Always Improving: How Optimism, Connections, Faith and Family Shape Varilek Angus Ranch

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully 

GUESTS: Mick and Ross Varilek

Varilek Angus Ranch was Angus when Angus wasn’t the norm.  After a rough dehorning experience, Elvern Varilek turned to the breed in the 1940s, and the family has never looked back. Mick Varilek returned to the ranch after graduating from South Dakota State University, with his new bride, Lynn, and they raised three children alongside the Angus cattle. Now their son Ross and his family have done the same. They are gearing up to host their 74th annual Angus production sale this spring, but for all the heritage their southeast South Dakota ranch holds, it’s also a place of innovation. The Varileks have embraced new technologies like DNA testing, ultrasound, and video sales to improve their herd and reach more customers. Listen to this episode to find out why they do what they do, how their involvement in the local rodeo scene has helped shape their business and their thoughts on the future.

GUESTS:

Mick Varilek is a lifelong Angus breeder and rancher from Geddes, S.D. Varilek Angus consists of 500 registered Angus females, 4,000 acres of native pasture and 1,000 acres of grass hay, irrigated alfalfa and cropland. The ranch markets 175 registered Angus bulls and 30 registered females to commercial and seedstock producers each February. His son Ross returned after graduating from South Dakota State University, and he and his wife are raising their family on the ranch. 

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Transcript

Miranda Reiman (00:02):
Welcome to the Angus Conversation. I'm your host Miranda Reiman with my cohost and CEO of the American Angus Association, Mark McCully. And Mark, I know that I've said this before on podcasts where I get off and I'm just smiling, but there was a lot of optimism on our podcast we just recorded.

Mark McCully (00:19):
There sure was. We got to talk to a father son team that worked side by side every day, the Varileks from South Dakota. And yes, there was lots of optimism and just such a, you could just tell they work incredibly well together and are both pretty excited about what's to come

Miranda Reiman (00:41):
And they love what they do. And I think that this episode will air kind of mid-September and what a good time to be out in cattle country to be loving what you do. It's fall, the prices are high. There's a lot of things to smile about in the cattle business right now.

Mark McCully (00:58):
There are, and I've heard whether it's at the video sales or some of these purebred sales that have gotten started, I mean, I've heard that so many times. Folks are just in such a positive mood. They're doing what they love and get paid for it. Gosh, the market is so strong and just across the board, I heard of folks talking about some feeder cattle that guys sold his feeder cattle. He literally had tears in his eyes and it was so meaningful to what they were going to be able to do at their operation and the amount of revenue that they could put back in. And yeah, just pretty exciting times. And with beef this high, we continue to still see super strong demand. We see big spreads. I was literally just sent a spread or a closeout today of some cattle that, oh gosh, they went 78% Prime. They brought back $344 a head premium over the base. They netted up $3,974 a head. I just don't think many people had ever dreamed we'd see prices this way and demand this strong.

Miranda Reiman (02:11):
Absolutely. And you love to see it when people have invested in good genetics that they've got some return on that investment and hopefully that finds its way back into the Angus breeder listeners that we have on here today. Finds their way back into their operations too.

Mark McCully (02:26):
Absolutely.

Miranda Reiman (02:27):
So you are actually going to have the opportunity to see quite a few operations here and in the next short span of time on some of these state Angus tours.

Mark McCully (02:36):
Yeah, we've got a number of tours, some that we'll just be coming off of and a few more to go to. I love going to tours when it's possible. It's just such a fun way to get around and see a lot of folks and see a lot of different operations and hear about different programs and what they're doing and how registered Angus genetics are working for them.

Miranda Reiman (02:59):
And we also are sending a few Angus Media staffers to each one of those. So if you are listening to this podcast and you have any questions about maybe your fall marketing plan or marketing plan for your spring bull sale, be sure and track any of those gals down and ask all your questions. They're happy to also be out in cattle country on the operations, learn from you guys too. So looking forward to saying hi as you guys are out in the country

Mark McCully (03:26):
And I'll be there and I know some other staff will be there, of course a number of our regional managers based on the region. And so if you've got questions or feedback or ideas for podcast guests,

Miranda Reiman (03:37):
Yeah,

Mark McCully (03:37):
Let us know. Absolutely.

Miranda Reiman (03:38):
Yes, absolutely. Well, looking forward to saying hi. Of course I will have to live vicariously through you and all of the pictures and things that I see back, but I know it'll be a great introduction into the fall and we'll look forward to seeing people at Angus Convention in November.

Mark McCully (03:55):
Yeah, it's going to be great.

Miranda Reiman (03:57):
Well, let's just jump into today's podcast where we head up to South Dakota and learn from Mick and Ross. Today we're headed to South Dakota with our guests, Mick and Ross Varilek. Mick and his wife Lynn raised their kids on the ranch and now you've got that next generation involved. So glad both of you could join us.

Mick Varilek (04:18):
Yes, we are. We're excited to be with you and Miranda and Mark. Good to have you on board, but it is the family operation we have here. It actually started with my dad years ago, but at this current time it's my wife Lynn, my son Ross who is full-time here at the ranch and then of course his family. I'll let him talk about his family a while. But then I have a son, Scott, who is broker at Kooima Kooima Varilek Commodities in Sioux Center, Iowa. And then I have a daughter who is at Innovative Systems in Mitchell, which is a computer software specialist and highly regarded. I just want to say that the kids are all been involved in our operation the whole time. And I guess my wife and I have always emphasized to our kids to have a good work ethic and Christian values and I'm proud to say that they're all very involved and extremely involved in their local churches where they are. Actually, Scott gave the church service at the convention and on a couple different occasions, so always good to have them involved in what they're doing. They're very involved in the communities and whatnot. So I guess I can let Ross talk about his family.

