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Dedicated to Success | January 2025

By Sarah Hill

Photos courtesy TNT Simmentals

The Thompson and Erbele families from TNT Simmentals in North Dakota have transitioned one of the top Simmental operations in the U.S. to the next generation.

Some folks are lucky enough to inherit the ranch from a previous generation. And others have to start from scratch and work their tails off to build up their operation and ultimately, make it a success. Kevin and Lynette Thompson and their family have invested their time, sweat, blood and tears into making the TNT Simmental Ranch, Almont, N.D., one of the top Simmental herds in the U.S. Their oldest daughter, Shanon, and her husband, Gabe, are now carrying on the explosive difference of TNT Simmentals at their ranch at Lehr, N.D.

Building One Cow at a Time

Kevin grew up on a commercial cow/calf and feeder cattle operation in Iowa. His parents sold the farm in 1976, moving to Minnesota. Kevin went on to study animal science at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. While looking for an internship before graduating, he noticed an ad for ranch help in North Dakota, and moved to Berthold, N.D., in 1979.

The farmer Kevin was working for gave him a raise in the form of use of pastureland to run cattle on. This was the catalyst for buying his first cattle herd, 30 black and baldy cows and two registered Simmentals.

Kevin and Lynette married in 1980, and Kevin worked for farmers and ranchers in Iowa, North Dakota, and Montana, acquiring more Simmental cows as they went, with the goal of starting on their own ranch someday. In 1985, the Thompsons decided to return to North Dakota, renting a place south of Almont. Their Simmental herd was up to 70 cows by then. Due to the drought in Montana, two pioneer Simmental breeders were forced to sell cows. Kevin selected and purchased a potload of top cows from each breeder. These cows were a valuable addition to the cows he already had, allowing them to hold their first bull sale in 1986. Four years later, they purchased the place they were renting with a farmstead, 800 acres of pasture and 1,100 acres of crop ground.

Kevin knew if they were going to make it starting from scratch, they had to produce a product that they could add value to. That is why they started in the seedstock business. Those first 10 to 15 years of building the operation were a struggle, but the Thompsons said that they learned a lot and were dedicated to the success of their herd.

“Struggles can be a good thing,” Kevin said. “So many things that happened along the way... moving here, buying cows with no collateral other than the cows we were buying, finding enough land to rent in the area, and ending up buying this place... the list just goes on and on. Prayers do get answered.”

The family held their 35th annual bull sale in 2020, which signified the official passing of the torch to the Erbeles. Shanon and Gabriel had started buying cows from her parents starting in 2014 and have continued to grow their herd ever since. In the fall of 2020, they purchased 90 of their top young cows that were all carrying bull calves and another set of 70 in 2021.

Excellent Cows Emphasizing Maternal & Performance

Today, the Erbeles own and operate the second ranch location in Lehr, N.D. In addition to the Thompson’s registered herd of 250 red and black Simmental and SimAngus cows, the Erbeles also operate a registered herd of 450 cows.

Kevin has loved Simmental cattle from day one, choosing them for their high maternal traits, milking ability, fertility, along with added growth. Kevin said, “The cow is where we make our living. We put added selection pressure on disposition, udder quality, and structural soundness.”

Shanon agrees that Simmentals bring an outstanding set of qualities to the beef industry. “My dad always taught me that selecting for high maternal traits is what makes a cow herd special, one that will produce the top end bulls we like to offer our customers,” she said. “I believe a bull can be dead and gone and still make our customers money through their outstanding daughters.”

Complimentary Matings

Early March and April are calving season at TNT Simmentals. In the past few years, the Erbeles have built six new barns on their property to accommodate calving.

But calving is also a season of celebration for Shanon, when she discovers the outcomes of her meticulous matings.

“I love calving season. There is just something special about seeing all the hours I put into working on my AI and herd sire matings come to fruition,” she said. “I evaluate every cow in mid-April, making notes on the phenotype on each cow, noting her strong points or those that need improvement. I then go through all of our sires - both AI and our bulls - and choose how to improve upon the cows’ phenotypes to produce the progeny I am after. I have the never-ending pursuit to make what we produce better.”

Shanon doesn’t rely overly much on EPDs to make her matings and looks to produce the best calf out of each individual cow. Because females are the heart of the TNT herd, the family produces over 95 percent of their own replacements. Females that end up as culls can still serve as recips.

“We rarely purchase females, as I feel the cowherd we have is a pretty special one,” Shanon said. “We’re very strict on culling. We only keep the absolute best around.”

