Proven Performance: Elk Angus operates cow-powered, future-focused seedstock operation
Located in Buffalo, ELK Angus is a seedstock operation renowned for balancing proven performance genetics with maternal traits to achieve range-ready Black Angus cattle.
Owner-operators Tyler and Meg Scales bring an entrepreneurial edge and future-facing focus to their operation, raising kids and quality cattle on their ranch at the base of the Big Horns.
Return to roots
Both of the Scales come from ag backgrounds in Colorado.
Tyler spent his childhood running high-altitude cattle on Colorado’s Western Slope and rodeoed professionally for many years before returning to ranching full time.
Meg grew up in eastern Colorado, but she explains her family has ranching roots all throughout Wyoming – a heritage she has taken pride in carrying on since establishing ELK Angus and moving to Buffalo.
Meg had Corriente cattle growing up, but her true love has always been horses. She showed and judged horses throughout her childhood and was a member of the 2006 World Champion Horse Judging Team at Colorado State University (CSU).
A shared love for animals brought Meg and Tyler together shortly after college, and their venture into the seedstock industry began in 2015.
Thanks to ag scholarships which paid for virtually all of her schooling, Meg was able to graduate debt free from CSU and invest the untouched money from her college fund into cattle.
The Scales made their initial investment in ELK Angus with the purchase of 10 cows – a combination of Black Angus and Herefords.
Over the past decade, they built up their operation in Johnson County, running bulls and heifers on land leased from Meg’s father Bob Grieve.
Fire and ice
As seedstock producers, the Scales understand the importance of striking a balance between utility and performance. For ELK Angus, the key to unlocking the full potential of these traits lies within maternal power.
A philosophy dubbed by Tyler as “fire and ice” lies at the heart of operation, combining the bull-powered “fire” of growth and carcass traits with the female-focused “ice” of maternal instincts and reproductive ability.
“Our sweet spot at ELK Angus is understanding how to combine maternal power and genetics,” Meg says. “A good cow will read as a good bull. If you start with great mothers, it’s a home run every time.”
For this reason, ELK Angus prioritizes heifer development in addition to bull production.
“We have a ton of passion for developing heifers,” Meg says. “We love seeing the potential in genetics.”
Meg describes ELK Angus as a combination of her and her husband’s “superpowers,” built upon Tyler’s understanding of genetics and experience with raising high-altitude cattle and her own appreciation for balanced, functionally-correct animals.
The Scales run their herd on a high-country forest lease in the Big Horn Mountains, where cattle must prove their ability to hold up in high-altitude range conditions among the rocks and sagebrush.
Fundamentals like good feet, strong legs, longevity, fertility and docility are central to the Scales’ seedstock program.
With bulls and females alike, ELK Angus is committed to “bringing the best cow families together to help the cowman profit at sale time, for today and tomorrow’s future.”
Investing in the future
As young producers, the Scales understand the importance of investing in the future of ag both at home and throughout their community.
They are raising their two young children Zane and Lettie on the ranch, leading by example to instill the values and lessons of ranch life.
“We want our kids to see hard work pays off and to have a sense of responsibility and ownership in everything they do,” Meg says. “The best way to do this is to model it.”
Even at the young ages of six and two, Zane and Lettie are enthusiastically involved in life on the ranch alongside their parents.
“Our kids have a really clear understanding of what life and death means, as well as weather and try,” Meg says. “They see us at our low points and at our high points, and they’re alongside us for every step.”
Whatever the future holds, Meg says laying the groundwork for her children to ranch down the road if they choose is top of mind.
As the Scales continue to build their program, they maintain a spirit of generosity and prioritize pouring into others.
ELK Angus is enthusiastic about offering a “hand-up” to the next generation of ranchers, believing particularly in the value of community and supporting youth programs like 4-H.
Meg emphasizes a rancher involved with 4-H made an impact on Tyler’s childhood, and the generosity of donors who contributed to the ag scholarships which put her through college allowed her to invest in her future.
“We see giving forward as very critical, and 4-H is such an important program,” Meg says. “We need to make sure we’re including kids and keeping them involved as much as possible.”
In this spirit, the Scales donate two heifers from their program to Johnson County youth each year.
One is donated to the Johnson County Cattlemen’s Supreme Cow Contest. The winner is chosen at county fair and gets to pick a replacement heifer donated by local producers to develop as a 4-H project and show the next year.
Additionally, the Scales choose a replacement heifer to donate during ELK Angus’ annual production sale. Anyone under the age of 20 who attends the sale is eligible for the drawing, and the winner is chosen at random during the sale.
Last year, Meg says a snowstorm on sale day resulted in an early school release, and roughly 40 neighborhood kids turned up to take their chance at getting involved with ag.
The Scales have also provided artificial insemination services for 4-H heifer projects and donated semen from herd bulls to foster education and interest in the industry.
“There is such a ranching spine to Johnson County,” Meg says. “It really influences a lot of the culture in our community.”
ELK Angus will host its sixth annual production sale on March 17, offering a selection of more than 50 range-ready bulls and elite replacement heifers.
The Scales invite everyone to come share in good community and great cattle – as well as hot coffee, donuts and tri-tip – at Buffalo Livestock Marketing on sale day.
For more information on ELK Angus, visit elkangus.com, follow @ELKAngus on Facebook or e-mail meg@scalescattleco.com.
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
