thirty-eight percent of the cow-calf producers and 39% of the feedlot operators who expect to be raising cattle for 10 more years or less do not have a succession plan in place, according to an Iowa Beef Center survey.

“This is particularly alarming, as a realistic time frame for farm succession is often 10 to 15 years,” Schulz said.

The survey also asked producers to indicate the degree to which different factors were perceived as an obstacle or attraction for future generations entering cattle production. Cow-calf producers view the rural lifestyle, selfemployment, working with livestock, and working with family as the biggest attractions.

The biggest perceived obstacles for future generations among cowcalf producers were

environmental regulations, land tax policy and expansion of corn and soybean acres.

Feedlot operators identified the same attractions as the cowcalf producers and cited obstacles such as work hours, labor availability and costs, and environmental regulations.

tools and has enrolled land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). They have also seeded waterways and used filter strips.

“This helps protect water sources, reduces runoff and provides wildlife habitat,” Quade said.

He looks forward to new innovations that can increase grain and livestock production, reduce soil compaction and improve soil health.

“It’s important to be a steward of the land,” Quade said. “Each generation needs to do better than the last to keep agriculture strong and prosperous while maintaining its integrity.”

Quade plans to continue farming and raising cattle during college before he returns to the family farm full time.

“This is where my roots are”

Quade is ready to meet these challenges, but he knows it won’t be easy.

Last fall he submitted his resume to two land management companies to try to increase his farming operation.

“While it did not go as planned, I wasn’t discouraged. I’ll continue searching for farmers willing to give a young man a chance, so I can prove what I’m capable of.”

Protecting Iowa’s soil and water resources is important to Quade. He worked with his FFA chapter to seed a cover crop and turn a gully into a waterway to improve the chapter’s 17-acre test plot.

In addition, his family uses precision agriculture

“This is where my roots are,” said Quade, a sixthgeneration farmer. “I want to help my rural community remain strong.”

Quade volunteers at various community events and serves as the groundskeeper for St. Thomas Church in Manson and the St. Thomas Cemetery.

“Iowa is home,” he said. “This is where I belong and where I’ll raise my family.”

To help rural Iowa thrive, it’s vital to connect older farmers with beginning farmers, Quade said. “We need landowners who care more about helping the next generation get started in farming than earning top-dollar rent. I’m here to prove that the future of farming is in good hands and won’t end with me. I want to help our farms remain family farms.”

“This is where my roots are. I want to help my rural community remain strong.”

JACKSON QUADE

Manson teen, cattle farmer

“The average consumer is now three generations removed from agriculture. My experience in my previous job and with my own kids has done nothing more than prove we have a lot of work to do in order to keep agriculture relevant and alive across this nation.”

MIKE ANDERSON Executive director, Iowa Beef Industry Council

AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING

Couple seeking quiet living now enjoys raising cattle

By DOUG CLOUGH Farm News writer

BATTLE CREEK — Growing up within Ida Grove’s city limits, you might think that Shannon Zobel knew little about country living.

“I’ve always been an outdoorsman,” said Zobel. “Every weekend, I was out trapping, fishing, or hunting. I enjoyed coming out to my grandma and grandpa’s farm. Grandpa always had sheep and cows.

“He passed away in 2001, and we bought this acreage in 2002. When you live in town, you’re so close to neighbors, and we wanted a quiet place to live, and it is a nice kind of quiet.”

Zobel’s grandparents, Theresa and the late Leonard Bresnahan, owned and lived at the farmstead for 40 years.

While purposefully looking for quiet living, Zobel and his wife Anne didn’t anticipate, later in 2008, caring for a quiet cow-calf herd of 30 head.

“It just kind of occurred,” said Anne Zobel. “We had an overgrown area behind the house, so we thought we’d buy three calves to graze it.”

“I was just tired of mowing the grass,” said Shannon Zobel.

It would turn out to be the Zobels’ first lesson in buying cattle.

“We bought the three calves in the spring when the grass is green: in a typical year,

that’s the high market. When the grass was gone in October, even though they gained 200 pounds, we took a loss when we sold them. It just wasn’t a good financial move.”

Anne, his wife of nearly 25 years, agreed. “I was thinking vacation-fund,” she said, smiling. “When I found out we were in the red, I understood why we still have fulltime jobs.”

