Multifaceted Operation: Booth family continues family legacy on a diversified seedstock and farming operation
Booth’s Cherry Creek Angus is a fifth-generation family farm and ranch located between Torrington and Wheatland in an area known as Goshen Hole. The multifaceted operation is home to one of the oldest bull sales in the state.
The good ol’ days
The original land of the ranch was purchased on Dec. 7, 1941 by Henry Booth and has expanded since then. Henry’s son Gordon decided to take the dive into the registered Angus business.
From the beginning, the operation was diversified. Henry raised sugarbeets and expanded farming operations from there over the years.
Gordon consigned bulls to various sales, and the family started their own sale in 1973. In 1979, they built their own sale barn at the ranch, and to this day, the annual sale is held there on the second Thursday in February.
Production today
The Booth family prides themselves on raising quality bulls designed for the commercial cattleman. In the last few years, they have started pulmonary arterial pressure testing their bulls in Walden, Colo. and are excited for the exceptionally high level they perform at.
“Nowadays we’re actually doing a lot more breeding and artificial insemination (AI) within our own bull battery. We have found some of these producers are not looking at foot structure or the udder structure, which are fundamental things we have to have in any commercial cow herd. So, we’ve kind of gone away from them and are using top bulls out of our top females. Many of them are embryo transplant sons,” explains Gordon’s son Shawn.
With both a fall and spring calving program, the calendar is usually filled with heat syncing and collecting semen and embryos in constant rotation.
January is busy getting bulls photographed and ready for the production sale in February. Then comes calving, branding, irrigating and farming making its way on to the calendar as well.
The operation is located in prime farming country, as far as Wyoming goes. The land is located in a sweet spot of higher heat units and a slightly longer growing season, so they raise everything from forage sorghum for roughage and alfalfa to 90-day corn and ryegrass.
“We try to cash flow a little bit of the feed and not strictly feed it all. We usually try to sell some corn to the neighboring feedlots and third or fourth cutting alfalfa to the dairies down in Colorado,” says Shawn.
The legacy continues
Shawn and his wife Diane have kept themselves spread out and diversified, allowing for multiple generations to be active in the operation today. Their son Michael and his wife Lindsy, along with their children Baylie, Brylie and Bryce live on the ranch and are active in day-to-day operations.
Shawn’s youngest son Byron, his wife Karah and their children Spencer, Mackenzie and Brooklynn live near Veteran and help out whenever they can.
Between all of the grandkids, there are always a few school sports to sneak on to the calendar as well.
Shawn’s youngest brother Kacey is also on the ranch. He plays an integral part as the chief mechanic and planter, as well as being indispensable with all of the AI’ing that takes place. Kacey’s daughter Madison lives in Sheridan.
“We love our community. We love where we live. Our neighbors and our customers are our best friends. We can count on our neighbors, and they can count on us,” shares Shawn. “Over the years, we have built good relationships, and we stand behind our cattle. Those kind of things mean a lot to our customers.”
The 2025 sale will be held on Feb. 13 at the ranch, located near Veteran. Lunch is served at noon and the sale will start at 1 p.m. and can be found online at DVAuction.com. For more information, visit boothscherrycreekangus.com.
Tressa Lawrence is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