Ross Varilek (05:41):
Well, I graduated from SDSU in 2000 and I came right back to the ranch and I met my wife there and we have four kids all involved. My oldest son is 21. I got him outside running around right now actually. He's got to go back to college to South Dakota State today. Go Jacks. And kind of a sad day for us. We lose our good help for about nine months. But anyways, he'll be a senior there and I think he's anticipating coming back to the ranch, so that's very exciting. My second son, he'll be a second year at Lake Area Technical Institute. He's going to be a diesel technician and he's already got himself a job. He is got his school paid for, so he's kind of got things lined out in his direction too. And then I have two girls. I have a high school girl that's a sophomore and I have a nine-year-old girl that is a third grader and they're all like to be involved. And earlier this summer my 9-year-old said, dad, when do I get to start going? So I guess we saddle up her horse now too and she goes everywhere we go with us. So we're all involved.

Mark McCully (06:42):
You're in the thick of it

Miranda Reiman (06:43):
That's great. They get to be nine, that's the age they start getting to be actual help too.

Ross Varilek (06:47):
That's right

Miranda Reiman (06:48):
Time to train her. Yeah. Very good. And now you're an SDSU grad as well, right? Mick?

Mick Varilek (06:54):
Yes. My wife and I both went to South Dakota State and we don't want to say SDSU, they always say San Diego State, but

Mark McCully (07:02):
Jackrabbits, you're all Jack. Everybody on this call is a Jack Rabbit but me.

Miranda Reiman (07:06):
I was just going to say I had to bring that up because that's where I met my husband as well, so I just got to put a plug in. Yeah, that's

Mick Varilek (07:14):
All Jack Rabbits, one leatherneck.

Miranda Reiman (07:17):
Yeah, that's right.

Mark McCully (07:18):
And Mick, I've got an sds, excuse me, a South Dakota State University, a Jack Rabbit coffee mug that in my desk drawer over here that you sent me or gave me one day. I think it was after a win over Western Illinois University if I remember the trophy correctly. That's awesome.

Miranda Reiman (07:38):
So your guys' history there. I guess you would have similar stories then Mick, you also came back to the ranch right after going to South Dakota State or did you go elsewhere in between?

Mick Varilek (07:49):
No, actually I came right back. As I indicated earlier, my father Elvern, he's actually the one that started the operation back in the later latter forties, I guess 1948 is when he actually bought his first 10 head of Angus females. And there's a little bit of a story on that as well because my dad had bought 10 Hereford heifers. They de-horned them after they de-horned them. They were down to eight, so he said, this is not going to happen again. So he went and bought himself 10 registered Angus heifers and that's how we got started. And through the years it evolved that, I don't know if many people know about South Dakota, but South Dakota is kind of divided up by the Missouri River. We kind of go by East River and West River and actually we're located right on the river and basically in the early fifties to be exact, it's March 8th, 1953 is when I was born.

(08:52):
That's the same day the folks moved to this ranch. Mom went to town and had me after they helped move, but it's located right above the dam at the Missouri River and my dad wanted to be located closer to the river. So that's how we got started here at the ranch at that time. And ever since then, I guess we, we've been here raising Angus cattle, I guess we were one of the unique people in this area to have Angus cattle because everything was red and white for seemed like forever until all of our trips that we kind of started traveling around. We found out that Herefords diminished in the pastures kind of what turned black. So to answer your question, as soon as I got out of college, actually I started to go to ag ed and I was going to go to teach I guess, and then I decided to come back to the ranch instead.

Miranda Reiman (09:46):
Very good. Is that where you met Lynn as well or is she a hometown girl?

Mick Varilek (09:50):
No, I met her in college. She was in animal science and actually it was on a block and bridle regional convention is where we kind of got together and she kind of originated from Sioux Center, Iowa in the same hometown that my youngest son is at right now. But he went to work with her brother in the commodity office there, so he took better care of him than I did. But no, that's where she origin in Sioux Center, Iowa where they feed a lot of cattle.

Miranda Reiman (10:23):
Sure, very good. And now you guys have had your 73rd production sale gearing up for your 74th, so you've been having a production sale for quite a long part of that history.

Mick Varilek (10:35):
Yeah, it hasn't just a production. It's been an annual Angus bull sale, so we've been Angus for all them years. I guess quite a few,

Mark McCully (10:44):
Give us a little, kind of catch us up to where you guys are today. Give us a little lay of what your operation is up to in terms of scope and what you guys are working on.

Ross Varilek (10:54):
Alright, so we're continually building, we're up to around 6,000 acres and most of it's grass to run cows on. We're up to 200 bulls in our sale. We go a few different ways. We raise some yearling bulls that we'll put on our sale. We keep our younger spring calves back for 2-year-old bulls. And then we also are really increasing our fall program actually. We've got a bunch of cows calving right now and kind of a unique set of cows this time of year. It's very easy to calve for us. You can check once a day and tag and weigh, with good cows. So I guess that's, we keep improving, trying to build our numbers, trying to do what the customer wants and what they're asking for basically.

Miranda Reiman (11:39):
And describe kind of your average customer around there, where they come from, what they're looking for out of your program.

Ross Varilek (11:45):
Well, predominantly our customers are within a hundred to 150 miles. I mean, we go quite a little further, but predominantly around there. And our customers are repeat customers mostly. I mean, we have developed a relationship and a lot of 'em become family. One of our biggest customers is my roommate from college and I haul bulls to him every year, 300 miles. Another roping partner I have now lives in southern Texas. And now we started hauling bulls down there. So I want to say we're within 150 miles, but yet, and the internet and DV auction has also built that, but now we stretch out quite a ways.

Miranda Reiman (12:21):
Sure, yeah.

Mark McCully (12:22):
Talk a little how South Dakota has changed. I think there's been probably more row cropping in the eastern part of the state. Has it shifted to cows a little bit or not as much as I'm thinking

Mick Varilek (12:33):
Actually, when you say that, it's almost in reverse, but there's a lot of crop land. Traditionally South Dakota that Missouri River we talked about. You get east side of that river, it's predominantly crop land that historically, even though there's a lot of cows, but there's a lot of cows on small acres. But you go west of the river has been traditionally a range country with the newer genetics and the crops and whatnot, that's evolved over the years. There's been a lot more crop land to the west side of the river, which was traditionally ranch country in the past. I remember one rancher, the reason part of a lot of that is switched over. He was asked, he had to haul his water eight miles to his cows and they asked him, why don't you drill a well? And he says, well, it's about the same distance. So

Miranda Reiman (13:25):
That's a little different than Nebraska where I'm at here for sure. Yeah. And so what other things have you seen change maybe in your customers and their herds and those kinds of things over the years?

