2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition Section A by Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Fall

Cattlemen's

Edition

2020

Featuring

Idaho

A publication of

2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Abundant agriculture

State of Idaho home to a diverse and abundant agriculture industry The Wyoming Livestock Roundup is thrilled to highlight Idaho farms, ranches and agribusinesses in this 2020 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition. While most people associate Idaho with their famous potatoes, the Gem State’s diverse agriculture industry has a vast variety of agricultural products to

offer. In fact, Idaho’s agriculture is as diverse as its landscape, with nearly 25,000 farms and ranches producing more than 185 different commodities. In the north, producers grow extensive fields of dryland grains, dry peas, lentils and hay. Down in the southwest corner of the state, traditional crops are

mixed with fruit orchards, vegetables and specialized commodities such as mint, hops and seed crops. The landscape winding along the Snake River gives way to a smattering of irrigated fields of alfalfa hay, dry beans, potatoes, small grains and sugarbeets. Over to the east, one will find a mixture of dry-

land and irrigated grain, hay and potato fields. Cattle and sheep graze vast rangelands throughout the state, and Idaho’s dairy and commercial cattle feeding industries have made tremendous gains through the past decade. Agriculture and the economy Agriculture is a fundamentally important part of Idaho’s economy, communities and way of life. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), agriculture cash receipts in 2018 equaled

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IDAHO ranches featured in this edition:

16 7

14 18

20 15

6 24

21 22

5 1 8 13

12 23 3

19 25 11

1. Burgess Angus Ranch – Homedale 2. Adams Angus Acres – Blackfoot 3. Elkington Polled Herefords – Idaho Falls 4. Beckman Livestock and Farming – Roberts 5. Shaw Cattle Company – Caldwell 6. Loosli Red Angus – Ashton 7. Silver Bit Angus Ranch – May 8. Carter Cattle Company – Pingree 9. Eagle Valley Ranch – Salmon 10. Colyer Herefords – Bruneau 11. Ipsen Cattle Company – Dingle 12. Reed’s Dairy – Idaho Falls 13. Spring Cove Ranch – Bliss 14. Lufkin Cattle Company – Salmon 15. U.S. Sheep Experiment Station – Dubois 16. Nelson Angus Ranch – Salmon 17. Rinker Rock Creek Ranch – Moscow 18. Andrea Daine – Baker 19. Idaho Trout Company – Buhl 20. Leadore Angus Ranch – Leadore 21. Malson Angus and Herefords – Parma 22. Outback Equine Reproduction – Caldwell 23. Riverbend Ranch – Idaho Falls 24. H.D. Dunn and Son Angus Ranch – Tetonia 25. Daniels Hereford Ranch – Malad City

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Continued from previous page $7.4 billion, while processed food and beverage sales totaled $8.4 billion. Together, agriculture and food processing generate 28 percent of Idaho’s total economic output in sales and 13 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This number allows Idaho to boast the fifth largest state agricultural economy as a percent of GDP in the nation. Market value of agriculture products sold in Idaho in 2017 totaled $19.7 billion. The agriculture sector contributed 123,100 jobs and $9.6 billion in added value. The top five agriculture counties by millions of dollars sold are Cassia, Gooding, Twin Falls, Jerome and Canyon. The top five crops in the state, harvested annually, include 1,380,000 acres of hay and haylage, 1,125,000 acres of wheat,

520,000 acres of barley, 308,000 acres of potatoes and 235,000 acres of corn for silage. The production of other major agriculture products on an annual basis include 41 million pounds of trout, 14,627,000 pounds of milk, 958,687 pounds of cheese, 1,600 pounds of wool and 4,180 pounds of honey. USDA reports the livestock inventory includes 2,490,000 head of cattle and calves, 600,000 head of dairy cows and 230,000 sheep and lambs. National rankings Idaho’s agriculture industry is not only diverse and abundant, it also ranks nationally in several commodities. In fact, Idaho ranks in the top 10 in the nation in 30 of the more than 185 commodities produced in the state. Idaho is ranked number one in the nation in po-

tato production, harvesting nearly 14 billion pounds of potatoes yearly and making up more than 29 percent of the total U.S. potato crop. Idaho also leads the nation in barley, with 54,080,000 bushels harvested annually and peppermint, with 2,040,000 pounds harvested annually. Additionally, the state is ranked number one in trout production, raising half of the trout in the U.S.

as well as Austrian winter peas, alfalfa hay and several varieties of dry beans. Idaho is ranked second in the nation in the production of sugarbeets, hops and all dry peas. Every year, the state harvests nearly 12,870,000,000 pounds of sugarbeets and 17,003,100 pounds of hops. The state comes in third in the production of cheese and milk. Annually,

Idaho produces 14,627,000 pounds of milk and 958,687 pounds of cheese. Idaho has a number four ranking for onions, shipping over 580 million pounds across the nation a year. The state is also ranked fourth in spring wheat and lentils. Additionally, Idaho is ranked in the top 10 for sheep and lambs, corn silage, winter wheat, canola, wool, all hay, honey

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Population – 1,754,208 Nickname – The Gem State State Capital – Boise State Flower – Syringa State Bird – Mountain Bluebird State Fish – Cutthroat Trout State Fruit – Wild Huckleberry State Tree – Western White Pine State Gemstone – Star Garnet State Motto – Esto Perpetua or Be Eternal

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and haylage. Information in this article was compiled from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and University of Idaho Extension. Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Well-adapted cattle

Burgess Angus Ranch raises cattle to fit extreme environment Doug and Janice Burgess have been producing commercial cattle for more than 44 years and registered Angus for 25 years. They both grew up in northern California. “We had a ranch there, but the spotted owl and changing culture made it difficult. People were either involved in the drug culture or against it, and it was no place for people trying to run cattle on Forest Service lands. We lost our Forest Service permit because of the spotted owl,” Doug says. The couple looked for another ranch, and in 1979, bought a place on

Cow Creek in Jordan Valley, Ore. “It was formerly Camp Lyon. The Army had a post there from 1864 to 1870. It was on the main road that used to go from the valley up to Silver City and had a stage stop. We’ve found a cannon ball and a few other relics,” Doug says. “We have an Oregon Bureau of Land Management (BLM) permit on the west side of Highway 95 and an Idaho BLM permit. We ran commercial cows and raised hay. Then, in 1995, we bought a small group of registered Angus cows to raise our own bulls. We hadn’t been able

to find bulls that fit the country or that we could afford,” Doug explains. He continues, “We sold a few bulls to our neighbor, the 06 Ranch, in 1996. Now, they’ve bought well over 100 bulls from us.” Most of the bulls sold by the Burgess Angus Ranch go to ranchers within 200 miles. The bulls are acclimated to the area and sire efficient cows that work well in range country. Well-adapted cattle “We try to raise cattle that fit this environment and periodic drought. It’s good country, but we

can’t do well with extreme cattle regarding expected progeny differences (EPD) numbers,” Doug says, noting large-framed cattle that need a lot of feed or cows that milk heavily don’t handle the environment well. “A person needs efficient cattle that can make a living on their own. This is what we have in mind for our purebred herd. We try to buy herd bulls or artificially inseminate (AI) to bulls that fit our program and are not extreme. This country is extreme enough,” he says. Doug continues, “We run about 200 commercial cows and 200 registered cows. The purebreds are run as much like commercial cows as we can. We have separate breeding pastures, but we run multiple sires and then DNA test the calves to de-

termine parentage. Many registered people claim to run their purebreds under range conditions, but we do run ours like range cows.” “The calves go to branded programs. We are Global Animal Partnership (GAP 4) certified, and we wean the calves for 60-plus days. We’ve had good feedback on carcass quality. We have a lot of repeat customers for calves. They go to natural programs, such as Whole Foods, the Neiman Ranch Program or Country Natural Beef,” he says. Cows have a 60-day calving season, and heifers have less than 40 days. All first-calf heifers, both commercial and registered, are AI bred. “We also AI half the purebred cows. We have a fall-calving herd and a spring-calving herd of

purebreds,” Doug explains. The fall-born bulls are more than a year old when sold and ready to go to work the next spring. “We don’t overfeed young bulls. The fall bulls look really good by sale time, and our sale is the first week in February. We normally sell 70 to 80 bulls in our sale, both spring and fall bulls,” says Doug. The bull sale is held at the ranch, and the calving barn is converted into a sale barn. “Everything inside the barn is portable so we just move panels out. Everything we have today has been paid for with cow dollars, so we have a different philosophy than a lot of purebred breeders. We make do and make things work because we

