Bolze Beef Motto: Never Stop Learning

Sadie Bolze loves getting her neighbors thinking.?The founder of Bolze Beef said when it comes to finding a way in the beef industry you must, “Never stop learning and never be afraid to try anything crazy.”

Bolze and her boyfriend Tanner Nielsen are dedicated to doing just that – learning and raising cows, “We should be married by now.?But we’re too busy with the cows.”

They are perfectly fine with that too, as they both hail from strong cattle backgrounds.?Bolze is the daughter of Dr. Ron Bolze and Becky, who have a long history in the cattle industry, livestock associations, and academia.?Nielsen’s parents are, Tim and Teresa.?He comes from a commercial cattle background.????

“I love my girls,” she said.?The “girls” are a seedstock Black Angus herd raised on all grass and no grain.?

Their cattle originated from 11-head from her dad’s family farm in Pennsylvania, “We have been breeding on them for 43 years.?We’re line breeding two different groups of cattle – Emulation and Shoshone.?Through line breeding those two batches of cows, we are achieving lower input and maternal function.?We calve April 20 through May.?Right now, we sell our steers at the sale barn and hope to grass-finish those eventually too. The top bulls are sold in our annual bull sale.”

“I usually don’t preg check the cows.?In fact, they rarely go in the chute.?We also focus on breeding maternal, functional cattle with a focus on fertility,” Bolze went on. ?“Our Bonsma-shaped cattle are built for longevity.?I strive to get my ‘granny cows’ up to at least 15 or 16 years old.?The reason we don’t preg check is we retain our opens to put them in our beef business – Bolze Beef (except those that are too old).”

Bolze began learning the ins and outs of the ag industry growing up in Northwest Kan., “In the Colby area, John Deere country.?I grew up involved in 4-H and then dad got a job with the American Shorthorn Association, and we moved to Blair, Neb. ?Thankfully, my folks were able to hang onto the cows through leasing them out to other producers.”

From high school, Bolze headed to Dordt Christian College in Iowa on a basketball and softball scholarship, “I actually started my studies in accounting and then switched to ministry and animal science the second semester.?During college, we lambed out some ewes and I loved it!?I told my dad about it, and he said I should do an internship with Vern and Marjean Terrell.?They had never had an intern, but agreed to take me in.?I lived in their basement for the summer and left with more knowledge and life-long friends.?I loved it so much that I transferred to Chadron State College.”

During college registration, she took note that a Chadron ag professor was retiring, “I called dad and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be ironic if they called you to come teach here.’ ?He didn’t think they would take him back into academia, but they did. ?He became ‘the cow guy’ professor at Chadron and mom works in admissions.”

Bolze also took an internship on the Winecup-Gamble Ranch, “There I helped moved 600 head of yearlings grazing under irrigated pivots that we cross-sectioned.?We moved them every other day, if not every day.?That was my first taste of ‘regenerative ag.’”

In May of 2016, Bolze graduated and took a job with the ranch who was managing their cows in Sidney, Neb., “I loved working with our own cowherd again.?But being a hired hand is very different from being the manager.?I eventually convinced mom and dad to bring the cows up to Chadron the end of 2017 and we’ve been running them here for five years this fall.”

Bolze said one of the biggest challenges is finding leases, but they have gained a state lease that has both its obstacles and blessings she said, “We haul a lot of water and run fences in places you can only walk to, but we’re making it work.?In the summer, we are building polywire fences and moving cows at least every three days.?But we are so appreciative of the opportunity.”

The state lease land is benefitting from their practices because they are grazing in such a way that it leaves the land healthier, “The pastures are coming up thick and green.?The positives of these types of grazing practices are healthier soil and increased diversity with grasses springing up that weren’t there before.?This is from the impact of the herd, trampling, and manure.”

For example, she explained, seeds like Big Bluestem have always been in the seed bank.?With proper management, they are bringing those seeds from dormancy to life.?Careful, managed grazing year-round makes all the difference, Bolze noted, “We move the cows to the next section while the back section is recovering.?In the winter, we subdivide the land heavily to gain more grazing days.?If you just turn the cows into a huge pasture because you want them to be there for three months, they are only going to pick what they want to eat while over and under grazing at the same time.”

With their regenerative approach to cattle, Bolze noted producers can also increase their cattle numbers, “It’s a lot of labor setting it up, but it’s worth it.?Everything (fence) we put in, we tear out again to move – it’s all step-in posts, polywire, and moving blue poly tanks.?I would never have thought to haul water, but where Tanner grew up, they hauled a lot of water.?So, we take a pickup truck with a 450-gallon tank and haul a 650-gallon water trailer behind that.?We try and not haul too much water in the winter.”?

“We also supplement our cattle feed with apple cider vinegar,” she went on.?“Those cows suck that stuff down.?We feed it in different ways.?The first winter we actually put it on their hay bales and then processed it.?They ate a third less hay than usual.?I also found they don’t itch on the fences as much.?This helps greatly since we don’t use any pour-ons.?We feed it year-round now.?If we don’t put it on hay, we put it in plastic tubs with salt.?In the summer, we simply dump it into their water source.”?

“This year we are going to wean by the end of November,” Bolze explained.?“So, if the calves are born in May, they will be around seven months at the time of weaning.?We also don’t cull our bulls at branding.?We keep every single bull; we will wean and then they have two more months to prove themselves.?We cut bulls around January 15.?Then we have a bundle of steers the end of January or February.?Every heifer gets an opportunity to breed (unless they are born late).?Whatever does not breed is used as a grass-fed animal the next year.”?

When it comes to finishing, she said, “They are done when they’re done.?When they are fat, they are done.?When they have the fat behind that tail head, is when they go.?A lot of times it’s not until they are two-and-a-half years old.”

Bolze said she and Nielsen also have “inside jobs.”?She thoroughly enjoys working for the non-profit Grassfed Exchange.?Nielsen is a leatherman, horseman, and western cowboy artist whose work can be found on Instagram – Remuda 18.?

But their cows are the center of everything else, Bolze said, “We have a very well-trained batch of cows.?They’re a good batch of girls.?This summer we’re going to try migratory grazing.?This will give us more time in the saddle and allow us to get to areas we haven’t before.?We’ll let them out in the morning and put them in with polywire at night.?Improving the quality of the grass and soil health is the main goal.?It’s about letting the cows do the best job at what they are bred to do.”?

“Above all, I am grateful for the long list of folks that have believed in me and gave me a chance – my wonderful parents for hanging onto the cows and taking the leap of faith to bring them home and Tanner for his grit, patience, and acceptance.?I am also grateful for all the mentors that constantly encourage me,” she said with appreciation.

Bolze sent this message to young people dreaming of running a herd of their own, “Don’t be afraid to do the things other people are not.?Do all the internships you can.?Buy a little camper, travel around, and learn from as many different producers as you can.?Learn everything you can and take home what works best for you and your dream.”???

Follow on Facebook:?

www.facebook.com/bolzebeef | www.facebook.com/bolzeranchangus

Checkout the Grassfed Exchange at: www.grassfedexchange.com