Ross Varilek (13:37):
Well, it used to be you just come and got a bull. I mean, you just need a bull to breed the cows. And now with you guys' help with the association, there's so much to look at, so much data to go through and we do our best to provide as much as we can and give as much data on our own cattle. And then you go into the DNA and that's a whole nother thing. And so our cattlemen are getting smarter and they're starting to understand, there's a lot to understand, but they're starting to understand this and they're not just looking for a bull anymore. And with these cattle prices these days, now's the time to take advantage of that and really step up your genetics and step up your program.

Mark McCully (14:12):
Have you seen much rebuilding in your customers? I mean, we keep talking about this herd rebuilding that's going to come someday. Are you hearing some, as you talk to some of your customers, are they trying to rebuild or what are you hearing?

Mick Varilek (14:25):
I've kind of got mixed emotions on the rebuild situation. I don't know if the numbers are ever going to get to be where we were at. I just don't feel that we've developed turbo engines in these cattle obviously that we have nowadays. And that's the one way we're going to make up this meat that we need is simply going to be, we need more pounds on these cattle and higher performance cattle. Cattle that are going to be efficient, that it can still get to the larger weights and still not eat us out of house and home, I guess. But no, I guess I don't see the numbers going to increase. One thing about the farming sector is it's gotten a lot easier and a lot of people kind of like that, being able to sit on a tractor, almost read a book while they're going through the fields. But no, I don't see the numbers as exactly going to increase.

Ross Varilek (15:23):
And I know right now, and if you look at the average age of a rancher or a farmer, that age is going up and I think a lot of guys right now with these high prices instead of rebuilding, they're thinking, man, I can cash in. I'm old enough. I don't need to have these cows anymore. So we're kind of fighting that a little bit too. And some of these pastures are maybe getting broke a little bit and things like that where... So it's a little harder to rebuild when that's going on too.

Mark McCully (15:47):
Yep, absolutely. For sure. Absolutely.

Miranda Reiman (15:49):
How many of your customers would be multi-generation where maybe Russ you're now helping serve the kids that you maybe would've grown up playing out back at the bull sale with?

Ross Varilek (16:01):
Yeah, there's quite a few. We have quite a few customers that are multi-generation father sons or now we're working with the sons where we did work with the dad. I don't know a percentage of that, but a fair amount.

Miranda Reiman (16:12):
Yeah. That's cool. When you talk about that, you say that the customers have gotten smarter, they're asking for more. What have you guys had to do in response to that? I know you're long term AHIR users and some of that, but what have you done to keep up with them or keep ahead of 'em?

Ross Varilek (16:29):
I feel like we have done pretty good at staying up and starting with the ultrasound 20 years ago. All of our cows are DNA'd. I mean, we have DNA'd since 2010 I think it is. So we have that in our favor. We're trying to use all the resources we have. Of course now we're running cows through the chute and we're trying to do udder scores and things like that so we can stay ahead of them so when they ask us something, we got it.

Mick Varilek (16:54):
Sure. Another thing about the DNA, we do our entire calf crop too. We don't just do a setment of them, but we do, I think first one used to be with you guys, parentage was a big thing and the people that aren't DNAing these cattle just don't realize the parentage issues that you re and that's eliminated a lot of problems.

Miranda Reiman (17:21):
Were you surprised when you first started DNAing them? How many parenting things it helped you sort out?

Ross Varilek (17:28):
Yes, a hundred percent. We calve in the wintertime, so we're kind of tight with them. We spent a lot of time with them and we pen 'em up right away and thought there's no way we can have errors. Well, we were wrong. It's amazing. We've had cows that I've had two calves on, thought she had twins, and neither one of 'em is hers. As good as we think we do sometimes we're not perfect. Right.

Mark McCully (17:47):
Yeah.

Ross Varilek (17:48):
Yeah.

Mark McCully (17:49):
Technology has allowed us to, I always say we've got the most accurate pedigrees we've ever had as an association. I think not taking advantage of parentage is definitely, like you say, there's those mistakes that you find that you would've never dreamed were out there.

Miranda Reiman (18:06):
Right?

Mark McCully (18:07):
Yeah

Miranda Reiman (18:08):
You talk about those calving in the winter and some of that. Describe your guys' environment there. I know it's a beautiful place along the river, but there's also some challenges that come with where you're located too.

Ross Varilek (18:21):
So where we live, it is beautiful. It is rough. Our winters vary. Three years ago we had seven inches of snow during the winter. It was terrible. This last year, I don't think we had 10, so it really varies. But we calve and we figure on it being cold. And so we have a calving barn at my place and a calving barn at my dad's and we calve both places and then we're very fortunate we have rough and big, big creeks and big draws, so as they calve we can turn 'em out into these big creeks and these trees basically for windbreaks. So they have good protection and we spend a lot of time with them. And my mom who ran out of here so she wouldn't have to talk, spent a lot of time with him as well, checking things.

Miranda Reiman (19:01):
That does sound like Lynn. I asked your dad if he wanted Lynn or you to be on and he said, oh, I think Ross would enjoy it more, isn't that what you told me.

Mick Varilek (19:11):
He calls it a trust issue. She doesn't trust me. She thought I'd stick the mic in front of her face

Mark McCully (19:19):
Yeah. That's silent support though, that I know exists on so many ranches and operations. Yeah, absolutely.

Mick Varilek (19:27):
Well, I always said she's the third leg of our three-legged stool around here because it takes all three of us to, she is so highly involved in the operation and behind the scenes type stuff and comes to AI time. I mean, she's one of our main AI technicians and calving and stuff. She knows those cows like the back of her hand. So

Miranda Reiman (19:49):
Yeah. That's awesome. It's great to have that kind of support around when you're talking about calving in the winter and the environment and that, what kind of cows are you looking to have in that environment? What's your ideal cow?

