Dalebanks Angus recently earned the 2020 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award from the Certified Angus Beef brand.
Doing right by their customers means raising the best cattle they can. For the Perrier family of Eureka, Kansas, that’s a philosophy, business model and family code all wrapped into one.
Matt, Amy and their children, along with his parents, Tom and Carolyn Perrier, operate Dalebanks Angus. The designation traces back to ancestors who kept a bit of their English heritage alive with their farm name when they settled the Kansas plains. The Perriers say strength in their customers’ bottom line means strength in their own, and profitability has to happen at every step along the beef chain.
“We still have to recognize that Mother Nature and the environment we’re in is either a pretty powerful ally or enemy,” Matt Perrier says. “If we try to use technology and overcome her completely and feed our way out of ‘problem cattle’ to cover up an issue in the genetics that should have been allowed to show, then we get ourselves in trouble.”
So he’s honest with himself and the cattle are honest with him. They learn to walk to water and travel on the rocks and hills, or they don’t stay. There’s plenty of opportunities for teaching and observing, both technical skill and the value of hard work. It’s proven a great place to learn about life.
“We try to be constant learners and get better every day in whatever we’re doing. With our faith, with our sports and activities, with our school and learning and with our work around here,” Perrier says. “We try to make ourselves and those around us better every day.”
