Outside of the box Pyramid Beef differentiates itself from the competition
Published on Jan. 18, 2020
In early 2010, three young cattlemen were in pursuit of a better way to market their genetics to commercial operators in the short grass range of the northern plains of South Dakota.
“In 2010, my father, my partner, Jason McLennon and I formed a partnership,” explains Co-owner of Pyramid Beef Nate Frederickson. “Neither of our operations were big enough to have our own sale so we joined forces.”
Today, Pyramid Beef continues to be a strict marketing partnership with both parties running their own operations.
Stepping outside of the box
In an effort to differentiate Pyramid Beef from the competition, Nate and Jason decided to step outside of the box.
“We made the decision to develop and market our bulls as coming two-year-olds,” Nate says. “We do this for two reasons. First, this allows us to develop the bulls more slowly and it allows us to calve a group of cows later.”
Nate notes there are a few challenges that come with their unconventional strategy.
“Marketing two-year-old bulls is not common because it is not easy,” Nate explains. “We own them for a longer period of time, which is more expensive and allows for more opportunity for any given bull to fail or get hurt.”
Despite this, Nate and Jason wholeheartedly believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
“We endure and believe in this approach because we feel our customers deserve a superior product. Our belief is that these sturdy two-year-olds are bred and developed to cover more cows for more breeding seasons and leave our customers with exceptional replacement females and market demanding steers,” reads their website.
“Of course there are some challenges that come with the operation,” states Nate. “However, the majority of our customers run in some tough country, and we are able to provide them with tough bulls that are better suited and will hold up better in their operations and environments.”
The mission
“Our goal at Pyramid Beef is to provide a sound seedstock source for commercial customers. We focus on customer service,” says Nate. “Our mission has been to not only produce the highest quality cattle we can, but to provide the highest level of service and integrity in the industry.”
Nate notes the partnership has placed an emphasis on taking their operation a step beyond marketing bulls.
“We spend a lot of time working with our customers to help them market their feeder calves and provide an avenue to market their replacement heifers,” he explains.
Pyramid Beef’s website notes, in an effort to help customers with marketing, they are gathering and facilitating information on a number of cattle and supplying the information to feeder cattle buyers.
“Our hope and intent is to bridge the gap between commercial cattlemen and professional cattle feeders and create a long-term business relationship benefiting both segments of the industry,” the website reads. “Our hope is to establish an environment that creates competitive marketing opportunities for our progressive and growing customer base.”
The sale
While some of the things Nate and Jason have been doing are a little more uncommon than other seedstock producers, they still host a traditional bull sale every year.
“Our sale this year was the first Saturday in December,” explains Nate. “We usually market anywhere from 125 to 150 bulls, primarily two-year-olds and a select group of bull calves.”
According to their website, the bulls they market are the result of a cowherd where breeding, culling and management are focused on creating exceptional, not just adequate, cows. The bulls are from mothers that are deep bodied, easy fleshing, have a sound udder and are structurally correct. The dams of the bulls also have quiet dispositions and tremendous maternal instincts.
Visit pyramidbeef.net for more information.
Hannah Bugas is the assistant editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