Mick Varilek (20:01):
Well, cows, in my opinion, first of all, they got to be feminine. That's the number one thing. They got to be feminine. They got to be broody. They got to be able to be able to convert this forages that we're trying to feed to 'em and stuff. Of course, we're not going to fight udder, we just can't be fighting these udders on these calves, especially when the conditions get a little tough. You can't have that issue out there. But they certainly have to be a feminine. The bull's got to be masculine. The cow's got to be feminine, I guess they got to have some phenotype to 'em. They got to have some structure. They got to be sound enough to handle these hills that we run in and whatnot. So there's places in, there's only two ways to get through some of our pastures that's on foot or on horseback, and these cows got to be able to cover that as well.

Ross Varilek (20:51):
And then when you talk about the spring calving, when we talk about fall calving, so we're calving right now. Them calves, their cows are in the rough hills and they're about seven or eight miles from home and we check them once a day and I just know I'm not going to have to get anything in. So we have to have sound feet, we got to have good utters and we just don't have problems.

Mark McCully (21:09):
Problem free. But then when technologies come along, what technologies, you guys I know have been early adopters of a lot of different technologies, so what's your approach in philosophy around whether it's data, whether ultrasound, AI, ET all those things?

Mick Varilek (21:24):
Well, I guess like I said, I've always been kind of greedy because I kind of need it all, but we got to have the right phenotype to start with. She's got to look the part and then we can go with the numbers to make sure. Of course, our herd here is probably known to be a little more high performance herd, yet we got to have calving ease to go with that. We got to be trouble free just like Ross had just mentioned and whatnot. And of course the carcass quality anymore is certainly got to be on the top of the list as well.

Ross Varilek (21:55):
We were very involved with ET and IVF and things like that. I think my dad was in the eighties, was one of the first ones in South Dakota to do ET work and it didn't work the first time and we've been very involved since the beginning.

Mick Varilek (22:08):
Some of these things when you get involved in it, you kind of got to stick with it because our very first time we did any ET work, we had 50 cows that we had that the vet that does the ET work came out. We put 50 embryos in and of course he was going to come back and preg check we were going to settle up after we pregcheck. But then in the meantime he had a heart attack, couldn't do that. So we put a Charolais bull with that group of cows so we know exactly what's what. Well, the following spring we had the nicest group of Charolais cross calves out, never had one single eET calf take. So our experiences haven't always been the best, but you got to stick with them. Okay,

Miranda Reiman (22:54):
So your dad didn't like having to dehorn and he switched immediately. So apparently you must have a little more patience than your dad did.

Mick Varilek (23:03):
Well, when I introduced that project with my dad that time, that was a little bit harder to overtake, convince him that we need to keep on going.

Miranda Reiman (23:13):
So did it take another 10 years before you decided to try it again or not

Mick Varilek (23:17):
Not quite.

Mark McCully (23:20):
What makes it into the donor pen at your place?

Mick Varilek (23:23):
Well, we got some cows that they got to be performance cows to start with and stuff, and they got to meet all those characteristics that we were just talking about. So I guess that's kind of a self eliminating thing. We try to not go towards maybe flushing heifers. I like to get a cow that's had three calves on the ground. I know exactly what she's going to do.

Ross Varilek (23:48):
We're pretty tough on, it's hard to get in our donor pen, so when we're flushing a cow, we've got something.

Mark McCully (23:55):
You think she's pretty special, right? She's checked all your boxes.

Miranda Reiman (23:59):
So what are your customers doing with their calves? How are they marketing them? I know you guys have a strong auction market system there in South Dakota. You also have a lot of farmer feeders in your area. So what's your primary way they're using your genetics in their herds?

Mick Varilek (24:15):
Well, most of the people are going to the sale barn with their calves in here, but of course there's a lot of guys that are feeding them out. And of course we've got a lot of demand too from some of the guys that are order buying that want to know where our calves or who our customers are, where they're selling their calves at. So the sale barn system is like you had indicated, is pretty prevalent in South Dakota

Miranda Reiman (24:41):
Sure.

Ross Varilek (24:42):
We've got some customers and one I'm thinking of in particular that he started using our bulls 20 some years ago and started and it's kind of, college. College was building a network. I didn't realize I was building a network, but I did. And so he buys his bulls from us and then he sells to another college friend we met there in a feedlot. And that feedlot guy likes our genetics so much. He has continued to buy them calves and I think he's had 'em every year for 24 years I think. And he wants them. He calls in, he's already got 'em bought for this year and he wants 'em every year. So we're very fortunate to have some and there's a lot more stories like that too.

Miranda Reiman (25:20):
Sure. So they're not just, I guess I was thinking their primary goal was that weaning weight and yearling weight and maternal things, but they're also looking at some things beyond that. Yeah,

Mark McCully (25:33):
Yeah.

Miranda Reiman (25:34):
Very good.

Mark McCully (25:34):
So it sounds like the rodeo and college has been pretty important to your customer network.

Ross Varilek (25:40):
We kind of like to rodeo a little bit and actually, so I rodeoed in college and my kids continue to rodeo now and we go to these rodeos in the summertime with my kids. It's little 4-H rodeos. It's not that big of a deal, but I'm finding myself, my kids team rope and they're roping partners and all of a sudden the roping partners parents are here buying bulls and then we're getting to know them. So we're a pretty tight state. We make pretty good friends and like to do that, and I tell my kids all the time, no matter what we're doing, we're Varileks and we raise Angus cattle and we put Varilek Angus on our pickup everywhere we go. So I guess they know what we're about.

Mark McCully (26:15):
There you go.

Miranda Reiman (26:16):
And everybody's a roper?

Ross Varilek (26:18):
Oh, so far.

Miranda Reiman (26:20):
Yeah,

Ross Varilek (26:21):
Except for dad.

Miranda Reiman (26:23):
No

Mick Varilek (26:23):
I team pen and ranch sort

Miranda Reiman (26:26):
Okay, very good. I thought you were going to come out and tell me you ride like barebacks or something. I was going to be surprised.

Mick Varilek (26:32):
That was a long time ago.

Ross Varilek (26:34):
Right?

