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Olsen Ranches, Inc. named
Outstanding Commercial Producer
Nebraska
The American Hereford Association (AHA) is proud to announce that Olsen Ranches, Inc., Harrisburg, Neb., have been selected as the Beef Improvement Federation's (BIF) Outstanding Commercial Producer of the Year. The family was honored at the BIF Conference in Sioux Falls, S.D., on May 26.
Four generations of the Olsen family have been involved in cattle production in Banner County Nebraska. Olsen Ranches, Inc., was originally founded by Lars and Hans Olsen, and is owned and managed by Art and his son Douglas. They were involved in raising registered Hereford seedstock for 20 years, starting in the early 1960s; however, by the 80s their emphasis shifted back to commercial Hereford cattle, including some cross breeding with Red Angus. Since the 1950s, they have been involved in extensive record keeping and collection of performance data, which includes carcass data on all steer progeny since 1992. As a result, Olsen Ranches serves as a progeny testing ground for the AHA's National Reference Sire Feedlot and Carcass Testing Program (NRSP). The ranch is also the only U.S. cooperator herd for the World Hereford Linkage Project. This project is working to more accurately compare genetics across Canada, Australia and the United States.
Jim Williams, customer service director for Certified Hereford Beef (CHB), knows the Olsen operation well, calling it nearly ideal for progeny testing. "Olsens' can make random matings, which is what we want. And they are meticulous record-keepers, so maintaining sire-identification for calves is no problem," Williams says. "Because they retain ownership on all of their calves, we can follow cattle all the way through the process and capture the data with ease and continuity."
Olsens use artificial insemination (AI) extensively in their almost 700 head herd and breed an additional 500 females through custom work. They have made a practice of owning their calves all the way to finish for the past 20 years. In an attempt for their feeder cattle to hit the market at its peaks, they have developed an early weaning and extensive backgrounding system. Calves are weaned around 400 lbs. and introduced to grain while running on corn stocks. After 120 to 150 days, steers are moved to Olsens' own backgrounding lots and fed for another 100 days. Once they reach about 1,000 lbs., they are sent to Darnall Feedlot for the finishing period. The steers usually hit the September-October fed market, while heifers not kept as replacements, are grown longer and targeted for a winter market.
Along with the NRSP, Olsens' meticulous record keeping has proven beneficial to other parts of the industry. They were instrumental in the National Cattleman's Beef Association's (NCBA) Tenderness Project. Olsens believe their participation in the sire evaluation program works in their own favor. Along with the opportunity to breed to some of the Hereford breed's best sires comes the opportunity to select replacement heifers from their daughters.
"We've had the opportunity to compare sire-groups of calves, and compare the strengths and weaknesses of their sires," Douglas Olsen says. "It doesn't mean we have all the answers. We're just trying to use all the information we can to make improvements."
Date: 6/23/04
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