The couple jokes easily at the thought of making it fulltime as cattlemen. Anne is an elementary teacher with 22 years of experience. Shannon owns and operates The Terry Nielsen Agency in Ida Grove with his son Ethan, 23, specializing in crop insurance; Shannon also crop-farms 160 acres with Ethan on a corn and bean rotation. Ethan also owns and operates EZ Equipment Sales of Holstein; his sister Elizabeth, 21, is a senior at Morningside College, majoring in agricultural education.

Anne Zobel is no stranger to the cattleman life, having been raised in rural Holstein by Lane and Lori Volkert.

“We had over 100 head Black and Red Angus and Simmental cross, so it was a bigger operation than what we have,” she said. “Dad was cautious and wanted to protect us, but we were around it all. I watched them get shots, have C-sections, and the men pull calves. I do a lot more here.”

Still, when Anne married Shannon, she thought that her life surrounding cattle would be a thing of the past.

“We bought three pairs from there, and it was better; the herd just expanded when we

See

-Farm News photos by Doug Clough SHANNON AND ANNE ZOBEL have had a cow-calf herd since 2008. To their right are five replacement heifers that are a little over a year old; they are Baldies, most from Angus cows sired by a Hereford bull. Left to right are Shannon and Anne Zobel, along with Bolt, Lady Bug, Little Lucky, Red, and Panda.

LEFT: The Zobels have found that raising cattle has added to their quality of life. “Living in the country is quiet,” said Shannon Zobel. “Being in the pasture with the calves and cows is one of the most peaceful things I’ve known.” Pictured here is a first-calf heifer, which was born in brutally cold temperatures, losing part of her ears; she survived, though, calving for the first time this year.

ZOBELS, Page 11C

FOR THE LOVE OF THE BREED

Vermeersches breed Scottish Highland cattle on Mud Ridge Ranch

By KRISTIN DANLEY-GREINER Farm News writer

POTTAWATTAMIE COUN-

TY

— They’re adorably fluffy, stocky and have terrific personalities. They’re Scottish Highland cattle and they’re taking over American farms in a craze that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Matt and Jocelyn Vermeersch moved home to western Iowa in 2019 and bought a house nestled on five acres. They realized while mowing one day that five acres was a lot to maintain, so they bought nine goat kids. But it wasn’t enough to naturally maintain their property, so they entertained the idea of cattle.

“My grandpa farmed 1,200 head of cows and always had pigs around. One-third of his acres were in corn, a third in pasture and a third in wheat or sorghum,” Matt Vermeersch said. “Neither of my parents farmed, but my dad was a large animal veterinarian so I still spent a lot of time around agriculture but not in a day-to-day operation. So I basically fell into farming.”

They stumbled across Scottish Highland and instantly fell in love with the breed. They’re beautiful, have a strong maternal instinct making them terrific breeders, and are actually docile.

The couple bought three and found themselves enamored with their tiny herd.

In just a few years’ time, they upped their herd size to 30 cows and keep the females for breeding and the males for beef marketed under the Pottawattamie County farm’s name of Mud Ridge Ranch.

“I worked for Syngenta and moved across the nation with them, then moved back closer to home outside Omaha and we decided to get some animals. Once we got the Scottish Highland cattle, we fell in love with them,” Vermeersch said. “Small farmers want to find a niche, so after you take into account the cattle’s looks, you have the fact that they’re naturally docile and will eat food out of our hand. They also have a low calving weight so calving is less stressful and there’s less intervention during calving.”

Scottish Highland cattle originated in the Highlands and west coastal islands of Scotland. With their shaggy coats that can grow up to 13 inches long, they can battle brutal weather up in the mountains. They can be found in

black, red, white, yellow, dun or gray, and brindle red with black. They don’t have a lot of back fat because of their thick coats, so their meat is lean and nutrient dense.

“We are working on direct-to-market beef sales and hope to tap into the retail market, like stores, restaurants, farmers and individuals. We love providing friends and family with bulk beef,” Vermeersch said.

The Vermeersches’ cattle are rotated on pasture ground in the Loess Hills and during the winter, they graze on stocks. He also incorporates a fair amount of hay into their feeding schedule. They’ll also graze on timber and brush, so Vermeersch leases around 75 acres that include dense timber. Because their herd hovers

around 30, the Vermeersches have developed a bond with their animals. They’re always cautious around their impressive horns.

