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 Copyright © 2001 Angus Productions Inc
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Angus Producers Visit Central Nebraska on State TourAngus breeders in the West Central Nebraska area rolled out the red carpet as the 2008 Nebraska Angus Tour wound its way through the area September 19-21. More than 125 people from five states took part in the hospitality offered by breeders in the annual event. North Platte was the headquarters for this year’s event. An evening social kicked off the tour with Bill Rishel presenting a program on the history of the Beef Checkoff. Tour participants were told of the impact the checkoff has had on production, innovation of new products and how export markets are affected by the checkoff dollars. One interesting fact Rishel related was that 2,500 new beef products have been developed for consumers since 1998. On Saturday morning, tour goers headed south of the headquarters for the first day. Daigger Angus was the first stop where John and Pat Daigger and their family served as hosts for the continental breakfast, while Angus enthusiasts enjoyed the Daigger Angus herds, both black and red. The second stop of the day brought many questions for tour host Dr. Rick Funston of the University of Nebraska, West Central Research Center. Dr. Funston presented his current research on heifer development to the group. The group looked at a group of heifers which came from two treatment groups on the development and pregnancy test. The Calen feed gates, one of the earliest individual feed measurement systems developed proved especially interesting, bringing many questions from the participants. Arrow One Angus, owned by the Wayne and Dona Rundback family was the third stop of the day just a few miles south of the University research center. The Rundback’s treated tour goers to fresh baked treats, cool drinks and great hospitality as the group viewed the variety of cattle that were on display. From Arrow One Angus, the bus and line up of cars continued South, towards 44/Ankony at Rishel Angus for lunch. Bill and Barb served as hosts for the tour participants where they viewed a group of bred heifers that were on display and the sire B/R 65R Genesis. Tour goers were also showered with door prizes that had been donated by many tour sponsors. The tour continued south along Highway 83 with a stop at North Platte Livestock Feeders. Lot Manager Jack Lawless served as host for a brief summary of the feeding operation, before leading the bus and line up of cars through the feedlot on a driving tour of the facilities and current expansion operation. Once the group made its way to the east end of the expansion, Mr. Lawless, fielded an extended question and answer session from the tour goers. One of the most impressive parts of the tour was the drive along the corn storage facility which holds 1.6 million bushels of corn. Jack explained that the feeding operation will use at least 3 million bushels of corn in the coming year. The current expansion will grow the feedlot capacity to nearly 80,000 head. After leaving North Platte Livestock Feeders, the bus and car caravan headed South and West towards Wallace for a pasture stop by L Bar L Angus. Todd and Donalyn Hasenauer and their family provided fresh fruit and cookies for snacks, drinks and a look at their herd, near their home operation. The Hasenauer’s also provided tour goers with a look at their portable AI shed that they use in their operation. It was one of the first built by the Large family from the Imperial area. From L Bar L Angus, the tour group made its way toward the final stop of the day at Triple B Angus. Randy and Becky Robinson, their daughters Ashlyn & Brylie, Marvin and Lazette Knoll and their daughters, Brenda and Bridgett greeted tour goers with hospitality and a CAB steak supper. The Knoll’s & Robinsons also had a great group of cattle prepared for tour goers to view during the evening. Paul Dykstra from CAB gave a presentation on the goals and achievements of the Certified Angus Beef program this past year. At conclusion of the evening stop, tour co-chairs Barb Rishel and Ron Sabata and Nebraska Regional Manager Matt Printz distributed more door prizes to the participants. Day two was packed with interesting stops as the tour covered the north and western portions of the tour area. The day began with a hearty breakfast stop hosted by Baldrige Brothers Angus of North Platte, while Angus enthusiasts enjoyed the display of cattle that the Baldridge family put together. After viewing cattle at Baldridge Brothers, the bus and caravan of cars headed north and west of North Platte, to Albrecht Angus. There Dan and Melanie Albrecht hosted the tour group while they viewed their program and cattle. Many tour goers admired the lovely home site of Dan and Melanie, which sits nestled in a stand of pine trees near the bottom of a large hill, in the Sandhills Northwest of North Platte. Also displaying cattle at this stop was the Hansen Ranch from Stapleton. Travis and Melody and Lawrence and Jeanne had a nice group of cow/calf pairs from their recently started breeding program. As lunch hour approached, the tour headed back towards North Platte and then west along Hwy 30 to Sutherland and the Hanging H outfit where tour goers were treated to a superb lunch of grilled, rib steak sandwiches. Here Neal Hansen and the Pat & Kylee Stokey family showcased their horse breeding program and their Angus cattle. Nebraska Angus Association President Craig Dethlefs and his family also had cattle on display. One highlight of this stop was a calf-riding exhibition by Kaine “Shooter” Stokey. The final stop of the tour was at Snyder Bros., Northwest of Paxton. Here, Ken and Bruce Snyder and their brother-in-law Don Eakins, introduced their family, ranch hands and showcased their breeding program. On display were many of the females that were featured lots in their dispersal sale in October. Nebraska Association President Craig Dethlefs, offered his thanks to tour Co-Chairs Barb Rishel and Ron Sabata for organizing this year’s tour. They were presented with metal silhouettes of an Angus bull in appreciation. Last but not least was the drawing for the western print by artist C. J. Brown, titled “An American Dream”. The winner of the drawing had to be present to win the print. Glen and Judy Swanson of Durant, Iowa were the lucky recipients of the print.
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Nebraska Angus Suzy Hebbert |