Heartland Cattle Company Leads in Heifer Quality

The truth has long been known in the cattle industry: the quality of a rancher's beef herd depends upon the excellence and development of his heifer calves. However, it was not until 1990 that this long recognized fact was turned into a professional company with a proven approach to heifer development. The breakthrough came when Dr. Patsy Houghton joined Cal Siegfried to form Heartland Cattle Company, a professional heifer development and research center located six and a half miles southeast of McCook, Nebraska.

It stood to reason. By concentrating on the goal of producing genetically superior bred females, the quality of the beef herd would improve. Over the course of 19 years, that's exactly what has happened. Heartland Cattle Company is the acknowledged leader in the field, with many trying, but no one duplicating Heartland's success in building beef quality through heifer development.

Since the first heifer arrived the day after Christmas in 1990, Heartland Cattle Company has artificially inseminated 71,000 heifers which have been placed in 31 states, giving the Red Willow County firm coast-to-coast and border-to-border influence. In addition, more than 115,000 bawling calves have been weaned and started and – to the pride of Dr. Houghton and the staff – close to 40 research projects have been conducted at the Heartland yard.

Dr. Houghton points to two essential reasons Heartland has remained the undisputed industry leader. "Long-term customer relationships and an experienced, high quality staff are the keys," she said. The loyalty of customers is an impressive example of Heartland's success. Proof of that comes in the form of customer retention rates, which exceed 95 percent on an annual basis. Dr. Houghton gives the Heartland staff a large share of the credit for the customer satisfaction. "We are privileged to have long-term, high quality employees," she said. Seven senior members of the staff have a combined total of 83 years of experience. The staff members are Delbert Kunkee, Gail Rippe, Janet Rippe, Shannon Stevens, Craig Adams, Daryl Barnhart and Dr. Houghton.

Heartland came to be as the result of research conducted by Houghton while she was serving as a beef cattle extension specialist for Kansas State University. While working with summer intern programs across Kansas, she realized the powerful effect of proper heifer development on a rancher's bottom line. Part of her beef extension time was spent at Decatur County Feedyard north of Oberlin, where she met Siegfried. Seeing the possibilities for beef quality improvement, they joined forces to launch the professional heifer development venture. In 2006, Houghton became the sole owner of Heartland Cattle Company. Under her leadership, the company maintains its national prominence and continues to be recognized as the premier location to send heifers for AI breeding. Not only has Heartland established a record as a leader in beef quality development, the firm has also been a drawing card for the McCook area, attracting hundreds of tour groups to view the well-maintained operation on the south side of the Republican River.

"All of us at Heartland Cattle Company look forward to continued contributions to McCook and the surrounding area," Dr. Houghton said. "This includes a continued positive impact on our local economy, and attracting some of the best and brightest young professionals to Southwest Nebraska."