“You have to be respectful and aware of their horns. My 1.5-year-old bull, I’ve sat on his back — that’s how easy going he is and what people look for when breeding. They don’t mind our goats or the sheep,” Vermeersch said.

Even though people are fasci nated with the Scottish Highland breed, Vermeersch said they haven’t quite earned the respect other traditional cattle breeds have. But they spark interesting conversations with others.

“Lots of homesteaders are looking for two to five animals to keep on their acreages — that’s who a lot of our breeding stock

sales go to. Taking care of them doesn’t take much other than filling up their water and dropping in a bale to supplement feeding,” he said. “During the summer when we’re doing rotations, my wife and kids will spend an hour or two with them.”

There aren’t a lot of Scottish Highland cattle in Iowa but their total herd size is growing.

“There are fall and spring auctions and those are setting sales records. It’s fun to be a seller right now and not really a buyer, but that shows the demand for the breed. It’s really cool to see all of the interest in them,” Vermeersch said.

 Tanks like these measure from 6 feet to 13 feet in diameter.  They will hold from 200 to 1,700 gallons  They can be cut to any height.  They resist freezing.  Will deliver in semi-loads anywhere

-Submitted photos

MATT AND JOCELYN VERMEERSCH are pictured with their son Boone, 1½ years old, on their farm, Mud Ridge Ranch, in Pottawattamie County.

BELOW: Boone pays a visit to one of the cattle at Mud Ridge Ranch.

Iowa's Top 10 BEST Burgers

By KRISTIN

DANLEY-GREINER

Farm News writer

Iowa’s Best Burger for 2023 can be traced to a fairly new eatery in Story County with an aviation theme that gives back to the community with each purchase of its winning burger.

Iowans submitted nominations of their favorite burger from Feb. 13 to March 13 in the contest hosted by the Iowa Beef Industry Council and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. The number of votes each restaurant received determined the 2023 Top Ten restaurants that included:

n Arty’s Ice Cream & Grill, Wilton.

n Ben’s Burgers, Ankeny.

n Birdies, Burgers and Brews

@ The Hillcrest, Graettinger.

n Burger & Company, Spirit Lake.

n Fishback & Stephenson Cider House, Fairfield.

n Foodie Garage Eatery, Dubuque.

n Flight Bar + Grille, Huxley.

n Jeronimo’s Bar & Grill, Springbrook.

n Parlor on Main, Central City.

n Troy's Bar & Grill, Earling.

To qualify for Iowa’s Best Burger honors, the burger must be a 100 percent real beef patty served on a bun or bread product. Burgers can include any combination of condiments, sauces, cheese or toppings.

“In total, we collected 6,414 votes for 509 Iowa restaurants,” said Kylie Peterson, director of marketing for the Iowa Beef Industry Council. “This year’s top 10 restaurants are awardwinning worthy, but are only a few of the many restaurants in Iowa that do an outstanding job of promoting and serving our beef products to their customers on behalf of Iowa’s beef farmers.”

Five of the top 10 restaurants are new qualifiers, including Ben’s Burgers, Burger & Company, Jeronimo’s Bar & Grill, Parlor on Main and this year’s winner: Flight Bar + Grille in Huxley.

“We’re so honored. There are a lot of great restaurants in the Des Moines metro area that we look up to for inspiration and for our restaurant to be a part of the top

10 is huge. To win, well, we’re speechless. It’s life changing. To have this feather in your cap for the rest of your life is amazing. It’s a huge achievement for our staff. This was one of our goals to have the best burger in Iowa,” Matt Pacha said. “Marianne and I didn’t think it would happen so soon.”

Marianne and Matt Pacha moved to Huxley six years ago and knew they wanted to become an integral part of the community. When they couldn’t find a burgers and brews place to chill at in the area, they decided to capitalize upon Matt Pacha’s retail food business and open their own place.

They began hashing out plans for a restaurant, but then the global coronavirus pandemic hit and delayed their dream.

But by 2022, they were able to open Flight Bar + Grille with a name inspired by the Ballard school district’s mascot, the Ballard Bombers. Even the menu boasts an aviation theme. The winning burger from Flight Bar + Grille is “The Foundation.”