Miranda Reiman (26:36):
You guys have a local rodeo there too in Geddes. You, are you guys involved in that?

Ross Varilek (26:41):
Very involved. Yes. Very involved.

Mick Varilek (26:43):
Actually our rodeo and yeah, this last year was the South Dakota Rodeo of the year, so we were happy to get that recognition, but

Miranda Reiman (26:54):
How cool. That's a lot of work. I know that's a lot of work behind the scenes. We've got one down here in Gothenburg that's over the fourth and those guys put in a lot of time to get ready for it,

(27:06):
And we're going to push pause to hear a few words from Angus Media that could help your operation

Speaker 5 (27:12):
Ready to connect with some of the most progressive breeders in the industry? You can get your operation in front of one of the most engaged audiences by advertising on the next episode of The Angus Conversation. Take a quick 30 seconds to introduce your herd or spotlight an upcoming sale. Call Angus Media at (816) 383-5200 or talk to your regional manager to reserve your spot today.

Miranda Reiman (27:41):
And now back to the conversation.

Mark McCully (27:46):
Back on that ideal cow you guys are building at your place. Is she easier or harder to build today than she was 10 years ago or 20 years ago?

Mick Varilek (27:58):
As far as being that elite cow, you don't see it because the whole herd I think has advanced so much. So you can still find that really good one. But to find that real elite one, maybe sometime it does get a little bit tougher to be able to differentiate her from the average cows in your herd. But you like to think, for instance, we take a lot of our, what we call our poor producing cows, and we'll turn them into our recip pen. One way to increase your genetics is take the lower end and make 'em your top end.

Ross Varilek (28:32):
But I mean just like everybody, we're getting a lot pickier now. We have a lot more resources to look at all this stuff to study and look at and whether we like it or not, it's kind of easier to cull 'em out once in a while because of some certain reason where before we had the basic traits and she looks good, let's go for it.

Mark McCully (28:51):
I had a guy the other day that was telling me just that he said it's become impossible to find a bull that I can use because we have so many things to choose from that I can always find something that I don't like and the more information he said, the harder it is to find a bull, which makes sense. The flip side is the more information, the better decisions you can ultimately make, but it does sometimes make it more complicated.

Mick Varilek (29:20):
If you had a full head of white hair, I would think you would be my dad because that's exactly what he would use to say,

Mark McCully (29:27):
Yeah?

Mick Varilek (29:28):
30 years ago, more information get the harder it is to sell a bull because there's more issues to find. Yep.

Mark McCully (29:34):
I just wish I had a full head of hair, but any color, I don't really care.

Mick Varilek (29:38):
I didn't say anything about that.

Mark McCully (29:39):
That's fair enough.

Miranda Reiman (29:41):
What do you think your dad would think about your herd today compared to the herd he started with?

Mick Varilek (29:48):
Well, I think he would be very happy with the progress that we've made over the years. He has been here for 20 some years, but I know he'd be excited as to the advances that we've made. Of course, things have, so different from when he started. Everything was by the eyeball, but those good old trained cowboys, their eyeballs, they knew what they were looking at. He was very talented to be able to pick out the cattle that were really good cattle without really the information in front of them as we have today. But them old, good old cowboys, they knew what they were looking for and you kind of follow that cow long enough, you'll see what she'll kind of tell you what she needs.

Ross Varilek (30:32):
So growing up I was with grandpa quite a bit. One thing I knew about grandpa was he was going to take a risk once in a while and it seems like, he was a smart man. He knew which risk to take, which a lot of people like this irrigation deal for instance or whatever he did. He was pretty smart about that, knew which risk to take and paid off for him.

Mick Varilek (30:51):
He was the first man in South Dakota to get an irrigation permit out of the Missouri River. So he was kind of a pioneer in a lot of things that he did, including the Angus cattle.

Miranda Reiman (31:01):
That's really neat. And so you guys still irrigate some meadows and that or you raising just a little bit of feedstuffs there?

Ross Varilek (31:09):
Mostly feed. We raise a lot of alfalfa. We have a couple of pivots of grass and then a little bit of grain just basically for feeding. We raise about enough to feed through the wintertime is about what we do. Sure.

Miranda Reiman (31:21):
You're telling me you'd rather be on horseback than in the tractor?

Ross Varilek (31:23):
Yeah, pretty much. Yes,

Miranda Reiman (31:25):
That's right. I don't blame you. Going back a little bit to your sale, I want to talk about that because that's a longstanding tradition that you've had there. What's changed with that? Did you always have it on the ranch? Did you start out in the sale barn?

Mick Varilek (31:41):
Well, my dad, when he first started, had a sales in Winner, which is about 70 miles from here. The one in the early sixties. He built a sale barn at the ranch. We were always well known for the sale we held there. Of course, my dad was a very social man. He knew how to get along with people I guess. But anyhow, in 1978 our sale barn burnt down. So the local sale barn of course called up and of course it was not too much before the sale. We'll let you use our sale for free if you want to. So we held the sale there for several years and until that sale barn closed down, then we went to Platte, had our sale there for several years until that, sale barn burnt down, so, well, needless to say. Well, in the meantime I built a sale barn here at the ranch back about 20, 15. 20 years ago? Yeah, 15, 20 years ago. We've been here at the ranch since then.

Miranda Reiman (32:40):
So kind of full circle then two sales, buyers. So you said, I feel like you're a little unlucky, Mick.

Mick Varilek (32:48):
And the very first year I had the sale here, I think it was close to one of the first ones we were on the internet and whatnot. Of course the internet goes down too.

Miranda Reiman (33:00):
Perfect.

Mick Varilek (33:01):
We kept going though

Mark McCully (33:03):
So you've been using the internet, how long in your sale?

Ross Varilek (33:06):
Oh gosh, ever since we were here and I want to say it's strong. 15 years.

Mark McCully (33:11):
Yeah, sure. How has that changed bull buying behavior? Do they still come to the sale? Do they come ahead of time? Does it put more pressure on the videos? What's your thoughts there?

