Ellis’ Harvest Home offers a variety of activities for the entire family
Ellis’ Harvest Home, located in Goshen County, has been growing and selling pumpkins for over 20 years, offering a wide variety each season.
From large and small pumpkins to white and warty varieties, the Ellis pumpkin patch promises fun for the whole family as they explore fields in search of the perfect pumpkin to pick right off the vine.
But the excitement doesn’t end there. Each year, Ellis’ Harvest Home creates a new corn maze and adds various attractions, providing families from near and far with a range of activities suitable for all ages.
Additionally, students can spend the day on the farm, playing and learning about agriculture during scheduled field trips.
The farm also offers fall decorations, including straw bales, corn shocks, gourds and ornamental corn, alongside a selection of pumpkins to choose from.
The family farm
“My folks bought the farm in 1959. A short time later, I was born in 1960,” Ellis’ Harvest Home Owner “The Pumpkin Man” Dan Ellis states. “In 1979, I bought and moved to my own farm. Then, I moved back to the home place in 2007.”
Today, Ellis’ Harvest Home has three partners – Dan’s wife Cheryl Ellis, “The Snack Queen,” and their son Zack Ellis, “The Pumpkin Whisperer.”
“Ellis’ Harvest Home started in 1980 when I planted two hills of pumpkins for fun,” Dan adds. “I gave the pumpkins to my nieces and nephews, and the next year I grew a few more.”
“Then I planted a row 100 feet long, and it grew to one-eighth of an acre, then three acres,” he explains.
In the beginning, Dan started selling a few pumpkins out of their farmyard, and it continued to grow until it was big enough they needed to end it or make it a business.
“I guess we made it a business,” Dan chuckles.
“We started the corn maze in 2008, and we’ve grown quite a bit over the past 17 years,” he adds.
Ellis’ Harvest Home now grows around 12 acres of pumpkins and has greatly expanded and added various activities for families to enjoy.
As the business continues to grow, they employee 10 or more individuals every fall to help out.
Something for everyone
In 2024, Ellis’ Harvest Home celebrated its 17th corn maze and is known as Wyoming’s longest-running pumpkin patch, offering over 50 varieties to choose from.
“We began offering an adult night with live music, food and a beer garden,” Dan explains. “We also added flower-picking festivities, where individuals can pick their own sunflowers and zinnias while enjoying food specials.”
The farm features a variety of attractions, including a hay maze for young explorers to climb and run through, as well as corn boxes for splashing around in.
Visitors can venture out to the petting zoo, where they can get up close and personal with the farm’s pigs, chickens, goats, alpacas and more.
Kids of all ages can test their aim at the grain cart basketball hoop or at the football toss. Another farm favorite is the jumping pillows, where visitors can enjoy some bouncing fun.
After climbing on the spider web or the tire tree, guests can gather at the feed bunk to satisfy their appetites and quench their thirst.
Ellis’ Harvest Home offers a wide variety of menu items and can accommodate any requests while satisfying a sweet tooth, as they are known for their famous homemade cinnamon rolls and caramel apples.
Gather up the whole family this fall and visit Ellis’ Harvest Home pumpkin patch and corn maze, which opens on the last Saturday in September and closes on Oct. 31.
For more information, visit ellisharvesthome.com
or call 307-532-1686.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
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Fall favorite –What started out as a small hobby pumpkin patch, now serves as a fall favorite in Goshen County. Courtesy photo.
Cherishing Yesterday, Embracing Tomorrow
“Without our parents, their vision for the future, the work they did and the chances they took with what little they had, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We give all of the credit to them. They are the reason we are so successful today, and one of their requests was to keep things going. I think we are following in their footsteps.”
DIXIE ROTH
Ochsner and Roth families run unique cattle operation with humble roots and a focus on the future
Formerly known as the George Ochsner Ranch, the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company’s story began more than a century ago when Jacob and Eva Ochsner settled on 320 acres in the northern reaches of Torrington.
Five years later, in June of 1918, the ranch was officially homesteaded, and later, the couple’s son Godfrey and his wife Esther – the second generation – took over operations.
Godfrey and Esther had four children –Jack, Dee, George and Marge. At the age of 12, George – the couple’s youngest son – dropped out of school and found a job in town after Godfrey was killed in an accident.
He worked at the Torrington Sale Barn and the bowling alley, all while continuing to help on the family’s homestead.
In 1955, George married Ruby Arnold and the two welcomed four children into the world – Tena, Rodney, Dixie and Blake.
