Changes in life, changes in cattle
From generation to generation, Elston family embraces their journey in ag
Each year, North Dakota hosts more than one million adventure trips, according to the North Dakota Tourism Department. Most of those adventurers come to the state to explore its legendary history and scenic beauty. Some ride horse, others dirt bikes. Most find the adventure they had anticipated. A lucky few have a life-changing experience.
And so it happened for Michele Elston when she met North Dakota cattleman, Wesley Elston of Spiritwood, while on a weekend trip to North Dakota. She traded lesson plans for feeder wagons, a crowded city (population 3.5 million) for a much smaller community (population 95), and the couple is enjoying their new life together.
Wesley and Michele built the Elston family’s feedlot northwest of Eckelson, just two miles west of where Wesley was raised. It is a family operation through and through, as three of Elston’s four brothers – Daniel, Tyler, Ryley and their families – collaborate on several farm-related enterprises, including a cow-calf operation, trucking company, grain farm enterprise, and the feedlot. Brother Seth, who works in town, also helps on some weekends.
“My parents put themselves in a position to help each one of us get started in agriculture, if that was our choice,” said Wesley, a fourth-generation rancher who couldn’t imagine living another lifestyle. Like his parents, Wesley is preparing to offer the same opportunity to son Ian, if he so chooses.
That opportunity may include the registered Angus business, something that stemmed from the Elston’s experiences feeding and finishing the family’s steers in their 999-head permitted feedlot built in 2007, with the help of the NDSA’s Environmental Services Program.
The Elstons believe that everyone along the beef production chain, from the cow-calf producer to the retailer, should have one common goal – to produce the best possible end product for consumers. It was in that spirit that the family began to purchase more carcass-oriented bulls for their cow-calf operation. “The truth is, feedlots don’t necessarily care what a cow-calf producer’s cowherd looks like, they care about how well the calves perform,” Wesley said.
And, while many cow-calf producers care about how their cattle perform in the feedlot, they must also consider attributes like udder quality, feet and legs – attributes that might not be as important in the feedlot, but are critical for ranchers.
As cow-calf producers and feedlot operators, the Elstons are looking to achieve a balance. That was one reason Wesley and Michele started a registered Angus business. “It is interesting for us to learn how these cattle perform on the rail and then correlate it back to the ranch,” he said.
NDSA Environmental Services Director Scott Ressler of Mandan agrees. “If you’re interested in truly making your cattle better, it’s critical to retain ownership, at least on a few, to see how they perform,” he said. “It is important to have a marketing plan, get at least some performance data back and understand how your cow herd will impact the end product,” Ressler said.
Elstons’ plan included building a feedlot. It has allowed the family to expand their operation and include more family members without greatly expanding their land base.
“You can build a feedyard on 10 acres of land and be in the feeding business,” Ressler said. Since 2002, the NDSA has helped more than 55 producers take advantage of cost-share programs and add a feeding enterprise.
The program not only helps folks qualify for cost-share, but helps them develop facilities that meet state and federal regulations and cause the least impact to the environment. That was a concern for the Elstons. Their feedlot sits adjacent to a watershed that drains into nearby Fox Lake.
“In the beginning, our neighbors worried that runoff from the new feedlot would damage the habitat of Fox Lake,” Wesley explained. The family worked with NDSA member K2S Engineering of Ypsilanti to design the feedlot.
The team developed a clean water diversion, holding pond and filtering system for the solids and water coming off the feedlot.
“The system has prevented contaminants from entering Fox Lake – even after a record snowfall in 2008-09 and the abundance of rain this area has had since the mid-1990’s,” Wesley said.
In addition to environmental concerns, the Elstons, along with their neighbors, also worried about the amount of truck traffic their gravel road would see. “We decided to build a concrete bunker to hold a majority of our feedstuffs,” he said. The 60 by 80 foot bunker allows feed to be stock piled, minimizing the need for trucks to deliver feed during wet, spring road conditions.
Elston said the availability of cheap feedstuffs around almost every corner are a significant advantage for North Dakota feeders. “Look at all the corn stocks that are burned down at the end of the season,” he said. “That’d be great feed!”
The Elstons purchase all of their feed for the feedlot, sourcing wet, modified and dry distillers grains from nearby ethanol plants, sugarbeet toppings from local cooperatives and corn screenings from local elevators.
Having a good handle on input costs is imperative, according to Wesley. “Last winter, wet distillers grains were virtually free from a nearby plant because it was installing a new dryer.
Right now, the price is $30-$35 per ton. We’d be better off going a little further to buy a dry product instead of a wet product.”
It’s a constant job to track those costs, which is one of Michele’s many jobs in her new profession. It’s also a constant job to evaluate and adapt to the changes. That was a trait passed down to Wesley and his brothers from their dad, the late James W. Elston.
“We are living a life that is much different from my friends back in Minneapolis,” she said. “They are interested in learning about how we care for these animals. I also think they are a bit envious that we have immediate access to high-quality beef in our freezer.”