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Continued from previous page have to,” he says. “We came to Jordan Valley with very little money, and over the years, we have put together a nice little family operation. However, the BLM situation is scary as we look toward the future.” Doug and Janice have put together enough deeded ground that hopefully they can survive if they lose some BLM permits to a proposed monument. “It even takes in some of our deeded ground, so we’re not sure what’s going to happen with it,” Doug says. Family “We have a lot of family help at sale time. Janice and I have four daughters, 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The sale is a family affair. They all pitch in and help. We don’t have any hired help. Our family does it all,” Doug says. Doug and Janice feel fortunate most of their family lives close by. Their kids started out young, helping at the ranch. “We needed to give them something to do and a goal to look forward to. That’s how I was raised,” Doug says. “My grandfa-

ther ranched in California. Our brand, the bar X, was registered in California in 1917 and has been through several generations.” The family uses horses to work and move cattle. “We rodeo, and some of the grandkids rodeo. We’ve been all over the country, pulling trailers and hauling kids to high school rodeos,” he adds. Doug still team ropes a little. Doug and Janice’s grandson Michael Babcock will be attending college on a rodeo scholarship this fall at the College of Southern Idaho. Transitions “I enjoyed growing up with cattle in California and thought I knew a lot about cows until we moved here. It’s totally different. In California, we ran our cattle on Forest Service lands during the summer and deeded land in winter and didn’t have to feed hay,” he says. It was a big transition moving to Jordan Valley where winter can be challenging. After more than 20 years on Cow Creek, the Burgess’ looked for additional land and bought a place at Homedale, Idaho, at a much lower eleva-

tion in 2001. “We needed to expand, and needed a better winter place. The Cow Creek Ranch is nearly 5,000 feet in elevation, and down here it is about 2,300 feet. This makes a lot of difference in climate,” Doug says. Selling calves The Homedale Ranch has over 800 acres, and the Burgess family is currently installing their seventh and final pivot to raise hay and a little corn silage for the calves. They sell two loads of commercial calves each year on the Superior Video Auction at Winnemucca, Nev. usually during the end of July or the first of August and have been doing so for more than 20 years. “There are about 2,500 calves each year from our area sired by our bulls and sold at Winnemucca in the same grouping. They are all black and preconditioned similarly, so our bulls get a lot of advertisement from it,” Doug explains. “Twenty years ago, when Jordan Valley cattle came on the video, all the people watching the video would leave and go to the bar. Now, when Jordan Valley cattle come on, people come from the bar to watch these cattle sell,”

says Doug. “Cattle in this area have totally changed in the last 25 years. It used to be we’d have to look hard to find a good set of cattle of any color. Now we can drive down the road to Jordan Valley and see a lot of good ones,” says Doug. Burgess bulls have had something to do with this change. Trailing home the cattle According to Doug, the nice thing about the Homedale place is cattle can be trailed back and forth between the two ranches. The Burgess herd, both purebred and commercial cows, go to summer range in the mountains above Jordan Valley and are trailed home in the fall, about 40 miles. “My brother comes from northern California to ride with us, and we have a good time. We raise a few border collies and most of my cows are well trained to be worked with dogs,”

“A person needs efficient cattle that can make a living on their own. This is what we have in mind in our purebred herd. We try to buy herd bulls or artificially inseminate to bulls to fit our program and are not extreme. This country is extreme enough.” – Doug Burgess, Burgess Angus Ranch notes Doug. “My brother said, ‘Don’t tell anybody, but you and those two dogs could do this by yourselves.’ It’s probably true, but trailing the cattle is a great time for the family to ride together.” Doug notes bringing the cows home normally takes three days. In 2015, they didn’t trail them because of the fires. “The Soda Fire started above our place in Jordan Valley, right along the county road. It burned about 1,000 acres of deeded land and 15 percent of our Oregon BLM per-

mit. It burned clear down here, next to our feedlot at Homedale,” says Doug. Fortunately, the Burgess Ranch didn’t lose any cattle to the fire. “We spent a lot of sleepless nights up there at Jordan Valley, and the neighbors all helped us fight fire,” he said. For more information, visit burgessangusranch. com. Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Working horses and dogs – The Burgess family uses good horses and dogs to help get the job done. Courtesy photo

Range ready – The Burgess Angus Ranch runs both the commercial and registered herds on range conditions. Courtesy photo

2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Forging the genetic link Adams Angus Acres provides top-quality seedstock for commercial operations Chet and Phyllis Adams established their Angus breeding operation near Firth, Idaho in 1973 when they purchased a small ranch on the Snake River. They started their breeding program earlier when Chet was still working with his parents, Bob and Opal Adams, who established the Leadore Angus Ranch in 1941. Chet had already acquired a few Angus cows. He purchased his first registered Angus female in 1952 when he was nine years old, using money from his 4-H steer. A growing operation After buying a ranch in Firth, Chet and Phyllis added more acreage over the years as neighbors retired and sold their farms. “We were fortunate to have the opportunity to buy land adjacent to our ranch. It took us 30 years to put it all together,” Chet says. As they gained more land, they increased their registered herd, and now the couple runs 100 head of cows. The Adams’ have been committed to the Angus breed, producing superior livestock for commercial producers, which helps meet the demands of the consumer. “We put a lot of emphasis on performance and balanced expected progeny differences (EPD), including strong maternal values. As we continue to forge the genetic link, our goal is to breed sound cattle with a lot of capacity, length, good feet and udders,” says Chet.

A changing breed Many changes have occurred within the Angus breed during Chet’s lifetime. “Back in the 1950s, I remember people breeding small-framed cattle. Then breeders started increasing frame size during the 1970s and 1980s, and many people were raising extremely largeframed cattle. I have tried to stay moderate and not follow fads. That was my dad’s philosophy, and it’s worked for us,” says Chet. His breeding program embraces available science and technology and Chet feels having science-based information is an asset to the Angus breed and to the cattle industry as a whole. “We DNA test every calf. With DNA results incorporated into the EPDs by the American Angus Association, it increases accuracy of the EPDs, which assists us in identifying the genetic strengths and weaknesses of each animal,” he says. Building a bull sale Bulls are marketed through their annual production sale, the Adams Connection Snake River Valley Genetics Bull Sale. Their 52nd sale will be the first Wednesday in March 2021. “When we were getting started, my dad and I had a joint production sale, and I hauled all my bulls to Leadore, Idaho,” says Chet. After losing his father in a drowning accident in 1995, Chet brought his parents’ bulls down to Firth and started having the annual sale at the Blackfoot Livestock Auction Company

yards. “Over the years we’ve enjoyed good demand for our heifers, and most of them have been sold private treaty. A few heifers are sold in our production sale. In 2012, we invited Rimrock Angus, owned by Arnold and Teresa Callison at Blackfoot, Idaho and Beckman Livestock, owned by Wade and Vicki Beckman at Roberts, Idaho, who raise Lim-Flex cattle, to join us.” The three breeders together market 90 to 100 bulls each year through this sale. This year they will host their first Snake River Valley Genetics Female Sale on Oct. 31, 2020 at the new Bonneville County Fairgrounds in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Adams’ commitment to quality and consistency paid off in repeat customers who buy bulls year after year. For example, the Willis Ranch in Cokeville has purchased Adams bulls for 34 years. “To be successful at this business, producers must have quality cattle and integrity. We are dedicated to doing our best,” Chet says. He believes if a breeder produces bulls that work for the commercial rancher, there will always be some bulls good enough to utilize in a registered herd as well. Most years, a bull or two from their sale goes to a registered herd. This is always a good sign the genetics are above average. Bull calves are fenceline weaned in August on

grass and kept on grass until mid-September. Then they are brought in for a feed warm-up period prior to a 100-day performance feed test. At the end of the test, yearling weights are obtained and the bulls are ultrasounded for marbling and ribeye size. Winter calving The ranch has been doing embryo work since 2001. “We also try to artificially inseminate (AI) every female at least once. We start our AI program the last week in March and AI until we turn out to pasture the first week in May. We preg check with ultrasound to determine whether it’s an AI calf or bull bred,” he says. The cows start calving the first of January, but there are always a few that arrive in late December. “Some of those are Christmas presents,” says Chet. “We’ve found over the years January is the best time to calve as there is less muddy, wet and sloppy weather, causing less sickness in the calves. However, the past couple years this has not proven true,” he says. “It’s nice when mud is frozen and everything is cleaner.” “We bring every cow into the corral two weeks prior to their due date for calving and run every calf though the barn to prevent frozen ears, obtain birthweights, tag and give the necessary shots,” Chet adds. He notes the babies can handle a lot of cold weather after they are dry and have suckled. “We try to keep them in the barn 12 to 24 hours, depending on weather and how fast we are calving. We also have calf shelters in every pasture. If

