He can pick out his favorites in a sea of black hides. 

“He’s been around cows all of his life,” Joy says. “His parents tell stories of them having to go out and find him, and Steve would be in the corral with the cows.”  

The operation, with a few local ranchers, conducts one female sale and two bull sales annually. But the preparation is continuous. 

“Every day is sale day,” Steve says. “They’ve got to look the part so if some guy calls tomorrow, our cows are good enough and nice enough looking, we can sell them.”  

Creating opportunity 

Not only does Steve have a knack for cattle, but he’s devoted to helping others, too. Look towards the Texas Angus Association (TAA) for proof.  

“The first year I was on [the board], I didn’t say much,” he recalls. “After that, I decided, if you’re going to be on this board, you’d better make a difference.”  

So he dove in headfirst, identifying the need for more ways to make commercial cattlemen money. Then he acted on it, implementing feeder calf sales in conjunction with special sales at auction barns across the state.  

“It’s just another way to expand the avenues of the commercial guy to make more money,” Steve says, though the effects are felt at both ends of the market. “It’s also for the breeders to be able to merchandise their bulls and help their customers come back and return the favor.”  

The TAA encourages use of AngusLink^SM paired with other value-added programs to garner more profit. So far, TAA feeder-calf sales beat all other sale opportunities.  

“I’ll be the first one to say, ‘I don’t think we can beat this price in Oklahoma or Dalhart or wherever —’ and so far, I haven’t had to eat those words!”  

Steve’s efforts aren’t about building a name for himself but building something others can count on, especially those often overlooked. 

All are welcome, he says, but the focus is on those with smaller herds because “they’re kind of the ones that get a little more neglected.” These sales allow those who can’t support their own production sale to market their Angus genetics for a premium.  

“It’s just to help people,” Steve explains. “The market’s crazy right now, but when that market drops — and it always does — we will have our operations in place, and those guys will hopefully come to us and let us help them.” 

Radale Tiner, Texas regional manager for the American Angus Association, highlights the excitement Steve helped drum up in the state.  

“He’s sparked momentum that’s gotten commercial cattlemen genuinely excited about participating and marketing high-quality Angus genetics,” Tiner says. “The seedstock business works best when the commercial guy sees value in the bulls they’re buying, and Steve’s helped bring that full circle.” 

Progress with purpose 

The Zybachs’ progression is fueled by a fear of complacency. 

“If you don’t continue to push the envelope, you do get a little stale,” Steve says. “We want to keep enthusiasm for Angus cattle going forward.” 
That’s what keeps Steve and Joy striving for more.  

“I help everyone if I can,” he says. With that top of mind, the cattle business will keep progressing a little more every day.