Decades later, the ranch is operated by the fourth and fifth generation of the Ochsner family, including Rodney and Debbie Ochsner, Blake and Chrissy Ochsner, Steve and Dixie Roth, Rustin and Britte Roth, Blake W. “B.W.” and Terra Ochsner and Jeremy and Angela Ochsner.
Ever grateful for their humble roots and the generations who came before them, the Ochsners of today continue to carry on the family legacy, building a stable and prosperous operation for generations to come.
Moving the breed forward
Although the Ochsners ran Hereford
cattle for as long as George could remember, the ranch became a registered operation in 1956 following the purchase of some registered Hereford cows from the Heinz dispersal sale.
“They were very prominent Hereford breeders in the area,” Blake notes. “My dad bought his first Hereford cows from them and started raising bulls, and it has just continued to grow from there.”
In 1990, the family added registered Angus seedstock to their lineup to better fill the needs of their loyal customers. This allowed cattlemen to buy both the highquality Ochsner Hereford genetics they had come to know and trust, as well as easycalving Angus bulls to use on their replacement heifers.
“With our eyes set on genetic progress, we began our artificial insemination (AI) program in 1966, which is used extensively to this day in our registered and commercial herds,” reads the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company website. “Then, in 2012 our first embryo transfer (ET) calf was born, kickstarting our use of ET technology.”
“Although our genetics have come a long way since the purchase of our first registered cattle, we couldn’t have a greater sense of reverence for where we started,” the website continues.
And, the family’s dedication to moving the breed forward earned George an esteemed place in the Hereford Hall of
Continued on next page
Baldies at the bunkline – In addition to selling registered seedstock, the Ochsner and Roth families also purchase top-end black and black baldy females from commercial buyers and sell them through the Torrington Livestock Market in November. Courtesy photo
Fame in 2010.
Utilizing a unique strategy
Today, the Ochsner and Roth families market their highly sought after Hereford and Angus genetics through a unique sale day strategy, which has been adjusted and fine-tuned over the years to create a workable system for all who are involved.
Beginning on the first day of November, the family begins selling yearling bulls on a first-come, first-served basis, boasting the largest private treaty offering of Hereford and Angus bulls in the state of Wyoming.
“We always hold a private treaty sale, but it has changed over the years,” Blake explains. “People started coming to us earlier and earlier every year, and sometimes, they would start buying bulls before we had even weaned.”
The family then decided to implement a start date of Nov. 1.
“This worked for about five to 10 years, but people started coming earlier and earlier in the morning and picking out their bulls with flashlights,” Blake continues. “We decided this wasn’t the best way to do it either, so now we start at 1 p.m. on Nov. 1, unless that day is a Sunday.”
Blake explains, after being given an opportunity to preview the bulls and some time to enjoy lunch, customers are asked to call out the lot numbers of the bulls they are interested in, and if several people want the same bulls, they are given the opportunity to make a one-time silent bid. Then, the producer with the highest bid wins.
“It’s still private treaty, but there is an opportunity for everyone to get the bulls they want and people seem to really appreciate the way we do it,” Blake says. “This way they don’t get into a bidding war and end up paying more than they were originally willing to.”
This past November, the family had around 115 individuals show up on opening day and purchase over 100 bulls. As always, customers are welcome to visit the ranch after sale day to purchase bulls at their leisure, as long as supplies last.
Helping local youth
In addition to selling registered seedstock, the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company also purchases around
850 head of commercial calves from their seedstock customers.
Blake adds, “We purchase and sell top-end females from our commercial buyers, and we sell both black and black baldy heifers through Torrington Livestock Markets in the first two sales of November.”
The heifer calves that are kept as replacements are AI’d to nationally-marketed Angus sires. The family notes they are grateful for the amount of interest in their heifers and are always eager to see them go to work for other operations, whether it is locally in Wyoming, out east in Kentucky or in various surrounding states.
They explain a handful of steer calves and nonreplacement heifer calves are wintered at the ranch’s headquarters and offered via private treaty for 4-H and FFA youth.
Dixie notes helping younger generations of cattlemen and women has always been a pillar of the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company.
“We don’t overcharge for the calves the youth come and buy,” Dixie says. “It was a thing my dad always did – helping local youth whenever he could –so we’ve been following his lead.”
Over the last several years, the family has been offering a selection of elite females through the Wyo ming Angus Association’s Select Female Sale.