“As we continue to forge the genetic link, our goal is to breed sound cattle with a lot of capacity and length, good feet and udders.” – Chet Adams, Adams Angus Acres young calves can get out of the wind and cold, they do fine,” says Chet. Growing hay The ranch raises almost all hay needed for the cattle, including a lot of alfalfa. The third cutting is sold as high-quality dairy hay since it is the most valuable and not needed for beef cattle. With this money, the Adams’ buys more firstcrop alfalfa. When hay ground needs to be rotated out of alfalfa, they plant hay barley. “Our cattle will leave alfalfa to get to the hay barley,” Chet says. Manure from the corrals is all composted. It’s hauled out in the spring and sits for a year, stirred occasionally for optimum composting, and then spread over the fields. This practice helps ensure optimum hay and pasture production. Raising a family Chet and Phyllis raised a family and enjoyed their six grandchildren. “When our kids were

young they were in 4-H and did a lot of showing at 4-H and Junior Angus shows. Now, our daughter Lisa lives in Boise, Idaho, and our son Eric is a doctor of chiropractic medicine in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Our son Scott, who was the most interested in the farm and cattle, died in an airplane crash in 2000. We don’t have a younger generation to take over the ranch operation at this point,” Chet says. Phyllis passed away Aug. 5, 2020, from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease. “I am now discovering my new normal without her, but I enjoy raising top-quality cattle and plan to continue ‘forging the genetic link’ in Angus cattle,” he says. For more information, visit adamsangusacres.com. Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Life-long commitment – Adams Angus Acres registered herd was established when Chet bought his first female using money from selling his 4-H steer. Courtesy photo

Joint effort – Chet and Phyllis Adams built a ranch together to raise their family and productive Angus cattle. Courtesy photo

2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Raising hardy cattle Elkingtons place emphasis on hardiness in their Hereford and South Devon operation The Elkington family has been ranching near Idaho Falls, Idaho for more than 50 years, with several generations involved. Polled Hereford operation The Polled Hereford part of the operation started in the 1960s with Keith Elkington’s FFA project when he was a freshman in high school. His dad and uncle raised purebred Columbia and Hampshire sheep. Keith had a sheep project, but he also wanted a heifer since he was interested in raising cattle. The heifer he bought was the beginning of his registered cattle herd. Keith was most interest-

ed in Polled Herefords and bought a bred heifer from Gilman Fletcher. A month later, the heifer had a bull calf. “When that bull was a coming two-year-old, I took him to the Six Point Hereford Sale, and he topped the sale at $800. His mother lived to be 18. Every time I sold a calf, I’d buy another cow or heifer so that was the start of my herd,” Keith explains. “Later, we bought all the yearling heifers Gilman Fletcher had, and this put us in the purebred business.” Raising hardy cattle “We had 100 commercial cows and 50 purebred

cows. Part of our farm was so rough and rugged with lava outcroppings we didn’t think we could run purebred cows on it. But, eventually we had to expand or do something else,” he says. “We didn’t have any other pasture, so we sold the commercial cows and put purebreds on the rough pasture. Now they are weaning 600 to 800 pound calves off that rugged country,” Keith adds. This hardiness is what the Elkington family based their breeding program on – producing cattle that can work in tough terrain and conditions. “If cattle won’t work there, they won’t work for our customers either, since many of our bull buyers run cattle in rough country.

Many purebred breeders run cows on irrigated pasture in the valley and don’t know what it takes to make them work in the hills,” Keith says. Adding the South Devon breed Today, Keith and his brother Brent are co-owners, and Keith’s son Layne is involved with the ranch. “We have a good market for about 70 Hereford bulls each year, but have enough pasture to raise about 100 bulls. We added South Devons cattle to the operation a few years back because they cross well with other breeds,” says Layne. “We chose South Devons because most people have Angus, and we’ve found the South Devons really complement our Herefords. They have extremely large ribeye and great marbling. Our customers who have tried this breed really like them,” he says. Family operation Layne’s son Eric and daughter Piper help on the

“If cattle won’t work there, they won’t work for our customers either since many of our bull buyers run cattle in rough country.” – Keith Elkington, Elkington Polled Herefords ranch as well. They grew up participating and showing animals in the local FFA and 4H programs. The last few years they showed, they consistently won champion showmen. Today, they continue teaching kids how to clip and show animals. “We all pitch in and work together to do whatever needs to be done on the ranch to get the work done so we can all go fishing or hunting,” Layne says. Layne built his house next to their calving facility. “Uncle Brent, my son Eric and I calve out the cows, and my dad calves the heifers. My dad and Brent own the ranch, and Eric and I are working our way into it, to keep things going. It is all working out very well,” he says.

“I enjoy working with my family. My worst day was always when they went back to school. Eric is married now and working full time on the ranch. Piper is in college and comes up to help when she can. Farm kids are good help. They know what needs to be done and can do it,” Layne says. He continues, “The ranch is a part of all of us. We work hard and enjoy every minute of it. I was born and raised working on the ranch and am grateful my kids had the same opportunity.” For more information, visit elkingtonpolledherefords. com. Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to rounduo@wylr.net.

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Hardy cows – The Elkington family places selection pressure on their cows to raise hardy offspring that will be productive on rough terrain. Courtesy photo

Family affair – A multi-generational operation keeps everyone busy. Keith Elkington is happy his children had the opportunity to grow up on a ranch. Courtesy photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Fancy and functional

Beckman Livestock and farming focuses on family, cattle and farming Wade and Vicki Beckman have both been involved in the cattle industry for their entire lives. Today, Beckman Livestock and Farming focuses on utilizing the top genetics in the industry to raise functional cattle that are also competitive in the show ring. With their son Sedar, his wife Danna and their

daughter Winston, the family operation raises Angus and Lim-Flex cattle, as well as farm multiple crops including alfalfa, grass, wheat and malt barley. Beckman Livestock and Farming is located near Roberts, Idaho. Fancy genetics and functional cattle Focused on provid-

ing premier seedstock genetics to their customers, Beckman Livestock believes in quality over quantity. They run about 50 pairs in their spring calving herd and around 40 pairs in their fall-calving herd. “We don’t breed them for the purpose of being show animals, although

we like them to look like show animals,” says Wade. “But, we also want our cows to be functional and be able to put on their work clothes.” “We run a 100 percent artificial insemination (AI) breeding program to use the best genetics available,” notes Wade. “Thanks to Vicki’s work heat detecting, we have yet to turn out a cleanup bull.” The Beckmans have ultrasound data, as well as genomically enhanced expected progeny differences (EPDs) on all of

their bulls and are working to have genomic EPDs on their cowherd as well. This year, Wade and Vicki expect no calves with a negative marbling EPD – a feat they call a major win – due to their work to make smart breeding decisions. The fall-calving herd summers on their desert pasture, eating crested wheatgrass Wade planted, brome grasses and brush, until the cows are about a month out from their calving dates. In turn, the spring-calving herd runs on the desert pas-

ture when the fall-calving herd returns, right up until Christmas. “I’ve noticed our cows do really well on the desert pasture, often better than they do on their irrigated pastures,” notes Wade. “Their performance on the desert pasture is important to me because most of our customers run on rough range.” Wade is also a firm believer anyone selling bulls to commercial producers should pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) test their bulls. Though Roberts, Continued on next page

