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Thorson Cattle Company is owned by Terry and Adrienne Thorson with their three kids, Josh and his wife Angela and daughter Whitnei, and daughters Tara and Emmy. Their operation consists of 50 head of registered Maine-Anjou, Mainetainer, and Maine-Angus cattle right on the southern border of Minnesota. They sell calves off the farm privately and this winter are selling bred heifers on the Combined Forces online sale.

The Thorson family has been a part of the Maine-Anjou breed since the early 90’s. They have shown Maine-Anjou cattle at a majority of their MN State Fair careers as well as participating in the Maine-Anjou Junior Nationals for the last several years.

The Thorson’s have always prided themselves on being involved in their customers’ show careers. Building relationships with the families they sell to is part of what they love about the beef industry, especially the close-knit Maine-Anjou breed. When approached about donating a Maine-Anjou heifer to this years MYBEP program, they were honored to be involved in this youth program as a chance to help a future generation get into the cattle industry!

This heifer was donated with support from Hawkins Cattle, County Road Cattle, Steck Cattle and Eastview Maines.

Hecksel Simmental Farm is owned and operated by Ryan Hecksel and with help from his parents Marlow and Darlene Hecksel in Mayer, Minn. It started out as a 4-H project when they purchased two Simmental heifers in 1991 and after selling the dairy cows in 1997 the herd expanded from there. The herd currently consists of 75 head of registered Simmental and Sim-Angus cows. The Hecksels rely heavily on embryo transfer the majority of that being IVF. Their cattle are merchandised at the Royal Classic Female Sale the first Saturday of January in Ames, Iowa, Sherwood Cattle Company Online Heifer Sale in October on SC, and sold privately of the farm. Along with cattle they run a couple hundred acres of corn, soybeans, hay, and pastures. 

K-LER Cattle is proud to donate the Simmental heifer to the MYBEP program this year. The Kaehler family is honored to have contributed two heifers since the beginning of the MYBEP program. MYBEP is a fantastic program to mentor and build relationships with incredible youth, creating the next generation of agriculture producers.

This year marks the 143rd year of the Kahler ownership of their family farm. KLER Cattle is owned by the Ralph Kaehler family and operated by Seth and Shelby Kaehler, along with their three kids, Creed, Colt, and Haven, in Saint Charles, Minnesota. KLER Cattle consists of a 150 registered cow/calf operation. Their family holds an annual “Structured for Success” sale on the third Sunday of February each year, selling bulls and bred females.

Knutson Shorthorns is operated by Zach Knutson and Brooke Calaway, along with assistance from Zach’s parents, Keith and Kris, near Zumbrota, Minn. Zach and Brooke have been active participants in the annual ‘Supreme Row’ sale over the past couple years, which inspired them to give back via the MYBEP program. Zach started raising Shorthorns in 2011 with the purchase of a couple bred heifers at the MN Shorthorn Sale in Cannon Falls. In 2014, he was unanimously selected as the All-American Junior Breeder by the American Shorthorn Association (ASA) and he was the Australian Ambassador for the ASA in 2016. Through this program, he spent 6 months traveling across Australia, working and learning from a wide range of shorthorn breeders. In total, he stayed on 36 ranches/stations, and he worked on over 60 farms riding along with ultrasound technicians scanning bulls. He brought the lessons learned back to the farm, and he has made substantial changes to the operation since then. 

Today, the herd consists of 30 registered shorthorn cows and a small flock of Katahdin sheep. Heavy emphasis is placed on consistent annual calving intervals, no calving assistance, and selecting cattle that thrive without any grain or silage supplements. Cattle are rotationally grazed with paddocks moved multiple times each week and a target of 60 day rest periods before returning to the paddock. This requires cattle that can thrive on lower quality forage, but in exchange it provides significantly more resilience against drought. Heifers are primarily marketed as bred, with a few select heifers offered as show prospects. Bulls are marketed off the farm as long-yearlings in the fall, and 2-years old in the spring. Zach and Brooke are excited to work with a MYBEP recipient to share their experiences and encourage a beginning farmer.

SNL Farm is located in Menomonie, Wis. Twenty years ago, Steve and Loxi brought the Hereford cattle breed their farm. The attributes of the Hereford breed matched their needs, such as: docility, easy handling, good mama cows, and easy fleshing for steers. This donation heifer is Steve and Loxi’s way of giving back to the breed and the juniors.

Mill Iron Lazy 5 Cattle Company is owned and operated by the Brass family near Rochester, Minn. The operation consists of a sizable Charolais herd as well as Simmental and some Angus.

While the family has always been heavily involved in the ag and cattle industries, their introduction to the Charolais breed began with four Charolais heifers that were purchased for their oldest son to show. From there, their love and passion to produce high quality, high performing purebred cattle began to grow and has only continued to over the years.

The purebred Charolais herd has become a small piece of a large, diversified farming operation. The herd is used to produce quality herd sires that are used on the crossbred cow herd and generate replacement females to continue growing and improving genetics within the herd. The cow/calf project was a family favorite; seeing their females become working cows has always been the goal.

When the kids were younger, they were active in 4-H, FFA, and multiple breed associations including the MN/WI Charolais Jr Association. Through those organizations they have made many lifelong connections and have been given countless opportunities. Although the kids are too old to participate, they remain heavily active within the cattle industry, working on the farm and mentoring youth through 4-H.

The Brass family is excited to be a part of the MYBEP program this year. Exposing more young people to production agriculture and specifically cattle production will only benefit our entire industry and they are proud to be a small part of that.

Weber Bros Cattle Company is a 3^rd generation cattle operation near Lake Benton, MN founded in 1947. JT & Luann Weber along with their sons Jake, Garret, and Matt Weber run a 200 cow/calf operation that focus on raising bulls and females that sell to both commercial and purebred operations throughout the U.S.

Each year, they sell 40 Angus and Sim/Angus bulls private treaty focusing on longevity and advanced genomic selection to bring the most profitable performance to their customers and own cow base. As the years have passed, with the use of embryo transfer they have built a cow herd that is an impressive site to see and invite anyone to come tour the farm. Along with their bull sales, Weber Bros have a fall online sale in September where juniors across the U.S purchase show calves to exhibit throughout the year. They are big believers in the development of the next generation and helping in anyway possible to do so.

The Weber Family is active in livestock judging, FFA, and 4-H organizations that teach so much to the youth and provide to them skills that last a lifetime. They are proud to offer an Angus breeding heifer that can hopefully be a valuable piece to a young junior and a great starting point in building their own cow herd.