Mick Varilek (33:22):
Well, they've really got adapted to that, but I've often said it's kind of a give and take. If you really like what you got, which we like the bulls, when we present these bulls, I really like to have people come and lay their eyes on 'em. Then they can appreciate how good they really are because if they're buying on the internet, all they got to go is buy is the numbers in front of 'em and their dollar sign that they're limited too. But if anybody wants to buy the good genetics, I think it's important to lay your eyes on 'em. But it has opened up. We're kind of taking bulls all around the country now because of the internet. So I guess it's good. And it can be a little bit negative too.

Ross Varilek (34:07):
And to answer part of your question about the videos, it's almost like having two sale days. So we video in January early and like you say, them bulls got to look the part because then people that don't come. So it's almost like two sale days you've got to be ready and right on for that video and then they got to be right on for the sale,

Mark McCully (34:23):
For the sale too.

Miranda Reiman (34:25):
Then there's also that social part of it where you like to see people there and to get to look your customers in the eye too.

Mick Varilek (34:33):
That's how you find out about their operations and what they got and what they need and whatnot. And you got to have, that's valuable. Same way with the delivery. That's why we like to deliver our bulls so we can get on their ranches and whatnot and look at their situation and visit with them and see what they're actually looking for and what they actually need. Sometimes what they're looking for, what they need are two different things.

Mark McCully (34:57):
How many sales have been postponed due to winter weather?

Mick Varilek (35:01):
 I'm not sure.

Ross Varilek (35:02):
I've never been involved unless it was before my time

Mick Varilek (35:04):
I take that back. Dad had one very early, oh gosh darn it. It had to be back in the probably the sixties. He had to postpone one sale.

Mark McCully (35:14):
Yeah.

Miranda Reiman (35:15):
I take back what I said about your luck. That actually feels pretty good for where you guys are

Mick Varilek (35:19):
Well, this last year was what you're talking about, the internet. We needed our internet this last year because it was a cold, miserable day. We forged forward and still had it.

Mark McCully (35:33):
It can be a little bit of an insurance policy that way too.

Mick Varilek (35:35):
Exactly.

Mark McCully (35:36):
Yeah. Yeah. Do buyers bid more online or are they more disciplined online? You're saying when they get there in the bleachers, are they willing to maybe not, go beyond their budget sometimes

Mick Varilek (35:49):
If they really like the bull that's out there, yeah, they're going to extend a little bit. You can't see that online, how good he might really be. I've had guys, several guys especially this year think, man, these bulls are even a lot better than I thought they were.

Miranda Reiman (36:05):
Which is what you want 'em to say. Right. You'd hate exactly your place and say the opposite. Yeah, that's really good. So talk about your decision, both of you guys to come back home. Why did you decide, hey, this is the lifestyle I want to be involved in and the work I want to do?

Mick Varilek (36:22):
You just answered our question. This is the lifestyle we like. This is what we want to do. It just is. It's in your blood. I mean, I've always been on, the Angus business has always been in my heart for long as I can remember, and I'm not one to get on the tractor and drive the tractor. I wanted to get on horseback and check the cows in the pasture. That's just our love for what we do.

Ross Varilek (36:50):
When I got out of college, it was the time where my grandpa was really getting slowed down. His health was diminishing and dad was at the point where, okay, I'm either going to level off or we're going to take the next step. And it was kind of my decision. Am I going to go take that next step with him or are we going to level off here? And that was, so we, I'm here.

Miranda Reiman (37:09):
So you saw that opportunity and that,

Mark McCully (37:12):
What needs to happen with your customers? You mentioned earlier that so many of your customers, and we see this across the country, the older, we're getting older and older to make this generational handoff. What's been the keys to some of your success and what's your recommendation for others wanting to make a similar transition?

Ross Varilek (37:33):
I don't know. The best advice I have is be willing to put in a little bit of hard work. I think that's the hardest thing. And if you take care of your cattle and you raise good cattle, it's a lot less work. And I guess that's what I got to stress to young guys as much as anything because the farming part of it is so easy and everybody wants to farm, but sometimes that cow is a little harder work. But right now, if you look at what's going on in our commodities, it's sure a lot nicer to have a cow than a truckload of corn right now.

Mark McCully (38:01):
Absolutely.

Miranda Reiman (38:02):
For sure.

Mick Varilek (38:03):
I hear people say, my cows, I got to make a living for me. But if you take good care of that cow, she'll take good care of you.

Mark McCully (38:11):
Yeah,

Mick Varilek (38:12):
Absolutely.

Mark McCully (38:12):
So Mick, to make, when you've got the next generation coming back, do you guys kind of divide responsibilities and decision making roles or how do you divvy some of that up?

Mick Varilek (38:25):
Well, I guess first of all, when I find out my grandson's coming back, after I wipe the smile off my face, I'm really happy to hear that and he's excited, and just to see him. But no, I think we all pretty much pitch in and I guess it's an unwritten rule that we all just kind of pitch in and do our thing and I guess respect everybody else's decision. We will sit back and discuss things over and whatnot, and my wife thinks she gets out voted, but she really doesn't.

Ross Varilek (38:59):
We kind of adjust to our roles maybe a little bit. I mean, in the wintertime, I know I get here, I get in the tractor and feeder wagon and I get everybody fed and taken care of and that's just kind of my role. And it's just we all kind of fall into our roles and we get along well and we help each other out everywhere.

Miranda Reiman (39:14):
So now that you got one going back to college, or I guess both of the boys going back to college, do you have to get up extra early or do you just not get as much done in the day?

Ross Varilek (39:23):
I just don't get as much done. We probably get up a little earlier, but it's just, yeah. And I'm pretty spoiled all summer long. I mean, I got my son home and my daughters too. I mean, like I said, every time we go horseback, I got two more riders and it's just now we're back to oh yeah, I don't have that. So we get kind of spoiled.

Miranda Reiman (39:41):
Yeah, absolutely. Do you ever pull 'em out of school to help with?

Ross Varilek (39:45):
Absolutely.

Mark McCully (39:48):
We call 'em sick days.

