Brothers in Business: Cultivating Success | April 2025

By Cheryl Kepes

Photos courtesy Meinders family

Meinders Stock Farms thrives on its agricultural versatility, encompassing four breeds of cattle, grain farming, pigs, and sheep, all contributing to the business’s growth.

Brothers, Zach and Jake Meinders, are perfecting the art of consistently balancing a wide array of agricultural endeavors. Every day they work as cattle producers, grain growers, sheep herders, and pig farmers. Their multifaceted operation, Meinders Stock Farms, located in Buffalo Center, Iowa, utilizes feed efficiency protocols, extensive data collection and analysis, as well as a customer calf buyback program to help set them apart from their counterparts.

Meinders Brothers

Brothers farming together runs in the family. Zach and Jake’s dad, Gary, and his brother, Dale, partner in their own farming operation called Meinders Brothers. Dale’s two sons, Hunter and Hayden, pitch in to assist both farming operations. Though separate entities, Meinders Stock Farms and Meinders Brothers run their cattle and work the land collectively.

Diversification serves as a guiding philosophy for the business. All the Meinders brothers work side-by-side to row crop 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans. In total, they own 450 Simmental, Angus, Stabilizer, and Charolais momma cows. The Stabilizer cattle are a four-breed composite – Angus, Hereford, Gelbvieh, and Simmental.

The brothers also feed out 500 steers. Additionally, Zach and Jake lamb 250 Katahdin and Polypay ewes as well as farrow a handful of sows.

Cattle Herd

The operation’s diversification extends throughout each segment of Zach and Jake’s business. Their cattle operation includes seedstock, commercial, and feeder cattle. Additionally, Meinders Stock Farms produces Simmental, Angus, Charolais, and Stabilizer bulls. They work in partnership with Leachman Cattle, Meriden, Wyo., to market 50 bulls annually and then sell another 50 in their own sale each year.

“I like to think we have a pretty good feel of the cattle industry because we raise bulls that sell in the Midwest and in the West. We have some commercial cows and some seedstock cows,” Zach Meinders explained. “We take some cattle all the way to finish, and we sell those on the grid and use that data and put it back into the Leachman evaluation, which runs our EPDs. We collect a lot of data, and we see a lot of segments of that industry,” he added.

Data Driven

The compiling of data starts the day an animal is born at Meinders Stock Farms. The Meinders collect DNA samples at birth on approximately 300 of their 450 calves each year. The DNA is sent off for advanced genomic testing.

The compilation of data starts early at Meinders Stock Farms because the brothers reference the findings when making early selection decisions. The information helps Zach and Jake choose which calves will be sorted together into the future herd bull group, future replacement heifer group, and future feedlot group.

“We really try to make sure we have good, strong contemporary groups. So, for example rather than putting some steers in with some bulls all summer and breaking up our contemporary that way, we’ll try to get those cows with steers into their own contemporary group and in their own pasture. Because the bigger the contemporary group, the more meaningful the data you collect out of that group of calves,” Zach said.

Utilizing Indexes

In addition to utilizing breed association EPDs for making decisions, Meinders Stock Farms contributes data to Leachman Cattle’s database which emphasizes profit driven measures. Leachman Cattle, in partnership with Zoetis, created a set of indexes that focus on factors that impact cattle producers’ bottom line, economic factors, and genomic predictions.

“I’m really a data-oriented guy. I like collecting data and submitting it into the evaluation and seeing how it changes our EPDs and then how those EPDs tie into what we’re seeing every day in the cow herd and in the feedlot,” Zach shared.

Leachman’s index focuses on three indicators: $Ranch, $Feeder, and $Profit™. According to Leachman’s definitions $Ranch represents profit from birth through weaning and includes measures of fertility, milk, growth, cow feed intake, and mature size. Next, $Feeder looks at profit from weaning to harvest which incorporates values for feed conversion, carcass value, and carcass weight. Lastly, $Profit™ which combines $Ranch and $Feeder into one value.

“We’re trying to collect as much data and get as much accuracy behind these cattle as we possibly can to help us and help our customers make the best decisions possible,” Zach stated.

The brothers gather data at different stages of an animal’s life. The bulls in their program undergo a thorough assessment that includes scoring their feet, disposition, and eye appeal. The potential herd bulls also receive carcass ultrasounds evaluating ribeye, marbling, and fat thickness. The Meinders scan 100 percent of their bulls and replacement heifers.

Feed Efficiency Testing

Several years ago, the Meinders brothers invested in C-Lock SmartFeed units to measure the total daily feed intake of their animals. The testing bunks give the Meinders the ability to collect feed efficiency records on their replacement heifers and bulls.

Meinders Stock Farms utilizes the feed efficiency data to make future breeding decisions. It helps them select for lower intake cattle that convert better and thrive in their environment.

Cattle Management

Meinders Stock Farms is fast-tracking its herd genetics. The operation’s breeding program consists of embryo transfer (ET) and AI. They implant 100 embryos in their commercial cows each year. They breed 300 head via AI and clean up with herd sires from their topnotch bull battery.

“Since we are involved in a lot of segments of the industry, we see how these cattle perform at each point of their lifespan. We take all that in and select for all of it. We try to breed for the best well-rounded animals that we can,” Zach said.

The cow herd calves from January 1 through mid-April. The intentionally long calving season exists so they can maximize the use of their 50 head capacity heated calving barn. Additionally, their herd bulls can be turned out in April and May and then again in June and July on the later calving cows– once again increasing efficiency of resources.

The Meinders brothers produce their own replacement females. “We’ll keep more heifers than we need every year, and we’ll sell some of our middle-aged cows commercially as breds each fall. That’s how we make room for the young females who have the latest and greatest genetics,” Zach explained.

Zach and Jake market their cattle through two of their own sales; a live bull sale in the spring and an online female sale in the fall. They also sell bulls at Leachman sales throughout the year.

Calf Buyback Program

Meinders Stock Farms gives its customers the opportunity to be a part of a calf buyback program. They offer to purchase the calves sired by the bulls they sell. They will pay their bull customers premiums above the top of the feeder calf market based on the $Feeder index of the bulls they buy. Zach and Jake then feed out those calves. “I think that (the buyback program) shows the confidence level we have in our own genetics,” Zach stated.

Sows and Sheep

Meinders Stock Farms takes its diversification to yet another level with their pig and sheep operations. They farrow and sell feeder pigs. Additionally, every other month they lamb the ewes in their Katahdin and Polypay flocks. The sheep side of the business gives the brothers cash flow year-round.

The cattle and sheep operations benefit each other regarding feeding rations. They feed their cattle herd a total mixed ration (TMR) consisting of corn silage, corn, alfalfa, wet distiller’s grains, and ground hay. The production of the TMR for the cattle means it is also a readily available and affordable feed for the sheep.

Eye on the Future

As Meinders Stock Farms looks toward the future, they plan to continue to raise the bar for their operation – always mindful of keeping the various aspects of their business progressing for themselves and their customers.

2025 Spring Sale:

Saturday, April 19, 2025

5 p.m. near Buffalo Center, IA

learn more at www.meindersstockfarms.com