In 2024, both Angus heifers went on to have a highly successful show season. In fact, one of the females took home grandchampion honors at the 2024 Wyoming Angus Association Futurity and the other placed in the top three.
The family sold two Hereford and two Angus heifers through the sale, which was held on Dec. 16, 2024.
“We’ve always been pretty active in the show ring, but we’re kind of right in between phases in our operation where we haven’t had any 4-H and FFA age youth showing our cattle,” Blake shares. “So, we’ve opened it up and sold cat tle through different sales and private treaty, some of which have gone on to become really successful in the show ring.”
Continued on next page
“We’ve been very blessed the people who have bought our cattle do a really good job with them and typically end up winning or at the top of their class,” he continues.
Looking forward to the future
Another unique aspect of the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company is the amount of people involved and their shared vision of the future.
“We’re very unique in that we’re a large family operation,” Blake states. “We have a meeting every day where we communicate and work together as a family, which is probably our biggest success.”
While the family admits having a large number of people involved comes with its challenges, they firmly believe the blessings outweigh the bad.
“If somebody gets hurt or has a reason they are unable to work for a while, they don’t have to worry about the ranch work continuing because everyone else picks up the slack and fills in,” Blake says.
The family notes their shared faith in God, their
appreciation for the generations who came before them and their hope for the future has also played a role in their continued success.
“You have to have a lot of faith and hope when you ranch,” notes Dixie. “And, we are motivated to keep it going for the younger generations coming up. It’s what our parents did for us.”
She continues, “Without our parents, their vision for the future, the work they did and the chances they took with what little they had, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We give all of the credit to them. They are the reason we are successful today, and one of their requests was to keep things going. I think we are following in their footsteps.”
For more information on the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company, visit qualitybulls.com or check them out on Facebook at @OchsnerRothCattleCo.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.
ABOVE: A family affair – The Ochsner Roth Cattle Company is a large family operation, owned and operated by Jeremy Ochsner, Rodney Ochsner, Steve Roth, Rustin Roth, Blake Ochsner and B.W. Ochsner, pictured from left to right.
Courtesy photo
LEFT: Strong female leads
– The strong female leads of the Ochsner Roth Cattle Company, pictured from left to right, include Terra Ochsner, Britte Roth, Dixie Roth, Chrissy Ochsner and Debbie Ochsner.
Courtesy photo
Dynamic F amily Business
G Bar H has been producing quality Angus bulls since 1935
G Bar H Genetics is a dynamic family business dedicated to earning the trust of its customers year after year through quality genetics.
The generational operation started with George F. Haas, who graduated from Kansas State University with a veterinary degree in 1914.
As time went on, the couple welcomed four more children to their family, totaling four boys and four girls.
“The family farmed the land and raised a few cattle, while my grandfather worked for the federal government to help support the growing family,” Jackie adds.
In 1935, George F. purchased his first registered
Continued on next page
Jackie Nickel explains, “Years later, in 1922, my grandfather moved to Veteran with his wife Edith and their four children, one of whom was my dad, Hubert Haas, along with his twin sister Helen.”
RURAL CONNECTIONS
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With straightforward, efficient buying and selling, we are seamlessly connecting buyers from all across rural America and beyond.
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RESPECTED VALUES
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With straightforward, efficient buying and selling, we are seamlessly connecting buyers from all across rural America and beyond.
With straightforward, efficient buying and selling, we are seamlessly connecting buyers from all across rural America and beyond.
With straightforward, efficient buying and selling, we are seamlessly connecting buyers from all across rural America and beyond.
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With our honest, safe, and reliable auctions you can be confident in your decision to buy or sell with BigIron.
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With our honest, safe, and reliable auctions you can be confident in your decision to buy or sell with BigIron.
With our honest, safe, and reliable auctions you can be confident in your decision to buy or sell with BigIron.
With our honest, safe, and reliable auctions you can be confident in your decision to buy or sell with BigIron.
With our honest, safe, and reliable auctions you can be confident in your decision to buy or sell with BigIron.
With our honest, safe, and reliable auctions you can be confident in your decision to buy or sell with BigIron.
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With our unreserved auctions, at the drop of the hammer everything sells to the highest bidder.
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At BigIron, we value your time and the opportunity to partner with you.
With our unreserved auctions, at the drop of the hammer everything sells to the highest bidder. At BigIron, we value your time and the opportunity to partner with you.