“Our Foundation is a doublesmash burger with cheddar cheese. It includes mustard aioli, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions and is topped with thickcut bacon served between a beautiful and buttery brioche bun,” said Katie Boughey, executive chef and kitchen manager. “We use simple seasonings — salt and pepper — to let the beef’s flavor be the star of the burger.”

The burger features 80% lean, fresh ground beef. The neverfrozen and Midwest-sourced beef

is rolled into a meatball and then smashed straight on the grill with a steak weight to give it a crisp crust, which preserves the juices inside. House-made pickles and flight fries top off this incredibly popular menu item.

“We usually have five or six burgers on the menu at all times. Our ingredients are all fresh, not frozen, and we cut our own lettuce and tomatoes daily. How can this burger not be good with the caramelizing onions fried in bacon. The atmosphere that people eat in adds to it, too, and we feel that our team has done a great job building a fun place to eat. It just tastes better because you’re in a fun and welcoming place,” Pacha said.

The Foundation burger also is a community favorite for another reason. For every burger sold,

the couple donates $1 to the Ballard Education Foundation.

“It was the inspiration for the burger’s name and it’s been in place since we opened Flight. It’s important to us to give back to the community and this is one way we can contribute. This honor didn’t happen without the support of our communities,” Pacha said.

Other top 10 burger creators in Farm News’ readership area weighed in on their honor:

Birdies, Burgers and Brews, Graettinger “We were so excited. We use an 86 percent grind and handy patty 8-ounce burgers on a flattop griddle in their own juices so they get a nice crust on them. We also use a house seasoning on the patties,” said Barry Bonner, owner of the restaurant.

The eatery also has several other fun burgers, like the Wisconsin Rancher with Wisconsin cheese curds, Swiss cheese and house-made ranch piled on a juicy patty. The Hillcrest burger offers melted Swiss cheese, shredded corned beef and 1000 Island dressing atop a patty served on a steakhouse bun.

“We create a new burger every week with different toppings. We’ve done a chopped suey burger with veggies and oriental sauce, and another burger with Fruity Pebbles. There’s the Peanut Butter Burger with cheddar cheese, bacon and Reese’s peanut butter cups,” Bonner said. “This win helps support Iowa farmers and gets the word out about Iowa beef. We work together as a team — they raise it and we put it on the plate for them.”

Burger & Company, Spirit Lake

“We are so excited to be on the top 10. It’s an honor for this little town in northwest Iowa.

“Everything’s made fresh, never frozen, and hand-pattied. Jason Battern, the owner with his wife Jordan, makes all the sauces from scratch,” said Kim Marsh, front of the house manager.

The burgers at this eatery include one with smoked gouda and caramelized onions, while

See BURGERS, Page 11C

SAMBA

Light Construction

Rear, lightweight disc mower SAMBA with working widths from 1,60 up to 3,20 m is designed to operate on smaller farms. Mower works well in hilly as well as swamp areas, where machines and tractors weight is of great importance.

The people of Iowa have voted and these are the burgers that rose to the top

-Submitted photo

REPRESENTING FLIGHT BAR + GRILLE in Huxley, from left, are Matt Pacha, Marianne Pacha; Katie Boughey, head chef; and Brady Flattery, sous chef. Flight Bar + Grille won Iowa's Best Burger Contest with their Foundation Burger, also pictured in the closeup at top right. The burger features 80% lean, fresh ground beef. The never-frozen and Midwest-sourced beef is rolled into a meatball and then smashed straight on the grill with a steak weight to give it a crisp crust, which preserves the juices inside. House-made pickles and flight fries top off this incredibly popular menu item.

Burgers

Continued from Page 10C

the other is topped with creamy brie, bacon, jalapenos and a balsamic onion jam.

“Jason has worked really hard for this,” Marsh said. He started with the previous owner at a different spot in town, and he puts a lot of his heart and soul into this.”

Troy’s Bar & Grill, Earling

“We started the restaurant four years ago and always get our meat across the street from a locker in town, so it’s always fresh, never frozen, and local. We also grind our own burger, which makes it even more fresh. People definitely notice that. We sell more burgers than anything else,” said Troy Langenfeld, who owns the eatery with his wife Emily.

