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Keeping Up With the Challenges By Terry Ropp
Circle L Ranch has multiple facets of its operation Circle L Ranch is a five generation operation, work- she won grand champion market steer at the Arkansas State Fair ing on the sixth, dating back to 1884. After the Civil when she was 16. Her steer brought $16,000, which she used to purWar, S.D. Leonard came by covered wagon from Georgia. S.D.’s chase a new, 2004 Chevy diesel truck, which she still owns and plans brother Silas homesteaded with S.D. purchasing land nearby. That to never sell. The ranch supports 250 heavily Angus-influenced breeding fepurchased land became Circle L Ranch with additional land acquired through the generations. The ranch is now comprised of males and 10 registered Angus bulls purchased from 44 Farms in 800 acres used for a cow/calf operation with a highly specific and southern Texas and Jac’s Ranch in Bentonville, Ark. The linchsequenced breeding program. The ranch is family owned with Mike pin of the Circle L Ranch‘s cow/calf operation is purchasing bulls and Tricia Leonard living in one house and their daughter Amanda from 44 Farms on a calf buyback program with the meat from those calves appearing in the Walmart certified Angus beef case. Price and her family living in another house nearby. Heifers, all of which come from the ranch’s herd, are bred by AI Amanda showed animals in 4-H growing up, mainly market steers in her high school years. When Amanda was 15 and showing a steer at which eliminates the need for having a low-birth-weight bull. “Being able to utilize AI, I can outcross genetics and retain heifthe Arkansas/Oklahoma State Fair, she was introduced to Levi Price, ers, which increases their her future husband. genetic potential since I The couple attended Amanda Price is a fifth-generation am able to use high-qualcollege at Oklahoma rancher and the primary operator ity bulls.” State until Levi graduat Circle L Ranch. Amanda uses ultraated. After his graduasound on all heifers to tion, he began working check for proper develat Decatur State Bank opment, as well as pregin Siloam Springs, Ark. nancy checks all breedAmanda transferred to ing females. the University of ArThe females are in two kansas her last year to groups, with about half finish her animal scibred by embryo transence degree. Levi has plant in the spring or AI. now been a loan manThey run a cooperative ager at the Arvest bank herd with their cattle, in Siloam Springs for putting others embryos the last three years. The into their cows, almost couple has two children, Submitted Photo like a surrogate mother. son Sayer, who is 3, and Those calves are raised on the farm and then delivered back to the daughter Shae, who is 10 months old. Amanda does a lot of the day-to-day work on the farm, along embryo owner after weaning. They have been doing this for almost with her dad when he isn’t running his dirt work business. Levi 15 years. The remainder are bred naturally by the ranch’s cadre of chips in on the weekends. Amanda credits all her knowledge and bulls. These bulls are selected by genotype and phenotype, mostly for growth. experience to watching and working along with her “Since I can AI heifers, we don’t have to use a low father and his father before him. Gravette, Ark. birth weight bull. That means the bulls we purchase “It’s a long legacy that I am so thankful to be a part can be selected for bigger growth potential. of,” Amanda said of the Century Farm. “Not many peo“The last three years we have sold back to 44 Farms, ple are fortunate enough to have a family history like which uses a third-party verification indicating that the ours to help them.” While Amanda knew early on that she wanted to be in — Continued on Page 9 the cattle industry, the real turning point occurred when FEBRUARY 22, 2021
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