TM
The Largest Privately Owned Hereford Newspaper in North America
The one that’s read “from cover to cover.” • Visit us on the web at: www.herefordamerica.com Vol. 26, No. 2
Published by: Hereford America, Inc. • 13823 Beaver Creek Place • Reva, SD 57651 • Est. 1996
Editorial Comments... Jill Bayers Hotchkiss
The fall female sale season kicked off with a bang! The Walker sale in Tennessee was very successful as were those Jill Hotchkiss in the Montana run...Holden, Churchill, Ehlke, Mohican and Bar Star. It’s advantageous when sales like the ones in Montana are held the same week. It makes for a special week for those who are able to stay for all of them, plus it’s a great time of year to visit Montana. Close to 300 Hereford females were offered for sale in Montana the week of September 15-19. Demand was strong and included buyers from across the United States, Australia and Canada. It is a great opportunity to see a variety of genetics in the breed, both horned and polled, and makes it interesting when selecting new cattle for your breeding program. At the bigger sales you get a good idea how one sire group performs and in turn may help you decide on future breeding decisions down the road, especially if it is bloodlines that have been used for several years. It is also exciting to see how new sires work out for breeders. Keep in mind, these were female sales but many of them sold with calves or bred so you are seeing the results. It’s interesting to visit with breeders who have been long-time customers of these programs who are quick to tell you about their successes and why they keep going back to a particular breeder. Top quality cattle is the obvious first reason, but excellent customer service is just as impor(continued on page 10)
October 2022
Growing Dreams, Building a Legacy
Frederickson Ranch, Pyramid Beef Continue to Grow by Ruth Wiechmann Nate Frederickson grew up in Minnesota as the third generation of Hereford seedstock producers. Some of his registered females still trace back to the
cattle that his grandfather, Donald Frederickson, originally purchased. While he has pursued other ventures, his goal was always to be raising cattle. “I absolutely always knew what I was
A stout Frederickson pair at their ranch near Spearfish, SD. They focus on proven cow families when making breeding decisions, ones that have worked well, bred back and raised calves in the top 50% of the herd.
going to do,” he said. “God gives you a purpose in life and you know where you’re supposed to be. But when I got done with high school, dad said, ‘the farm will always be here.’ He encouraged me to go and do something else for a while but assured me that I could always come back.” A college degree and a job as a Novartis animal health representative took him west to South Dakota, Wyoming and beyond. This gave Nate the opportunity to save some capital and also make many connections with beef producers in several states. He also grew to love the Black Hills area. If falling in love with western South Dakota wasn’t enough, a friend introduced him to Jayna Anders, who grew up in Union Center, South Dakota, and the two married in 2004. “I could see that there were opportunities to grow the seedstock business out here,” Nate said. “So much grassland in Minnesota has been converted to farm ground. I spent several years trying to
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Mitchell, SD, Hereford Sale, Where Collaboration Pays by Ruth Wiechmann When neighbors put their heads together you never knew where an idea might go. Roughly 30 years ago, Harley Zens, Canova, SD, talked his neighbor Roger Laible into selling calves at Mitchell Livestock on the same day, hoping that their combined numbers would get buyers’ attention. It worked. Instead of the then not-so-popular red white faced calves being discounted, they sold with the market. “Dad was sick of taking a discount on his Hereford calves at the salebarn, and he figured that coming with bigger groups of Hereford calves would appeal to buyers wanting to make loads,” Matt
Hereford Influence Feeder Calf Sale at Mitchell, SD has been going strong for about 30 years.
Zens said. “Dad and Roger sold the same day and over time more and more people joined in. The Hereford sale has been held at Mitchell Livestock (SD) on the third Thursday in February since the early 1990s.” Today, specific Hereford influence feeder calf and replacement sales are blossoming all over the US, but this
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