Full-Circle Operation: K2 Red Angus personifies the diversified cattle operation

Diversified operations are often applauded as the epitome of success and future planning. The Goertz family and K2 Red Angus are a prime example of the full-circle nature of a diversified cattle and farming operation. 

Their Wheatland-based operation includes both registered and commercial herds, as well as a contract with Wyoming Pure and Natural Beef. Kim and Jason Goertz also farm wheat and other crops on both dry and irrigated land. 

The pair both have extensive backgrounds in cattle. Kim worked for many years as a full-time artificial insemination technician, and Jason grew up on a commercial cattle operation. 

Registered Red Angus 

With a goal to raise functional, fertile and efficient cattle, the family forgo making decisions based on expected progeny differences (EPDs), and instead, choose and raise cattle they know will grow to be functional working cattle. 

Kim’s journey with registered cattle began in 1998 when she bought her first registered cow. She notes she was in the registered cow business for about 10 years prior to her and Jason getting married and joining their operations.

“When we got together our operation grew more than I could have ever imagined,” she says. “We now run both a spring and fall calving herd and have two sales per year to market our cattle.” 

“We emphasize maternal traits and pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) testing for high elevation. We definitely don’t get them too fat, and we like good foot and leg structure to make sure they can travel in rough country,” she continues. “We are not big on EPDs. These are not show cows. They are ranching cattle, and we treat them as so.”

“A big part of what I believe sets us apart is we both come from very strong commercial cattle backgrounds,” Kim adds. “Because of this, we know what the everyday rancher needs, and we keep a really rigid quality standard on the cattle we sell.”

Kim notes they offer a guarantee on their bulls, and she once thought she lost a customer because he did not return for nearly six years. 

“He finally called me after six years and said he was ready to pick up new bulls since his original set needed to be replaced. It made us feel really good about the quality of our bulls,” Kim says.

Wyoming Beef

Jason’s parents started Wyoming Pure and Natural Beef in 2004. They began using their own commercial herds. Later on, Kim and Jason took over the management of this commercial herd and added some of their own cattle as well. 

Kim notes Wyoming Pure and Natural Beef processes cattle almost exclusively through their family’s operation. 

“Wyoming Pure and Natural Beef purchases beef from Wyoming producers. A lot of the beef from outside of our family operation comes from our bull customers, so in a way it is tied into our registered operation,” she shares. 

“It is really neat to get to sell beef from people we know,” she says. “People can put food on the table for their families and know exactly where those cattle have been and how they were taken care of,” she continues.

The company offers custom cuts, but customers can also purchase quarters, halves or whole sides of beef as well as specialty meats such as sausage. 

The family has also had a working relationship with the 307 Meat Company in Laramie where they have worked with the management of the facility and provided meat. 

Moving forward

Kim notes a majority of the goals surrounding their operation stem from including their now 17-year-old twins in the operation if they want to be a part of it. 

“One of our biggest goals is to stay viable and continue to grow,” she says. “For us, this has looked like taking on new enterprises in order to get the next generation involved. If we can continue to grow and expand with cattle and crops, we can take on more people on the operation in the future.” 

Kim notes her husband Jason deals with the farming side of their operation more so than anything. 

“He does a lot of the farming, but we both pull our weight where we can. The registered cattle are my passion, and we have been blessed to continue selling bulls for the last 20 years,” she says. 

“We have worked for 20 years to get our bull and female sales built up, and it was definitely a flywheel process,” concludes Kim. “We just want to continue to grow and move forward and improve the quality of our cattle, as well as our reputation among our buyers.”

For more information, visit K2redangus.com

Callie Hanson is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.