Two years ago, with the large purchase of cows from her dad, Shanon bought eight new herd bulls, many of which were high-selling bulls, because they were a good fit for the strengths of their cow families. Herd bulls have to meet Shanon’s criteria of longevity and adding value through profit and performance aspects. Clemson Elite 41J is one of the recent additions that Shanon is excited about, as he was of the highest indexing bulls for feed efficiency as well as gain in the Clemson bull test.

“We also love to utilize bulls we raise as well, knowing the dam and genetic lineage of the bulls we have raised has value,” Shanon said. “TNT Assurance is a bull we raised that puts it all together, he is all we hoped he would be and so much more! He comes from a truly prolific cow family, and that is what we like to build our operation around. So much longevity and performance. We collect semen from a lot of our own bulls, like Assurance, that we sell and also to use in our program.” About 100 of the TNT cows and all of their replacement heifers were artificially inseminated this year.

Another unique aspect of the cow herd is that all weaning data on calves is based on the cow’s performance alone, because the Erbeles don’t creep feed their calves. The Erbeles have also been using genomic testing for five years to help increase the accuracy of the calves EPD profile and they also verify all calves for color and polled status.

Selling Depth & Performance

The family typically sells both red and black Simmental bulls of various percentages from 1/8 all the way up to purebred and a handful of Red Angus bulls, as well.

Kevin’s primary advice to Shanon was to always be thinking two years ahead when buying bulls and planning matings, to keep ahead of what the customers want. “We would have half-blood bulls in the offering, and buyers would come looking for a purebred bull, but kept going back to the half-bloods,” she said. “And the following year, those same guys would come and buy SimAngus bulls. We have to stay ahead of what those customers are wanting.” At TNT, the half-blood and 5/8 bulls are their highest selling percentage groups year after year.

“One of our bull customers complimented us that out of the 66 yearling bulls he bought that year, all three of the bulls he’d bought from us came off the pasture looking the best,” she said. “That fleshing ability - putting on weight and staying that way without getting run down in the pasture - is something we strive to produce. The added depth and thickness that we breed for is a key factor.”

Another change in the industry that Shanon has noticed is the demand for more black hided cattle. “We are fortunate to live in an area with a strong demand for reds,” she said. “We will still keep a strong emphasis to breed and improve the red cattle, but we feel the need to continue to grow our black offering at the same time to meet the industry demands. We usually sell a 60/40 split, but we are breeding towards offering more black bulls in the future. Our black bulls average almost $4,000 more in the sale, and that is just due to supply and demand.”

Customer service is another aspect that Kevin coached Shanon on. The Thompsons and Erbeles make a point to treat their customers the way they want to be treated, with honesty and integrity - and it has paid back in dividends over the years.

“Years ago, we had a buyer who couldn’t come to the sale, so we gave a friend the list of bulls the buyer was considering. The buyer’s budget was $7,000,” Shanon said. “The customer ended up getting his first choice for only $3,500 and he sent my dad a check for $7,000, telling him that the bull was worth that much. My dad ripped up the check and made him pay the $3,500, but the buyer came back again the next year and was willing to pay even more for a bull because he knows he can trust us.”

Next Generation

Now that the current operation is at its maximum capacity, and Shanon said that they will be starting to offer more females for sale in the future.

The Erbeles have six children, who are all a huge help in the operation. Trenton, 20, will be graduating soon with an electrical technology and business financing degrees from North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, and is anticipated to return to the ranch, possibly to take over the Almont location. Teagan, 18, is studying animal science and agriculture education at North Dakota State University and is currently serving as a North Dakota State FFA officer. Dawson, 14, Tarryn, 11, Dylan, 7, and Sutton, 6, are all still at home. Dawson has eight of her own cattle already and has ambitions to take over the operation someday.

The Thompson and Erbele families have been recognized numerous times for their outstanding support of the Simmental breed, North Dakota beef industry, and the agriculture industry.

Kevin and Lynette have received the North Dakota Simmental Pioneer Award; the American Simmental Association Golden Book award; North Dakota Simmental Promoters of the Year; North Dakota Society of Range Managers of the Year; FFA Regional Citations Award (twice); Morton County Soil Conservationist of the Year; and Lynette won Country Woman of the Year in 2011. Shanon was recognized as a Top 10 Cattle Industry Leader Under 40, and the Erbeles also were recipients of the NDSU Harvest Bowl Award.

“I have such a passion for cattle and truly enjoy this life I get to live. We wouldn’t be able to do what we love without our faith and the support of our family. With your faith leading you and your family behind you, the possibilities ahead of you are limitless,” Shanon said. Big things are sure to come from this operation that focuses on faith, family and the Simmental cow.