By Cheryl Kepes
Photos courtesy Lakeview Angus
Lakeview Angus prioritizes raising show ring champions and building family bonds.
Family. Whether Tari Hoagland is talking about her children and grandchildren or her cows, her focus is family. Her heart clearly revolves around her tight network of loved ones as well as the cow families she’s integrated into Lakeview Angus headquartered in Mead, Colorado.
Tari and her brother, Rick Smith, rekindled the family Angus cattle operation more than a decade ago. The revival of Lakeview Angus came on the heels of an unexpected heartbreak. Tari’s husband passed away in 2012 when her son and daughter were entering college. Just a few years shy of an empty nest, the loss hit especially hard.
Tari and her late husband, Larry, ran their registered purebred Angus operation for years. They hauled their children and Angus show heifers to competitions all over the country. “We did everything together and as a family,” Tari Hoagland recalled. “But once he passed away, I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?’ That is where the Angus operation re-evolved, was at that point.”
Siblings Restart Operation
Shortly after her husband’s passing, due to drought and other factors, Tari sold most of their Angus herd. But soon her brother Rick stepped in with an idea. “My brother said, ‘I am going to give you a project.’ He said, ‘I think we should restart our Angus program,’” Tari recollected.
Tari and Rick grew up showing cattle. Their parents encouraged and mentored them in their pursuits of 4-H cattle projects and showing Angus at various competitions. Fast-forward many years to adulthood where within no time the sibling duo was buying genetics and building Lakeview Angus.
“He (Rick) loves it, and it is in his blood as well. It has created a really special bond between us so that has been really fun. We already had a good relationship but now we have a common thing to talk about every day,” Tari shared.
Lakeview Angus Beginnings
It didn’t take long for the operation to soar to success. Tari and Rick started with purchases of embryo pregnancies. They searched for cow families they wanted to invest in to utilize as the foundation of the Lakeview Angus herd.
“He (Rick) is the one who is willing to take a chance on new cow families. We buy a lot of pregnancies to improve our herd. He tends to buy pregnancies to get us on the fast track of new cow families and he just watches and talks to people, that is how we have developed more cow families within our herd,” Tari explained.
Not long into the partnership the siblings hit a grand slam. Their Lakeview Lady C 2119 “Dorothy” female took on the show circuit with a storm, winning the Angus show at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE), National Western Stock Show (NWSS), and the American Royal – all in 2023.
Lakeview Angus’ donor cow DPL Lady 8448 produced “Dorothy.” Now another progeny Lakeview Sandy 2334 “Whiskey,” is being campaigned with much success. Tari and Rick raised a percentage Simmental female, Lakeview Bonnie, that is also collecting bigtime show ring wins. Many other of Lakeview Angus’ genetics have garnered success on the show circuit.
Raising Champions
The sibling team focuses on cow families. They search for genetics that will continue to produce year after year. “Cow families are extremely important to us. We want to have a variety of cow families. And our goal is to try to build our cow families around our program,” Tari said.
They evaluate pedigrees, study what other operations are doing, and keep an open ear to what is happening in the industry. Phenotype is a strong driver when they select new genetics for their program.
Tari and Rick also value excellent conformation and longevity. “The feet and legs and overall performance are terribly important to us. That is probably one of the biggest things that we pay attention to. We try to evaluate the cow family in general and what they have produced,” Tari shared.
Lakeview Angus utilizes ET, IVF, and AI in their program to breed the next champion. The operation runs around 70 momma cows, a little less than half are recipients. Tari calves out the cows at her operation in Mead, Colorado. She keeps the donors and show calves at her farm, then sends the rest to leased land in Kansas where a family friend manages them for part of the year.
Getting it Done
Tari relies on help from her son, Landan, who lives nearby. Her daughter and son-in-law, Kylee and Grant Frevert, are also always ready to assist. But in reality, the day-to-day work primarily falls to Tari, who holds a fulltime job in sales off the farm.
Though it can be a challenge on some days, Tari finds satisfaction in the resolve she has mustered to take on building a champion Angus herd. “I have learned how to be independent. Since all of this life change, I have had to learn how to run a skid steer, how to give shots and tag, and calve. I have had to learn how to do it all,” Tari shared. “It has been quite a learning curve for me, but it is pretty awesome that I have been able to do that.”
Marketing Genetics
Lakeview Angus markets its genetics at consignment sales and by private treaty. Tari and Rick are working to host their own online sale next year. They sell their top 7 to 10 show heifers each year. Tari does the bulk of the work to get the females show ring ready. Their bulls are developed in Kansas to 18-months of age and then marketed private treaty.
Her favorite aspects of the business are the family connections, and the relationships developed with the families who purchase Lakeview Angus genetics. “I love being able to cheer on the juniors and becoming part of their family, watching them blossom and become young adults. To me that is very rewarding. Standing on the sidelines and watching them have success is very rewarding,” Tari said.
Lakeview’s Future
Tari’s fortitude seems to be unending, so who knows what additional success is ahead for Lakeview Angus. The next generation of Lakeview Angus is on the horizon. Tari’s already teaching her young grandchildren about the farm and sharing her love of family (cows and otherwise) with them.
Private Treaty Offerings:
Bulls and females available at the farm near Mead, Colo.
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