Some of the favorite burgers include the Western Burger with bacon, cheese, onion rings and barbecue sauce.

The Mushroom Swiss is popular, too, along with the Cheese Ball Burger.

“We have 17 different burgers. People love our Bacon Mac and Cheeseburger, too,” Langenfeld said.

Ben’s Burgers, Ankeny

“We grind our beef in-house, bake our own buns, cut our own veggies by hand,” said Ben Carris, owner of Ben’s Burgers. “We opened March 13, 2020, just in time for the pandemic. We have a drive-thru so that really helped us during that time.”

The most popular burger at this eatery is the standard cheeseburger with house sauce, lettuce, tomato and red onion. The Cowboy Burger is also popular with onion rings, bacon, barbecue sauce, lettuce and tomato.

“We were so excited to make the top 10. We more than doubled our sales the week that was announced,” Carris said. “We appreciate everyone’s support and for stopping by to try our burgers.”

Zobels

Continued from Page 8C

decided to rent 39 acres of pasture from my family,” said Shannon Zobel. “The next year we bought 10 bred heifers and eight cows. It all just kind of developed before our eyes; having close friends, family, and neighbors who have cattle, there were so many resources.”

For the past 14 years, Shannon Zobel has kept extensive data on his herd, which helps with decision making.

“Our calving season is in March and April. We keep the calves through weening and then we background the calves from 30 to 90 days. By Jan. 1, we will sell those calves — just before the worst of winter hits,” he said. “We sell about 20 calves a year in November and December, each weighing 600 to 800 pounds. Those calves will then go to a feed yard to be finished out. We keep the moms, typically 25 or so.”

“We do an Angus and Hereford cross that gives us a Black Baldie,” said Shannon Zobel. “We also have some Reds, Herefords, and Simmental — and a lot of crosses of those breeds. We also have four or five registered Black Angus.” He also keeps two bulls, looking for docility, lower birth weight, and calving ease.

The Zobels are happy with their herd and growth as cattlemen, but there are still challenges. “If it’s really cold, we need to get up every two hours to check on calving,” said Anne Zobel. “We had -33-degree weather for several days in a row one winter, and it was brutal. We had four or five calves that year, so we had to baby them, placing one in the warmer and bringing the others in the house to dry off. We have calf shel-

ters but, with that kind of weather, they weren’t enough at times. Now that our kids are out on their own, we realize just how much they did to help during calving season.”

“We breed for good disposition,” said Shannon Zobel. “Since our two children were around when we started, we wanted to make sure we had calm cattle. For registered Black Angus, there is a measurement for docility. We also will keep docile calves out of the cows, since we know the history. We turn our heifer calves into cows. Having a small herd helps to establish control over various traits like docility.”

Despite the lack of intention in building their herd and the current high cost of inputs, the Zobels appreciate what it means to care for cattle.

“The market is high now, which helps with input costs. Mostly, I’m grateful with every sunrise and sunset we have on our pasture,” said Shannon Zobel. “We check on the cows and calves, and there’s nothing more peaceful. We know we’ve raised those calves, and at weening time, we know you’ve had a hand in a great product. Eventually, our daughter Liz will take the herd, and they will be in good hands.”

Anne Zobel, who names the calves at birth, feels differently about weening.

“I just stand there and cry,” she said. “I love going to the pasture in the evening to check on everybody. They are all just so tame and friendly — this is now a big part of our lives.”

-Submitted photo

BEN CARRIS, owner of Ben's Burgers in Ankeny, holds their top 10 burger selection, the Honey Peanut Butter Burger, which the restaurant released in March.

-Submitted photo

JASON BATTERN, owner of Burger and Co. in Spirit Lake, holds some tasty menu items, including a grilled cheese and the popular BC Burger. Jason Battern, along with his wife Jordan, make all of the sauces from scratch.

-Farm News photo by Doug Clough

ANNE ZOBEL is shown here at the Zobel’s feedlot near Battle Creek with a couple of their spring calves. The two calves are sired by a registered black angus bull, and the brown calf with shorter ears is “Cocoa.” The other black calf is “Little Bullseye.” “I like to name them since they are so tame, much like pets,” she said. “There’s a mean one that I won’t name; she’s just 8684.”