The Red Angus Difference Makes a Big Impact in the Flint Hills by Brandi Buzzard Frobose, Editor and Director of Communications The Tallgrass Prairie once covered more than 170 million acres of North America, stretching from North Dakota to mid-central Texas, teeming with waving grasses, wildlife and breathtaking scenery. Over the past several decades, lands that were once home to millions of ranging buffalo have been cultivated into crop ground to feed a growing population. Today, a mere 4% of the Tallgrass Prairie remains intact, mostly in the Flint Hills of Kansas. It’s there, in the heart of cattle country, north of Emporia, Kansas, one nds Keith Cattle Co.. Justin and Kelsey Keith, along with their son Bodie, are the second and third generations of ranchers at Keith Cattle Co., which was founded by Justin’s dad, Brian, in 1987 as a preconditioning yard. In 1998, a cowcalf segment was added, composed primarily of Angus and Angus-cross mama cows, and when Justin re-
turned from college in 2008, he took on a larger role in the operation.
is nearly always at their side when working with cattle.
Fast-forward to 2019, after a wedding in 2015 and welcoming Bodie in 2016, and Justin and Kelsey bought their own piece of land and launched their own venture by purchasing several bred heifers from a seedstock and heifer development rm. They’ve been smiling ever since.
In fact, when it comes to the “chopping list,” as Justin puts it, disposition is a big reason for culling. “If they don’t want to be gentle, they’re gone,” and subsequently, they haven’t had to cull one for disposition since starting their Red Angus herd.
Easy Does It “We wanted to do something different, and we were drawn to Red Angus because of their smaller frame size, lower inputs and easier maintenance. Now that we’ve had them for a few years, we appreciate them for all of the above plus their extreme docility. Hands down,” said Justin. “They are so easy to work with and they want to make our job easier, which has been a surprise benet,” added Kelsey, who asserts that docility is a must for their family, as Bodie
The Keith family was drawn to Red Angus for their smaller frame size, lower inputs and easier maintenance.
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RED ANGUS Magazine July/August 2021
The Keiths run their herd on fescue and native grass year-round, managing their forage through two-week periods of rotational grazing. The herd is wintered on dormant hay meadow and then returns to the hills in the spring. Approximately three weeks before calving, cows start receiving a ration of distillers and silage to increase their energy. Heifers start calving in the middle of February and are checked frequently, around the clock. Last year, Kelsey’s job at the Lyon/ Chase County USDA Farm Service
