Angus cattle bred and
developed to thrive on forage.
Angus cattle bred and
developed to thrive on forage.
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We are on a quest to breed and develop the perfect cow! We haven't found her yet but we continue to find what works and what doesn't. Hours spent watching cows and grass have led us to our unique philosophy!
Production agriculture runs deep in our family. No matter where you look there are farmers - raising animals , crops and kids in Eastern Washington for over 120 years!
Not much better than a great steak. Grass finished raised using regenerative agricultural practices and grain finished - we have limited quantities available. Contact us with questions or to get on our list.
We don't like to feed it but we grow some great hay! Alfalfa, orchard grass, bluegrass and sometimes straw - if you are in the market contact us.
Some of the cows we have selected based on performance and phenotype.
Currently residing at Sanford Ranches
SAV Resource 1441 x OCC Missing Link 830M
Selected from VanDyke's 2014 Female Sale
SAV Resource 1441 x OCC Eureka 865E
Owned with JR Ranch and Ohlde Cattle Company in Kansas. He is a moderate framed, super thick Zodiac son with excellent feet. His first daughters are easy fleshing with tremendous udder quality.
This moderate framed, massive, great footed stud is a member of the most succesful mating in our history (SAV Resource 1441 x OCC Dixie Erica 705R). He is a full brother to our all time top selling bull and female; Sackmann Columbia 4115, and his flush sister Sackmann Dixie Erica 4112 (currently serving as a donor for Sandford Ranches in Texas).
Owned with Rock Coulee Ranch Inc, Marlin WA. This is an easy fleshing, shapely beast with a great disposition. He was one of the standouts of our 2019 Herd Builder Bull Sale.
AI Sires in Use: Coleman Bravo, OCC Unmistakable 946U, SAV Resource 1441
Our fall calving registered cow herd is managed in a way that is most economical given the available resources in our area. The Columbia Basin is a thriving, competitive farming area, capable of producing a wide variety of high value irrigated crops. To graze year-round, we must compete with our farmer friends and neighbors for every acre. With irrigated cash rents ranging from $400-$1000 per acre for prime ground, for summer grass we utilize the undesirable fields that are small, odd shaped, and require more labor to irrigate and manage. The best management of these small fields involves frequent moves of cross fences and cattle. We are often only a single hot wire away from a neighbor’s high value seed crop. Wild, stupid, or mean cows would be disruptive to the process. Good disposition is a must. Irrigated grass is also washy and not particularly nutrient dense unless supplemented with lots of fertilizer. Cows need to have a big, three dimensional rib cage with lots of space for the rumen to process all of that forage.
The benefit of running cows in this area is there are lots of options for fall and winter grazing. After calving, our cows graze on a grass hay field (close to our breeding facility) with enough forage stockpiled to get them through synchronizing and AI. Pairs then generally go to timothy hay fields from about December 1 to March 1. Hay is only fed if the snow gets too deep or hard for them to graze. Again, fleshing ability is at a premium when cows must do their own harvesting of forage instead of having it brought to them. Bigger framed, heavier milking cows fail in this scenario. Moderate, easy fleshing cows remain, and those that can also raise the big calves rise to the top. Calves never receive creep of any kind. Running on irrigated, soft ground with virtually no rocks for so much of the year exposes feet prone to get long or poorly shaped. We are able to identify these cows and remove their influence from the gene pool. We don’t trim feet.
Our mission is to create value for our commercial bull customers by identifying, creating, and producing genetics that work for them. We stay true to our herd management and identify cattle that succeed while eliminating those that fail. We evaluate our herd and others with a complementary program in search of herd sires, AI sires, and donor dams that can move our program forward in the traits most important to our customers.
Functionally, every trait is important, from conception to consumption. We pay attention to each trait - in that order.
A cow must become pregnant, give birth and nurse her calf without assistance, harvest forage herself, convert that forage to milk for her calf and her own maintenance, get bred again on time, and wean a calf that returns enough value for you and her to do it all again. It is the responsibility of the breeder to eliminate any genetic characteristic that interferes with this process. Fertility is generally correlated to fleshing ability. Fleshing ability is affected by mature size, milking potential, and rib cage dimension. Ability to travel to forage and water is affected by structural integrity of feet and legs. Calving ability is related to pelvic area and hip structure as well as genetics for calf shape and birth weight. Calving and mothering instinct and a nice udder the calf can easily latch on to are essential traits. No matter the size, scope, location of your herd, you have better things to do than do a cow’s job for her!
