The 34th annual All-Breeds Cattle Tour started off as a project to showcase the state’s seedstock producers, and lives on today with producers from around the region coming to view premier cattle of all breeds.

Elizabeth Neshem is the communications director for the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association and the coordinator of the tour. “It usually takes us around 10 years to get round the state, traveling to these different areas, and it’s an annual fall project,” she says.

The 2021 tour included 14 seedstock producers on the northeastern side of North Dakota. “We are forever grateful for our tour hosts for wanting to participate. It’s a great way to showcase their cattle and get to do some networking, too.”

The 14 stops took two days to cover, with the tour head quartered in Devils Lake. Producers traveled from as far as Wisconsin to participate in this year’s tour.

One of the tour hosts was the Spickler family of Spickler Ranch North, a third- and fourth-generation Angus seedstock operation in Glenfield.

Jason Spickler gave background on his family’s operation. “Our children will be the fifth generation to ranch at this site [that] my great-grandfather homesteaded here a few miles up the road,” he says. “I remember when we leased a set of cows to start off when Sarah [Spickler] and I just got engaged. We wanted to ranch pretty bad, and we’ve had a fun time doing it.”

Their herd consists of over 600 cows, as well as a nearly a 1,000-head feedlot.

Spickler recommends for everyone to be involved in the Stockmen’s Association. “These guys are boots on the ground for us day in and day out,” he says. “And we take advantage of them as much as we can. Their work is tremendously valuable to the industry, and they’re always active helping ranchers across the state.”

The tour was well-attended, thanks to pleasant fall weather. “We had a very strong preregistration, and it has gauged to be even stronger as we’re on the tour,” Neshem says. “Each stop, we have more and more people joining, and as we go along, we’re very excited to see such support for our producers.”