Approximately, 1000 people attended the Rock Nobles Cattlemen 2021 Summer Beef Tour on Tuesday in southwest Minnesota. Tour stops highlighted eight operations including Summit Lake Livestock of Wilmont. Co-owner Russ Penning says they showed off several buildings they converted from hog facilities 15 years ago to wet calf barns and cattle finishing areas.
Brake Feedyards of Wilmont is a multi-family diversified farming operation. They also have a combination of both indoor and outdoor facilities they’re using to annually feed out from 3,000 to 5,000 head.
Another stop was R&R Thier Feedlots of Rushmore. Ryan Thier says started with 3,000 head in 2004 and have nearly tripled their capacity in the last 8 years. They have a diversity of facilities, but he likes the slat barns for consistent gains and lower labor.
They say the tour is a great place for producers to get ideas for their own operations, they also invited consumers to attend to learn more about how cattle are produced in Minnesota.
