TOPEKA, Kan. – The 2024 KLA Young Stockmen’s Academy (YSA) met for its third session, a tour of central and western Kansas this week. Class members from across the state attended the three-day bus tour of various segments of the beef and dairy industries September 16-18. The YSA program is exclusively sponsored by Merck Animal Health.
El Dorado Livestock Auction hosted the group’s first stop. Tim Parks, DVM, Cailin Parks and Jenna Goetzmann, all with Merck, led a Beef Quality Assurance demonstration and certification. Livestock auction market co-owner Josh Mueller then spoke to the group about the history of the facility, the nuances of operating an auction market and plans for the future of the business to keep pace with an ever-changing industry. The second stop of the day was at Poland Angus Ranch near Isabel. Richard Poland, along with wife Anita, gave the class an overview of the seedstock Angus operation he built from the ground up beginning in the 1980s. For the Polands, who host an annual bull sale, taking care of the customer is their number one priority. The class got the chance to walk through Poland’s heavy-bred first-calf heifers and discuss genetics, trait selection and functionality.
The second day of the tour began at Adams Cattle Company LLC/XIT Ranch near Plains. John and Jack Adams spoke to the class about the history of the family ranch, how they operate today and touched on their successful Quarter Horse program. Jack walked the class through a typical year on the ranch, starting with how they handle calving in the winter, then discussing the slower summer months, the weaning process and their preparation for colder months that begins in the fall.
The second stop of the day was just down the road at High Plains Ponderosa Dairy (HPPD), also located in Plains. Greg Bethard, along with daughter Michaela, who is a current YSA class member and feed manager for HPPD, shared about the inner workings of the dairy, the expansion that currently is underway and how the operation utilizes its resources to remain efficient and sustainable. The dairy, which milks 16,000 head per day, consists of Holstein, Jersey and Holstein-Jersey cross cows. Greg highlighted how HPPD uses data collected from each animal to make informed decisions for the business and progress their herd. Class members were able to see one of the dairy’s rotary milkers in action. At HPPD, each cow is milked twice per day and spends between 5 and 6 minutes on the rotary each time. The rotaries stop only twice per day for cleaning, with each stop averaging 45 minutes.
The final tour stop of the day two took the class to Heritage Beef near Sublette. General Manager Galen Wright toured the class around the 74,000-head feedlot while giving the history of the yard and explaining how the business operates. Wright discussed his management strategies, outlined their feeding program and offered advice to aspiring feedlot managers or anyone involved in the industry. Heritage Beef utilizes ultra-high frequency technology in their ear tags, allowing them to collect and store data on the live animal from the time of processing through harvest, including carcass data, and eliminating “lost” cattle in the yard.
National Beef was the last stop of the session. The class had the opportunity to tour the packing plant in Dodge City.
Members of the 2024 YSA class are Ethan Bellar, Howard; Michaela Bethard, Kismet; Coulter Croft, Copeland; Nicole DeMars, Clay Center; Drake Dieker, Westphalia; James Fitzsimmons, Cunningham; Sam Gleason, Maple Hill; Chisum Grund, Wallace; Kaitlin Houck, Allen; Ryan Koons, Buffalo, OK; Jackie Neville, Andale; Ashlynn Remington, Meade; Jayden Rios, Kingman; Ty Ruckert, Manhattan; Grant Sardella, Cimarron; Libby Schneider, Logan; Tyler Spore, Great Bend; Trenton Turner, Hope; Brendan Whipple, Nenzel, NE; and Grady Woodard, Lyons.
YSA will meet for their fourth and final session during the 2024 KLA Convention & Expo in Manhattan November 20-22.
KLA is a trade organization representing the business interests of members at both the state and federal levels. Voluntary dues dollars paid by producers are used for programs that benefit KLA members in the areas of legislative representation, regulatory assistance, legal troubleshooting, communications and the advancement of youth.
— Kansas Livestock Association
