A college friendship led to new opportunities and a long term partnership for Pat McGunegill and Dean Stoltenberg.

Pat grew up on a farm in Indiana and attended college in Waterloo, Iowa.  He became friends with Justin Stoltenberg from Jasper, Minnesota, visited the farm owned by Justin Stoltenberg's parents Dean and Nancy Stoltenberg (see picture to left), and was encouraged to come to Minnesota to help on their farm in 1999. After their son’s death in 2000, Pat continued to work with the Stoltenbergs and help them grow their cattle operation.  Nearly 15 years later … Pat is raising his own family near Jasper and is a partner in the cattle and crop farm.

“I came up here to help and never left.  Since then, I’ve gotten married and started a family, and we’ve continued to grow the business,” said Pat.  “Since 1999, we have more than doubled the size of thecow herd and added Charolais.  Hopefully, my children will be able to come home and join the operation as adults.”

The partnership currently includes a cow herd of about 130 head of purebred Angus and 30 purebred Charolais cattle. Steady and consistent growth has been the strategy for Dean and Pat. They increase their cow herd by selecting the best heifer calves to keep back each year.

“When we started in 2000, we had about 40 purebred Angus cattle,” said Pat.  “I grew up raising Charolais cattle in Indiana, so I’ve enjoyed adding the breed to our operation here, too.”

 

They focus on providing breeding bulls to ranches, feedyards and other livestock producers around the country, typically selling about 30 breeding bulls a year.  They sell some bull and heifer calves as feeders, but save most heifers to grow the herd, and raise bulls to sell as breeding bulls.

Over the years, they have built strong relationships with several ranches.  They take cattle and exhibit at a number of regional and national shows each year, including the Sioux Empire Farm Show, Black Hills Stock Show, and National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado.

“About 10 years ago, we met ranchers from Montana at the Black Hills Stock Show.  They bought one bull that year, and have been consistent customers ever since.  We sold 17 bulls to them this year,” said Pat.

They also raise crops on about 300 acres, primarily for livestock feed.  They raise corn for silage or ground ear corn, alfalfa, wheat, and soybeans.

Pat co-manages the farm and livestock operation with Dean and Nancy.  He manages the day-to-day chores and calving responsibilities in the spring, and works closely with the Stoltenbergs on management and business decisions.

Pat enjoys seeing the prodigy from their bulls excel at ranches and feedyards.   They work to select the right genetics that will produce bulls with the characteristics that their customers prefer.  Those traits have evolved over the years, with many customers paying more attention to calving ease in recent years.

Genetics are a driving force in all aspects of farming today, said Pat.  “From seed corn to breeding cattle, selecting the right genetics to ensure we get the most bang for our buck is challenging,” he said.

Dean and Pat work with Pipestone Veterinary Services for semen checking of bulls, vaccination programs and all emergency calls.

Pat and his wife, Tiffany, have three children:  Logan, 12, Mabry, 8, and Max, 3 (see picture to right).  The children enjoy helping on the farm and showing cattle.

Pat is vice president of Pipestone County Beef Producers and stays busy with grilling beef at the county fair and local events.  He also helps with judging and marketing contests.  The McGunegill family is involved with the Minnesota-Wisconsin Charolais Association and are becoming more active with the organization as members gear up to host the 2015 American-International Junior Charolais Association Junior National Show and Leadership Conference  at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul next July.