Sandhills
Cattle
Association
130 S Hall
PO Box 786
Valentine, NE 69201
402-376-2310
1-800-658-0551
sca@sandhillscattle.com
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Click
image for larger view
The
Sandhills are 19,300 square miles of rolling,
grass-covered
hills that stretch across Nebraska and South
Dakota and sit
atop the Ogallala aquifer, one of the largest
underground water
sources in the United States. This location, along
with an abundance
of water and over 700 species of grasses, makes
the Sandhills
a prime grazing area for cattle.
The area is often
called "God's Own Cow Country." Cattle ranching is the lifeblood of
this region and the Sandhills ranchers take their
jobs seriously.
They strive to produce better cattle that will be
profitable
for both the producer and feeder, yet cost
justifiable to the
packer and provide safe, nutritious and great
tasting beef for
the consumer.
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| Schedule Set for 2010 Convention |
All interested cattle producers are invited to the Sandhills Cattle Association’s 71st Annual Convention on Thursday, May 27 at the Custer County Fairgrounds in Broken Bow, Ne. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. The convention program will provide a day full of engaging speakers discussing timely topics along with an industry trade show and annual benefit auction.
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| Entries Still Being Taken for 2010 Shoot & Swing Tournament |
Entries are still being accepted for the 2010 Shoot & Swing Tournament, a benefit trap/skeet and golf tournament that will be held on Wednesday, May 26. The tournament will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the One Box Gun Club, located 5 miles southwest of Broken Bow on Ryno Road. Each 4-person team will shoot one round of skeet ( 25 rocks) and one round of trap (25 rocks). The team with the highest average of rocks hit will win the shooting. In the afternoon the action moves to the Broken Bow Country Club, where the same 4-person teams will play nine holes of golf. The team with the lowest score in golf wins. The shooting and golf rankings will be combined to determine the overall champion. The entry fee is $60 per person which includes skeet, trap and golf, along with lunch and supper.
Please contact the SCA office for more information at 402-376-2310 or 800-658-0551. Email: sca@sandhillscattle.com
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In late 2009, we conducted our annual survey of wages paid to ranch hands in the Sandhills area. We asked for information on wages and benefits paid to non-family members. Ten employers responded to the survey. Of these, five had strictly cow/calf operations, two had cow/calf/yearling operations, one was a purebred outfit and one had a cow/calf/feedlot operation. Four respondents said they ran over 1,000 head, two ran between 500 and 800 head, one had 300-500 head and two had less than 300 head. These employers represented 10 full time employees, including four ranch foremen; three part-time ranch hands and three day workers. Full time ranch hands had worked at their current job from just a few months to 18 years. The average number of years employed was 4.5. The hours per week worked for employees ranged from 40-65.
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| 2010 Ranch Tour to be Held Saturday, January 23 |
The 20th Annual Sandhills Cattle Association Ranch Tour is set for Saturday, January 23. This year, the tour will visit ranches in the Rose and Taylor, Nebraska area.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. (CST) at Twin Creek Ranch LLC, operated by Larry & Nickie Buell and family. Twin Creek Ranch is located at the original 1883 Buell homestead and was part of the Shovel Dot Ranch until recently. It is a low input cow-calf-yearling operation. At 10:00 a.m. the tour moves to the Shovel Dot Ranch, hosted by the Homer & Darla Buell family. Homer and Larry Buell have recently split the ranch into two separate but cooperative places to ease the transition to future generations. Shovel Dot Ranch has a commercial cow-calf herd, a backgrounding operation and they run stockers on grass. The tour caravan will head down Highway 183 to visit Upstream Ranch at 11:30 a.m. Brent and Robin Meeks continue the tradition of raising purebred Herefords that began in the 1930’s with Brent’s grandfather, Alfred. The first stop of the afternoon, after the complimentary lunch, is hosted by Jamie and Kay Fred. The Fred Ranch runs both spring and fall calving cows. They have been using artificial insemination and embryo transfer for over 20 years. The tour wraps up at Spring Valley Ranch owned by Frank & Anne Taylor and managed by Ben & Sherry Andrews. They raise purebred Angus cattle that are moderate framed and forage based. They are constantly striving to improve on the herd’s genetics using careful selection and the latest breeding technologies.
The Sandhills Cattle Association Ranch Tour is open to the public at no cost, although pre-registration is requested before January 15. Lunch is provided. Participants provide their own transportation and are encouraged to car pool.
