Small Scale. Big Impact. | October 2025

By Sarah Hill

Photos courtesy Sisco family

Sisco Brothers Cattle Company, a Nebraska-based cattle operation, is modest in size but high in quality.

Two brothers in Nebraska have been committed to the Angus breed for 40 years, and the payoff has been in spades. Sisco Brothers Cattle Company, Syracuse, Neb., started as a 4-H project in the late 1970s by Jason and Greg Sisco.

“We were born into it and worked up from there,” Greg said. “Jason is the blood and guts of the operation.”

Jason and Greg’s father, Gene, was an auctioneer farmer and early adopter of Chianina cattle. In the 1980s, a good friend helped the family transition to Angus cattle. As both brothers graduated from high school, each joined the cattle operation.

Gene passed in 2017, leaving his two sons to run the operation on the 375-acre home place where their mother, Bonnie, still resides. Jason manages the day-to-day functions, while Greg has a full-time job managing an agronomy center in Iowa, making it back to the ranch whenever he can.

The next generation is also on the horizon. Greg has two daughters. Jason’s two kids, Karyn and Tristan, are still in high school. Greg and Jason are hoping Tristan will take over the operation one day.

Small but Mighty

The herd today is only 40 head, but those 40 Angus-Simmental cross cows are high in quality. Greg said that their breeding philosophy is to breed cattle that are sound, symmetrical, and maternally strong.

“We don’t chase fads or big numbers, but we do chase quality,” he said.

The current senior herd sire for Sisco Brothers Cattle Company is No Apologies, but according to Greg, the family uses AI and a lot of embryo transfer calves, so they don’t have many herd bulls. The brothers work together on breeding decisions. Calving is predominantly from January to March, with a handful also calving in October or November.

“We’re pretty diversified,” Greg said.

The Sisco brothers aim for their herd to be efficient on limited grass sources. The cattle graze on cornstalks and pasture even in the winter. Turn out is in May. During calving season, momma cows receive alfalfa and grass hay as needed and free choice mineral.

Calves are weaned on July 1, and 25 to 30 calves are sold in their annual sale, “Friends in Low Places” in conjunction with a few other families.

This year, the Sisco brothers will participate in their twelfth annual sale. Their sale is always the fifth Saturday of the new year, and they also consign the extreme top bulls to the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic annually in February. Although the family has sold cattle to California, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and all points in between, their main presence is locally. The majority of the cattle they sell end up on other ranches within a 120-mile radius.

“We try to sell replacement quality seedstock and registered progeny,” Greg said. “Anything that’s not the top end goes to the sale barn.”

Shining in the Show Ring

The family does hit the show circuit quite a bit, with stops including the Nebraska State Fair, American Royal, and National Western Stock Show in Denver. They’ve also brought home champion honors from many of those shows.

“The Nebraska State Fair is typically kick off for fall sale prep, and then it’s all hands-on deck,” Greg said.

Upcoming Online Heifer Sale:

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Hosted on SC Online Sales

learn more www.facebook.com @SiscoBrothersCattleCompany