Our Polled Hereford herd began in 1952 when our father, the late Alfred Schutte, purchased two cows and one bull.  At the present time our cowherd numbers 170 head with over half being daughters and granddaughters of DL DIGGER 15G 44U.  Our herd has been basically closed to outside females for over 20 years, so the bulk of the cowherd traces to just a few original cow families.

A Tradition of Outstanding Foundation Sires
We have been fortunate to have owned some truly outstanding foundation sires over the years, including RCR GOLDMINE 26 (1960), SLF PLD MOD LAMP 34 (1968), GERDES FUTURE SPIDEL 4 (1979), LH DUPLICATOR 140N (1981), WBR SURVIVOR T24 (1985), DL DIGGER 15G 44U (1986), and VCR EAST KODIAK 506E (1995).  Every female on our ranch traces to one or more of these bulls. 

Digger is probably the most influential sire of females we have owned since we have been in the purebred business.  He has been used AI in herds from coast to coast.  He is truly a solid foundation sire and one of the breed's great breeding bulls. 

VCR EAST KODIAK 506E is the latest exciting addition to our battery of herd bulls, a truly outstanding herd bull who sired the 1999 National Champion Polled Hereford bull, S&S BASIC 1G, out of a DL DIGGER 15G 44U dam.  S&S BlASIC 1G was also the 1998 Grand Champion at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky.

Benchmark Dams and Dams of Distinction
We have been in the purebred Polled Hereford business for 60 years and have sold cattle to ranches in more than 32 states, Canada and Argentina.  Each year we hold a production sale the first Tuesday in March, focusing on commercial bulls and top replacement females.  Our herd has been one of the leaders in the nation on the Benchmark Dam list since the inception of the Benchmark program.  We have bred over 70 Benchmark Dams or Dams of Distinction, including a number of females that sold in our sales as heifers and then made Benchmark for their new owners.  In 2011, S&S ownes 19 Dams of Distinction, ranking us in the top 11 herds of the Horned and Polled Herefords in the United States.

Ours is a truly working ranch where the cattle must take care of themselves and thrive in our environment.  Our only sources of income are grain and cattle, so it is extremely necessary that we keep our operation fine tuned and efficient.  We don't have the manpower to spend extra time with problem cattle.

Our Family

Ron and his wife Nancy have four children:  their daughter Melissa, and her husband John Turner and their son, Simon; their daughter Amy and her husband Brad Edgar their daughter Avery and there son Lleyton; their daughter Nichole and her husband John Schumm and their sons, Trenton and Evan; and their granddaughter Savannah (Ben's daughter). 

At the present time none of our children are actively involved in our operation, but they take great interest in what goes on with our cattle, having been involved in 4-H and showing cattle while they were still at home. 

Again, welcome to our ranch.   We look forward to seeing you at our production sale, the first Tuesday in March.