Ross Varilek (39:50):
They're sick days, yes

Miranda Reiman (39:51):
Yes. We always talk about the snow days we used to have, or my husband who's from Butte, Nebraska, which is just south of you guys there, talks about when they didn't have air conditioning in school and they'd get out of school early because it was too hot and then dad would make 'em go work outside. It was like that wasn't a break at all.

Ross Varilek (40:10):
I asked my son, my oldest son when he went to college, I said, what's the thing you're going to be most excited about. When there's a snow day, I don't have to get out of bed.

Miranda Reiman (40:19):
That's true. Unfortunately, it's South Dakota State. It takes a lot for them to call a snow day.

Ross Varilek (40:25):
It does. It does.

Miranda Reiman (40:27):
We're going to take a quick timeout for a word from Angus Media.

Speaker 5 (40:29):
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Mark McCully (41:02):
So when you guys think about the future of your operation, what's maybe going to be most different in 10 years and when we come to your bull sale or when we come look at your cows?

Ross Varilek (41:13):
Oh, I guess, I don't know. There's so much technology. It's hard to believe there can be any any more. I mean we are really going crazy, but I guess my goal maybe is to take what we've got and just keep improving and that's probably a pretty basic goal, but keep improving on them cows and improving on these bulls. And I guess we always got to keep the customer mind and try to stay current and see what they want. I don't have a good sale if I don't have customers, if I don't have what they want.

Mick Varilek (41:42):
Well, it's so exciting every year. This is probably no different than anybody that's really passionate about what you do is when you come out to breeding those cows to wait to see what those calves are going to look like. It's just so exciting and I think that's what keeps us going to try to keep things improving. The excitement is still there.

Miranda Reiman (42:03):
Yeah. I love your guys' optimism, but I

Mark McCully (42:06):
Is there anything that keeps you up at night?

Miranda Reiman (42:07):
That's what, yeah, I was just going to say,

Ross Varilek (42:11):
I don't know. We really enjoy what we do. I really do. I don't know. Where we live is such a beautiful area and we don't even realize it or how beautiful it is until I put on my Snapchat story or whatever what we're doing and then I get all these comments, oh my gosh, that's gorgeous. We take that for granted. We don't even realize how good we got it.

Mick Varilek (42:29):
We try not to take it for granted. But we bought a bull from Bobby and Jimmy Sitz here, oh gosh, it's been 25 years ago, and they brought the bull out. They looked around here and they said, you guys just wait till they discover you because we all people from California moving in there. But now we're realizing what they were talking about. People have discovered it and we live right on the river. People come from hundreds of miles to fish in my backyard and I don't even fish.

Ross Varilek (42:59):
And that's another little quick story. So when I was in college between my sophomore and junior year, I actually went and lived on Bobby Sitz' ranch for a summer and I wanted to go be with the elite and the best. And what I realized is, yeah, they are, but it's the same as being home. They do work just the same as we do and we use the same equipment. So it was kind of an eyeopener. I spent a lot of days on horseback just like I do here, and it's kind of the same. We all do the same thing together and I learned then that yeah, this is all right.

Mick Varilek (43:30):
And Ross tells that story. That was one of the best most music that I've ever had in my ear is when he said, dad, I can't believe how they do things here at the same as we do at home.

Miranda Reiman (43:41):
He thought he was going to discover some big secret or something.

Ross Varilek (43:44):
Yeah, yeah. We're going top and, Sitz are job notch, don't get me wrong, but it made me realize that. Yeah, we're not so far off.

Miranda Reiman (43:52):
Sure. Absolutely. So what do you think that your family dynamic looks like? You've got at least one coming back and you're hoping that there's opportunities for everyone who wants to come back if they so choose.

Ross Varilek (44:07):
I told my kids, I said, you're all welcome back. If we have to adjust, we'll figure out what we got to adjust. But everybody's welcome to come back, boys and girls both. And I would love to see that. I don't know what'll happen, but yeah, they're all welcome. We'll figure it out.

Mick Varilek (44:21):
I see. As times go on, the kids kind of go different directions if they need to or whatever, but like Ross said, everybody's welcome back here. We'll figure it out.

Miranda Reiman (44:32):
Yeah. Well, one thing I love about your guys' family too is that even though your daughter and your other son are, I mean, they're not that far away, so they're able to come back when it comes to big events and things like that. They're still close around there

Ross Varilek (44:46):
And they do, my brother's very involved in the cattle business, so he, he's a commodities broker and they're quite well known and he talks cattle every day. And I just had a big long conversation before I talked to you guys with him trying to plan some things. He owns some cattle with us and him and I have fed cattle together trying to buy some customers calves and do a few things. So he's still involved kind of in a different way, but we're still involved with him and he helps us out a lot too.

Miranda Reiman (45:10):
Sure. I bet he knows things and is up on full market things that you guys aren't even thinking about on your day to day.

Ross Varilek (45:18):
Yeah, we're pretty fortunate to have him involved to help us and to keep us abreast of all that stuff.

Miranda Reiman (45:23):
Right, absolutely. Well, is there anything that we haven't asked you about or Mark, did you have any other questions up your sleeve that you wanted to ask him about?

Mark McCully (45:32):
No, I guess one of the things, I mean Mick, is we kind of skipped right over as we got into your introduction. I mean, when I first really got to know you, is that your time and service on American Ag Association Board of Directors and the different entity boards that you served on in two terms. And gosh, last year I was lucky enough to be out at the South Dakota Angus tour when you and your family got recognized as a South Dakota Angus Breeder of the year. And that was so fun for me to be there and to be able to shake your hand and your family's hands while you were recognized for that. So just somebody I've always appreciated Mick, you around that board table as a very practical and thoughtful and big minded approach to the business. And so I always admired that of you, Mick.

Mick Varilek (46:23):
Well, I thank you. I appreciate that, Mark, especially coming from you. My years there on the board, I really enjoyed, and people always ask, what did you accomplish while you were at the board? And I guess with the help of Leanne and Jerry, I guess we had put that little icon on that pedigree. It shows a parentage verification on those animals. I guess that was biggest accomplishment that was able to get through while I was on there.

Miranda Reiman (46:52):
We're at this board election time right now leading up to the annual conference. When you decided to run for the board, were you nervous about it, about the responsibility?

