By Sarah Hill
Photos courtesy McClun family
The McClun family, owners of Lazy JM Ranch in Wyoming, has been selling high-quality Hereford bulls for more than 50 years.
It’s not often you see red and black cattle grazing peacefully in the same pastures, but that’s exactly what you’ll find at Lazy JM Ranch, owned by the McClun family, Veteran, Wyo. For 80 years, the family has raised Herefords, and branched into Black Angus as well.
Building a Legacy
Jim McClun moved to the ranch around 1947 with his father, Earl, at age 12. At first, the McCluns raised Saler cattle, and then expanded into Herefords, bringing the herd to somewhere in the ballpark of 80 to 100 head.
“From the stories I heard, the Salers were hard to handle, so Grandpa Jim decided he wanted something easier,” said Kody McClun, Jim’s grandson and the fourth generation of the McClun family to work on the ranch. “That’s where Herefords fit in nicely. Black Angus came to be part of the herd because that’s the breed that was in higher demand from our bull customers.”
Jim is now 90 years old, but still helps out with day to day work on the ranch, alongside his son, Jeff, and daughter-in-law, Kari, who works at the hospital in Torrington, Wyo., when she’s not helping out on the ranch.
“We’re blessed that Grandpa’s still with us and that three generations can be active in the day-to-day work,” Kody said.
Kody and his wife, Tyler, have two boys and a girl - the fifth generation to live on Lazy JM Ranch: Mason is in seventh grade; Kane is in second grade; and Haisley is in preschool. Tyler is actively involved with the bookkeeping and records, when she’s not substitute teaching.
“She keeps everything straight when we’re artificially inseminating and using different sires,” Kody said. “Tyler is irreplaceable.”
Managing Two Herds
Kody has observed that the Herefords have gained in popularity over the years, so today they’re very competitive with the Black Angus bulls in pricing. The Lazy JM herd is comprised of 60 percent Herefords and 40 percent black Angus, with 350 to 400 momma cows. Total numbers depend on how many replacements are kept and how many open females are sold each year.
“We background the heifers that we keep for replacements and develop the bulls,” Kody said.
The momma cows are split into a spring herd and a fall herd, with two groups calving in the spring. One group calves in January to the beginning of February, with the other group calving from March to the end of April. The fall herd calves from mid-August to the end of October. Artificial insemination helps the McClun family maintain their tight calving windows, which are essential with the field work and haying.
Packing in Performance
Kody said that in the last five years, the family has been striving to produce bulls that are high in calving ease while still packing in as much performance as possible. While many of the ranch’s customers are looking for heifer bulls, Kody said that the family gets compliments from customers about how much they like their calves at weaning and how easy calving went.
“We’re really proud of helping our customers achieve record weaning weights every year,” he said. “When our customers make money, we make money, because they keep coming back for our bulls - of both breeds.”
The McClun family aims to breed eye-appealing, functional cattle that are going to work for their customers, Kody said. They also have to be able to walk with sound feet and be gentle for easy handling.
Over the years, there have been several bulls that have left their mark on the Lazy JM herd. One of the bulls Kody remembers from his youth was a Hereford bull his Grandpa Jim co-purchased called Pacer.
“Pacer is all over our cattle pedigrees. He did a lot of good for us,” Kody said. “Another Hereford bull we bought from Kevin Jensen was KJ BJ 58Z Cat-Man-Du 288C ET. He was the longest-lasting bull we ever had. We just sold him, and he was with us for 13 or 14 years. He’s stamped all over our pedigrees now, too.”
On the Angus side, SAV Final Answer 0035 has been used a lot and the McCluns have purchased many sons out of him for use as herd bulls.
“We’ve sought after those sons because our customers have been searching out bulls with Final Answer in their pedigree,” Kody said.
Currently, Lazy JM Ranch has been using BAR Dynamic, Architect and Cherry Creek Chambered, that they purchased from a neighbor last year. Kody said he’s excited about Chambered and how his calves will turn out.
“We’ve also had a lot of interest in selling semen on Chambered, since he’s really structurally correct with excellent feet, he’s out of an older cow that’s been a proven producer, and he’s extremely docile and easy to handle,” Kody said. “You can walk up to him in the pasture and pet him, even during breeding season.”
For the Herefords, Innisfail Trademark 1939 ET sired some of the McClun’s best bulls. SHF Houston D287 H086 and Churchill Red Baron 8300F ET have also sired some really good calves for their herd.
Grazing Native Pasture
Momma cows are turned out on native pasture as soon as possible after May 1, as long as sufficient grass is available. The McCluns supplement with hay until the grass really gets going. One pasture is irrigated with a pivot, and that is generally grazed by heifers later in the season. Calves are weaned on the first weekend in October.
“We like to wean them sooner, but in hot and dry years, we don’t want to put calves in the feedlot with all the dust,” Kody said. “The timing also depends on when we get corn silage chopped, which is usually the end of September, because we like to feed the calves that fresh silage.”
The McClun family farms 700 acres of irrigated farm ground in corn and alfalfa hay. The corn is primarily chopped for silage and the cattle graze on the cornstalks. Some alfalfa hay is sold to the neighbors, but primarily, it feeds the cattle herd. The ranch also manages 4,000 acres of native pastures.
“Bulls are developed on corn silage and ground hay,” Kody said. “We call it a light grower ration. We’re not trying to make them fat and we want to keep them in good shape and not cause foundering or structural issues. There’s some energy in the silage, but it’s not a finisher ration.”
Warranty Sets Them Apart
Lazy JM Ranch has been selling bulls for 52 years, hosting an annual bull sale for the past 30 years. The majority of their bulls stay in Wyoming or a four-state area including Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska, but the family has sold bulls as far away as California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wisconsin over the years.
“We don’t sell anything that is a problem,” Kody said. “Another thing that sets us apart is our warranty - we guarantee our bulls’ first breeding season. We want to provide bulls that do their job and perform and make money for our customers. If for any reason, except for abuse or neglect, that a bull isn’t doing his job, then we will fix it.”
Kody explained that if there’s a vet diagnosis and a bull has to be put down or sold and they have a suitable replacement at home, the McCluns will trade bulls. If the customer isn’t hurting bad for a bull that year, or it’s the end of the breeding season, then they receive credit at the next year’s sale. The family deals with those situations on a case-by-case basis, and most of their customers are honest about it - for example, if a bull was injured because he was fighting with a neighbor’s bull.
Building a Name in the Industry
Kody showed home-raised Hereford steers in 4-H before switching to showing baldies. He said the heterosis really showed up when he was raising fat steers. Today, Kody and Tyler’s kids are getting into showing cattle in 4-H with home-raised steers.
In 2021, the McClun family sold a heifer to DaKitch Farms, owned by the Kitchell family, Ada, Minn. Kody said that the Kitchells showed that heifer at several shows and brought home all kinds of hardware.
“We’re so happy for them, and proud that they bought that heifer from us,” he said. “We’re gaining in popularity each year and getting a more recognizable name in the industry. We want to keep doing things the right way and doing business with a handshake that’s built on honesty and integrity.”
Kody said he would like to see his kids join the operation someday and keep the family business going, but that’s still a way off for his young family. In the meantime, Kody and his family plan to continue raising quality cattle that their customers want and keep coming back for.
Annual Spring Sale:
Saturday, April 10, 2025
1:00 pm MST - Torrington, Wyo.
learn more at www.mcclunranch.com