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Leveldale Farms: Celebrating 170 Years
This year is a major milestone for the farm that is synonymous with Shorthorns.
by Joli A. Hohenstein
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The Shorthorn breed came about more than 250 years before Leveldale Farms, but you could say the two grew up together. And it’s no wonder: The two share many traits, but Leveldale’s fifth generation says the farm possesses a little something else that doesn’t hurt either.
“On top of all the things you do, you also have to get lucky,” says Dr. Les Mathers III, who today co-owns Leveldale with his sister, Laura Mathers Conniff.
Now in its 170th year, the farm has operated successfully in Mason City since John and Elizabeth Mathers came from Ohio in 1852 and acquired 2,000 acres, which they named Leveldale Farms because the farms were in the dale and they were level. The couple had six children and by all accounts a keen eye for animals, something John passed on to their oldest son Eugene, who inherited the homestead. As American settlers developed more and more of an affinity for the Shorthorn breed’s good temperament, reproductive performance and ability to thrive in a variety of climates, the Mathers family was growing and thriving too. In 1913, Eugene’s son L.E. Mathers (Les’ grandfather) had his first had his first experience with purebred Shorthorns while working at Hay Brown’s farm. By 1917, L.E and Hay had partnered on a large herd of Shorthorns; by 1919, L.E. and Eugene’s other son Manley (Les’ great uncle, a veterinarian known as “Doc”) formed a herd at the Mason City family farm.
In 1922, the brothers showed their first grand champion. That same year, a Kentucky rancher sent a heifer to Hay for breeding, but then couldn’t be reached when the calf dropped. L.E. offered $125 (a paltry sum even then) to purchase the calf, which became Belle O’ Leveldale, who proceeded to win shows everywhere for three years and become known as the ideal animal of the ’30s. (In fact, 15 years after her death, she was chosen as The Shorthorn World’s model type.)
While L.E. was passionate about Shorthorns, Doc loved all animals, particularly hogs and Percheron horses. He eventually created one of the largest private zoos in the country, while L.E. took over the Shorthorn herd. The 1930s were a time of consistently strong shows and wins for Leveldale. In 1935, Leveldale held its first auction sale, drawing more than 1,000 buyers.
The farm’s success would continue through the forties, when L.E.’s son Gene (Les’ father) bought into the business after he returned home from World War II. The father-and-
Dr. Les Mathers III grandchildren Henry Velting & Ainsleigh Mathers
2019 Alternate Lassie Queen, Faye Smith; brother-in-law, John Conniff; daughter, Lindsay Mathers; Dr. Les Mathers III; 2019 ASA President, Rick Leone DVM; daughter, Katie Mathers Velting; son-in-law, Dr. Paul Velting; 2019 National Lassie Queen, Emily Fry
son team determined that to continue their breeding excellence, they’d need to go back to the source – Scotland – and they made yearly trips until the mid-60s, with Gene even meeting his father for a buying trip when he was stationed in Europe.
From some of this carefully selected stock came Leveldale Basis, a bull who a former University of Illinois professor recently called “the most influential bull of all time.” In fact, the fifties and sixties produced great success for Leveldale – they bred, raised and exhibited champions at every major show, traveling the country in a modified box car.
“They promoted coast to coast – exhibiting cattle was how you got people to see your cattle and consider buying something in your sale,” says Les. “Dad went part of the time; grandfather went part of the time. Usually they started at the Illinois State Fair and traveled until a couple weeks before Christmas. Then they’d leave, some years the day after Christmas, and go west and south until mid-April.”
That total commitment and immersion went on until 1965, when Gene moved the family, which by now included wife Mary, son Les and daughter Laura, to New Mexico for retirement. His “retirement” consisted of selling and feeding livestock in the southwest, founding Mathers Realty (which still operates today) and teaching classes at New Mexico State University. Half the herd was sold, and starting in 1969, the operation adopted a commercial focus.
