LeeAllen and Rebecca Leier, along with their eight children, started Heartland Bison Ranch in
1996 on a quarter of land south of Rugby ND. Their first ten bison calves hit the ground in the spring
of 1997. The summer of 1998, Lee and Rebecca made the move to purchase 700+ acres in southern
Pierce County and growth continued with the herd reaching over 100 stock cows. With a large con-
tinuous piece of land, it was time to put down roots and with a whole family effort, the Leiers estab-
lished a new homestead and ranch headquarters for Heartland Bison Ranch.
The original cows brought to the ranch were out of three different bloodlines. M-line, Custer,
and Durham. These animals were the original seed stock for the herd. Today, we have used those
animals and an excellent selection of bulls to raise stock cows that have the traits and genetics we
continue to strive for.
Today, Lee and Rebecca, along with their son Kevin and his wife Anne, continue to expand the
ranch for the next generation. Hosting the Girlz Gone Wild competition for the DTBA was an honor
for our operation and we feel blessed to have had so much support with the undertaking frommem-
bers of the DTBA across the nation.
The heifers started arriving at Heartland Bison Ranch directly following the Black Hills Sale in Febru-
ary of 2015. Within the following three weeks, the entire group made it to the ranch and were acclimat-
ing to each other very well. During this time, the temperature was holding steady below zero for day-
time highs and the heifers responded well to the bitter cold temps. They had free choice good quality
hay and were given 3lbs/hd every other day of 16% protein cake to help keep body condition and make
sure all animals were healthy and happy.
On March 28th, the entire group was run through the chute to weigh up and receive their new ear tags
before heading out to grass. That same day they were taken out to their large pasture to begin their
time on grass. For the following 3 weeks, the heifers were given a small amount of cake to keep them
coming to the truck.
In May, we introduced the KenMar bulls that would be working the group during the breeding sea-
son. We were fortunate to have good grass all year and a lot of room for these animals to run. The
only supplement that heifers received throughout the remainder of the summer was one 17% protein
crystalix mineral tub in July. After finishing that off, these heifers were on nothing but good grass for
the remainder of the breeding season. The bulls were very active and we can’t thank Ryan and Peter
enough for working with us to lease these guys.
With an above normal fall, we were able to keep the heifers out on grass until the first week of De-
cember. At that point, we could not keep the stock tanks open any longer so the heifers were moved
home to a 15 acre holding pasture. Here the heifers were supplemented with good quality hay until we
worked them through for the sale.
Overall, this group of heifers did an outstanding job. I was continually impressed with the overall
condition of the animals and their mellow attitudes. This set of heifers will be an excellent addition or
starting point for anyone looking to purchase quality animals. We would like to thank all those produc-
ers who participated in the class and we look forward to hosting this group again next year.
~ Kevin
Girlz Gone Wild
Two Year Old Bred Heifer Challenge
