Producer Profiles

It was a good year at the Hoot Owl Ranch.

Lots of cattlemen would share that assessment this year, but manager Kenny Stauffer and his wife, Misty, are confident there will be many more like it to come, regardless of the traditional cattle market.

“You’ve got to want to do what you’re doing … and work at it,” says Hugh Ingalls about what it takes to persevere in the cattle business on the unforgiving prairie through the ups and downs of weather, cattle prices and the rippling trends of purebred genetics.

Progressive Forum is a compilation of viewpoints from cattle producers on a given topic. Hear what those with boots on the ground have to say about the issues.

What do you think is the potential of genetic selection?

It was 80ºF in the days before Oct. 4, 2013. Leaves still graced the trees.

Progressive Forum is a compilation of viewpoints from cattle producers on a given topic. Hear what those with boots on the ground have to say about the issues.

What element of genetics/genetic selection do you put the most emphasis on at your operation?

For Amanda Raithel, a talented sketch artist living in Falls City, Nebraska, cattle are more than a job. They are her passion. She spends her working hours on the family farm with live cattle and her free time using an easel to draw the animals that she loves best. She especially enjoys them in the show ring.