At BigIron, we value your time and the opportunity to partner with you. EVERY DAY ON
With our unreserved auctions, at the drop of the hammer everything sells to the highest bidder.
At BigIron, we value your time and the opportunity to partner with you.
With our unreserved auctions, at the drop of the hammer everything sells to the highest bidder.
With our unreserved auctions, at the drop of the hammer everything sells to the highest bidder.
With our unreserved auctions, at the drop of the hammer everything sells to the highest bidder.
At BigIron, we value your time and the opportunity to partner with you.
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to navigate the
of the ag operation to the next
Quality Angus bulls – Working together in the seedstock business is nothing new to the team at G Bar H Genetics. Courtesy photo
Annual sale – G Bar H Genetics will host their annual Angus bull sale on Feb. 11 in Torrington. Courtesy photo
Angus bull to breed with a Holstein milk cow.
The success of this breeding indicated Angus cattle had better potential in Wyoming, prompting him to buy four registered Angus heifers in 1937.
“This made him one of the first Angus breeders in the state,” Jackie continues. “In the 1940s, the family operation expanded under the name of George F. Haas and Sons, and by 1960, it became Haas Farms, Inc.”
The family sold bulls privately until 1980, when they held their first bull sale at Stockman Livestock in Torrington, which became known as the Haas Black Bull Sale.
Family talent
According to Jackie, Hubert’s sons Bill and George D. Haas and his sonin-law Pat Herring acquired part of the Haas Farm’s herd and established G Bar H Cattle Company and they exhibited at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) for several years in the Angus Pen Bull Show.
In 1995, B and D Queen Ruth was crowned the Champion Angus Heifer at the NWSS, coming from Bill and Dana’s herd.
However, in 2010, G Bar H Cattle Company dispersed, and Pat and Marilyn Herring, along with Bill and Dana Haas and Kevin and Jackie Nickel, purchased cows from the sale and continued their operations individually, coming together for an annual bull sale – the G Bar H Genetics Angus Bull Sale.
“In 2022, Boone and Melanie Herring, Pat and Marilyn’s son and daughterin-law, purchased his parent’s cows along with Bill and Dana’s cows,” Jackie mentions. “Now, with the help of Pat and Marilyn’s grandkids, we are five generations deep in Angus genetics.”
While a family tree could help illustrate the relationships, the family has focused on raising quality registered Angus bulls since 1935.
“The number of bulls we raise has decreased compared to earlier years, but we prioritize quality over quantity,” states Kevin. “We emphasize performance and disposition. It’s commonsense – we want cattle without problems.”
Boone adds, “It’s all in the attention to detail – feed rations, consistent weighing
and performance feed. We truck in feed and bale our own hay to ensure our cattle are receiving the proper nutrients.”
“The cattle business has evolved over the years with the adoption of value-based tools, such as expected progeny differences, to enhance cattle genetics, along with technology and support from Angus Genetics, Inc. However, our core focus remains unchanged – it has always been about earning the trust and respect of our customers,” Boone continues.
Annual bull sale
Every year on the second Tuesday of February, G Bar H Genetics hosts their annual bull sale at the Torrington Livestock Markets in Torrington.
“2025 marks our 45th annual bull sale,” Bill notes. “We offer free delivery and boarding of the bulls until we deliver them to our customers around March 20, weather permitting.”
Bill recalls, one year, the sale coincided with Valentine’s Day, and they gave out roses to the women in attendance.
“It’s a funny story. A couple came to the sale, and the husband had to leave early. After he left, we started handing out the roses, and then his wife began bidding and ended up buying more than they had originally planned,” Bill states. “We might have to try that again if the sale falls on Valentine’s Day next year.”
The G Bar H Genetics Angus Bull Sale will take place on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. For more information, call 307575-5520 or 307-575-0373.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
“Now,
Performance Genetics
Doug Booth Family Angus offers top-tier genetics to producers across the West
Doug Booth Family Angus is a multigenerational farm and ranch located northwest of Torrington in the heart of cow/calf country, raising registered Angus cattle.
The ranch is presently run by Dudley Booth and his wife Jennifer, with help from Dudley’s parents Doug and Carolyn Booth.
“They are still involved, and they help when they can,” Dudley says.
The Booth family’s Angus heritage goes back to 1938 when Doug’s grandfather bought his first two registered Angus females.
Today, the ranch sells about 100 Angus bulls each spring in their annual production sale held on the fourth Monday of January in Torrington.