Given all of these things are in order then we move on to weaning performance, and we would like cows to wean a respectable % of their body weight. Profitability to weaning is key. Hopefully post weaning activities serve to add value. Post-weaning feedlot performance is also important and big ribbed, high capacity calves that come from easy fleshing mothers are destined to have the appetite and rumen function that will result in profitable gains. We ultimately serve the beef consumer, so of course carcass quality is important. That’s why we raise Angus!
Fertility, soundness and longevity for our customers is more important than maximum gains. Our bulls are developed on a high roughage ration consisting primarily of long hay that is approximately 75% grass hay and 25% alfalfa with 4 lb/head/day corn/distillers/mineral mix.
Bulls are fertility tested prior to sale and sifted for foot soundness and disposition problems.
We guarantee our bulls for three years for fertility and foot soundness. If a bull fails a semen test or becomes unsound due to foot structure, we will refund your purchase price minus salvage. This is calculated retroactively in years 2 and 3. The first calendar year is covered 100% against nearly all problems, up to and including death. We serve real life, hard-working producers who earn their living in the cow business. We take our role in their business seriously, and expect our cattle to be profitable for them to own.
Delivering bulls in the spring is my favorite part of being in the seedstock business. I get to see some beautiful country all across the northwest; learn about cows, business and life from great individuals; and have made friendships with people that are truly fulfilling.
The Sackmann homestead where Jeff’s grandfather (and his 16 siblings) grew up is still in the family, as it has been since the early 1900’s.
Jeff's mom's family's harvest team in Adams County; 1910/1911. Jeff’s parents grew up on dryland wheat farms in Adams County.
In 1977 Jeff’s parents purchased the farm in Grant County where they still live and farm today. Sid, Reinhold and Jeff adjust a baler; 1977.
Jeff's parents started with a small herd of Registered Angus cows (acquired in lieu of wages from Sid’s employer). Angus bulls were marketed for a couple of years. The demands of operating an irrigated farm as a “one man show” and other market factors dictated a transition to a commercial enterprise utilizing crossbreeding with the popula
Jeff's parents started with a small herd of Registered Angus cows (acquired in lieu of wages from Sid’s employer). Angus bulls were marketed for a couple of years. The demands of operating an irrigated farm as a “one man show” and other market factors dictated a transition to a commercial enterprise utilizing crossbreeding with the popular continental breeds of the time. Jeff grew up working on the farm, moving handlines, operating hay equipment, and helping feed tons of cheap feeder hay and pulling big, dumb calves out of those Simmental-cross cows. He acquired a lifelong love of the cattle business.
Jaime's Great-Great Grandma shows off her first litter of pigs in 1919. Extended family still reside here raising blueberries and Christmas trees.
Jaime helped with pigs from a young age. Later raising and showing pigs and steers developing an interest in livestock production.
Moving cattle from the Blue Mountains to the Snake River. This Hereford herd later introduced Simmental and then Red Angus. Most of Jaime's steer projects came out of this herd.
Jaime’s mom grew up in Walla Walla County on a ranch that produced cattle, lumber and fruit.
Her dad's family have raised livestock and dryland grain in Spokane County for over 100 years. Her parents and grandma still live on the farm she grew up helping with hogs and driving in grain harvest. Formerly a 100 sow farrow-to-finish hog oper
Jaime’s mom grew up in Walla Walla County on a ranch that produced cattle, lumber and fruit.
Her dad's family have raised livestock and dryland grain in Spokane County for over 100 years. Her parents and grandma still live on the farm she grew up helping with hogs and driving in grain harvest. Formerly a 100 sow farrow-to-finish hog operation, the feed mill still processes most of his dryland grain to sell directly for feed locally.
Jeff’s mom and Jaime’s dad showed pigs together at the Spokane Jr. Livestock Show in 4-H. Jaime’s parents and Jeff’s dad were at Washington State University together in the early 70’s, having some of the same professors in the Animal Science Department that Jeff and Jaime would have nearly 3 decades later.
At WSU, we were members of the first Cougar Cattle Feeders student cattle feeding organization. We also had the opportunity to compete on the Livestock Judging Team, traveling to contests in Medford, Oregon; Louisville, Kentucky; Laramie, Wyoming; and Denver, Colorado. This exposure to a whole new world laid the groundwork for our entry into the seedstock business and love for the Angus breed.
We returned to Washington in 2002. Jaime went to work as a livestock nutritionist for Wolfkill Feed & Fertilizer and Jeff went to work on the farm for his dad. We purchased our first handful (two pairs and six heifers) of registered Angus females from Carl & Norma Davey in Lind, WA.