The ranch tour is made possible by generous donations from these sponsors: Adkisson Livestock, Ainsworth; Bassett Livestock Auction, Bassett; Big Red Feeds, Burwell; Burwell Livestock Market, Burwell; Circle B Livestock, Bassett; Commercial Bank, Bassett; Commercial National Bank, Ainsworth; Daniels Manufacturing, Ainsworth; Ericson-Spalding Livestock Market, Ericson; Farm Credit Services of America, O’Neill; Farmers Ranchers Cooperative, Ainsworth; Great Plains Livestock Consulting, Hershey; Hubbard Feeds; Niobrara Valley Equipment, Ainsworth; Pride Grain, Long Pine; Rock County Agronomy, Bassett; Sandhill Equipment Inc., Bassett; Tobin Livestock Systems, Plankinton, SD
For more information or to pre-register, contact the Sandhills Cattle Association at 1-800-658-0551, 402-376-2310 or sca@sandhillscattle.com. A schedule and tour route map are available by clicking on the Ranch Tour button to the left on this website.
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| NYBLS Registration Forms Available |
The Nebraska Youth Beef Leadership Symposium is scheduled for November 21-23 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The symposium is designed to introduce youth to career opportunities and make them aware of issues facing the beef industry.
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| Membership Elects Directors & Officers for Coming Year |
Recently elected officers and directors are ready to begin work on the Association’s agenda for the coming year. They were elected at the general membership meeting on May 21, 2009. Kay Fred of Rose, Ne., will serve as president, Eric Connot, Clearfield, SD, is the newly elected vice-president and Lemoyne Dailey, Thedford, is treasurer. Tim Nollette, Nenzel, was re-elected to a second three year term on the Board of Directors. Joining him for their first terms are: Ken Colburn, Valentine; Brad Emerson, Ellsworth; Dave Nichols, Chambers and Randy Robinson, North Platte.
The fall Board of Directors Meeting will be held in late-September or early-October at the SCA office in Valentine.
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| 2009-10 Scholarship Winners Announced |
The five Sandhills Cattle Association Scholarships were awarded during the 70th Annual Convention on May 21, 2009. The winners were chosen from a field of 16 applicants. Selection committee members were: Rosemary Anderson, Whitman; Dennis Bammerlin, Millboro, SD; Zane Connell, Whitman; Eric Connot, Clearfield, SD; and Sherrill Shadbolt, Brownlee. Funds for the scholarships come from the Association’s annual benefit auction. Because of the generosity of many donors and buyers, this year the amount of the SCA scholarships was increased to $1000 each. During the past year, the Association was also fortunate to receive memorial money for scholarships. These donations were in memory of Gene Shipley of Valentine and E.H. (Shoey) Shoemaker of North Platte. The memorials added nearly $1,000 to the SCA Scholarship Fund. For the past 18 years, the Sandhills Cattle Association has had the privilege to present scholarships to assist some very talented young men and women from the area in achieving their educational goals. This year’s winners continue that tradition.
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Late last year we collected information about wages paid to ranch hands in the Sandhills area. There were 16 employers who responded to our request for information. We appreciate their cooperation and willingness to share their information. These employers represented 22 full time ranch hands and 5 part-time hands. There were 6 who hired a total of 18 day workers and one who specified they hired summer help. Eight described their operations as cow/calf/yearling, one was a yearling operation, four were cow/calf and one was a purebred and cow/calf operation. Six indicated that they ran 500 cows or less, four ran 500-1000 and four had over 1000 head.
The range of cash wages paid to full time employees was from $1350/ month to $2833/month for an average of $2,014/month.
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| Ranch Hand Wage Survey Summary |
The Sandhills Cattle Association conducted its 2007 wage survey in November and December to track wages paid to ranch employees in the Sandhills area. There were 24 employers who responded to this year’s survey. All had cow/calf or cow/calf/yearling operations with the exception of one, which was a yearling operation. Six of the respondents ran less than 500 head; four had 500-800 head, three ran 800-1000 head and six had over 1000 head of cattle. They employed a total of 43 full time employees and 20 part-time employees. Eight of the full time employees were described as either a foreman or a manager. These had worked for their respective employers for an average of 3.5 years with a range from less than one year employed to 17 years. Among the general ranch hands, the average years worked for the employer was just under three years. It ranged from less than a year to 18 years. The hours worked per week for the all of the employees ranged from 40-70 hours with an average of 55 hours/week.
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• If you are a member of Sandhills Cattle Association or a list subscriber and would like to have access to the lists, please call the office at 1-800-658-0551 or 402-376-2310 for the current user ID and password.
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