Calves year-round – Wade and Vicki Beckman have both a fallcalving herd and a spring-calving herd. Averi Hales photo

Advanced genetics – Beckman Livestock takes advantage of hybrid vigor in their Lim-Flex composite. Averi Hales photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Continued from previous page Idaho is short of 5,000 feet, Wade and Vicki send their bulls to elevation to be tested. “So many of our commercial customers run at high elevations, so it is important our bulls get PAP tested to work at elevation for our customers,” says Wade. Hybrid vigor with Lim-Flex genetics “We bought our first Limousin bull in 1979, and we were so impressed by his calves, we decided to focus our investments in building a seedstock business raising Lim-

ousin cattle,” Wade explains. “We incorporated Lim-Flex into our herd in 2000.” Hybrid vigor obtained by the cross is important to the industry and their herd, according to Wade. “This Lim-Flex cross has kind of become our own composite over the years,” says Wade. “As a seedstock producer, this composite performs really well for producing commercial cattle or bulls for commercial producers.” “We are also very proud of the demeanor of our cattle,” Wade shares,

stressing hard selection on disposition. “Limousin cattle have not been known for docility. In fact, they’ve been known for the opposite. We don’t really have much of a problem, but anyone with an attitude here leaves.” Industry and herd progress Wade has been working hard to dial in winter nutrition for their herds. The mix he’s seen the best response to is the winter ration he makes using their own alfalfa, grass hay and barley straw. Many youth in the

area have gained cattle and livestock knowledge at Beckman Livestock, as well. Wade and Vicki stress the importance of livestock judging and being able to read livestock to raise good ones. Each spring, Beckman Livestock sells bulls in the Snake River Valley Genetics sale. This year, Wade and Vicki will hold their first fall female sale, the Gems of Idaho, Oct. 31 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Along with working to improve their own operation, Wade serves on the North American Limousin

“We don’t breed them for the purpose of being show animals, we like them to look like show animals though. But, we also want our cows to be functional and be able to put on their work clothes.” – Wade Beckman, Beckman Livestock and Farming Foundation Board to help improve the breed. With this association, Wade is always looking to add new technology into cattle production as a whole and their own herd. “Anyone who thinks their operation is perfect, is wrong,” says Wade.

“There is always something to improve upon.” For more information, visit beckmanlivestock. com. Averi Hales is the editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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Female sale – This fall, Beckman Livestock will offer females in their first female sale, held Oct. 31 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Averi Hales photo

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Solid team – Wade credits Vicki with their AI success and high calf crop. Beckman Livestock utilizes new technologies thanks to Wade's involvement in the industry. Averi Hales photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Three-breed, family operation Shaw Cattle Company runs diverse cattle operation with a multi-pronged Approach

Shaw Cattle Company got its start in 1946, after Tom Shaw received a Hereford heifer as a graduation gift. “In 1946, my granddad came back from service in World War II. Prior to that, he worked on a registered Hereford ranch in high school, and the guy he started by the worked for promised him a Hereford as started byheifer the as a graduity and continues ation gift,” explains Tucker Shaw, owner and opunity and current continues agriculture

erator of Shaw Cattle Company. “When he came back from the war, my granddad’s old boss called and reminded my granddad he had a heifer for him.” “So, my granddad went and picked out his heifer, and that is how we got our start in the registered cattle business,” Tucker continues. Diversifying the operation Tom’s son Greg officially joined the operation after graduating from college in

1968, and in 1988, the Shaw family’s cowherd was divided into three herds. Greg, his wife, Cleo and their three children, Tucker, Sam and Jaime, stayed at the original homeplace and formed their family operation, Shaw Cattle Company. Upon their return to the ranch after graduating from college, Tucker and Sam decided to diversify Shaw Cattle Company. Subsequently, they added Black and Red

Angus cattle to their operation. “These were the main breeds of bulls our customers were using, and we thought the three breeds would complement each other on our operation,” Tucker explains. Now, Greg, Cleo, Tucker, Sam and their respective families are continuing the Shaw family tradition of raising high-quality cattle with balanced traits. “The goal of our operation is multi-pronged. We both have kids who are very interested in the ranch, so our long-term goal is to be able to sustain our ranch for the next generation,” states Tucker. “In order to accomplish this, we need to raise functional,

“The goal of our operation is multi-pronged. We both have kids who are very interested in the ranch, so our long-term goal is to be able to sustain our ranch for the next generation.” – Tucker Shaw, Shaw Cattle Company

maternal genetics that will work for our customers.” In an effort to execute this, Tucker notes the Shaw family’s cowherd has evolved from using intense artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) programs. “We have been actively using AI and ET for close to 30 years now,” says Tucker. “Our calf crop is between 85 to 90 percent AI sired or embryo transferred. “ was started by the he agriculture Because they are a fallmunity and continues calving operation, the Shaw y the agriculture family is currently busy calving out their cows. “Fall is our busiest time Phone 307-754-3491 • Fax 307-754-5835 of year. On top of calving, we are working our weaned bull calves. In fact, we just gave them their second round of Phone 307-754-3491 • Fax 307-754-5835 weaning vaccinations, and we are making our initial sort to get ready for our bull sale in February,” Tucker says. hone 307-754-3491 • Fax 307-754-5835 Raising bulls for big With the current business climate, we country encourage you to be part of the 97th Annual As far as the bulls go, Meeting in Powell on November Tucker explains18. the focus Big Horn Co-op strives to keep theismoney spent on raising bullsinthat will our communities in our communities. With the current business climate, we work for their customers on There has never been a time that is more important. encourage you to be part of the 97th Annual big country. Meeting in Powell on November 18. “Nearly all of the bulls Big Horn Co-op to keep the money spent we sell stay in a 400-mile With thestrives current business climate, wein our to communities our communities. radius of the ranch. They are encourage you be part ofin the 97th Annual There hasMeeting never been time that more important. inaPowell onisNovember 18. Big Horn Co-op strives to keep the money spent in

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South Street 311 South•Bent Bent Street BIG HORN Phone311 307-754-3491 Fax 307-754-5835 Phone 307-754-3491 • Fax 307-754-5835 CO-OP wish everyone BIG HORN WeWe wish everyone andand 311 South Bent Street We wish everyone and We wish everyone a CO-OP bountiful and 311 South Bent Street We wish everyone and safe harvest. bountiful We wish everyoneand and safe harvest. bountiful and With the current business climate, we safe harvest. encourageWith current youthe to be part ofbusiness the 97thclimate, Annualwe

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Big Horn Co-op strives to keep the money spent in our communities in our communities. There has never been a time that is more important.

encourage you in to Powell be parton of November the 97th Annual Meeting 18. Meeting in Powell on November 18.

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going to western Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and California, so they need to be able to work in the high deserts of the West,” he notes. “They need to be balanced, good-structured cattle. We try not to chase any fads or single traits. Our cattle need to be balanced in many traits and work for everybody.” Shaw Cattle Company holds their annual production sale in the middle of February, where they sell 450 yearling and fall-yearling bulls. They also market another 150 bulls private treaty throughout the year. “This year we were very fortunate that our sale took place before the coronavirus,” Tucker says. “We had a great sale this year. Customers in most of our marketing area had a drier, warmer winter than usual so they weren’t dealing with a lot of snow, and we had a really big crowd.” For more information, visit shawcattle.com. Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Star Farmer to star operation

