Cole Buffo is a prominent community leader, city councilmember, and cattle rancher based in Jetmore, Kansas. He plays an active role in local municipal governance and the regional agricultural sector.

The world's largest fiberglass cow, known as "Salem Sue," is located in New Salem, North Dakota, just off Interstate 94—about 30 miles west of Bismarck. Built in 1974 for $40,000, this massive Holstein stands 38 feet tall and 50 feet long, and weighs 12,000 pounds.

Nearly 300 years ago, farmers in Herefordshire, England founded the Hereford breed in response to consumer beef demand created by Britain's industrial revolution. Now, centuries later, here's Shane Bedwell, Director of Breed Improvement, on more about the Hereford breed. 

"Yes, sir. Brian, I appreciate you having me on. The American Hereford Association is experiencing some really great times in growth. The demand by the commercial cattlemen we've seen here in the last five years has been tremendous. And using Hereford genetics, we've seen bull sales increase not only in volume, but in sale price all across the U.S. And my belief is that our breeders that have been in business for a long time have really stayed committed to making the cattle problem free. Stayed committed to passing on those genetics to the commercial cattlemen to add pounds, to add efficiency, and add fertility in their crosses."

That's good news not only for your breed, but for the whole industry, right, Shane? 

"Absolutely. I think we've done quite a bit of extensive research and studies, and we look pretty good there in that arena."

That was Shane Bedwell, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Breed Improvement for the American Hereford Association. 

Joe has successfully built two complementary enterprises—cattle breeding and telecommunications—by combining long-standing agricultural experience with a growth-oriented business mindset, emphasizing quality genetics, operational efficiency, and strategic expansion.

Let's wrap this interview up with Hyde Gelbvieh's Don Edwards. What do you like about the Gelbvieh, Don?

"They're really good mothers. They got a pretty good sized carcass on them. The carcass characteristics probably aren't the best as compared to like a black Angus or a red Angus, but they do have the size of the carcass, but they have a really good adaptability to their environment. So whether you're in a high humidity climate with taller grass, or if you're in a real arid climate like I am with short grass, it seems like the cattle really adapt good to any kind of a situation in their environment that they're placed in."

So do you cross those Gelbvieh on Red or Black Angus?

"My personal choice is red just because it seems like the weaning weights on the red cattle coming off grass on the calves are about 50 pounds heavier on average than what the blacks are, and it depends on year to year, but on average it seems like the reds have a higher weaning weight when they come off grass and seems like they handle the heat stress a little bit better that we have here in northeast Colorado."

Any last words for folks considering Gelbvieh?

"If you're looking at maybe a breeding option or a crossbreeding option coming this spring or this fall, maybe look at Gelbvieh and see if Gelbvieh would have something to increase your genetic material in your cow herds. That's what I would say."

That was Don Edwards from Otis, Colorado in the northeastern part of the state, raising Gelbvieh at Hyde Ranch.

 Let's talk to one of those premium Gelbvieh breeders in northeastern Colorado.

Here's Don Edwards. How's the grass for you there, Don? 

"A lot of my grass out here is pretty short. You know, we got the buffalo grass, which it's a good grass too when it dries up. It actually has more protein content than when it's green. It's a real short, warm season grass, but we also have some other grasses out here like western wheat, brome grass, some blue grama, some needle and thread that the cattle kind of thrive on. Those get a little bit taller because those are mostly cooler season grasses. They might get maybe 10 inches tall and that's about tops on it. Yeah, we have mostly short grass country out here."

Do you have an annual sale? 

A lot of my heifer sales are done like a private treaty. Either take them to the sale barn or I'll advertise them on Facebook or on some other websites. And then every spring, the Colby Community College always has a bull test down there. And so in November, I select bulls that I want to keep as bulls and take down to their testing."

"The kids down there, they do all the work on it as far as growing. They do all the advertising on it and I have to pay for everything, for like the feed and the vet, all that kind of stuff at cost. But they ultrasound the bulls and put them in GrowSafe units so we can figure out feed efficiency."

"We know what their carcass merit is, their average rate of gain on a per day basis, the ratios of their feed that it takes to put that pound of gain on. And they do a really excellent job. I've taken bulls down there for the last three or four years and I'll probably keep taking bulls down there."

That was Don Edwards from Otis, Colorado in the northeastern part of the state, raising Gelbvieh at Hyde Ranch. 

Background and Cattle Business Journey: Don Edwards, not associated with Hyde Cattle but rather Hyde Gelbvieh, was interviewed about his engagement in the cattle industry. Located in a ghost town named Hyde in northeast Colorado, Don began his journey in the cattle business as an eighth grader in the early 1990s. He attended a purebred cattle sale in Brighton, Colorado, where he purchased a Gelbvieh show heifer for his FFA (Future Farmers of America) project, thus starting his career with the Gelbvieh breed. Over the years, Don has continued to work with purebred Gelbviehs and has also incorporated balancers, adapting to industry changes while valuing traits like adaptability and resilience to environmental stress.

Cattle Breeding and Traits: Don prefers red cattle, citing higher average weaning weights compared to black cattle and a better handling of heat stress in northeast Colorado's climate. While Gelbvieh carcass characteristics might not compete with Angus breeds in terms of certain qualities, they possess adaptability to various environments and are excellent mothers. This adaptability is pivotal for breeders in diverse and challenging conditions.

Sales and Programs: Hyde Galvey conducts heifer sales mostly through private treaties, utilizing platforms like Facebook for promotion. Don participates in a bull test program at Colby Community College, where selected bulls are assessed, and their performance compared with other breeds, helping to evaluate cattle quality and growth traits comprehensively. This partnership allows for learning and improvement in cattle genetics while supporting educational programs at the college.

Contact and Community Engagement: Don Edwards's Hyde Gelbvieh can be contacted via Facebook or directly through email and phone. While a website is not yet set up, outreach is conducted through available channels to ensure engagement with potential buyers and the broader cattle community. Hyde Gelbvieh, while not a major player in specific breeds like Angus, offers significant breeding advantages that Don promotes for consideration among other cattlemen for genetic improvement strategies.

Now here's Galen Frenzen from Frenzen Angus and Polled, Herefords. 

Well, hello Galen. I understand you have a lot of experience in the business. Can you give us a little background on that please, sir? 

"I'm 82 years old and my dad bought two horned Hereford heifers for my brother and I for 4-H and FFA projects in 1957. Dad had always had commercial cows, mainly primarily Herefords. Then after I got out of college in 1965, the exotics had hit. I started dabbling a little more on the commercial cows. A lot of the new exotics were coming in and one time somebody asked me, what breeds did you try? And I said, it'd probably be simpler if I told you which ones I didn't. We select for a bigger animal than a lot of commercial people because my bull customers come in and pick the big stout bulls. So I've got a little bigger cow, but I don't have these ton cows that some of them do. The thing that differentiates us is we don't creep feed. It's a survival of the fittest type deal."

"I did a feed bunk analysis of our ration, sent it to ward laboratories and none of our bulls are dry lot developed. They run on corn stocks. All of our yearling bulls run together."

What did you end up selling this year? 

"75 Angus bulls, 40 Herefords, one Simmental bulls and they're going to be yearlings, four yearlings and two year olds. And then the females were going to have some yearling heifers and some two year old pairs. And then some groups of black baldy F1 heifers, two F1 heifers."

Galen Frenzen, Fullerton, Nebraska. 

Thanks again for listening and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.

Listen in to this interview with Shawn Booth of Veteran, Wyoming.