Beef Improvement Federation
Hager Cattle Company:
Seedstock Producer of the
Year Finalist
Hager Cattle Company was a finalist for Beef
Improvement Federation (BIF) Seedstock
Producer of the year. This national award is
presented annually to a producer to recognize
their dedication to improving the beef
industry at the seedstock level. Hager Cattle
Company, Karlsruhe, North Dakota, was one
of three finalists for this prestigious award.
Hager Cattle Company (HCC) is a fourth-generation
farming and ranching operation. Their crops
and cattle, both registered and commercial,
pay the bills for the Hager family. Austin and
Leah Hager know what it is like to make a living
and raise children in production agriculture.
HCC runs more than 750 cows with half of
the cattle producing registered seedstock
and the remainder commercial cattle.
They also background feeder cattle at
the home ranch and sell approximately
400 feeder cattle on an annual basis.
The North Dakota winters are long and hard,
which mean the cattle on this operation have
to be built tough to thrive in the environment.
HCC has worked diligently to breed more rib
shape, capacity and fleshing ability into their
Limousin cattle. At the same time, they work hard
to increase performance levels, while holding
birth weights modest and keeping maternal
traits high. Hager Cattle Company heavily utilizes
genomic testing and is a strong supporter of
single-step EPD utilization with the switch to
the IGS BOLT National Cattle Evaluations.
Austin and Leah Hager are pictured at the Beef Improvement
Federation, where they were a finalist for Seedstock Producer of the
Year award.
16 | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019
HCC will host its 14th annual bull sale in 2020,
selling approximately 110 head of Limousin
and Lim-Flex bulls to commercial customers