From FFA project to renowned seedstock operation, Loosli family markets quality Red Angus bulls “Loosli Red Angus began as an FFA project in the 1950s,” explains Brian Loosli, current owner and operator of Loosli Red Angus. “My dad purchased seven purebred Hereford heifers for his high school FFA project. He then went on to become an Idaho Star Farmer, a National Star Farmer and a National FFA Officer. But, it all started with FFA.” The Looslis continued to raise Herefords, and after finding an abundance of success at some different regional stock shows with their bulls, the Looslis decided to host an annual production sale, this year being their 46th annual sale in Ashton, Idaho. “We built our purebred Hereford operation for about 35 years, then as markets started to change we transitioned to raising Red Angus cattle instead,” Brian says. “We started by purchasing a herd out of Washington, then we went and bought a few from the Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE) in Billings, Mont. and complemented those females by using top Red Angus sires from across

the country” The Looslis have been raising a renowned herd of registered Red Angus ever since. Family cattle business Today, Brian, his wife and their children run the Loosli Red Angus seedstock operation. “There is nothing better than being able to work with my family,” Brian states. “It is so enjoyable to watch them grow up and take interest in the family operation.” As far as the cattle go, Brian explains the Looslis continue to raise registered Red Angus cattle because the breed has tremendous mothering ability, good udders and are very docile. “We are in the seed stock business, so we are raising cattle that have the potential to improve our buyers’ herds, meet demands of their environments and improve their bottom line,” says Brian. “Our bulls need to be balanced to produce females with good mothering qualities and terminal offspring with good beef qualities,” he says. In addition to raising Red Angus cattle, the

Loosli family also harvests potatoes, barley, peas, oats and wheat for human consumption as well as alfalfa hay for cattle feed. Marketing top-notch genetics The Loosli family markets their top-notch

Red Angus genetics at their annual production sale every second Tuesday of March. Each year, bulls from their high-quality set of seedstock makes their way across the nation and into Canada. “We feature 120 to 130 Red Angus yearling bulls and 75 to 85 purebred Red Angus heifers,” Brian says, noting Loosli Red Angus bulls are shipped from Canada to California and Washing-

“Our bulls need to be balanced to produce females with good mothering qualities and terminal offspring with good beef qualities.” – Brian Loosli, Loosli Red Angus ton to Illinois. “We were very fortunate this year that our sale took place right before the coronavirus situation got too bad,” Brian adds. “We had a great sale this year with a huge crowd.”

For more information, visit loosliredangus.com. Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Did you miss advertising in this year's Fall Cattlemen's Edition? Call 800-967-1647 to advertise in any of the Roundup's weekly papers or special editions! Volume 32 Number 18 • September 5, 2020

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2020

A Look Inside

Fall ram purchases will have long-term implications on flocks

Holistic management is being utilized in crossbred sheep operation. ..................... Page 4

Decisions made with this fall’s ram purchases will have long-term implications on a producer’s flock. Many traits can be selected for and against, in contrast to some flocks, in which the criteria may sim-

Grazing utilized along with other management tools for growing sheep ranch.... Page 7 State Ram Sale schedule and consignors highlighted. ............ ................................. Page 8-11 New exhibit built to highlight sheep industry. ........... Page 19

Quick Bits

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With Hurricane Laura wreaking havoc in the Southeast and wildfires raging across the West, it is now more important than ever for producers to utilize federal programs designed to provide financial relief. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is offering financial programs for natural disaster relief, which can be found at ncba. org/disasterreliefresources. aspx. USDA is also offering hurricane relief and wildfire assistance programs, which can be found at usda.gov.

To begin, look at the fundamentals. The following might be a helpful reminder in the midst of ram sale season. Teeth and eyes Properly aligned teeth and good eyes cannot be

compromised whether a producer is raising their own replacement rams or purchasing rams at a sale. Proper alignment of teeth with the upper dental pad is important because it Please see RAMS on page 12

Sheepherders Rendezvous

AMS Values During the last week of August, as calculated by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the steer byproduct value, including non-meat items such as hide, liver, etc., was $7.82 per hundredweight on a live animal basis. This value has increased for five consecutive weeks.

ply be the ability of that ram to breed ewes. Regardless of personal preferences, there are some “absolutes,” which, regardless of selection program and management scheme, need to be considered.

2020 WYOMING STATE RAM SALE EDITION

Annual event celebrates Wyoming’s sheep heritage The third annual Sheepherders Rendezvous was held in Glenrock Aug. 29-30. The event showcased traditional sheep wagons, Dutch oven cooking, blacksmithing, wool spinning and weaving demonstrations, western lifestyle vendors and the Dick Grabow Memorial Dog Trials. Rita Redig, a member of the event organizing committee, shares, “I believe we had a very successful rendezvous. It was certainly an enjoyable weekend.”

History of the rendezvous Sheep ranching has a rich and extensive history in the state of Wyoming. There are many families scattered across the state who have been raising sheep for many generations, some even before Wyoming was a state. “The sheep business is part of what started Wyoming,” notes Redig. “Sheepherding and sheep wagons are a part of Please see EVENT on page 5

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The Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) is looking for applications for the Environmental Stewardship Award, which recognizes cattlemen whose natural resource stewardship practices contribute to the environment and enhance productivity and profitability in Wyoming. This recognition is for any Wyoming producer or operation and does not need to be a member of WSGA. The application can be found at wysga.org/programs. The deadline to apply for next year’s award is Sept. 25, 2020.

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Working dogs – The Dick Grabow Memorial Sheepdog Trials took place on Aug. 29, during the third annual Sheepherders Rendezvous in Glenrock. Averi Hales photo

The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) announced a new processing option for lamb producers on Aug. 28. Double J Lamb Inc. of Texas, the newest member of Double J Meat Packing, will soon be available for producers. In an interview with Western Ag Network, Jeff Hasbrouck, whose family runs Double J Meat Packing and Double J Lamb Feeders, said, “Lambs are getting bigger every day. With the loss of Mountain States Rosen (MSR), we felt like we had to do something for the industry.” “In our mind, we had to make a decision. We knew we didn’t have a lot of time to get this done,” explained Hasbrouck. “Were we going to help the industry and help our customers or were we just going to sit back and see what happened?” Fabrication capabilities a must The Hasbrouck family, from Ault, Colo., made the decision to purchase the old Ranchers’ Lamb of Texas processing facility due to the fabrication capabilities of the plant and the recent loss of MSR to the industry. Another lamb processing facility, Colorado Lamb Processors, in Brush, Colo. is set to open in September, but will only harvest lambs. “MSR was a harvest and fabrication facility, they could do it all,” 1 said Hasbrouck. “The new plant coming online, Colorado Lamb Processors, can only harvest.” “We thought this might be a little bit of an issue because of what MSR did and what we need to do going

For the week ending Aug. 28, ethanol output fell 1% to 38.7 million gallons per day. Weekly ethanol production has seemingly plateaued between 38 million to 40 million gallons per day in the post-lockdown era, which means corn purchased for ethanol has struggled to consistently break past 101 million bushels of usage per week. Weekly corn consumption for ethanol averaged over 115 million bushels in the pre-pandemic weeks of 2020.

Please see PLANT on page 6

Sheep study UW grad student studies nutrition on winter range, provides producers with supplement advice Alexis Julian, a 23-year-old Kemmerer native, has spent the last two years conducting research on sheep nutrition and supplementation in Wyoming as part of her graduate degree at the University of Wyoming (UW). “I grew up on a sheep ranch in the southwest corner of Wyoming. My family operates around 10,000 head of sheep as well as some cattle, so I have always been heavily involved in agriculture,” Julian says. This extensive background in the ag industry, as well as Julian’s passion for the sheep industry in particular, lead her to pursue an undergrad degree at UW in pre-veterinary and animal science. She is now working toward her master’s degree, where she has dedicated her graduate research to working with and helping sheep producers across the state of Wyoming. Producer-focused research With the help of UW

2020 2020

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Please see UW on page 4

Wyoming lamb producers find niche market Frank Moore and Brad Boner, otherwise known as The Lamb Guys, began selling and direct marketing frozen lamb amidst many concerns in the lamb industry. Impacts from the coronavirus and the loss of the Mountain States Rosen processing facility have many producers searching for new opportunities. Taking advantage of a tough situation “While we have always wanted to try selling frozen or boxed lamb, the launch of our business was COVID-19 related,” shared Moore. “Demand from packers was down, and we had lambs

that were ready to go. COVID-19 was a catalyst to move our business beyond a vision and into actual marketing.” Springtime is usually the peak time for American lamb producers to market their product, according to Moore. Restaurants made up approximately 50 percent of lamb meat sales, and due to COVID-19 food service industry closures in March, sales dropped significantly. Both Moore and Boner had lambs at peak quality, and ready to market, but with no immediate buyer. “Rather than letting our lambs get Please see LAMB on page 13

