At Ellingson Angus, the cow herd is considered the cornerstone of everything the Ellingson family works toward. While they value performance data and EPDs, the family hopes to never lose sight of the fact that cattle must work under practical conditions on the ranch near St. Anthony, N.D.

Decades of strategic breeding and strict culling have shaped a herd built for real-world functionality. 

“We put a lot of emphasis on feet and legs because we know cattle need to travel and convert grass into protein,” says Chad Ellingson. “Structural integrity ties very closely to longevity in cows, and we want cattle that will last a long time.

The entire Ellingson Angus cow herd is enrolled in the American Angus Association’s MaternalPlus^® program. MaternalPlus helps the Ellingsons provide their customers effective selection tools by capturing additional reproductive trait data and cow survivability tools.

Through the years, the Ellingsons have expanded their herd utilizing artificial insemination and embryo transfer to raise balanced-trait cattle that will perform well for their customers.