Mick Varilek (47:03):
I guess after about the third visit here trying to get me to run for the board, I guess I decided maybe I'd better step forward and the Angus business has been good to me. And so I felt it was necessary that I at least give it a try. There were so many guys running that particular, I just had no idea that I'd really get on the board to be honest with you. But it actually happened that way. I guess.

Miranda Reiman (47:29):
Looking back, do you think there were things that, did you learn things that maybe help you now in your operation or? Oh,

Mick Varilek (47:36):
No question. No question. I guess the science in the cattle industry is real and I think that's what we have to really look for. I know there's been people that probably a little bit dragging their feet kind of questioning a little bit, but sure, there's always individuals that maybe jump outside the parameters that they would put forward to 'em. But as groups, I think it's pretty accurate. And I think if the science is there, we got to use it.

Miranda Reiman (48:03):
Well, we do appreciate your time and service. We know that it's a big lift and that probably the fact that Ross was home on the ranch made it easier to step up.

Mick Varilek (48:15):
Ross and my wife, by the way.

Miranda Reiman (48:17):
Yeah, that's true. The good point. And

Ross Varilek (48:20):
I'm amazed what I learned when Dad was on the board, just the things that none of us understand what's going on on the board and to the association. I want to commend your Association because we call them with problems, whether it be parentage or I'm trying to register something, ... something and your crew always helps me out. And I don't know how many of me, I always say, how many of me are calling you complaining? You're still in a good mood. You want to talk to us. So I commend them. They do a great job.

Mark McCully (48:43):
Well, I appreciate that. I agree. I think we've got a great team here. We get about 300 plus calls a day, and those are ones that just come straight into usually the member services team. I mean, that doesn't count all the cell phone calls and everything and RM calls and all that, but those are folks calling in and not to mention now more folks email in or they go in through login and leave messages to respond to. So I know our team has a real passion and heart for helping folks. And I also remember sometimes when a member's calling in, they may be at their wits end of an issue. So sometimes they're maybe less than patient. But our team's awesome. I'm sure you guys are never like that though.

Ross Varilek (49:27):
No, no

Miranda Reiman (49:30):
Very good. Well, we appreciate you joining us today. We always end with a random question of the week, and you might get more than one. There's two of you. So we'll see how you answer this. But a random question of the week. I want to know what the biggest lesson you've learned from rodeo, whether that's life or leadership lesson.

Ross Varilek (49:49):
It's kind of a life lesson I guess. So when you rodeo, it's just like a sport you got to put your time in and the more time you put in, the more you'll get out. So this last summer, rodeoing and I'm kind of slowed down. I take my kids and my daughter learned a lot this last summer, so she's your first year high school rodeo and practice and practice and practice. And we went to our first rodeo and she said, God, my hand is sore. I said, why is your hand sore? I got blister from roping the dummy. And she went, and that's the best run she had all summer long was her first rodeo. She had blisters. The more you put in, the more you're going to get out.

Mick Varilek (50:22):
People will comment to you. That was really a lucky run. You really got lucky on that run. But it's funny how luck is the more you practice the luckier you are.

Miranda Reiman (50:32):
Yeah, that's great

Mark McCully (50:34):
Great wisdom. Okay, so if there was a blooper reel of rodeo, which would be some of your highlights?

Ross Varilek (50:43):
Oh man

Mark McCully (50:43):
Any big wrecks or anything that we can put on public air here?

Mick Varilek (50:48):
Yeah, well I had one, I had a horse that was cutting. They got a photo of it and I'm about eight to 12 inches off my saddle and kind of hang on. But he did an awesome job, but that was a little bit of an embarrassing moment.

Miranda Reiman (51:07):
And they caught it on film, no doubt.

Ross Varilek (51:09):
My blooper reel probably last summer. So they have what you called a ranch rodeo, which you do kind of some ranchy events and we had to rope the cow and drag a calf, things like that. And this year we did good. We won it this year. Last year I entered with my boys, which is an honor because my boys want to enter with me in this deal. So my job is to go rope this cow and alls they have to do is milk it. And I could not catch that cow.

Miranda Reiman (51:33):
They didn't get a chance to milk it?

Ross Varilek (51:34):
For two minutes straight. They watched me miss this cow. That was my blooper reel

Mark McCully (51:39):
I'm sure they didn't give you a hard time about that.

Ross Varilek (51:41):
No, no, no.

Miranda Reiman (51:42):
They'll never let you live that one down.

Mark McCully (51:44):
Lots of grace, I'm sure.

Miranda Reiman (51:45):
I love it.

Mark McCully (51:46):
That's awesome.

Miranda Reiman (51:47):
Well, thank you guys for taking the time out of your day. I'm sure you've got other things to do. We're doing this kind of over a late lunch hour here, so we probably better let you get back to whatever's next on your list.

Mick Varilek (51:59):
Well, Miranda, we're so happy to be able to be with you, and I do wish you the best of luck in your new addition coming ... I'm just glad it wasn't within this last hour.

Miranda Reiman (52:10):
Yeah, thank you. Yes, we're at 39 weeks, so this was a touch and go if whether this one was going to happen or not. So I'm glad it worked out.

Mick Varilek (52:20):
Best of luck to you.

Miranda Reiman (52:21):
Thank you. Appreciate that.

Mark McCully (52:23):
Thank you very much guys. We really, again, admire and appreciate hearing from you. I know your story has one a lot can, really resonates with a lot of folks and definitely what you guys have done over the years and has been quite an accomplishment. So congratulations and thanks for joining us.

Ross Varilek (52:42):
Yes, thank you. We'll see our conventions, Mark, and maybe we'll see you, Miranda, maybe not.

Miranda Reiman (52:47):
Absolutely. We hope you've been enjoying this new season of the Angus Conversation. If you'd like more stories on producers just like you, be sure to subscribe to the monthly Angus Journal There you'll get your regular dose of news and information in the breed, show results, important announcements, and of course, all the latest genetics up for sale. Visit angusjournal.net and hit subscribe to learn more. This has been the Angus Conversation, an Angus Journal podcast.