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Silver Bit Angus Ranch Producing hardy Angus for rugged country Scott Whitworth raises Angus cattle in the Pahsimeroi Valley near May, Idaho, in some of the most rugged ranch country in the state. He has been ranching there his whole life and grew up working on his family’s ranch. Scott started out with a few cows his father had given him, and then purchased some cows of his own in 1973, at age 19, with a loan from the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). He bought his first purebred Angus in 1980, then bought his first ranch in 1982 from his family. Scott has since added more ranches and runs nearly 1,400 cows. Scott started keeping the top 20 percent of his bull calves as breeding animals, and selling bulls to family and neighbors. The first purebred

Angus cows he bought were a disappointment, however, as most of them were unable to handle the harsh conditions of the environment. It took a lot of culling and breeding to get good artificial insemination (AI) sires to move the herd in the direction Scott wanted, but it paid off. In fact, he developed a herd of good purebred and commercial cattle that could do the job. Sound bulls, good daughters Fertility is one of the most important traits in any species of livestock, and it’s important to raise the kind of bulls that sire daughters that will do well in rough country. Many of the cows at Silver Bit Ranch are bred AI. The cowherd calves in February and March so they can

be bred before going to summer range. The cows calve on their own, and very few of the heifers need help calving. With good teats and sound udders, there’s also less work at calving time because the cows can take care of their calves and get them up and going without any assistance. People who look at the Silver Bit Ranch’s cowherd are usually interested in buying bulls because they know they will sire good daughters, and most of the bulls can be used on heifers. “We’ve sold bulls now for about 40 years, first by private treaty, and then here at the ranch in an annual sale. Our 30th auction sale will take place on March 31, 2021,” Scott says. “We’ve always aimed

for the same goal – to produce the all-around kind of cattle that will work in our harsh country. They hold their flesh and have good udders, teats, feet, legs and good disposition,” he says. Scott notes he doesn’t want cattle that might cause any problems for the commercial rancher. Many of the cattle on the Silver Bit Ranch are kept in large groups in big pastures, and they know how to travel. Therefore, good feet and legs are very important. “In general, Angus cattle have a problem with their feet, even though a lot of breeders don’t want to admit it. We know the bloodlines causing this problem. Sometimes the bulls we think about using may have good feet at a young age, but if they have those genetics several times in the pedigree, they usually throw calves with problems,” Scott says. Disposition is also important. “We always pay atten-

tion to disposition on the bulls. The last thing we’d want is for someone to get hurt by one of our bulls. We want these bulls to be able to be by themselves and not get on the fight. We cull and cut some bulls every year before they are sold if they have a disposition problem,” he explains. Silver Bit Ranch bull buyers are loyal customers. “We have many customers that have bought bulls from us for 40-plus years. After our sale, I deliver all the bulls within about a week, and most of them go to ranchers in Custer and Lemhi counties,” Scott says. Ranchers in the area know these bulls will work well in this part of the country because cattle from the Silver Bit breeding program are hardy, efficient and do well in any environment. Expanding the herd “We expanded our purebred operation by using embryos from our best cows. We identified the truly

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outstanding cows in our herd to flush and purchased two cows from Schaff’s Angus Valley,” says Scott. “The first one we purchased, SAV Blackcap May 5833, is a direct daughter of the great SAV Blackcap May 4136,” he continues. “The second one is SAV Madame Pride 0075, the mother of the world-record selling bull SAV America 8018, who sold for $1.51 million at Schaff’s 2019 sale. In the past five years we have implanted almost 1,000 embryos into our commercial cows.” “We’ve been very satisfied with the cattle we’ve gotten from Kelly Schaff. We use a lot of his program, which concentrates on balanced traits. We like the fact that he didn’t switch to raising strictly high-marbling cattle with narrow bodies and bad feet,” Scott explains. DNA and PAP testing All the registered bulls Scott sells are DNA tested, using the Angus GS test, which verifies parentage, checks for all potential genetic diseases, along with tests for 22,000 single nucleotide poplymorphisms (SNP) markers. “We have found the Angus expected progeny differences (EPDs) to be very reliable,” Scott notes. The bulls offered by Silver Bit Ranch are also pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) tested. “We are excited about the American Angus Association’s new EPD for PAP, and we are finding them very reliable. This trait is very heritable. Cattle that have higher PAP EPDs won’t work for our customers who run cattle at high elevations,” Scott says. “The elevation of our lower ranch is 5,200 feet, but some of the bull pasture is over 6,000 feet. Many times, if a bull has a PAP problem, it will show up here,” he says. Superior Livestock Video Auction Scott started representing cattle on Superior Livestock Video Auctions in 2004, and this part of the business has grown a lot over the years. He now represents around 13,000 head of calves every year. “A lot of the cattle we sell on the video are from ranches that use Silver Bit Ranch bulls,” he says. Over the years, calves sired by Silver Bit Ranch bulls have become very popular with many feedlots, large and small, all over the country. Many of them call Scott before the big summer sales, and ask him to send them a list of ranches selling calves sired by his bulls. “We always love to show people our cattle. If anyone wants to take the time to look, they are welcome to come,” Scott says. For more information, visit silverbitranch.net. Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Deep roots in industry

With extensive background in cattle industry, brothers Lex and Val Carter team up to create successful family operation Roots in the cattle business run deep at Carter Cattle Company. In fact, brothers Lex and Val Carter grew up on their grandfather Homer’s commercial cattle operation on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. “Growing up, we ran cattle on the reservation. We also had a place out on the desert for a while as well as a ranch up in Driggs,” Lex states. “During those years, we also had a small dairy. But, it didn’t take us boys long to realize it was a lot more fun working with the beef cows than the milk cows.” Lex explains he was in a partnership with his father and his brothers, Val and Ladd, for a while.

“We had a couple of dairies in addition to the beef cattle and farming operation,” Lex continues. “However, after a few years, we decided to go our separate ways. Ladd and his boys still run commercial cattle up on the reservation.” Carter Cattle Company After going their separate ways for a while, Val and Lex decided to reunite and form Carter Cattle Company. “Val and I started Carter Cattle Company nearly 25 years ago,” Lex states. “We sold Angus bulls private treaty for three years, then had our first production sale in 1999. We felt like this union was to our mutual benefit.”

Today, Lex, Val and Val’s son Colter run close to 600 registered Angus cows in addition to a commercial herd. The cows are run on nearly 100,000 acres through a grazing association on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands, as high as 8,500 feet on Pass Creek in Mackey, Idaho. Val and Colter take care of the cattle full time, while Val represents ST Genetics. “I have worked for ST Genetics for about 4.5 years, and I was just reassigned positions two months ago,” Lex says. “I am actually going to take on a new venture. A friend of mine from Virginia and I are starting our own ar-

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tificial insemination (AI) company called Breeder Link. We will sell semen from prominent Angus bulls around the country.” In between travels, Lex returns home to help on the ranch. “Running a family operation is really important to us,” Lex states. “I have

eight siblings. All of them live within 10 miles of the ranch and are in some way associated with the cattle business. I feel really fortunate to have a big family because some days it takes all of us.” Raising Angus cattle Carter Cattle Company turned to Angus cattle

because they feel the breed is the most problem free. “We started with Angus but my grandfather also raised some Herefords,” Lex explains. “Val and I felt the Angus breed was more trouble free. They have good udders, good mothering abilities Continued on next page

High country – Carter Cattle Company's nearly 600 registered Angus cows are run on BLM and Forest Service lands as high as 8,500 feet in elevation. Courtesy photo

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The whole family – Lex Carter expresses his gratitude for having a large family, all within a close distance, noting some days it takes the whole family. Courtesy photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Continued from previous page and calf vigor, which is important when calving in January. We need cows that don’t need a lot of help calving and calves that will get right up and suck.” “We always try to stress the optimum, not the maximum,” Lex continues.