Son Les, who was a sophomore in high school when the family moved, came back every summer to work on the farm, operation of which was taken over by high school ag teacher, Norm Bruce, who would raise his own family on the farm. During Norm’s 25-year tenure, he implemented strict performance testing, started the Limousin herd and developed chemical-free farming. The farm continued to be known for its quality production and enjoyed ongoing success at the Illinois State Fair and major national exhibitions.
By 1983, Les had earned degrees in biology and finance from the University of Illinois – the first Mathers male since the 1880s to earn a degree that wasn’t ag-related – and then gone on to earn a medical degree. He was ready to come back to the family business full-time, working alongside Norm. It was no surprise, since Les had always kept close ties and had repeatedly demonstrated his possession of the famed Mathers eye for animals, starting when he was in grade school. “My family got me a heifer when I was eight years old. After that it was up to me to do everything,” he says.
Though the farm has transitioned to commercial and away from the costly coast-to-coast exhibiting, they do still
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1996 & 2007
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timeline of Leveldale
Shorthorn breed originates in England, later spreads to Scotland
Shorthorn imported to America
Coates Herd Book established
Leveldale Farms founded by John and Elizabeth Mathers
American Shorthorn Association established
Eugene Mathers inherits Leveldale
L.E. Mathers gets first experience with Shorthorns
Leveldale shows its first grand champion
Leveldale holds first auction sale
Gene Leveldale buys into business
Leveldale selects stock in Scotland, including Leveldale Basis, the “most influential bull of all time”
Mary Mathers helps found Shorthorn Lassies
Gene Mathers “retires,” moves family to New Mexico
Norm Bruce joins Leveldale as herdsman
Les Mathers comes back to Leveldale
Livestock Breeders of Illinois select Leveldale Seed Stock Producer of the Year
Les Mathers named to American Shorthorn Association Board of Directors, still serves
Rob Bruce joins Leveldale as herdsman
Shorthorn Lassies, Dr. Les Mathers III and sister, Laura Mathers Conniff at the 017 National Shorthorn Show
make select appearances, with much success. “The last 20 to 25 years, we’ve taken pens to the National Western,” Les says. “We’ve been very fortunate there; we’ve had Grand Champion Overall every year we’ve shown except one. And that year we had Reserve Champion.”
Leveldale maintains its reputation for champions by sticking to strict rules of operation. “Pretty without utility is not good enough to stay in our herd,” says Les. “We don’t trim feet. We don’t creep feed. We don’t keep cattle that need assistance with reproduction. If they need assistance at birth, they don’t get to be a bull.”
Staying true to the lessons his father and grandfather taught him (the latter farmed until he was 93) is something Les believes helps the fifth generation continue the tradition of drawing repeat customers. “We have multi-generational customers because people know there’s integrity here. If you say the birth weight was 871 lbs., they know it was 871 lbs.,” he says.
Over the years, those lessons remained constant threads, while at the same time, change has been an almost-constant stream of progression. “We have done ultrasound on heifers and bulls for close to 30 years, so we know how big the ribeye is, the intramuscular covering, marbling, etc.,” Les explains. “The last couple years we have done genomics testing too.”
Norm Bruce has since retired (and now resides in Les’ grandfather’s house). New herdsmen have come in – Scott Wall for nine years before he moved to Missouri, and currently, someone very familiar to the farm: Norm’s son Rob, who grew up at Leveldale. He and his family their own home and cattle operation between town and Leveldale.
Les is proud to say that today the farm continues to be known for “integrity, utility, the ability to show and win for those who want to do that. We are the only farm that has three generations who received the Builder of the Breed award and were named president of the American Shorthorn Association.”
It’s a rich history that has developed right alongside the breed. “One of the neatest things in the last couple years, is a call that brought tears to my eyes. A guy from a couple hours away told me, ‘I really appreciated it when my dad turned 100 and you let us come down and look at the cattle. That’s all he wanted was to come see Leveldale.’ How cool is that?”
