Women in Simmental Country

Denise Lafrentz says that the last 20-some years has mostly revolved around “kids and cattle”, and oh, yes let’s not forget about husband Vern. She then adds that raising a family and

Simmental cattle on their southern Saskatchewan farm has been a great way of life.

Denise and Vern, own and operate Wheatland Cattle Co, near Bienfait, Saskatchewan, southeast of Estevan. She admits there were some very busy days trying to juggle a home, raising two boys, and

managing a growing herd of purebred and commercial cattle. At the time “you never really thought about it, you just did it. I look back now and think ‘wow, how did I do that and where did I find the energy” says Lafrentz. “We’ve always set goals for what we want to achieve on the farm, and we’ve always been passionate about the beef industry, so I never really thought about the time it took, and the hours that we put in, it was just what we needed to do, to get where we wanted to go.”

Denise and Vern have built Wheatland Cattle Co. over the past 18 years. Denise grew up on a mixed farming operation near Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She later attended the University of Saskatchewan, met Vern at a beef show in Estevan, and they married 22 years ago. They farmed with his parents, who owned Wheatland Simmentals, just east of Bienfait for a few years before buying a half section of land along the Souris River, where they have developed their own purebred Simmental operation. “When we started here, we really started from scratch,” says Denise. “It was a beautiful place, with nice scenery along the river valley, but there really wasn’t much else.” They started with about 30 head of cattle, only 10-head were “papered” and they have grown the operation from there. “Vern’s family had been involved with purebred Simmental for many years,” says Denise. “When we started out we saw the opportunity to redesign and breed cattle that were commercially acceptable and our goal remains the same today.”

PUREBRED AND PERCENTAGE CATTLEToday Wheatland Cattle Co. runs about 180 head. About half

are purebred red and black Simmental, while the other half are percentage or commercial Simmental/Angus cross-cattle. Denise has been knee-deep in the beef industry as long as she can remember. Her family raised beef cattle and was always involved in 4-H. When she was little, the family took cattle to a finished-steer show. Denise has been going to some type of beef show since before she was in kindergarten.

While it is a team effort at Wheatland Cattle Co., Denise has been a pivotal player in all aspects of the home and farm since day one. As they were building the beef herd, Vern worked off farm for many years working for a local mining operation. It has only been about the last four years that he has been full time on the farm.

Along with the farm, Denise and Vern also raised two sons. Riley, 20, who is studying Animal Science at Kansas State University, while Cody-Ray, 19, is at college in Hutchinson, Kansas. Both young men are attending school on livestock judging scholarships. Along with regular studies they are both actively involved in livestock judging competitions across the U.S.

Denise is hands-on in all aspects of the farming operation. The cowherd begins calving in late January, meaning regular ‘round the clock’ checks of the herd. As facilities have improved over the years, so has the schedule. “When we were starting out we really didn’t have many buildings so cows would be calving around windbreaks and then we’d take the toboggan

Family and farm creates a great life combinationDenise Lafrentz, Wheatland Cattle Co.

and bring the new calves back to a shed to be warmed up,” she says. “Then we did upgrade to a building were we could keep a few cows along with some machinery, but it didn’t have much room. In 2014 we built a new calving barn where we can hold 60 head at a time. When facilities weren’t as good, we’d take turns checking the cows about every hour, now we go out every three hours or so. It is a lot easier on everyone. “ MARCH SALE DAY

Along with calving being in full swing February through to about mid-March, the Lafrentzs are at the same time getting organized for their Annual Bull Sale, usually held the last Thursday of March. They’ve been holding a bull sale since 1995. The herd was smaller in the mid ‘90s, and they weren’t sure about starting a sale, but friends, Karl and Karen Lischka of ANL Herefords at Steelman, Saskatchewan urged them to give it a try. For many years they ran a joint sale day with ANL Herefords at the sale barn at Alameda, although that changed this past year.

“We undertook a major project in 2014,” says Denise. “We built a new show and sale barn as well as a new calving barn. We started the project in the fall of 2014 and the new sale barn was ready for sale day…just barely, but it was ready. This past March was the first year we had our own sale at the farm.’” Wheatland Cattle Co. markets between 35 and 40 bulls annually. Most are purebred red and black Simmental, although they also sell a few percentage animals, as well.

