By Cheryl Kepes
Photos courtesy Bree Swanson Photography
Shipwheel Cattle Company develops Angus cattle equipped for profitability and longevity.
The climate in North Central Montana is challenging at best. Rocky terrain, steep mountains, extreme temperatures, and sparse forage make this area seem less than ideal for ranching. But for the owners of Shipwheel Cattle Company, Klint and Lori Swanson and their children, Austin and Bree, the difficult environment actually enhances their operation.
The rigors of the region put Shipwheel Cattle Company’s genetics to the test, serving as a proving ground for their commercial and registered Angus herds. The Swansons develop Angus cattle with longevity, solid feet structure, and fertility. “There are not many second chances here with the cows. They have to prove themselves, if they don’t then they don’t last,” Lori Swanson explained.
The Swansons manage 400 head of registered Angus cows and 600 head of commercial cows on two ranches plus leased land. The Swansons flush around a half a dozen females each year. The donors are cows in their herd that have proved over time that they possess elite genetics. The Swansons utilize some of their commercial cows as recipients for the embryos. They put in approximately 100 embryos a year.
The operation’s headquarters, sale barn, and grow yard are located at the Clear Creek Ranch near Chinook, Montana. The family runs the registered cows primarily at the Snake Creek Ranch located in Lloyd, Montana in the Bear Paw Mountains.
The Swansons’ customers purchase Shipwheel Cattle Company’s genetics to infuse do-ability and profitability into their herds. The Swansons sell 150 breeding age bulls and 150 bred females each year. Additionally, they market hundreds of animals to sale barns.
Making History
Ranching in Montana appears to simply be a part of the Swansons’ being. “We are a family operation; we are proud of that. Between Lori’s family and my family, we have about 250 years of ranching in Montana - making a living off of a cow,” Klint Swanson shared.
Klint’s great-great-grandparents homesteaded on the Rocky Mountain Front in 1896. For decades, sheep and Hereford cattle reigned as the family’s livestock of choice. But Klint’s grandfather decided to forge a new path. In 1945, he brought Angus to the ranch to leverage a breed of cattle he believed was more fit to thrive in the environment. He was one of the first producers to introduce the Angus breed to Northern Montana.
Klint’s parents, Daryle and Pam Swanson, founded Apex Angus in the 1960s. Continuing the lineage of developing Angus cattle operations, Klint and Lori formed Shipwheel Cattle Company in 2009. The foundation of their herd stemmed from two bred heifers given to Klint when he was 9 years old.
Shipwheel Cattle Company
Shipwheel Cattle Company employs strict culling protocols and thoughtful genetic selections. The outcome of Klint and Lori’s disciplined management practices has paid off with a cattle herd known for its consistency, longevity, and profitability. “It’s been a lifetime; it’s been many generations in the process. We don’t chase fads. We don’t chase numbers. We just want good hardworking cattle,” Klint shared.
When making genetic decisions the Swansons aim for the middle. Their ideal cow weighs 1,350-pounds. Shipwheel Cattle Company avoids the extremes and focuses on females and bulls with a consistent genetic profile. The animals need to be good in all areas – EPDs, phenotype, and disposition. The Swansons’ cows are expected to range calve on their own so mothering ability, maternal instinct, and udder quality are very important.
“Our focus in on the momma cow – that is number one. She is what pays the bills here, she is the one that got us to where we are at today. We don’t breed cattle strictly for the feedlot or the show pen, we want a cow with longevity that will pay the bills,” Klint explained.
Hoof Health
The cattle in Shipwheel Cattle Company’s program must be able to traverse rough terrain and significant distances in order to thrive. Part of the Montana rangeland offers only short, scant native grasses. In these areas, it can take as much as 30 acres to sustain one cow.
Due to the environmental conditions, the Swansons require all their cattle to possess excellent hoof structure. There are no exceptions. “Our cows have to travel miles and miles in bad terrain, the cows with bad feet just can’t do that. So, we get rid of them,” Klint said. “We do not trim feet. I think hoof trimming tables should be banned. That is the quickest way to clean things up.”