The cow herd
50 of them each year.”
The commercial cow herd is utilized to raise good steers, and they progeny test their top-registered bulls. Finishing out the steer calves each year enables the ranch to gather feedlot data which has become very beneficial to the program.
The Booth family’s cow herd is made up of about 300 head of registered and commercial females with some crossbred cows used to raise club calves for 4-H and FFA kids to show.
Dudley says, “We sell a handful of show steers and heifers across the U.S. There is always good demand for highquality show calves. We raise about 40 to
For instance, steer calves gained 3.95 average daily gain from start to finish and converted 4.1 pounds of dry matter for one pound of gain. At the same time, they graded 100 percent Choice and Prime and 89.4 percent Certified Angus Beef.
Dudley notes the cows start calving in late January and calve through March, so bull calves will be old enough to sell as yearlings the following year.
“Phenotype is very important, along with docility, foot structure and quality. I think these factors, along with pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) testing, will be some of the main driving forces in the Angus breed in the next few years,” Dudley notes.
“We also want calves to have small to moderate birth weights and excel in growth and muscle. They can be born easy but
grow fast,” he continues. “It’s important to have growth because every animal we raise gets sold by the pound sooner or later.”
The genetics In addition to the commercial herd, the
“The bulls we sell are backed by a cow herd that is easy-keeping, highly fertile and
Booth family offers top-tier genetics to producers across the West.
Family operation – Dudley and Jennifer Booth and their two sons Kaleb and Connor are the current operators of Doug Booth Family Angus. Courtesy photo
Angus heritage – Doug and Carolyn Booth still help on the ranch when they can. Courtesy photo
low maintenance, excelling in terms of performance,” Dudley states. “Our bulls have been widely accepted by both commercial and registered cowmen across the country.”
Additionally, Dudley notes the ranch started PAP testing bulls two years ago to help ranchers avoid brisket disease at higher elevations.
Some of the Booth family’s bulls were displayed at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver to illustrate the kind, type and genetics produced at the ranch. Bulls displayed at NWSS are brought home to be sold in the family’s annual bull sale.
Dudley explains most of their bulls are sold to repeat customers – many of which are commercial producers – who have had continued success with them.
The Booth family’s bulls can be found on cattle operations across Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, Utah and Idaho, among a few other states.
Dudley adds, “A few years ago, we sold the DB Iconic bull to Genex, which has become one of the leading bulls in the Angus breed.”
Last year, Iconic reported the fourth highest number of registrations for the entire Angus breed.
The ranch also sells commercial and registered bred heifers every fall.
“This year we sold them in mid-November,” Dudley says. “We sell between 50 and 70 bred heifers each year, and we usually sell them via private treaty. Sometimes we’ve taken them to the sale barn for a special sale, but I don’t like doing this because you never know what they are going to bring.”
“There has been high demand for our bred heifers because people know their quality and what they will do,” he adds.
Dudley continues, “With the use of a complete artificial insemination and an embryo transplant program, the Angus bulls and heifers we produce are low birth, high growth, have
excellent maternal traits and excel in carcass traits.”
The farming operation
Cattle aren’t the only focus at Doug Booth Family Angus. Most years, the ranch also grows all of the feed for their cattle, in an area that usually gets about 14 inches of annual rainfall.
“We raise corn, wheat for grain and straw, alfalfa and grass hay on nearly 500 acres of irrigated farmland. Almost everything we raise is used to feed our own cattle,” Dudley notes. “The cattle also utilize cornstalks, hayfields and other crop aftermaths for fall grazing, and we also put up corn silage each year to feed.”
“Sometimes we buy hay if it’s been a dry year and we don’t think we have enough, but most of the time we grow enough feed,” he adds. “We have some irrigated acres but the water still didn’t stretch far enough this past summer since it was so dry in our area. We don’t know how well it will go next year, but if we don’t get a lot of snow this winter and some rain next spring, it could be a bad year again for irrigation water.”
The family Dudley and Jennifer have two sons – Connor and Kaleb.
Connor is 19 and a freshman at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan., where he competes on the livestock judging team.
Kaleb is a 17-year-old junior in high school and plays basketball and football.
Dudley notes Connor and Kaleb have been active in 4-H and FFA, showing both cattle and pigs.
“They have been really good help on the ranch, but now they are starting col lege and will be gone for nine months out of the year and we will miss them,” Dudley says. “If they would like to come back to the ranch after college, there should be an opportunity here for both of them.”
