Problem-Free Performance Cattle: McClun’s Lazy JM Ranch boasts rich history in the purebred business
McClun’s Lazy JM Ranch is a five-generation family ranch near Veteran, with a long history in the purebred business, selling bulls for 51 years.
Jeff McClun’s grandfather bought the original place in 1946.
Through the years, the ranch has remained a family operation and current day-to-day operations are run by the fourth generation of McCluns – Jeff, his wife Kari, his son and daughter-in-law Kody and Tyler and his father Jim.
The fifth generation – Kody and Tyler’s three children Mason, Kane and Haisely – are also an integral part of the family dynamic and already enjoy working on the ranch.
“It’s nice to have new generations to carry on. This is always something to work toward and keep going,” Jeff says. “It’s nice to be able to watch your kids and grandkids grow up this way.”
Quality-guaranteed bulls
Jim started the registered cattle side of things, selling bulls to consignment sales like the Black Hills Stock Show and local sales.
Then, about 30 years ago, the family starting holding their own annual production sale every second Thursday in April at the sale barn in Torrington.
The sale offering usually includes around 100 bulls, and the family sells to customers across the entire U.S. – from California to Wisconsin and Minnesota to New Mexico.
“We sell bulls and heifers, Polled Hereford and Angus,” Jeff says. “Some of our bull customers are interested in our heifers too, and we usually sell about 40 to 50 heifers each year via private treaty.”
“Our philosophy is to produce problem-free cattle that perform well,” Kody says. “We make money when our customers make money, so we try to produce what the customers want in terms of calving ease, bulls with both calving ease and performance or bulls that will put more pounds on calves.”
“We get compliments all the time regarding how long our bulls last – they have good longevity – and how the cows are able to calve on their own,” he continues. “The customers are very happy with them.”
With confidence in their program and to ensure customers are always satisfied, the McClun’s guarantee their bulls as well.
Jeff notes if a customer has a problem with any of their bulls, they will replace the bull or do whatever they can to ensure their customers cows get bred with high-quality genetics.
“We try to sell customer service along with the bulls,” Kody says. “Every bull has a first-year breeding guarantee in case anything goes wrong or a bull gets injured. This covers everything except abuse and neglect.”
“We want the bull to work for our customers, and if he’s not doing his job, he’s not doing them any good,” he adds. “We honor this guarantee on about two or three bulls every year, depending on what happens. If we have a bull that’s a suitable replacement, we just trade bulls. If we don’t have something and the customer doesn’t need another bull right away, we give credit for a bull in our next sale.”
A good selection
In addition to ensuring their bulls are of the highest quality, McClun’s Lazy JM also offers a good selection to fit every customer’s needs – two-year-old, yearling and fall-born Angus and Hereford bulls.
Kody notes these two breeds complement each other nicely, which is essential for customers who do a lot of crossbreeding.
“Probably 90 percent of our Hereford bulls go to customers with black cows to take advantage of hybrid vigor,” he explains. “The black cows are good mothers and milk well, and the calves have this advantage as well.”
“We also sell a fair amount of Hereford bulls to Hereford breeders, but it’s nice to have a good mix,” Kody adds. “A lot of ranchers have a set of baldy cows they like to put black bulls back on females sired by one of our Hereford bulls.”
Jeff also says the McCluns’ customers appreciate their selection of different-aged bulls.
“We really like the growth we get on the fall-born bulls,” he states. “When we sell them in the spring, they are 18 months old and ready to go to work compared to a yearling.”
“We really like this age, especially on the Angus bulls, compared to a two-year-old,” Jeff says. “The 18-month-old bulls are a lot easier to handle than a two-year-old Angus. The polled Herefords aren’t as aggressive by that age, so we don’t mind holding the Herefords until they are two.”
Some customers prefer older bulls, since yearlings have a hard time their first year.
“When people buy yearling bulls, they are generally looking for something to cover heifers or turn out with cows and not expect much from them their first year – just get them grown up and working for the following years,” Kody says.
“We try to have calving ease and as much performance as possible in all of our bulls. Most of our customers really like the 18-month-old bulls as they are a little more versatile,” he adds. “They are a little bigger and more mature, but not so big they can’t be used on heifers. If a rancher runs replacement heifers with the cow herd, the same bull works for both.”
Unique operation
In addition to offering bulls of several breeds and ages, the McClun ranch is unique in that it is all connected and cattle don’t have to go far or cross neighboring properties to go out to pasture.
“We mainly just worry about our border fences, but we don’t have to worry much about cattle getting mixed,” Jeff says.
“If it does happen, however, we can determine parentage of calves through DNA tests – everything in the registered herd gets tested,” he adds. “All of the females are artificially inseminated (AI) once and the bulls clean up. Our conception rates vary, but our calves are about 70 percent AI sired and the rest are through our own bulls.”
Because the ranch is fairly flat and everything is close to home, the McCluns utilize ATVs and side-by-sides to move their cows.
The ranch also has a lot of farm ground and grows enough crops to feed all of the cattle, including corn for silage, high-moisture earlage and alfalfa hay.
For more information or to request a catalog for the McClun’s Lazy JM Ranch 2025 Production Sale set for April 10, visit mcclunranch.com.
Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