The focus has been on building the beef herd around the strength of primarily two cow families. “We found animals with the particular traits and quality that we liked and we have basically built from there,” says Denise. “We flushed the cow to

harvest embryos and then we would flush the daughters of that cow and harvest those embryos; that is how we built the herd. We have used some line breeding as well to further maintain the pedigree. “The objective has been to carry the genetics throughout the herd. We haven’t made any major swings in our breeding program one way or another. If you look at cattle we had 10 or 15 years ago and cattle we have today they look very similar — just very good, productive cattle that are commercially acceptable to the cow-calf producer, while at the same time you could also put a show halter on them.” Denise recalls an excellent black bull Wheatland 131L (nicknamed Teddy) and a female Wheatland 902J, a 16-year-old cow that is still in the herd — these two Simmentals were really the start of the purebred herd they have today.

While the Lafrentzs are proud of their cattle, they limit the beef shows they attend to the annual Canadian Western Agribition in Regina in November. They’ve been attending the show with a string of cattle since 1993 and were among the first to show red and black Simmental cattle. In past years Denise has been a regular at Agribition for all 10 days, the boys would come and help out for at least part of the time, and Vern attended as his work schedule allowed.

She says fitting and showing as many as a dozen head at Agribition has been a tremendous experience. She’s also proud of the fact several times over the years they received Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor honors. They also showed cattle at the World Simmental Congress in Calgary in 2006, that year winning World Champion Bull and Reserve Champion Cow honors. The same bull, later that year was also named Supreme Champion Bull at Agribition in Regina.

“We’re proud of our cattle, but the real joy of this industry is the great people you meet and the real friendships you develop,” says Denise.

“That’s one of the great things about attending Agribition every year is meeting with friends and getting caught up.”

Denise says the farm has been an excellent environment for raising a family. She says it wasn’t always easy raising two little ones and fitting farm chores in around their needs but it all worked. “Maybe they missed out on some things, but the boys have been raised around cattle and they love the industry too,” she says. “Being involved in 4-H has helped them develop into fine young men. It also led to opportunities to obtain scholarships for their education. And now being involved in judging competitions helps develop their character, gives them great experience, creates this whole network of people and

friends, and really as far as future opportunities are concerned, the sky’s the limit. They have expressed interest in coming back to farm, which would be great, but they may chose some other career path, and they will have plenty of options.” She says she and Vern do miss those extra pairs of hands around the farm, but they’re managing.

Future plans for Wheatland Cattle Co. include ongoing upgrades to facilities — “Vern is pretty fussy” — as well as improving the quality of the cattle and measured growth in herd numbers. “We have a program that is working well for us now, so we will continue with that,” says Denise. One new pilot project is testing out the potential of fall calving. They have 10 head of females that are calving this fall. “We’re just trying this to see how it works for us and see how it fits in our program,” she says.

“Bulls from these cows will be a little older by the time they are ready for sale, so we’ll see what the buyers think.”

With her prime focus over the years being family and farm, Denise says it can be a “24/7, 365 commitment” which hasn’t given her much time for outside interests. She has in the past year been involved with the Canadian Young Leaders Program, open to both young men and women in the beef industry, which partners a young producer with an experienced mentor. Denise has been working with Shari Leachman, who along with her husband farm near Maidstone, Saskatchewan. “It is an excellent program that allows me to share my experience with someone else,” says Denise. “Shari and I have visited regularly and “bounced” different ideas around as she looks to develop her role as young farm woman in the livestock industry. I would encourage all youth to take advantage of the program.”

Denise welcomes the opportunity to share her experience with others about a life and industry that has been so rewarding for her. “I guess if you love what you do, it really isn’t work,” she says. “Really there has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears go into this farm, but being passionate about something is what is important. I have been at this quite a few years, but it still moves me when we have a newborn calf, that finally struggles to its feet for the first time, and they look at you — this business is really in your blood.”