Star Farmer to star operation: From FFA project to renowned feedstock operation, Loosli family markets quality Red Angus bulls
“Loosli Red Angus began as an FFA project in the 1950s,” explains Brian Loosli, current owner and operator of Loosli Red Angus. “My dad purchased seven purebred Hereford heifers for his high school FFA project. He then went on to become an Idaho Star Farmer, a National Star Farmer and a National FFA Officer. But, it all started with FFA.”
The Looslis continued to raise Herefords, and after finding an abundance of success at some different regional stock shows with their bulls, the Looslis decided to host an annual production sale, this year being their 46thannual sale in Ashton, Idaho.
“We built our purebred Hereford operation for about 35 years, then as markets started to change we transitioned to raising Red Angus cattle instead,” Brian says. “We started by purchasing a herd out of Washington, then we went and bought a few from the Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE) in Billings, Mont. and complemented those females by using top Red Angus sires from across the country.”
The Looslis have been raising a renowned herd of registered Red Angus ever since.
Family cattle business
Today, Brian, his wife and their children run the Loosli Red Angus seedstock operation.
“There is nothing better than being able to work with my family,” Brian states. “It is so enjoyable to watch them grow up and take interest in the family operation.”
As far as the cattle go, Brian explains the Looslis continue to raise registered Red Angus cattle because the breed has tremendous mothering ability, good udders and are very docile.
“We are in the seedstock business, so we are raising cattle that have the potential to improve our buyers’ herds, meet demands of their environments and improve their bottom line,” says Brian.
“Our bulls need to be balanced to produce females with good mothering qualities and terminal offspring with good beef qualities.”
In addition to raising Red Angus cattle, the Loosli family also harvests potatoes, barley, peas, oats and wheat for human consumption as well as alfalfa hay for cattle feed.
Marketing top-notch genetics
The Loosli family markets their top-notch Red Angus genetics at their annual production sale every second Tuesday of March. Each year, bulls from their high-quality set of seedstock makes their way across the nation and into Canada.
“We feature 120 to 130 Red Angus yearling bulls and 75 to 85 purebred Red Angus heifers,” Brian says, noting Loosli Red Angus bulls are shipped from Canada to California and Washington to Illinois.
“We were very fortunate this year that our sale took place right before the coronavirus situation got too bad,” Brian adds. “We had a great sale this year with a huge crowd.”
For more information, visit loosliredangus.com.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