In addition to run ning the family operation
and supporting his boys in every stage of life, Dudley also works for Genex, selling semen and helping other producers AI their cattle.
Doug Booth Family Angus will host their annual bull sale on Jan. 27 at Torrington Livestock Markets in Torrington starting at 1 p.m. and everyone is invited to attend. For more information, visit boothfamilyangus.com/
Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.
Farm with Outstanding Improvements
Flood Irrigated Farm Land
Located West of Veteran, WY., 88+ AC with 57+ AC under 2 year old Reinke Pivot, 55+ AC GID water right. RETaxes $3,014. 25+ AC sub-irrigated pasture. Good corrals, chutes and tub. 4 bedroom 2 bath remodeled home. Newer shop, barn, chicken coop and garage. Several storage buildings. Improvements have been well cared for and are move in ready. Farm produces best Alfalfa and grass hay in the area. Call Bob Van Newkirk 307-532-1596/ Premier Properties.
Located Southeast of Lingle, WY, 73.63+ AC with 69.6+ GID water right. Outstanding soils capable of raising all valley crops. No improvements. RE Taxes $1,315; GID water $2,521. Long irrigation rows with 0-3% slope. All irrigation pipe is included in the sale. Good access year round to the farm on a well maintained county gravel road. Call Bob Van Newkirk 307-532-1596/Premier Properties.
Live Auctions and More
Torrington Livestock Markets serves as the state’s largest livestock auction
Torrington Livestock Markets, LLC has proudly served as a cornerstone of Wyoming’s agricultural community for decades.
This vibrant auction house is not just a local favorite, it has become a vital resource for cattle producers throughout the nation.
Characterized by its bustling atmosphere, the market draws in cattle from across a diverse nine-state region, including Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, South Dakota and Montana.
As Wyoming’s largest livestock market, it offers a variety of dynamic sales options catering to different needs.
Whether a producer prefers the traditional excitement of live auctions, the convenience of video auctions or the personalized approach of private treaty sales, Torrington Livestock Markets has something for everyone.
How it all started
The Torrington Livestock Commission Company was built in 1934 by the Petsch family. In the early 1940s, Mac Swanson purchased, then later sold to L.W. Maxfield in 1949.
Over the years, Maxfield did extensive remodeling and in the 1960s, installed a sales ring to increase the efficiency of this market.
For 35 years, Maxfield continued to build the business, making it the largest auction in Wyoming, and it was ranked as one of the top five in the nation at the time.
Maxfield sold the yards to his sons Mike and Lester Maxfield, Jr. and Oliver Dicken in the late 1970s.
Mike and Oliver bought out Lester, Jr. in 1988, and a
year later, Mike and Oliver sold one-half interest to two local brothers, Shawn and Lex Madden.
“We were leasing and operating Stockman Livestock south of Torrington, and in 1989, we partnered with the Maxfield brothers, merging the two sale barn companies to form Torrington Livestock Markets,” state the Madden brothers.
In 1999, Mike retired and Torrington Livestock Markets became the largest independent livestock market in the nation. After Oliver passed away in 2002, the Madden brothers were the only partners left running the operation.
As time passed, Michael Schmitt joined the Madden brothers, who ran the operation until 2017 when Shawn retired, and Chuck Petersen stepped in, taking over Shawn’s piece of the business.
“I always liked the Torrington area, and my family bought bred cows out of the barn. After finding a little house in town, I made a phone call to Lex. We visited a little bit, and by the end of our chat, he told me to come in after New Year’s Day for an interview. I’ve been working for Torrington Livestock Markets for 17 years now,” states Chuck. In January of 2022, Michael Schmitt decided to retire from ownership at Torrington Livestock Markets and his then partners, Lex and Chuck, allowed Lander Nicodemus to join in ownership.
“I originally joined the Torrington Livestock Markets as a field representative in 2014, and in the following year was given the opportunity to try my hand
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“What we do day in and day out is business with people, building relationships with ranchers and cattle feeders.”
LANDER NICODEMUS
Heading
Going strong – Torrington Livestock Markets has been a cornerstone for livestock producers for decades, growing stronger every day to support the agricultural community of Goshen County. Brooke Juma Photography photo
at auctioneering,” Lander notes. “For the past 10 years, I’ve been very fortunate to help market cattle for some of this region’s greatest livestock producers.”
Inside the operation
Torrington Livestock Markets is a full-service cattle marketing company, and at the core of the operation is their fixed facil-
ity livestock auction, which serves as the state’s largest livestock market.
