Moving the Industry Forward: SS Ranch Company builds foundation of productive, functional cattle with competitive carcass traits
The Malm family lives in Goshen County near LaGrange on what is known as the SS Ranch Company.
Andy, Stacy and their family moved to LaGrange from Albin in 2006 when they, along with Andy’s parents Gordon and Fanny Malm, made the purchase of the SS Ranch.
Gordon and Fanny began a registered Hereford business in the early 1950s. Their work ethic and dedication to improving their cow herd led to many accolades within the industry, including exhibiting the Champion Carload of Hereford Bulls at the 1969 National Western Stock Show in Denver.
As time went on and trends changed, Gordon found it imperative to put a focus on carcass superiority, which led to inclusion of multiple other breeds.
“My dad was an astute cowman, with an eye for high-quality phenotype, and he started crossbreeding to improve the Hereford breed,” shares Andy. “Then it evolved into a six-breed operation known as Malm Ranch Company. The whole family was involved, including my brother Howard and my sisters Martha and Lynette.”
Acquiring the SS Ranch
The family had been leasing a ranch in Nebraska and feared their lease was going to be terminated. This was the beginning of the transition of the Malm Ranch herd to a new home, and Andy and his family came to the SS Ranch.
“Purchasing this ranch was a huge leap of faith so we could help run the Malm Ranch cows here on a lease basis,” Andy says. “When we moved here in 2006, this ranch had been on the market for a while. Taking it from where it was then to what it is today has been a work in progress,” Andy says.
The SS Ranch sits on the south bank of Horse Creek, just south of LaGrange and was known for many years as the KJ Ranch.
Then Charles Hirsig, the owner in 1937, bought some cattle with the SS brand and obtained the brand as well.
“From then on, the ranch was known as the SS Ranch – sometimes, jokingly, we say the SS stands for sandy soil,” Andy laughs.
Over the years, the ranch has seen some interesting history.
“It’s hard to imagine now, but the peaceful creek flowing by the ranch was once the site of cattle drives from Texas to several northern states,” Andy shares. “The big herds traveled along the creek, coming from Pine Bluffs across the range. They probably followed this creek for several miles before cutting cross country and crossing the North Platte River to go into northern Wyoming and Montana.”
In 1962, the owners of the ranch established a corporation, which was owned by Ed and Elizabeth Johnson and their three sons – Jelmer, Bill and Jim.
The Malm family purchased the ranch and the brand in 2006 from the Johnson family corporation.
Developing the cow herd
Today, the SS Ranch runs a registered and commercial cow/calf operation, based on strict principles of producing functional, appealing cattle with the right growth and performance for today’s industry demands.
“We strive to breed cattle to have the genetic and phenotypic advantage to achieve maximum profitability in any facet of the industry,” Andy states.
This has been accomplished through strict culling, along with extensive artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer programs.
“This was all built on the great eye for cattle my father passed on to me to build the herd utilizing outstanding embryo transfer (ET) donors,” Andy says.
He continues, “My dad was a very successful Hereford breeder as a young man. Then, he had a herd of Gelbvieh and Salers cattle that gained national recognition. He trademarked the Carcass Master Composite bulls as the mainstay of the Malm Ranch program. This was a four-breed composite.”
“Today, however, we raise some F1 and three-breed composite bulls and sell 20 to 30 bulls every year via private treaty,” Andy adds. “We also raise our own bulls to clean up behind our AI breeding and ET programs.”
Andy notes the Malms have developed their cow herd from this foundation, utilizing registered Angus, Simmental and three-breed composite genetics – Angus, Simmental and Maine Anjou. They also run a herd of registered Hereford cows.
This enables the operation to provide bulls to fit any customer’s goals.
“We raise bull calves through strict culling, with a heavy emphasis on productive, functional cattle and carcass traits,” Andy explains. “My dad was a pioneer in pushing carcass traits with the Angus and Salers cattle in the Malm Ranch Company. We test our product by selling 50 to 60 freezer beef each year, which helps us make sure our cattle are doing the best job from conception to consumption.”
Alongside a focus on a bull crop that can fit a multitude of customers’ needs, the ranch puts a lot of focus on the females they retain, as well as some they purchase to build around.
“Building off of notable cow families which have proven themselves within the herd or for other operations across the country has been an important factor when it’s time to make mating decisions,” Andy states. “The quality and traits of a bull itself are certainly taken into consideration, but taking into account the cows that are behind them and stacking those potent females into a pedigree has proven to be lucrative and consistent.”
“Although females aren’t marketed here at the same rate as their male contemporaries, we find it of utmost importance to build consistency in the cow base each generation,” he adds.
Diversifying the operation
While the SS Ranch is the trademark for most of the registered offspring, the Malms own a second ranch, the Creekside Ranch, which was purchased at the same time.
“We market cattle through the two entities. However, the same goal remains of producing a quality product for other producers and consumers alike,” Andy says.
“We feel blessed to be able to do our part in producing, marketing and moving the beef industry forward,” Andy says. “Our main goal is to try to keep improving the quality of the cattle – genotypically and phenotypically – with a heavy emphasis on carcass and cutability since those are the traits important for the end product.”
Additionally, the ranch grows a lot of their own feed and purchases some from neighboring hay farms.
“We try to raise our own silage, but we don’t have quite enough farm ground to raise all of our feed and grain crops,” Andy admits. “When we moved here, we were limited in what we could do, but we are trying to move forward with a better feeding operation and do more in-house here at the ranch.”
He further notes the ranch develops bull calves on a high-forage ration before they are turned out to finish on grass prior to being sold as two-year-olds.
Calves that don’t make the cut as bull prospects or replacement females are sold as 500- to 650-pound prospective feeder or grass cattle.
“In the future, we may try to market some yearling bulls, but the private treaty bulls are primarily two-year-olds,” Andy says. “With a focus on mating for function and quality, we’ve had the opportunity to market more prospect show calves as yearlings and weaned calves.”
“My son has headed this up since he moved back to the ranch and works to sell calves privately or through online sales,” he adds.
Raising the family
Goshen County has proved a great place for the Malms to raise their family and grow their love for the cattle industry.
“The Lord has richly blessed us to live in this part of the country and be a part of this industry. We enjoy a lifestyle, which hopefully, our kids and grandkids can continue and do whatever they’d like to do through use of the ranch,” Andy says. “We are here because we feel it is our calling to do our part in moving the beef industry forward.”
Andy and Stacy have two daughters – Katelin, who is married to Avery Jamerman and has a son named Carson, and Karissa. They also have one son, Kaden, who is engaged to be married to his fiancé Paige Miller.
“Kaden, along with Katelin and Avery, currently work at the ranch, and Karissa is a surgical technician at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo.,” shares Andy. “My wife is the secretary at a grade school in the area and enjoys helping out whenever she can.”
“Every piece of the puzzle has to fit,” he continues. “We have a little bit of outside help – some part-time help periodically – but right now all of the labor is handled by family members. It’s a team effort.”
For more information on the SS Ranch Company, visit @SSRanchCompany on Facebook, call 307-834-0128 or e-mail semalm91@yahoo.com.
Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
