Schuhmacher Ranch, Inc.
Schuhmacher Ranch is located between the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Pine Ridge of Northwestern Nebraska. The ranch was established in 1927 when Thomas and Fern Schuhmacher moved from Merriman, Nebraska to it's present place on the White River west of Chadron. The ranch has been owned and operated by the Schuhmacher Family for going on four generations.
At one time the ranch raised Hereford cattle. But as times changed they moved their herd into Angus. Presently we run composite cattle and breed them to mainly composite bulls.
We calve our cows out in April and May. All cows calve out in the pasture or meadows and are only brought through the corrals if it absolutely necessary. Cows are vaccinated for breeding diseases before calving begin. Calves receive a vaccination at branding time. In June we haul all cattle to pasture and turn the bulls in with them. Throughout the summer months the cattle are watched closely to make sure they have enough grass and always have water. In the fall the cattle that are close to corrals are brought in and calves are preconditioned. If we have no working corrals available we precondition them when they are weaned.
Calves are kept until they are completely weaned before being sold. Calves are sold in several groups. The heavier calves are marketed first giving the younger calves more time to grow. The youngest calves are kept and ran on grass and sold as yearlings. We try to limit how much our cattle are handled. But when they are worked we try to work them slow and easy to not get them worked up.