The Swansons are passionate about hoof health. They offer a three-year guarantee on their bulls’ feet. “We have to keep our customers in business. Most of our customers run cattle just like we do in terrain, Montana is mountainous and rocky,” Lori stated.
Sale Bull Selection Process
While foot structure is a critical selection criterion for the entire herd, bulls selected for the operation’s annual sale must also make it through an additional eight sorts. The sale bulls are an elite group, representing the top 45 percent of the Swansons’ bull herd.
The first sort begins when the calf is in utero. “We start when the calves are inside their moms. We evaluate the mother every year before the calf is even born. If there is something wrong with her, she is down the road so that is the first sort. There are many after that. We are constantly evaluating them,” Klint said.
Calves are born out on the range in April and May of each year. After fence line weaning in the fall, the bull calves are brought into the Swansons’ grow yard the first of December. The bulls are slowly developed on a roughage-based diet through the winter with a target of 2.5 pounds of gain per day. In May, the bulls are hauled to summer pasture where they range graze in difficult terrain.
The bulls are then brought back to the grow yard in October and prepared for the December sale. “Our bulls are never fat. If bulls get too fat it is not good for their longevity. We want bulls that are going to last 5, 6, or 7 years for our customers,” Klint stated.
Surviving the Climate
Shipwheel Cattle Company’s ranches are located 60 miles south of Canada. The Swansons utilize 13,000 acres of owned land as well as 25,000 acres of leased land to develop their cattle.
It takes every acre to keep the herd thriving. “We can only graze these areas one time a year. We have to go on and graze the land, and then come off, then it has to rest until the next year. Our grasses and forages are very seasonal,” Lori explained.
Rainfall in the region is limited, sometimes as little as 10 inches a year. The ranchers rely on snow melt to irrigate the grasses in the spring and early summer. Once an area is grazed, it’s unlikely to regrow until the next season.
The weather fluctuations pose another challenge with frigid winters and sizzling summers. Despite the harsh climate, the Swansons are confident in their Angus cattle to hold up under the environmental pressures.
“We are breeding when it is 95 to 100 degrees, and they can withstand that down to 40 below in the wintertime. Sometimes they are calving in bad storms in freezing temperatures, and they can withstand that as well,” Lori said.
Klint also added, “Some winters are tough with the wind and the snow. We have seen 70 below wind chills, but like I say the Angus cow here, she gets through it. That is why we have them.”
The family takes a variety of steps to ease cattle through the winter months. Water supply lines to the waterers are buried six feet deep. Animals in the grow yard can seek shelter from the elements in wind shelters. The cattle on the ranges find shelter near trees.
Cattle receive complete rations processed through a mixer wagon in the winter months. A nutritionist works with the Swansons on the best total mixed ration to feed their cattle. The ration includes hay and silage harvested by the Swansons on their land. They add distiller’s grain purchased from North Dakota to the ration to increase protein. The ration also includes pea and lentil byproducts from a local grain elevator.
Labor of Love
The Swansons manage the entire operation with minimal outside assistance. They employ one full-time worker, occasionally part-time help and day riders. Most every task is in the hands of Klint, Lori, Austin, and Bree. All the feeding, calving, breeding, AIing, fence repairing, bookkeeping, trucking cattle (Austin takes the lead), catalog designing (Bree takes the lead) and anything and everything in between.
The family utilizes ranching strategies that been around for generations. “We take pride in keeping traditional values alive. Most all of our cattle work is done horseback,” Klint explained.
What might seem overwhelming to some feels natural to the Swansons. “That’s what we love about the ranching lifestyle – the variety of things that we can do every day,” Klint said. “And there is no better way to raise kids.”
As the Swansons look to the future they plan to grow their registered herd. They are already working on expanding and are finding satisfaction in the opportunity to offer even more proven, high-quality genetics to their customers. “We definitely wouldn’t be where we are today without the help from the generations before us, everyone that has supported us, and God’s hand in it all,” Klint shared.
Annual Production Sale:
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
1:00 pm MST - Chinook, Mont.
learn more at www.shipwheelcattle.com
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