NALF announces annual award winners
The North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) presented the 2025 NALF Awards at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Denver.
The categories include Seedstock Producer of the Year, Promoter of the Year and Commercial Producer of the Year, and all award winners hail from South Dakota.
Seedstock Producer of the Year
The winner of the Seedstock Producer of the Year Award is Glenn Treftz of Treftz Limousin in Wetonka, S.D.
Treftz purchased his first Limousin bull and 13 three-eighths blood Limousin cows in 1983 and recalls his start in the breed saying, “When we brought our first Limousin bull home and put him in the pen with the Angus and Hereford bulls we had been using on our commercial cows, he did look pretty exotic. He was like a whole different animal species, but those first calves were an amazing cross. They were everything I had hoped they would be. I’ve been hooked on the breed ever since.”
From the beginning, Treftz has always placed intense selection pressure on heavy-muscled cattle. Sires like ROMN Justice, Jim Dandie, JYF Yieldmaster, Richmond Xander, TREF Zeus, ROMN Tow Truck, TREF Done Right, TREF Hardcore and others have helped him achieve his breeding goals.
Along with the bulls that built Treftz Limousin, most of his herd of 150 registered Limousin females go back to the original group he bought in the 1980s.
With the TZ brand on their hip, Treftz is proud of his cow families, and in recent years, he has grown his embryo transplant program to propagate his best genetics on both the bull and female sides.
Treftz sold bulls privately off of the farm for just over 20 years, prior to hosting an annual production sale. This year will mark his 37th year selling Limousin bulls.
From the beginning, Treftz Limousin’s annual production sale has been titled “Where Muscle Still Matters Production Sale.” It’s not just a slogan, or something catchy for an ad or catalog cover – it is what they believe, eat, sleep and drink at Treftz Limousin.
In service to the breed, Treftz served nine years on the South Dakota Limousin Association (SDLA) Board, with four years as the SDLA president. He also served for six years on the Heartland Limousin Association board.
In recent years, Treftz has been experimenting on purchased commercial F1 black-baldy heifers and crossing them back to Limousin bulls to remind him of his start in the breed. These baldy cows are now the foundation of the recipient cow herd for the embryo program.
This “experiment” has grown from 20 head to keep for himself to developing 50 F1 baldy heifers artificially inseminated to Treftz bulls and offering them for sale.
The first year he offered bred F1s, it was by late-night Facebook post of what he had and to direct message him for details and price. The cattle were sold in less than two hours. This demand has led Treftz to offering these females on a special bred female sale each December.
A little over a month ago, the top draft of his F1 baldies sold for $5,400 per head – the highest priced commercial bred heifers ever sold at Aberdeen Livestock.
Always one to lead by example, he backs up his claims to his customers by showing what is possible with Limousin and Limi-cross genetics.
Promoter of the Year
The Promoter of the Year Award recipient is the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Research Team including Dr. Warren Rusche and Zachary Smith.
Six years ago, the NALF Board began discussions with the team at SDSU about conducting a study more reflective of the commercial cattle feeding industry trend of feeding cattle to larger out weights and its impact on feed performance and carcass composition.
Those initial discussions led to the North American Limousin Research Foundation and SDSU research study conducted on two Montana commercial Angus cow ranches breeding cows to three different sire groups utilizing Angus, Limousin, and Lim-Flex sires.
Progeny were then shipped to the research facility at SDSU and fed to three different harvest groups with extended days on feed and larger out weights, more reflective of what is currently happening in the commercial cattle feeding industry.
This enabled SDSU to produce and analyze the results of “Effect of Extended Days on Feed on Growth Performance, Efficiency and Carcass Characteristics of Steers and Heifers of Different Proportions of Angus and Limousin Genetics.”
Rusche and Grace Olinger were then able to conduct an economic analysis using the actual individual cost of gain, feed conversion and actual carcass composition results reflected in actual harvest data.
The resulting premiums and discounts applied were on a standardized grid after the cattle were harvested in the fall of 2024. This enabled the team at SDSU to do a full economic analysis.
These results were presented at the Beef Improvement Federation meeting in Amarillo, Texas in June of 2025 by Rusche and Olinger, along with various other meetings around the country.
They will also present this information at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 2026 CattleCon in the Cattlemen’s College Sessions in Nashville, Tenn.
Commercial Producer of the Year
Roger and Carol Randall of Triple R Farms in Chamberlin, S.D. are the recipients of the Commercial Producer of the Year Award.
The Randalls have a long-standing history in the Limousin breed which began early in their operation.
After watching Limousin calves perform in a neighbor’s pasture, they purchased their first Limousin bulls in 1977.
Because the Randalls feed their cattle out, they were quickly impressed by the breed’s higher dressing percentages and reduced number of Yield Grade fours and fives.
As their need for additional bulls increased, they purchased a set of higher-percentage Limousin cows and established Triple R Limousin. From this group of cows, they raised bulls for their own use as well as for a few neighboring operations.
Over time, as Limousin bulls became more readily available, they transitioned away from maintaining a registered herd and instead focused on sourcing the best bulls available to complement their commercial operation.
As their farming and feeding enterprise continued to grow, the Randalls reduced their registered division to devote more time to the commercial side of the business and their passion for feeding cattle.
Today, the operation has evolved into Triple R Ranches and Feeders and includes their two sons and their families.
The operation consists of more than 1,300 commercial cows, a 4,500-head feedlot capacity, custom silage harvesting and several other agriculture-related enterprises.
The Randalls are continually seeking Limousin genetics to meet their goals of high cutability and feed efficiency.
Between Roger and his two sons, the family operates three separate feedlots.
Calves are processed at weaning and placed into the yard best suited for their performance potential. Cattle are marketed through a variety of branded beef programs as well as through traditional market channels, depending on individual cattle fit.
Because they feed out all of their cattle, the Randalls receive comprehensive carcass data at an aggregate level, allowing them to analyze performance and continually adjust their breeding and feeding programs based on real-world results.
The operation farms approximately 3,000 acres, producing feed for the feedlots as well as winter supplementation for the cow herd. They utilize primarily no-till farming practices to conserve moisture and have incorporated cover crops to improve soil health.
The Randalls’ long-term goal has always been to maintain a balanced, sustainable approach to production. They are involved in every phase of the business – from calving and weaning to feeding and finishing cattle.
Cows are expected to calve unassisted, raise a vigorous calf that gets up and nurses quickly in all conditions and ultimately produce a high-quality carcass. Females must wean a heavy calf and breed back on time. The goal is to have as many cows bred as possible within a short breeding season while maintaining a high percentage of calves weaned.
The Randalls are members of NALF, the Brule County Livestock Improvement Association and the SDLA.
They are also actively involved in their community, including long-time service with the United Church of Christ in Chamberlain, over 35 years of managing and coaching local amateur baseball and leadership within the Pony Hills Amateur Baseball League.
NALF is in the business of customer service and genetic evaluation while providing tools to enhance members’ profitability and maintaining integrity of the herdbook. Through programs and services, it is NALF’s goal to have members’ products be the continental common denominator in progressive commercial beef producers’ crossbreeding programs for mainstream markets. For more information, visit nalf.org.
