Like many cattle operations in the “old days,” we ran Herefords. We started using A.I. on the cowherd in the late 60’s and early 70’s which allowed us to experiment with other breeds & crossbreeding. After gaining experience & seeing the advantages of crossbreeding in our commercial herd we settled on breeding Purebred Red & Black Angus and use the best “maternal “ of the continental breeds in Gelbvieh & Simmental to produce Balancers and Angus Hybrids for our commercial customers.

The Lemke cowherd genetics run deep with maternal, performance & carcass traits and is the factory which consistently produces top quality bulls for our customers. Both the registered & commercial cows are run together & managed the same way. Cows graze most of the year on native pastures in summer and crop residue in late fall & winter. Cows are expected to raise calves that weigh at least half their own bodyweight from grass, water, salt & mineral only. No creep is fed to calves allowing for a more accurate evaluation and comparison of a cow’s true production ability. Our breeding program is simple regardless of breed.

1. Individually mate each female to retain her strengths & improve her weakness.
2. Breed for deep, wide based, easy fleshing, moderate framed, highly fertile females with high maternal, carcass & performance traits with the phenotype & structure for longevity, and the genetics & ability to raise top performing calves

In short, we strive to breed cattle that possess all the desired profitable traits that work for the Rancher, Feeder, Packer & ultimately the Consumer.