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Cattlemen's tour takes in seven beef operations Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Agri News staff writer
SUNBURG, Minn. -- About 200 people visited seven beef operations during last week's Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association's summer tour.
The Glacial Ridge Cattlemen's Association hosted the event. The group's membership covers a four-county area.
Dean and Cheryl Westheim and Dean's parents, Norman and Inora, hosted the first stop near Kerkhoven.
They raise 50 Angus/Gelbvieh cows and feed about 250 Holstein steers. The steers are purchased at 300 pounds and raised to market weight.
The Westheims own and manage a custom gilt-developing site and raise row crops, alfalfa and pasture.
Portable gates and feed bunks used on the farm were made by Tim Thomas and his local company, Farm Country. Thomas and his employees built the metal fences used in the Westheim's yard to the length Dean requested.
Carlson farms -- located in Swift County -- is a family operation. Richard and Lorna are the senior members of the farm. Three of their five sons, Richard, Rob and Ross, live and work on neighboring farms and maintain the crops and cattle.
Their 130 black cows calve in the spring and they have 140 registered Hereford cows.
They raise corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.
Nelson Red Angus Farms is near Swift Falls. It's a fifth generation operation. Stanton and Lorna are retired. Their sons and their wives, Scott and Brenda; Steve and Baan Jean; Greg and Kay; and Mark and Lindy farm in the area. Grandsons Thor, Troy, Darrin, Nathan and Grant help.
The family has a cow-calf operation that includes registered Red Angus. They raise breeding stock for sale and market purebred bulls and heifers.
Bulls and heifers are sold in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Watertown, S.D. and at the Minnesota Great Northern Sale. The remainder of the bulls and heifers are sold private treaty.
Bred heifers start calving in January, which ahead of the cows by a few weeks.
The Nelsons also have a finishing operation for steers.
Next to their pasture, the younger Nelsons had several show animals tied for tour participants to view. The animals are fed a ration they call "Nathan's best." The ration includes molasses, cottonseed and beet pulp.
Paul and Bernie Gerde and their children Peder, Petra and John operate Triple Oaks Farm.
Triple Oaks is a 100-plus purebred Charolais ranch made up of 1,000 acres. About 25 percent of the farm is tillable.
"Most of the land is too rough to be farmed or tilled," he said. "It's either had cattle or sheep grazing on it since it was homesteaded in 1898," he said.
Oats, corn, alfalfa and grass hay are raised on the tillable land.
The Chippewa River runs through the farm.
Heifers are dry lotted and artificially bred to calving-ease bulls, he said.
About 25 percent of the herd is artificially bred. Select bull calves are kept for bull prospects and are marketed locally and in western South Dakota. Calves not kept for bulls or replacement females are sold as feeders in Sisseton, S.D.
The rolling terrain is home to wildlife and good hunting, Paul said. Coyotes live in the area and the family is vigilant to watch the herd during calving season. They lost one newborn calf to coyotes this spring.
Bar J Ranch near Brooten is home to John and Joanne Reed's Lowline Angus herd.
The family rotationally grazes the herd on 10 small pastures. Additional pasture is rented to support the operation's 200-plus cows.
They've raised Angus for 30 years and were one of the first Lowline Angus breeders in the country.
The herd is made up of 100 registered Angus cows, 50 full-blood Lowline cows and 50 Lowline cross Angus composite cows. About 170 are calved in the spring and 30 in a fall calving program.
Two years ago a small backgrounding lot and livestock working facility was added to better manage the different breeds and ages of cattle.
Dan and Linda Jenniges of Glenwood operate an Angus and crossbred cattle farm and also raise sheep.
They graze cattle on public lands and are working with the Glacial Ridge Cattlemen's Association to purchase a portable corral for cattlemen to use to increase participation in public land grazing.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Natural Resources, Nature Conservancy, Terrace Sportsman's Club, Pope County Pheasants Forever, Pope County FSA and the Pope County SWCD are involved in the project.
Halls Farms raised Registered Chi-Angus cattle. Allan Halls purchased the farm's first Chi bull in 1979. The bulls were bred to black cows. The Chi breed has given the herd traits for easy calving, hybrid vigor and good growth.
They strive to keep the cows and bulls about 20 percent to 45 percent Chi.
Allan, Mark and Chris feed out 150 Holstein steers annually and raise show sheep from their 80 head flock of wether ewes. |
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