Keeping the Herd Together as a Legacy Is Entrusted to Non-Family Stewards

Last fall, Mary Ferguson and her husband, Mike Colvin, decided it was time to retire. But, without children to take over Wolf Creek Angus Ranch, near Luray, Kansas, they faced a question familiar to many farmers and ranchers: What happens to a business built over a lifetime when there's no family successor?

A dispersal sale would have been the simplest answer. Mary and Mike wanted something different. They wanted the registered Angus herd they had spent 30 years building to remain intact and Wolf Creek Angus to continue serving cattle producers under new ownership.

For Mary and Mike, that meant finding more than a buyer. They needed successors with the experience and commitment to carry the business forward, then a transition plan that would make taking over the operation financially feasible. Their solution -- a phased sale of the cattle, equipment and part of the ranch combined with a long-term lease on the remaining land -- created a path for a young couple to take over without requiring them to purchase the entire operation at once.

"We intend to build a new home within the boundary of one of the pastures and want to still enjoy seeing the Angus cattle grazing, so we knew we had to find someone who was interested in keeping the registered herd we had built over the past 30 years," Mary says.

THE SEARCH BEGAN

Finding the right people wasn't simple. "We immediately had five different parties express interest, and we had to work through those," Mary explains.

After reviewing proposals and considering their options, the couple found what they considered an ideal match of experience, ambition and shared values.

Jonathan and Kasey Ulrich, and their 3-year-old daughter, Della, were already familiar with Wolf Creek Angus. For several years, they had been customers, purchasing both bulls and bred heifers to improve their own cattle operation. Mary and Mike had watched them steadily build their business and develop the skills necessary to manage both the cattle and the land.

Jonathan and Kasey both grew up in agriculture and began to develop a reputation for hard work and careful management as they expanded their herd after getting married. Those qualities stood out to Mary and Mike during the selection process.

Jonathan continued to grow his family's cattle herd after his parents retired, a foundation of his career. Today, the family manages approximately 300 commercial cows.

Mary especially appreciated Kasey's commitment to developing her own registered Angus herd. What began with the purchase of bred heifers from Wolf Creek Angus has grown to more than 30 registered females.

"Kasey has learned how to use EPDs [expected progeny differences] to make improvements in her own herd, and we know she will use that knowledge with the addition of our cows," Mary says.

Kasey finds details are important to not only keeping good records but also developing the future of the herd.

"I didn't grow up with cattle but have learned a lot from Mike and Mary," Kasey says.

BUILDING WOLF CREEK

All those details matter because Wolf Creek Angus itself was built one piece at a time.

Mary and Mike both grew up on Ohio cattle operations and met while showing cattle when they were 13 years old. Mike attended Ohio State University, while Mary earned her degree from Kansas State University. After graduation, Mike returned to his family's farm, and Mary went to work for Certified Angus Beef.

After marrying in 1993, they began searching for a ranch of their own in Kansas or Nebraska. They found it near Luray, establishing Wolf Creek Angus with 53 cows from the herd Mike had developed at Colvin Angus Farms. They later added females from other herds, including 20 from Mary's sister and brother-in-law, Jan and Frank Lyons, of Manhattan, Kansas.

Over the next three decades, Mary and Mike developed a performance-focused Angus herd for commercial cattle producers, emphasizing calving ease, maternal traits, growth, efficiency and disposition. Along the way, they built a customer base that came to trust Wolf Creek genetics.

MOVING THROUGH THE TRANSITION

Those years of work are one reason retirement hasn't come easily.

"Our challenge was coming up with a way we could do what we want in retirement and, at the same time, make it manageable for a young couple to come in and keep things intact and move forward with the operation," Mary says.

The Ulrichs will purchase the cattle and equipment at the end of 2026, then a portion of the ranch including the homestead and winter-used pastures at the end of 2027. To provide some long-term income, Mary and Mike will maintain ownership of all the summer-used pastures and hayfields, leasing them to Jonathan and Kasey.

"We want them to have the opportunity to succeed and make decisions," Mary says. "It's a good time for us to get out and for them to get in."

Fortunately, the transition is not a leap into the unknown. The Ulrichs already have extensive experience managing cattle, and Mary and Mike will still be nearby if questions arise.

"The newest part for me is learning the sales and marketing side of the business," Jonathan says. Calves from the commercial herd they already own are sold at weaning or retained for the family's ranch beef business, but managing a well-established registered Angus operation presents new opportunities and responsibilities.

"Another thing that we liked about these two is Jonathan has a very sharp pencil, and he has been brought up as a good farmer," Mike says. Mary appreciates Kasey's creativity, recordkeeping ability and talent for working through numbers. Just as important, she says, the couple's teamwork has impressed them through the years.

For the Ulrichs, the opportunity represents more than acquiring cattle and land. It means preserving something that took decades to build.

"We want to make sure the legacy gets to continue for years to come and possibly multiple generations," Kasey says. "That's the reason we wanted to do this. To carry on Mike and Mary's legacy."

Mary and Mike believe they have found the right family to do just that. As they settle into retirement, the couple will still be able to look out across the pasture and see Angus cattle grazing where they always have.

"We are certainly willing and humbled to serve in an advisory capacity, but we believe the Ulrichs already possess the proper attitude, personalities, desire and skill set necessary to carry the Wolf Creek Angus Ranch operation forward and take it to the next level," Mary concludes.

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-- Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

-- Follow Jennifer on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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