from February 2024 - American Beef Producer Magazine

2024 National Western Stock Show (or Snow)

24 Questions with

Marlin Scott, Scott Angus Cattle

Interview & Artwork by Derek Sample, Derek@ABPmag.com

Derek: How's it going?

Marlin: We're calving. The barns have been full.

D: I saw that on some of your FB posts.

Marlin: We’re getting hard at it. We're averaging about 10 calves a day. We calve from around Christmas to March 1st. We have a horse saddled daily, which is a must on our place during calving. It’s a family team effort. Our son Sam, daughter Abby, son-in-law AJ Ropers, my wife Kelly, and I are the family team. We hired Robb Engel to help us year-round, and Tyler Foland, Tommy Wroblewski, and nephew Joel Scott help us through calving, breeding season, etc.

D: Tell me about your calving setup

Marlin: Since we start calving in early January -- we have a calving barn that has been added onto a couple of times to accomplish what we need during calving. The barn has a loafing area that can hold 90 heavy cows and two heated areas with 19 stalls. Until the pairs get along well, we utilize four open fronts with 22 stalls. We’ve developed a calving ground in a wooded area with lots of protection and split it into eight parcels. Each parcel has calf shelters, tree piles

only drawback to this calving setup is that some of the grounds are in a flood zone. We made it through the flood of 2019, which was scary, but on the positive side, it freshened up our pens with beautiful white sand.

D: I bet. That sand is sacred around your area. How did your family get started with ranching there?

Marlin: My grandpa Leonard settled in the area in the twenties. Those early years were decent. He bought this place in 1936 and struggled through the hard times of the 1930s. The house we live in today is where my dad, Ronnie, and my uncle Gene were raised.

Leonard Scott was never afraid of working hard or afraid of a challenge. He heard they were developing irrigation out of the Missouri River to help with the drought on the eastern edge of Nebraska. So, he talked to some government people and asked what he could do to pump out of the river legally.

D: How did that turn out?

Marlin: He was issued one of the very first water rights in the county. Then he developed an irrigation system – dikes and canals built by a hired dozer and Leonard’s own draft horses. To make ends meet during the drought, he serviced the area’s draft mares with his well-known draft horse stallion and had a small herd of Hereford cattle. If it weren’t for Grandpa’s perseverance during those ‘dirty thirties,’ our family would not be working this land today.

D: What else did you learn from the generations that worked the land before you?

Marlin: Grandpa Stuart Robinson (Stu) was my mom’s dad, who lived on a nearby farm, currently

owned by my brother Mark. Stu had Hereford cattle and owned a mechanic shop in Belgrade. Grandpa Leonard Scott taught me work ethics and to be very driven. Grandpa Stu gave me my personality and taught me humor and common sense about fellowship with people who surround me. My dad, Ronnie Scott, was a lot like grandpa Leonard. He taught me the same -- work ethics and a competitive drive. He would say, “Find out what you are best at in life, totally commit to it, and be the best you can be. If it doesn’t work out, move on as it wasn’t meant to be.” Dad was a master at reverse psychology; instead of complimenting my brother Mark and me, he’d say you’ll never be as good as me, so maybe you ought to try something else. And guess what? He’d prove it to us. It always worked, and we’d try just that much harder.

D: Tell me about any life-learning moments you’ve witnessed that you try to live by