“We offer multiple sales and sell up to 18,000 head per week,” Lex notes. “On sale days, we have up to 60 employees working. They make it possible for us to be successful, and we owe them many thanks.”
Over the years, the
operation has expanded, and the facilities have been improved, but technology and sale offerings have been fundamental to their success.
“The livestock marketing industry is a fast-paced business and is always changing, but technology has transformed much of the business,” Lander adds.
As the operation continues to grow under the
hard work and leadership of Lex, Chuck and Lander, they pride themselves on the relationships they have built.
“What we do day in and day out is business with people, building relationships with ranchers and cattle feeders,” Lander says. “The livestock market exists for one purpose – to create market opportunity for livestock producers.”
Chuck adds, “Right now, the demand for beef is strong, which is helpful for everyone involved in production from pasture to plate.”
For more information,
to roundup@wylr.net.
Quality Custom Processing
Michael “Mac” and Celsie Sussex have a ranch in southeastern Wyoming, about 50 miles north of Cheyenne and 20 miles from the Nebraska border. They also have an insurance business and two beautiful children – Aria and Ryker.
Both Mac and Celsie have been involved in farming and ranching their entire lives and are experienced in all aspects of beef production from cow/calf operations to feeding and meat processing.
Marketing and selling beef in wholes, halves and quarters to a large group of customers has been a part of their operation for about five years, but 2020 presented new challenges in finding and managing processing appointments.
This struggle forced them to start looking into
other options, and they ultimately created Bear Mountain Beef.
Steep learning curve
Although they had little experience at the time, the couple opened their own plant in December 2021.
“We’d been selling a lot of beef all over the country, but like everyone else during COVID-19, we ran into a roadblock trying to find processing,” Mac shares.
“We were hauling cattle 200 to 300 miles to be processed, and we needed to do it on our own.”
“If I’d have known then what I know now, I might have hesitated,” he adds.
“There is a lot more involved in this than I realized.”
Mac explains, back then, their only experience was hauling cattle to the processor and picking up the meat when it was done.
“Now, three years later, either one of us can go anywhere in our plant and do any job,” he says. “There was a steep learning curve. This is probably the most unforgiving profession I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve
welded, done construction and ranched my whole life, but once you cut a piece of meat, you can’t put it back together again.”
Expanding operations
While the Sussexs’ original plan was to process
Graff Cattle
their own cattle and market beef direct to consumer, they began receiving more and more requests to process other people’s animals and their business expanded. Today, they process 25 head of beef a week.
“It’s been a struggle with the economy these past few years, but we are very busy and doing well,” Mac shares. “When we started our meat business, we had several retail stores for marketing our meat, but we sold one of those stores and now we just have one in Cheyenne.”
“In the beginning about 40 percent of the cattle we processed were our own, but now it’s only about 10 percent,” he adds. “We’ve been doing more custom processing for other people.”
Although they have received a lot of requests to process wild game, the couple currently only processes domestic livestock in their U.S. Department of Agri-
culture (USDA) inspected facility.
“We’ve learned a lot through all of this. We have made mistakes, and we try to get a little better every day,” Mac says.
A team effort Mac admits the growing success of Bear Mountain Beef has been a team effort.
“My little brother runs the processing floor for us, and we’ve partnered with some other folks in Colorado – the owners of Mountain View Meats,” he explains. “They helped us finance our business, and we split the profits 50-50. They are silent partners and bring us cattle to process.”
Roger and Vicki Uthmann own Mountain View Meats and have been involved in livestock production all of their lives – over 50 years of which have been together. Their production experience includes cow/calf, dairy
The Sussex family – Michael “Mac” and Celsie Sussex own and operate Bear Mountain Beef, a custom meat processing facility based in Goshen County. Here, they are pictured with their two children Aria and Ryker. Courtesy photo
and feedlot.
Their ranch is near Vir ginia Dale, Colo. and has been in Vicki’s family for five generations.
The Uthmanns formed Mountain View Feeders, Inc. in 2015 with Chad and Nicole – their son and daughter-in-law – and two sons Tyler and Jace. Their feedlot is permitted by the state of Colorado for 3,500 head.
Their expertise has included growth and devel opment of dairy heifers and beef bulls, as well as fatten ing cattle for harvest and processing. The Uthmann family provides the cattle feeding and beef sales in Colorado.
