The Angus Journal is a monthly magazine known for in-depth coverage of American Angus Association programs and services; the Angus business; herd management techniques; and advertising reflecting genetics herd philosophies.
Issue link: http://angusjournal.epubxp.com/i/435083
3201 Frederick Ave. St. Joseph, MO 64506-2997 (816) 383-5200 • (800) 821-5478 Fax (816) 233-6575 dbrown@angusjournal.com kmildenberger@angusjournal.com 2014-15 Deadline Date February Jan. 15 Feb. 16 March Feb. 16 March 16 Sign up to receive a FREE Bulletin subscription – www.angusbeefbulletin.com Expand your customer base to reach 60,000+ potential bull buyers by advertising in the Angus Beef Bulletin ® . Contact your Regional Manager or ad coordinator today! Ad Mail S t ( 8 F a d b k m "The Commercial Cattleman's Angus Connection" E x t o As Dee Johnson got familiar with his surroundings, he may have wondered just what he had gotten himself into. In 1991, the rancher bought nearly 40,000 acres after a foreclosure in northeastern Wyoming. The country was rugged and in great need of a caretaker. From the passenger seat of a Suburban, he'd toured a small slice of the expanse with a real-estate broker, but Johnson didn't really learn the land until he moved 500 cows up from a family ranch in New Mexico. "It wasn't very damn glamorous, but I had a passion not to fail," Johnson says. When he wasn't tending the stock, the cold November days on horseback were given over to experiencing the plat maps in living color. At night he'd return to the only building that came with the place — a sheep barn they had shoveled dead animals and manure out of before converting it to a bunkhouse. "You fought with the rats at night to see who got the bed," Johnson says, able to laugh about it now. "We ran on so much borrowed money, you couldn't hardly believe it." Any time he and Gaye, his wife of 48 years, did get some cash, it went back into improvements. In September, the Certifed Angus Beef ® (CAB ® ) brand honored the couple's Dry Fork Land and Cattle with its Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award for their perseverance in reaching lofty goals. The single "laid-down, barbed-wire corral" evolved into strategically located working facilities all across the ranch. "There'd be times that Gaye and I and our one son would be processing 1,200 head of calves by ourselves, so we got the facilities to where we can do that without stressing the cattle," Johnson says. In 2000, they built a 1,100-square- foot (sq. ft.) cabin. Still saving and paying down debt, it was another fve years before they added electricity. This frontier lifestyle was a contrast to the ranch where Johnson grew up near Laketown, Utah, or the small farm there that Gaye called home. There, as the scenery drew more people, neighbors got closer and land values skyrocketed. V o l u m e 3 2 , N u m b e r 5 • O c t o b e r 2 0 1 4 Features & News The first-ever Angus Means Business National Convention & Trade Show appeals to everyone involved in producing quality beef. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Nebraska couple named Feedlot Partners of the Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Big or small, feedlot honorees carry a quality mind-set.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Recordkeeping and intense focus on producing high-quality cattle earn South Dakota cattleman CAB honors. . . .28 Kansas seedstock ranch earns CAB Commitment to Excellence Award. . . . . . .34 Railroads as oil pipeline spell trouble for grain pipelines, distant feedlots. . . . . . . .36 Studies show forage soybeans are a good protein source for cows and heifers. . 48 Column Links • Movin' Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 • Association Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 • AngusSource ® Genetic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 • Certified Angus Beef LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 • Market Advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 • Ridin' Herd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 • Veterinary Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 • Beef Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 • Angus Sales Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 • Outside the Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 • Advertiser Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Staff • Angus Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 • American Angus Association. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 • Certified Angus Beef LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 • Regional Managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Services • National Junior Angus Association . . . . . .45 • Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 • American Angus Association membership form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 • Angus Journal subscription . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Visit Angus Journal's Virtual Library at www . api-virtual library. com . ® Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA www.angusbeefbulletin.com is emailed the 20th of every month. Subscribe today at Brought to you by the Angus Journal ® 3201 Frederick Ave.; Saint Joseph, Mo. 64506 (Continue d on page 2) Risk and Reward Story & photos by MIRANDA REIMAN, Certifed Angus Beef LLC One rancher's tale of sacrifce, passion and perseverance. The CAB brand honored Dee and Gaye Johnson's Dry Fork Land and Cattle with its Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award for their perseverance in reaching lofty goals. January 2015 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ 195