Marlin: I have shared this story many times through the years. “Honesty is the best policy.” I went to a cow sale in Ericson, and they were selling close to 1,500 head of bred cows that day. There was a complete dispersion of a gentleman’s herd consisting of roughly 100 head of bred cows, from first calvers to broken mouth cows. They ran 99 head through and the barn owner, Chuck Mahoney, was ready to grab the microphone, and one more cow walked into the ring. Chuck asked, “OK, Joe, what do we have here? She doesn’t look old and is not marked as a late calver. Why is she coming in all by herself?”. “I want her to sell by herself,” Joe said. “But why?” Chuck said. Joe’s face turned red, and he said, “Every year, for some reason, once she gets bred, this SOB leaves my pasture, and who knows how far she will go? Usually, it takes a couple of days to find her at the end of the pasture season, but she’ll always wean off your biggest calf.” Figuring she wouldn’t bring that much by herself, Joe said sternly, “Sell her!!” Of course, the crowd laughed, and the bidding began. The bids just kept going and going until

she sold $300 more than any cow that day. Back then, if a cow brought $750, that was a lot. The crowd broke into an uproar, and Chuck quieted everybody down. He said, “Listen, what we just witnessed is a special moment, honesty is always the best policy. I don’t want anyone to forget it!” Everyone at the sale barn stood up and gave Joe a standing ovation. This moment has always meant so much to me.

D: Who can you recall that taught you your philosophy on how you want your Angus Cattle program to portray?

Marlin: Marlin Frenzen was the father of a close friend of my brother and me, Craig Frenzen. Since we shared the same first name, maybe that’s why his words stuck with me even more. When I was a freshman in Vo Ag class, Mr. Frenzen was invited to the class to talk about the registered Hereford business. He talked a lot about genetics and why he went that direction. At the end of his talk, he said, “The most important thing I can tell you about the business is if you are looking to buy bulls, buy the program first, then buy your bull. As a seller, sell yourself and your program first; it will all fall into place. After that, work as a team with your customer.”

D: Wow, that’s definitely something that would stick with me too. Let’s talk about your lovely wife. Tell us how you met Kelly.

Marlin: Well, I tell many people this, and it might be quirky. I went to a smaller high school and

was blessed to be a decent basketball player. We were all seniors, and the teacher asked, what are the top characteristics you look for in your perfect mate? I responded with intelligent, pretty, driven, athletic, a ranch background, and a good walk. Everything I ever wanted in a wife was on this list.

I was no movie star. I knew that. So, when I went to college under a basketball scholarship, I figured this was my one shot to find a girl. I was nice to everybody, and every girl, and it didn't matter what they looked like. I must have said the right thing to Kelly, and she asked me out. Then, after I got to know her better, she was everything on my top 10 list. Everything. She was just a perfect mix. She was raised on a ranch in Wheeler County, she played volleyball at this small college we met, and her dad was always a role model to me as a cattleman and horseman. We were married in 1981, and now we have two children: our daughter, Abby, and son, Sam.

D: Can you tell me how your family got started with Angus?

Marlin: Grandpa Leonard loved the Hereford cows. Dad started switching it to black, white face cows, which he bought on complete dispersals, but he never kept back heifers. In hopes of producing more pounds on sale day, Dad purchased some Charolais bulls for cross-bred vigor, size, and weight. These bulls did create big steers but weren’t the answer for our females. So, I told dad, we need to switch this around. We need to find some Angus breeders with some growth but still go back to the cow and what she represents: moderate birth, high fertility, and perfect udders. I went to AI school to use the top Angus bulls on our cattle, make the daughters I wanted, and quit buying cows. I also went to the Denver Stock Show to study different breeders and see which sires would fit the cattle we were looking for.

D: So this put you in the middle of some important breeders.

Marlin: It sure did and with $2 corn, 70 cent feeder cattle, and 17% interest, I had to dream up a whole new way to make a living. I AI’d our whole herd for about 15 years. We carcass tested Slagle Angus herd sires that he was promoting. He donated the semen to this project, and we were able to build up a herd of commercial cows that were unmatchable. From this herd, an embryo program was created, and we used our commercial cattle as recips. I talked to some registered breeders about starting an embryo project that would financially work for them and us. We worked with Schaff Angus Valley, Baldridge Bros, Slagle Angus, Sandpoint Cattle Co, and Assman Land and Cattle.

D: Wow, sounds like it was a good plan.