Over the next few years we added some more cows from cons
We returned to Washington in 2002. Jaime went to work as a livestock nutritionist for Wolfkill Feed & Fertilizer and Jeff went to work on the farm for his dad. We purchased our first handful (two pairs and six heifers) of registered Angus females from Carl & Norma Davey in Lind, WA.
Over the next few years we added some more cows from consignment sales and dispersals, growing the herd to about 30 registered cows. From the beginning, we maintained a strict culling regimen for disposition and reproductive performance. We found that the Davey cows rose to the top, out performing other cows with fresher pedigrees and better numbers. Committed to building a herd that is functional, fertile and problem-free; these early experiences helped shape our breeding philosophy.
In 2007 we became partners in the family farm business. Later that year, we found a great opportunity to expand as the Daveys were ready to cut back on their workload. They offered us the opportunity to purchase 40 cows and 23 heifers out of the heart of their cowherd. Seemingly overnight, our little Angus herd had gone from basically
In 2007 we became partners in the family farm business. Later that year, we found a great opportunity to expand as the Daveys were ready to cut back on their workload. They offered us the opportunity to purchase 40 cows and 23 heifers out of the heart of their cowherd. Seemingly overnight, our little Angus herd had gone from basically a hobby to a significant portion of our business, and needed to perform.
Our livestock judging coach, Dan Coonrad always told us “The purpose of a beef cow is to turn a low quality forage into a high quality protein, and she needs a big factory to make that happen.”
After our wedding in July 2000, we moved to Georgia where Jaime earned her Master’s Degree in Animal Science with emphasis on ruminant nutrition an
Our livestock judging coach, Dan Coonrad always told us “The purpose of a beef cow is to turn a low quality forage into a high quality protein, and she needs a big factory to make that happen.”
After our wedding in July 2000, we moved to Georgia where Jaime earned her Master’s Degree in Animal Science with emphasis on ruminant nutrition and meat science. We lived on a farm where Jeff worked with Angus cows, put up hay and learned a great deal about how things are done in a very different part of the country. When we arrived in Georgia, the southeast was in the midst of one of the worst droughts in history. The cows were thin, and calves were born in nearly every month of the year. Improvements were made and sub-fertile cows eliminated, and when we left the cows had been synchronized and AI bred, with the season consolidated into a 60 day fall calving window and a 45 day spring calving window.
The next landmark opportunity that has shaped the history of our operation came in 2009. We had gotten to know Jeff and Pam Schmidt and their family through Jaime’s nutritionist job. (She continues to formulate rations and mineral programs for both JR Ranch and our herd). We share many philosophies and opinions on cattle breeding and mana
The next landmark opportunity that has shaped the history of our operation came in 2009. We had gotten to know Jeff and Pam Schmidt and their family through Jaime’s nutritionist job. (She continues to formulate rations and mineral programs for both JR Ranch and our herd). We share many philosophies and opinions on cattle breeding and management as well as life in general.
Jeff and Jeff like the same type of cattle. We have owned herd bulls and donor cows together, and are able to provide more quality in volume to our customers by working together.
Besides building a cow herd we have also added to our crew at home. Molly joined us in 2005, twins Trevor and Lila in 2009 and Nia in 2013. They show market animals (steers, pigs and goats) and the girls play Basketball and Volleyball while Trevor plays Basketball and Football.
Besides school, sports and showing animals the kids have become tremendous help with cows, pastures and water. With COVID shutdowns coinciding with not enough available help the kids took over some water changing and pasture rotating duties. While none of us will be hiring out for professional cattle clipping crews the kids got the bulls
Besides school, sports and showing animals the kids have become tremendous help with cows, pastures and water. With COVID shutdowns coinciding with not enough available help the kids took over some water changing and pasture rotating duties. While none of us will be hiring out for professional cattle clipping crews the kids got the bulls cleaned up for picture day. Having Dad, Mom and four kids be the entirety of the picture and video crew and still living together is an accomplishment!
While you won't find many fancy pictures of our family, crew or sale partners this group is as real as it gets!
We are blessed to be able to work with people that just get the job done! Want to enjoy great food, camaraderie and practice your Spanish or German? Join us at an event!
Want to look at cows, bulls or talk grass? Stop by; anytime!
While you won't find many fancy pictures of our family, crew or sale partners this group is as real as it gets!
We are blessed to be able to work with people that just get the job done! Want to enjoy great food, camaraderie and practice your Spanish or German? Join us at an event!
Want to look at cows, bulls or talk grass? Stop by; anytime! And if we have some notice we may even follow the tradition of Norma Davey with her donuts at the ready!
Cows are grazing near-by year round, Bulls are developed at home and Jeff loves to look at cows!
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