The Beef Improvement Federation presented Kent and Tyler Woolfolk of Woolfolk Ranch near Protection, Kansas, the BIF Commercial Producer of the Year Award during the group’s recent annual meeting and symposium in Loveland, Colorado. This national award is presented annually to a producer to recognize their dedication to improving the beef industry at the commercial level.
Woolfolk Ranch LLC is located in southwestern Comanche County, Kansas, and northeastern Harper County, Oklahoma. Kent Woolfolk and his son, Tyler, represent the fourth and fifth generations to operate the ranch. The ranch encompasses about 17,000 owned and leased acres of grass and around 1,000 acres of cropland.
The Woolfolks maintain around 1,100 Angus-based cows that calve in the spring, starting about March 15. They also take in nearly 150 Angus cows year-round on a custom per head basis. The cows are managed alongside their personal herd. Depending on moisture availability, the ranch will custom-graze 750 to 1,200 yearlings each year. In 2014, the Woolfolk family began the process of constructing a feeding facility to use for weaning purposes and as a drylot for cows during the fall and winter months, which would allow them to feed a low-cost maintenance ration.
The feedyard lets the Woolfolks develop and market their own replacement heifers, grow steers to feeder weight and custom-develop heifers for other ranches. It also is used as part of a drought plan put in place by the family, allowing the ranch to destock pastures much more quickly if the need arises.
The cow herd is rotated during the grazing months using a three-pasture rotation system. This provides adequate rest between grazing cycles prior to weaning, which begins in early September.
All cattle are handled horseback using low-stress cattle handling techniques, which allows the growing sixth generation to help when available. Woolfolk family members, while always looking for new management techniques and technology to improve cattle efficiency, still pride themselves on ranching traditions passed down from previous generations.
More than 600 beef producers, academia and industry representatives were in attendance at the organization’s 50th annual convention. BIF’s mission is to help improve the industry by promoting greater acceptance of beef cattle performance evaluation.
For more information about this year’s symposium, including additional award winners and coverage of the meeting and tours, visit BIFconference.com. For more information about BIF, visit Beefimprovement.org.
