By the time the corn silage is covered and the last acres of sunflowers are combined, the pace at Feikema Farms hardly slows. Located in Rock County in southwest Minnesota, the operation feeds roughly 4,000 head of cattle while cropping nearly 6,000 acres, a scale that reflects decades of steady growth and careful decision-making.

“Schwauuuuhhh!” You hear the distinct cattle call my father has consistently sent ringing through Draper’s Valley in Virginia for at least the 35 years I’ve been alive. It’s the same call my older sister and I have comically attempted to replicate throughout the years to no avail.

Some beef producers are fascinated by an old Spanish breed that may revolutionize high-end restaurants with tender, delicious steaks. Learn more about the Rubia Gallega breed, the Old Cow or Vaca Vieja, and the newest breed association, the American Rubia Gallega Association.

Lone Star Ranch took the plunge with virtual fencing to better utilize pasture and eliminate fencing challenges in tough terrain.

Doug Lathem and Chad Schoonover weren’t trying to prove any kind of point when they made the decision to convert their farming and beef cattle operation near Dalhart, in the Texas Panhandle, to organic production. But when they sat down and took a good, long look at their resources, operating costs and market, it became clear: If they wanted to give the next generation a shot at coming back and making a living on the place, the conventional route wasn’t going to cut it.

The Stirrup Bar Ranch went from average to iconic in less than five years through improving genetics and utilizing reproductive technologies.

When the King Ranch owners recognized professional ranch management is critical for successful cattle operations, they established the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management (KRIRM) with Texas A&M University – Kingsville in 2003. They realized the ranching business has changed and continues to evolve, and keeping up with or even anticipating changes is a critical business management component of a profitable ranch.

Bob Kinnan, historian for the King Ranch, says, “Captain Richard King was a licensed riverboat pilot. Always called Captain King, he’s something of an enigma.” Born in 1825 in New York City to Irish immigrants, he became a Manhattan jeweler’s apprentice at age 9.

Outside of the small farming town of Manhattan, Montana, sits Feddes Red Angus. What started as a registered Hereford operation in 1945 has evolved into a multigenerational registered Red Angus operation.

Leave the land better than you found it. That’s the charge given to the ranchers who are members of Country Natural Beef.