Additionally, Mac and Celsie’s children like to help out.
“My daughter tells me every day she’d rather come up here and help us than go to school,” Mac says. “She enjoys helping on the slaughter floor, so I’ve had her out there trimming beef and doing all kinds of things. She will probably be really good help as she gets older, and she’ll certainly have a lot of knowledge we didn’t have starting out.”
Celsie helps with all aspects of the processing and takes care of their other businesses – the ranch, the insurance company and the store in Cheyenne.
“We are a bit scat tered,” Mac admits. “Mul tiple enterprises are bene ficial, however, since some months are better for some of them than others. Our original plan for the pro cessing facility was to hire
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Bear Mountain Beef – Located in Hawk Springs, Bear Mountain Beef is a federally-inspected facility specializing in quality processing of beef, pork, sheep and goats. Courtesy photo
Multifaceted Operation
Booth’s Cherry Creek Angus is a fifth-generation family farm and ranch located between Torrington and Wheatland in an area known as Goshen Hole.
The multifaceted operation is home to one of the oldest bull sales in the state.
The good ol’ days
The original land of the ranch was purchased on Dec. 7, 1941 by Henry Booth and has expanded since then. Henry’s son Gordon decided to take the dive into the registered Angus business.
From the beginning, the operation was diversified. Henry raised sugarbeets and expanded farming operations from there over the years.
Gordon consigned bulls to various sales, and the family started their own sale in 1973. In 1979, they built their own sale barn at the ranch, and to this day, the annual sale is held there
on the second Thursday in February.
Production today
The Booth family prides themselves on raising quality bulls designed for the commercial cattleman. In the last few years, they have started pulmonary arterial pressure testing their bulls in Walden, Colo. and are excited for the exceptionally high level they perform at.
“Nowadays we’re actually doing a lot more breeding and artificial insemination (AI) within our own bull battery. We have found some of these producers are not looking at foot structure or the udder structure, which are fundamental things we have to have in any commercial cow herd. So, we’ve kind of gone away from them and are using top bulls out of our top females. Many of them are embryo transplant sons,” explains Gordon’s son Shawn.
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Booth family – Pictured from left to right are Bryce, Brylie, Baylie, Lindsy, Michael, Diane, Shawn, Byron, Karah, Spencer, Mackenzie and Brooklynn Booth. Courtesy photo
With both a fall and spring calving program, the calendar is usually filled with heat syncing and collecting semen and embryos in constant rotation.
January is busy getting bulls photographed and ready for the production sale in February. Then comes calving, branding, irrigating and farming making its way on to the calendar as well.
The operation is located in prime farming country, as far as Wyoming goes. The land is located in a sweet spot of higher heat units and a slightly longer growing season, so they raise everything from forage sorghum for roughage and alfalfa to 90-day corn and ryegrass.
“We try to cash flow a little bit of the feed and not strictly feed it all. We usually try to sell some corn to the neighboring feedlots and third or fourth cutting alfalfa to the dairies down in Colorado,” says Shawn.
The legacy continues Shawn and his wife Diane have kept themselves spread out and diversified, allowing for multiple generations to be active in the operation today. Their son Michael and his wife Lindsy, along with their children Baylie, Brylie and Bryce live on the ranch and are active in day-to-day operations.
Shawn’s youngest son
Byron, his wife Karah and their children Spencer, Mackenzie and Brooklynn live near Veteran and help out whenever they can.
Between all of the grandkids, there are always a few school sports to sneak on to the calendar as well.
Shawn’s youngest brother Kacey is also on the ranch. He plays an integral part as the chief mechanic and planter, as well as being indispensable with all of the AI’ing that takes place. Kacey’s daughter Madison lives in Sheridan.
“We love our community. We love where we live. Our neighbors and our customers are our best friends. We can count on our neighbors, and they can count on us,” shares Shawn. “Over the years, we have built good relationships, and we stand behind our cattle. Those kind of things mean a lot to our customers.”
The 2025 sale will be held on Feb. 13 at the ranch, located near Veteran. Lunch is served at noon and the sale will start at 1 p.m. and can be found online at DVAuction.com. For more information, visit boothscherrycreekangus.com
Tressa Lawrence is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.
ABOVE: Farming operation – In addition to cattle, the family stays busy farming crops to feed to their own livestock. Courtesy photo
LEFT: Production sale – The annual Booth’s Cherry Creek Angus Bull Sale is held on the second Thursday of February every year.