“We try to produce cattle that can survive in harsh environments, with an emphasis on maternal traits, fertility and longevity.” Additionally, Lex explains Carter Cattle Company focuses on cow families with a history of

success in fertility and production. They flush older cows on the ranch that have proven to work well in their environment to try duplicating some of those families through embryo transfer. “We look at carcass and marbling traits, but they aren’t our focus,” Lex

says. “Instead, we place a heavy emphasis on maternal traits. But, we also don’t breed for extremes because we have realized, in our environment, we can’t select for too much growth or milk because if we go too far out of bounds, we come back with several issues.” 2020 production sale This year, Carter Cattle Company hosted their 21st annual production sale on March 19 at the ranch in Pingree, Idaho. “For about five or six years we held our sale at the Blackfoot Auc-

“I feel really fortunate to have a big family because some days it takes all of us.” – Lex Carter, Carter Cattle Company tion Barn, but recently we built a sale facility on the ranch,” explains Lex. “It has been a nice change. We typically sell 200 bulls, and our sale brings about 300 people or more.” He continues, “It works well because we feed our bulls at the same location so we don’t have to haul them. The morning of the sale, our families put on a big dinner. It is a lot

of work but it is so rewarding. We have so many loyal customers we are thankful for, and we owe a huge thank you to our returning auctioneer, Roger Jacobs.” For more information, visit cartercattleco.com. Hannah Bugas is the managing editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

LARAMIE SPINAL CARE CENTER Optimum, not maximum – Lex Carter says the Carter family tries to stress the optimum, not the maximum when selecting breeding traits in their hardy cattle. Courtesy photo

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Commercial herd – In addition to their registered Angus herd, Carter Cattle Company also runs a commercial herd of cattle. Courtesy photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Building a successful operation Monoyios utilizes land and good employees to build successful Eagle Valley Ranch Nikos Monoyios and his wife Valerie put together several properties near Salmon, Idaho to create Eagle Valley Ranch. Nikos was born in Greece, came to the U.S. for college and worked in the investment management business in New York from 1977 to 2008. Valerie was born in

Plains, Mont. and is a retired physician. The land In 2003, the two bought the Swahlen Ranch, 12 miles east of Salmon along Bohannon Creek. The ranch had 4,000 acres of deeded ground and 6,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leases. Over the next three years,

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the Monoyios’ purchased adjoining properties, making a total of 5,900 acres of deeded land and 12,000 acres of BLM leases. “We’ve been fortunate to have employees who worked hard to make it into a firstclass cattle operation. When we bought the ranch, we knew nothing about ranching. We were determined to find hon-

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est, hard-working and knowledgeable people to manage and operate the ranch. We give a lot of credit to Mike Kossler, our manager for the first 14 years and Chris Kirby, who replaced him upon his retirement in 2017,” says Nikos. “We were fortunate to have Mike with his many years of experience and local knowledge. His impeccable character and work ethic shaped and guided the operation. He treated the place like his own and hired the best people who reflected our values and formed a stable, tightknit team,” Nikos says. He continues, “When Mike retired, we were concerned about how we would fill his boots. Chris Kirby was recommended by the director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, where he was completing a two-year master’s degree program. Chris and his wife, Sara, accepted the position after visiting Salmon in sub-zero Janu-

ary weather and decided this is where they wanted to raise their family of six kids.” The cattle Cattle numbers have increased from 500 to 750 cow/ calf pairs. “When we bought the ranch it had a mixed herd of mostly older cows. We bought replacement cows for several years and gradually evolved to a Black Angus operation, keeping our own replacement heifers. Average age in the cowherd has come down significantly, and quality has improved,” says Nikos. A few years ago, Eagle Valley Ranch started synchronizing and breeding replacement heifers via artificial insemination (AI). The heifers calve about three weeks ahead of the cowherd under the supervision of long-time employee Lothar Eichner. This practice puts a little more size on their calves by fall, and gives first-calf heifers a few more weeks to recover

after calving. “We have expanded the AI program to include not only 200 replacement heifers, but most of the cowherd. We have changed the tag identification system to distinguish the early-born heifers, more likely to be AI bred and suitable for replacements, from the later-born heifers that will be sold,” Nikos explains. “We developed a quantitative system for rating bulls and bidding at bull auctions. We score bulls in four or five bull sales by the expected progeny differences (EPD) characteristics we deem important for a cow/ calf operation and rank them from best to worst,” he continues. “It’s easy to overpay for a good bull, but we’ve been able to buy bulls in the top quartile of our ranking system at below median price for the sales. We feel this has improved the quality of our calves and genetics of Continued on next page

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Building a ranch – Nikos Monoyios and his wife Valerie put several properties together to build the Eagle Valley Ranch. Courtesy photo

Grazing academy – The Eagle Valley Ranch has hosted the Lost Rivers Grazing Academy for 10 years, allowing visitors to learn new, innovative grazing practices. Courtesy photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Continued from previous page our replacement heifers.” Grazing and facilities The ranch has made significant progress in grazing management and facilities. “Early on, we hired Jim Gerrish as a consultant. He helped us design an intensive grazing system. We divided our pastures into segments with fixed and moveable electric fences and installed water troughs. We trained our employees to measure grass, keep track of grass growth and move the cows every few days. This has greatly improved the productivity and quality of our pastures,” says Nikos. The ranch has hosted the Lost Rivers Grazing Academy for 10 years. “We make our facilities and cattle available so other people learn about grazing management,” he says. “People who come to the grazing school can see some examples and try the ideas themselves, such as innovative ways to set up water tanks, move wire fences, measure grass, etc.” Jerry Elzinga is the grazing manager and has a good system for keeping records. The ranch does cell grazing on 2,250 acres of irrigated ground and rotates pastures on private rangeland. Rotational grazing is a year-round task to promote the best utilization of pastures. “Another thing we’ve done that’s a change from the previous management is how we utilize our BLM pieces,” says Nikos. “The previous owners put cow/calf pairs on

the BLM during summer. We keep our cow/calf pairs on private, irrigated fields during summer.” “After weaning, we put dry cows out on BLM in late fall. This has given the BLM ground a chance to recover. Our calves stay on irrigated ground until shipping and gain better with higher-quality feed,” he explains. The cows calve in March and April, calving in about 40 days. Even calving that late, the ranch sells 550 to 650 pound calves by fall. “We’re reducing the average size of our cows, selecting more efficient, smallerframed cows. When we got the ranch, the cows averaged about 1,400 pounds. We are looking to reduce this to 1,100 to 1,200 pound cows so they are more efficient, yet still produce a good calf,” Nikos explains. “This year, in order to manage our weights better, we installed scales on two of our chutes so we can record individual weights for cows and calves,” Nikos adds. It takes a while to make changes. When buying cows, producers get everyone else’s genetics and most of them are large. To help reduce frame size in future cows, Nikos says they select moderate-frame bulls. “We’ve made an effort to improve the quality of our soils by planting cover crops including a variety of legumes, grains and grasses on a rotating basis. This has improved feed quality and pro-

duction, with long-term benefits in reduced fertilizer needs and better soil health. We have expanded the intensive grazing system infrastructure of the ranch,” says Nikos. “As part of a multi-year river restoration project on the Lemhi River, we gave up two pivots and 120 acres of irrigated ground so Idaho Fish and Game can create side channels and improve conditions for survival of juvenile chinook salmon and steelhead. With the help of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, we were able to transfer a senior water right from the Lemhi to a more productive part of the ranch,” he says. “This year, we completed a project coordinated by the Upper Salmon River Watershed office to install three new pivots fed by gravity from Bohannon Creek or pumped water from the river for a new intensive grazing system on this ground,” says Nikos. “We expect to get better production and more efficient forage utilization to compensate for the ground we gave up for the river restoration project,” he continues. “This is an example of how private ranch owners and government agencies can work together for lasting environmental progress while also improving productivity and efficiency of the ranch.” For more information, visit lemilandtrust.org. Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Improved cowherd – According to Nikos Monoyios, the cowherd at Eagle Valley Ranch has improved in both average age of cattle and quality. Courtesy photo

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Hereford legacy

Colyer Herefords raises quality show cattle applicable for the commercial rancher Atop the high desert near Bruneau, Idaho sits Colyer Herefords, a wellknown name among cattle producers involved in all facets of the industry. Guy and Sherry Colyer, with their son Kyle and daughter Katie, run 250 registered Hereford cows and 80 replacement heifers as well as 150 Angus pairs and 50 replacements.

