Half a Century with Simmental

It all started back in 1971 when my Dad, Raphael, used his first Simmental semen with the first calves being born in 1972. He was A-I’ing the dairy herd at the time and he had a small herd of commercial cows that he thought he would also A-I. I remember him telling me how he used Charolais, Gelbvieh and Simmental that first year in 1971. All three breeds worked well with those AI calves weaning at least 100 lbs. heavier than his other calves. For whatever reason he chose to stay with the Simmentals, and we have never looked back. In 1974, Eichacker Simmentals was established with the American Simmental Association giving us membership #4441, we now could register those ½ blood calves. I very clearly remember the old cumbersome Herd Handler sheets spread across the kitchen table as he and mom tried to compile all the data.

The first A-I bull he used was Lohner followed by Galant, they sure made good cows, other sires used early on were Extra, Uslar, Urspring, Lacombe Achillies and Signal to name a few.

Over the past 50 years we’ve seen a lot of trends come and go, some of them good and some of them not so good, when you look at some of the old pictures you must wonder what the heck we were thinking.

In the mid 70’s we sold a few bulls private treaty, we still have the records of every animal sold and in 1977 $750 seemed the going price. In 1979 the decision was made to have a bull sale in Kimball, SD. The bulls were well accepted, and we sold between 25-30 bulls each year and had a sale average of around $1700. In the early 1980’s the Kimball area became a hot bed for Simmental cattle, with breeders like Benda Simmentals, R & R Cattle Co., Ekstrum Brothers, Mika Simmentals to name a few. There were a lot of Simmy bulls in the area so in 1983 we decided to stay at home in our area and market the bulls by private treaty. The private treaty route for bull sales served us well for the next 18 years.

For a 10-year span, which centered in the late 1990’s, the trailer was packed full of bulls, tack and feed and headed for the NWSS in Denver where we exhibited pen bulls. The exposure and people we met was definitely a turning point for ES. The other significant turning point was in 1994 when Gramm Farms invited us to be a part of their Genetic Focus Female Sale. We always felt the folks we were introduced to from across the country really helped put us on the map and for that we will forever be grateful to Rick & Ted and their entire families. We continued to be a part of the Genetic Focus sales for six years.

2001 was a year of changes in how we marketed our cattle. First, there was a progressive group of breeders that came together to start the Northern Lights Female Sale that was held in Brookings, SD. The sale remained in Brookings for six years until the expenses at the Swiftel Center got to be too much, so in 2007 the Northern Lights Sale was moved to Salem in our new calving barn/sale barn. It remained there for three years until disbanding.

Back to the bull side, in 2001 we took the big leap to return to a live auction sale at Mitchell Livestock in Mitchell, SD. We sold sixty bulls for an average of $2229 that year. The next major change came in 2005 when JK Angus joined forces with us to bring two great programs into one great sale.

In 2008 the decision was made to bring the bull sale back to the farm. We had just built a new calving barn, but we felt we could tear the pens down for a couple of days to host a bull sale. One of the best decisions we have ever made. There was such a large crowd that first year we have pictures of guys sitting on top of the porta pots! That atmosphere is just so much more personal.

Not having a female sale in 2010, we fired up in 2011 with Eichacker Simmentals & JK Angus offering 204 head in the newly formed Dakota Made Sale which continued through 2016. Another big decision was made in 2018 to combine our female and bull sale into one production sale the first Friday in March and that takes us to the present where we now hold our sale in our new shop across the road from the farm.

So many things have helped us shape our Simmental herd with all the events, registrations, DNA, embryo transfers, RightMate, etc but probably the most influential is the people we have met along the way.

Along with the many wonderful customers we have created through our sales, we have also formed many friendships with being involved in many of the organizations within the Simmental Breed.

Raphael, Steve & Cathy took their turn serving on the SD Simmental Association Board and Steve & Cathy were also SD Jr Simmental Advisors for 20 years. In the span of those 20 years, they got to see many junior members grow up and join their family operations or start their own. Currently at ES we have a young man working for us who is the son of a former SD Jr Simmental Queen and is currently the SD Jr Simmental Association Advisor. Steve & Cathy also spearheaded hosting two North Central Regional Classics in SD in 2012 & 2017 and an American Simmental Association National Classic in 2020 in Brookings, SD during the covid era.

Over the years we were involved in many SD Simmental tours and organizing hospitality and social events at the SD State Fair.

One of the most rewarding experiences so far was Steve serving as a trustee on the American Simmental Association Board of Trustees with his term ending in 2022. The people he met and the knowledge he gained during those six years are priceless. He made friends with fellow Simmental breeders from all over the county that he may have never been able to meet and getting to meet and know the staff at the ASA is also a privilege when serving on the Board. Currently Cathy is serving on the American Simmental/Simbrah Foundation Board and is actively raising funds to support the four pillars within the Foundation.

Currently

Eichacker Simmentals currently consists of Steve & Cathy, Steve’s brother Greg, and their son Adam and his new bride, Haley. Also returning to our operation is Zac Heumiller. Zac worked for us for about 11 years during his high school and college years and afterwards. He ventured off for a few years pursuing a new career, but felt his heart was on the farm. So, we are very happy to have him join the ES crew again. Adam intends to transition into a major role at the farm. To plan for this, Eichacker Simmentals formed a family partnership with Steve, Cathy, Greg and Adam as partners, simplifying the process of passing down the business to the next generation. Adam attended school at South Dakota State University, majoring in agricultural science. He has since returned to the family operation. He values the relationships and trust his parents have built with customers. “Treating your customers the way you would want to be treated is really the name of the game.” Adam shares.

Another huge part of the ES crew is the other family members that come to help whenever asked if it’s the bull sale, A-I season, planting or harvesting. Steve’s mom, Judy lives in Sioux Falls and Steve’s sister, Bridgett and her son, Brady also live in Sioux Falls but make the many trips to Salem to help whenever needed. Steve & Cathy’s daughter Amanda and son, Nick and their families get involved with the many tasks on the farm and without their help the work would not get done. Steve & Cathy also have 5 grandchildren that love to pitch in or just ride along in the tractor for a day on the farm.

So if you are driving down I-90 and are by exit 368, please take the exit and head North for only 1 ½ miles and stop in to the farm and have a cup of coffee and “talk cattle”!