Marlin: Yes, this is how the partnership with Schaff Angus Valley was created, and we have been in business together for 20+ years now.

D: Meeting all those well-known breeders probably taught you a lot

Marlin: I'll be the first to say what has made me who I am is these individuals I just talked about.

Mark Slagle advised me as I was getting into the embryo business. “It's very simple” he said, “If you can, start calving the 1st of January. Good genetics plus calving early will make you a somebody instead of a nobody.” I never forgot that.

D: Impressive, and obviously, you followed Mark’s advice.

Marlin: Yep, three years in, our operation produced many bulls that went into AI studs. We learned the right genetics, the right atmosphere, and calving at the right time will take you far. But most importantly, take care of the blessings you’ve been given. I mean, it's as simple as that.

D: How did you start building your own herd?

Marlin: From the different embryo projects, we started buying back favorite heifers we raised here. Also, we retained half of the heifers as part of some of the projects. These cows are the foundation of our herd today. We recently made a trip to Sitz Angus to buy Sitz Pride 200B. She’s a herd changer -- High maternal, nationally known for her son Sitz Stellar, all the qualities we were looking for and more to improve our future herd. We highlighted a daughter out of her this

fall on our 2nd annual Belles of the Grade Female Sale offering. We now have several progeny out of her that will be highlighted in the upcoming sales.

D: Tell me about Scott Angus Cattle’s next generation.

Marlin: The next chapter of our Scott Angus Cattle is in the hands of our son Sam, daughter Abby, and Abby’s husband, AJ Ropers. They joined SAC eight years ago, and each of them brings a unique skill set to improve the different avenues of the ranch operation: Cattle and pasture management, marketing, public relations, machine maintenance, feed quality management, etc. We started building a private treaty business -- selling bulls, bred females, and embryos to develop new income avenues for our family. As our customer base increased, we realized the possibility of a production sale was becoming a reality.

D: Yep, and you have an upcoming sale. Let’s talk about that. You’ve had sales before, but this is a big one for you guys this year.

Marlin: This is the first time we're going to host a live auction bull sale. It starts at 1 pm on the 28th of February 2024. It’s our first bull sale with an auctioneer and ring service. We sold our bulls private treaty for about five years and had our first Scott Angus Cattle online bull sale last year. The offering is about 50 yearling bulls sired by Resilient, Stellar, Virtue, Robust, John Wayne, Downpour, Scale House, Rainfall, and Patriarch. DV Auction is hosting it for the online bidders. Everyone is welcome to view the bulls prior to the sale.

D: Where will your sale be held?

Marlin: We're fixing up my grandpa’s old barn where he harnessed his draft horses. We turned it into a heifer barn when we first got started and put in 15 stalls with a heated room for calves to get warmed up. We are in the process of installing some wooden beams in it, like in our bunkhouse, to create some atmosphere, but it won't be frilly.

D: Tell us more about that bunkhouse of yours then. I’m so impressed with it. I shared pictures of it last year, and we received several responses asking more about it.

Marlin: The bunkhouse. It’s a post-and-beam apartment built over the top of our garage, with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a fireplace, and a sitting area. It creates an atmosphere for our visitors to feel welcome and get to know our family and our passion for cattle. We love to have people visit!

D: With that bunkhouse, I wouldn’t leave very often. But with the cattle and your growing family, do you get away much?

Marlin: The past few years, we’ve been on some Angus tours, traveled to different Angus sales, and visited Angus producers along the way. But honestly, our enjoyment is right under our noses, right here every day.

D: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Is there anything else that you want to do that's different?

Marlin: In 10 years I'll be 71. By then, Sam, Abby, and AJ will manage the ranch operations. In my younger years, I loved hunting, fishing, playing basketball and softball, and playing good golf. I look forward to enjoying my grandkids and their future activities. I think I want to travel abroad too. Maybe Ireland, Scotland, or some other place with good cattle, friendly people, and beautiful scenery.