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Dear Fellow Cattlemen,
It is with very mixed emotions that we bring you this presentation of an exceptional Angus herd that
has been over twenty years in the development. On one hand, we have enjoyed and been honored with the
opportunity to work with this family again, but we know the weight behind the decision to disperse and
that this will mark an ending to these annual sales.
This is a program and cow herd that is built with longevity and production in mind. With stringent and
consistent culling in the female base along with the latest in selection tools being implemented, Steele’s
have offered an ever improving and more consistent group of calves every year. Cows are designed
to be feminine fronted, easy
keeping and thick with productivity and profitability as the backbone.
Please join us on Friday February 22nd in Anita for this event. As
always, if you have any questions, please contact someone in the CAS
office or from the Steele Land & Livestock family.
Sincerely,
AL & JEANNE CONOVER
641-227-3537
Fax: 641-227-3792
Email:
Sale Managed By:
Al Conover
Bart Weldon
Dave Sweeney
Jim Shirley
Dear Cattle Friends and Family:
It is certainly with mixed emotions that I write this letter for the complete dispersion of our
Angus cow herd. On the one hand it is hard to see this incredible set of bulls and females leave
the fields of Steele Land and Livestock. On the other hand, there is tremendous pride and
optimism for these cattle as they go on to produce breed leading genetics in many programs
across the country, just as their progeny have done so many times over the last 20+ years. It
was on December 30th, as I was headed to Dunlap, Iowa to see SLL Keymura Katy 8071 (aka
360) sell in the Incredible Female Sale, that the magnitude and impact of the current drought
in our small part of the world would have on our future in the Angus business. Our 3 main
sources of water at our calving facility were depleted. The creek was dry, the pond was dry
and the well was down to 2 gallons per minute, scarcely enough to keep 100 dry cows alive,
let alone 200 cows with calves at side. It was 2 days later, after prayerful consideration; we
decide the best option for us was to sell all of our cattle, embryos and semen inventory. These
Angus cattle have been the vector for so many relationships, so many successes, and so many
life lessons for our children and ourselves. It truly has been a labor of love and pride.
You will notice in the catalog, we have written very few footnotes on each animal. We truly believe that each and every animal in this offering
speaks for themselves and as a collective set they are unbeatable. Our culling procedures have been the most stringent in the industry. Each
female has to breed every year, on time. We only have a spring calving herd. There is no falling back only falling out. You must have a quiet
disposition and your calf is expected to have the same. If your calf is not top quality each year, you will leave. If your feet need trimmed, you will
leave. If you do not raise your calf until weaning, you will leave. If you are not fescue tolerant, you will leave. If you don’t respect fences and stay
with the herd, you will leave. After over 20 years of selection, we are extremely proud of this herd of cattle! They have stood the test of cold, heat,
floods and drought and continued to excel at every turn. They will add value and profitability to any program.
Our program has continued to use all of the tools and technology that are available. This year every bull selling will have a Pfizer 50K test
available sale day. You are buying bulls with accuracies up to .5 before you ever turn them out for the first season. It is equivalent to having a
couple years of calves on the ground before first turn out. The bulls and females, as always, have been fed low starch diets. We never have fed
over 25% grain ever. They will have great feet and legs for many years while having been able to express their genetic potential. The cattle have
tremendous data behind them, but most of all have a BEEF producing phenotype. The have big middles, tremendous muscle shape, sound feet
and legs, great fertility and still that “look” you expect from the Steele Land & Livestock program.
The SLL guarantee on our cattle is still the best in the business. That will not change EVER! Our program has and always will stand behind
our product 100%. We are not exiting the cattle business. Our cooperator herds and partners will continue to produce bulls and females for us
and our customers. We will continue to work hard every day to make the most important part of our business succeed. The most important part is
our customers and their beef cattle programs. It is the stories of success each year that drive us forward. Whether it is top selling feeder cattle, a
tremendous gaining and grading set of fed cattle, top selling bred heifers or a championship banner at a cattle show, those are the success stories
that drive us forward. We look forward to what God has in store for us in the next chapter of our lives and are very excited to see it unfold!
There have been so many people over the years that have helped to make our program a success. To all of those we say thank you. Thank you
to our families, our previous and present team members and especially our customers and friends. Thank you for all of your years of belief in our
program. We believe the beef business is the best place to raise a family, gain wonderful friendships and work together to provide a tremendous
source of tasty protein to a hungry world. The beef business is embarking on a future that is incredibly bright and holds so much promise. We
can’t wait for the future to unfold!
The Steele Land & Livestock Family
