Three Red Angus producers were added to the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Honor Roll during the BIF research seminar and annual meeting in Bozeman, Mont., June 1-5.

Schuler-Olson Ranches Inc. and the Darrell Schuler Family, Bridgeport, Neb.

Schuler-Olson Ranches Inc. and the Darrell Schuler Family were nominated for the Seedstock Producer of the Year Award. Schulers ranch in the panhandle of western Nebraska on 17,000 acres.

Darrell and Mary Lou Schuler began ranching in 1959 with commercial Hereford cattle. They witnessed the benefits of crossbreeding with Red Angus in the 70s and moved into seedstock production in the 80s.

By 1991, they began finishing their commercial calves in their own feedlot to identify carcass merit genetics and prove their herd sires’ carcass traits. They have been recognized as a Red Angus GridMaster for their cattle’s superior carcass qualities.

Darrell and Mary Lou’s son, Butch, his wife Susan, and their children Stephanie and David, now manage the operation with approximately 1,000 head of spring-calving cows. They market 150 registered Red Angus and Schuler Red composite bulls, as well as 20 head of registered Red Angus heifers at their annual production sale in March.

The Schuler family was nominated by the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association.

Durheim Ranch, Ellendale, N.D.

Bruce and Lynette Durheim were nominated for the Commercial Producer of the Year Award. Durheims’ ranch is located in northern Brown County, S.D. where they run 275 head of commercial Red Angus cows.

They continually strive to run an efficient mother cow on minimal inputs that will produce a steer calf with excellent conversion and carcass quality that will harvest at 13 months of age or less. They have won six prestigious Red Angus GridMaster awards for their steers, a program that rewards cattlemen who produce a superior carcass product.

They enroll their calves in the Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification Program (FCCP) to genetic, age and source verify their calf crop and garner higher premiums for both steers and heifers.

In the past 14 years that Durheims have retained ownership in their steers, they have averaged a profit of $75 per head. By utilizing superior genetics and aggressive management techniques, they continue to harvest high-grading, high-yielding carcasses with a high percentage of premium products.

Durheim Ranch was nominated by the Red Angus Association of America.

Silver Spur Ranch, Encampment, Wyo.

The Silver Spur Ranch was nominated for the Commercial Producer of the Year Award. They have operations in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico that includes the historic Bell and TO Ranches in New Mexico that date back to the 1800s.

Their cowherd includes more than 13,000 cows – registered Charolais, Red Angus and Angus, and commercial Charolais-Red Angus composites that they call Range Fires. Their commercial herds are either Red Angus or Angus based and bred to Charolais, Red Angus, Angus or Range Fire bulls as a terminal cross or to produce replacement females.

The Silver Spur retains a large percentage of their calves through their own feeding process and market them as all-natural or non-hormone-treated cattle. They select their registered and commercial replacement females from within their own herd.

The Silver Spur Ranch was nominated by the American-International Charolais Association.