Guy’s grandfather homesteaded the ranch in 1933. Before getting into the registered business in 1976, Guy ran about 700 commercial cows with his father. “We added Angus to our program to diversify and be able to sell both Angus and Hereford, and that’s what we are doing today,” says Guy.

Success raising bulls “I was always glad I was raised on a commercial ranch and understood that part of the business,” shares Guy. “Being able to raise cattle suited for commercial ranches is still our main focus today.” “Colyer Herefords is unique in that we are known for showing cattle and being very successful in the show

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ring, but I think our background and experience in developing bulls for commercial ranchers is still what we pride ourselves in today,” says Guy. “We enjoy being able to develop bulls that stand up in adverse conditions, still have the top end of the cattle that will be competitive in the show ring and still keep a strong emphasis in feet, legs and structure.” Guy and Sherry won the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver, Colo. back-to-back in 1983 and 1984 with a bull they called L1 Pacesetter. The bull was the third bull in the history of NWSS to accomplish this feat. There have only been six, twotime champions at NWSS, and four of them have come from Colyers. Colyer Herefords is also known for the bull they raised, named C Miles McKee 2013 ET. The bull is the world record selling Hereford bull, that then went on to win Grand Champion Bull at the Southwestern Livestock Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas in 2013 and Supreme Champion Bull at the NWSS in 2014. “Miles McKee has gone on to be a great breeding bull. He is especially strong on the female end,” Guy notes. “We’ve gotten some very topend females that are daughters of Miles McKee.” Breeding program On making their top-end females and bulls, Guy says Colyer Herefords takes a balanced approach when making

breeding decisions. He shares the importance of taking the time to match cattle and breed them as individuals, rather than in a mass breeding program. “I think producers still need to put emphasis on phenotype in conjunction with good numbers,” shares Guy. “We are probably putting more emphasis on carcass traits, such as marbling and ribeye area, than we ever have before.” Carcass traits are very highly heritable traits and can make big improvements to herds. “The carcass data we have now is way better than we’ve ever had before,” Guy notes. Colyer Herefords utilizes many kinds of reproductive technology available to propagate top-end cattle. “Ninety percent of our calves are products of either artificial insemination (AI) or embryo transfer (ET),” says Guy. “We pride ourselves in having some really great donor cows and very high performing bulls in both breeds. We are doing a lot of ET work, both conventional and some in vitro fertilization work now as well.” “I think the show cattle we produce are still cattle that are very practical and will go out and be able to work in the real world as well,” Guy says. Trend-setting sales “Sherry said if Pace Setter won the NWSS twice, we

would buy a computer, so we did,” shares Guy. “When we got the computer, Sherry really got into technology, and that’s how we got our website name.” Nineteen years ago, Colyer Herefords also held the world’s first internet livestock auction. “Back then, it was breaking into new territory to have an online auction,” says Guy. “Nowadays, it seems like there’s a few everyday.” Colyer Hereford’s 19th annual female sale was held Oct. 3 at the ranch in Bruneau. The sale featured heifer calves, bred heifers, some donor cows, and for the first year ever, some of their Angus females. Their 41st annual bull sale will be the fourth Monday in February at the ranch. There, they will sell around 275 Hereford and Angus bulls. “To me, having a good, solid bull sale average and having repeat customers is what I am most proud of,” Guy explains. “It’s more meaningful to me to have a good average, selling a volume of range bulls, than a high-dollar bull.” “We have a large enough selection of bulls, but at the same time we want to keep our operation at the point where we are still looking at quality over quantity,” Guy shares. For more information, visit Hereford.com. Averi Hales is the editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr. net.

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition â&#x20AC;¢ Wyoming Livestock Roundup

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2020 Fall Cattlemen's Edition • Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Convenience for cattlemen

Ipsen Cattle Company strives for easily maintained, proven cows Nestled in the Bear Lake Valley, Ipsen Cattle Company (ICC) has a rich history of producing durable seedstock for a wide variety of cattlemen. Mark and Becky Ipsen, the sixth generation in the family business, raise Angus, Hereford and Black Hereford cattle near Dingle, Idaho. The Ipsens continuously strive to utilize reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer to raise productive and efficient cows and proven bulls for any ranching operation in any geographic location. Expanding the herd Don Ipsen, Mark’s father, started Ipsen Herefords in the early 1970s. Since then, Mark and Becky have introduced new genetics to expand the registered cowherd and im-

prove herd traits. “We believe genetics must be able to react, adapt and optimize during favorable weather while being able to endure, maintain and even reproduce during unfavorable weather seasons,” says Mark. Ipsen Herefords became Ipsen Cattle Company in 1992 when Mark decided to add Angus cattle to the operation. “Many of our customers were asking for black baldies,” Mark explains. “They are the most popular for a commercial cowherd and are even more sought after for recipient cows in registered programs. Now, we have a really hard time keeping any of our F1 heifers at the ranch.” Selection on maternal and convenience traits Mark shares he had a college professor at Brigham

Young University who believed a strong maternal foundation was important for any cattle producer. Utilizing his advice, ICC has focused their trait selections on “convenience traits,” including maternal ability, reproductive capacity, performance and phenotypic traits such as correct structure, sound feet, adequate muscling and capacity. “Some of our cows are so maternal, calves will freeze the tips of their ears and tails from being licked so often,” shares Becky. The Ipsen’s cattle are expected to have an ample milk supply and the ability to protect calves from predators and inclement weather. ICC also places a high amount of performance pressure on their cows. In 2005, ICC moved all

calving operations to the fall, when the nutritional quality of forage declines and colder weather moves in. During this time, calves are expected to still gain weight and cows must be able to maintain body condition and reproduce from lower-quality feed supplies. “Though our weaning weights have come down slightly from the added environmental pressure, our yearling weights have been able to maintain, and in fact, have grown in our replacement heifers,” says Mark and Becky. “Our cattle must be able to utilize a very high percentage of feed to satisfy energy gain requirements. We strongly feel this translates to added bottom line dollars for our customers.” Hybrid vigor meets incentive programs Mark and Becky recently decided to add registered Black Herefords to their operation to meet customer needs and increase the profitability of their cattle. “We want as high of a percentage of Hereford as we

“Though our weaning weights have come down slightly from the added environmental pressure, our yearling weights have even able to maintain, and in fact, have grown in our replacement heifers.” – Mark and Becky Ipsen, Ipsen Cattle Company can get with black hides and white faces to combine the best of both the Hereford and Angus breeds, with the goal of a homozygous black and homozygous polled animal,” Mark explains. “Our customers can get the Hereford influence and hybrid vigor, all without the red discount.” Mark shares these animals qualify for the Certified Angus Beef program, as well as the Certified Hereford Beef program. Many of their commercial customers use the Black Hereford breed to get the Hereford genetics without the red discounts at the sale yard. “We have a black, white-faced calf right now that is 90 percent Hereford. He looks typical Hereford

marked, but with a black hide,” says Mark. “This breed is rising in popularity. We are getting calls from all over the United States, and we are not big breeders by any means.” The Ipsen Cattle Company Annual Online Production Sale will be held March 3, 2021. The sale features some of ICC’s finest fall Angus bulls and heifers, Polled Hereford and Polled Black Hereford bulls, F1 baldy heifers and registered Angus heifers. For more information, visit ipsencattle.com. Averi Hales is the editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Diverse operation – Adding Angus cattle to their operation allows ICC to diversify and meet more customer needs. Averi Hales photo

Proven genetics – ICC's cowherd boasts some older names, but the herd stays up-to-date with legendary genetics. Averi Hales photo

Black herefords – By combining the best of Polled Hereford and Angus breeds, Black Hereford cattle qualify for both CAB and CAH. Averi Hales photo

Rancher hospitality – Mark and Becky Ipsen host a lunch during their sale each spring. The 2021 sale will be held online March 3. Averi Hales photo