Drouhard Brothers’ Cattle Business Perseveres Through Drought
On the native pastures and wheat fields of southcentral Kansas, brothers Sam and Wayne Drouhard continue to advance their commercial cowherd despite setbacks like droughts. The brothers started their cattle business in 1981 after purchasing their father’s 120 Angus-Hereford cross cows. Through the years, they’ve used several different breeds, including Saler and Red Angus, before focusing more on SimAngus genetics.
“If we have plenty of wheat pasture, our main program is to run our homegrown calves on wheat once we get them weaned in the fall,” says Sam. “Then we’ll sell them in late winter or early spring at a local sale barn.”
In some years, they’ve further diversified by purchasing 2-4 loads of yearlings when they’ve had plenty of wheat pasture. Unfortunately, in the past few years, both market dynamics and dry conditions have kept them from grazing additional yearlings with their home-raised calves.
The ranch, based in Harper, Kansas, grew to as many as 400 commercial cows, but a drought in 2023 forced the brothers to sell about 80 head.
“Last year, we went ahead and weaned our calves early,” says Sam. “If they were 100 days or older, we weaned them because we didn’t feel like we could retain that many cows with calves on them.”
Following weaning, they ran the calves on native pasture in the summer.
“We did keep them through the fall, then we had wheat pasture, so we were able to run them on the wheat, and we sold them in January,” says Wayne.
“When you try something new, you always worry, ‘Is it really what they say?’” says Wayne. “I kept thinking that these calves are probably not going to eat enough; they’re going to get sick and we’re going to have problems.”
During the first week, Wayne regularly walked the pens every morning and night to ensure the calves were doing well.
“They kept looking good. You could tell they were eating well and getting as much as they needed,” says Wayne. “It was pretty much exactly what they told us.”
Sam and Wayne had previously fed ground hay and mixed pellets in a feed bunk twice per day at weaning before moving to self-feeders with Purina® Accuration® Starter complete feed, which has been a significant labor saver for the brothers.
Since that first experience, Sam and Wayne have continued to utilize more and more Purina® products.
“Everybody says it costs more to feed Purina, but I’m not sure it does. I feel like in the end, we’re doing the right thing,” adds Sam.
“It’s been a real advantage to pay 0% interest for six months [during the enrollment period],” says Wayne. “It definitely helps.”
The Drouhards use the program twice a year with payments being made in January and June.
“We are well aware of when that bill is coming, and we have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to cost us,” says Sam.
A benefit of using the 6-4-0 Feed Financing Program is its flexibility. Sam and Wayne can redistribute some of their funds, such as the operating loan, to focus on other business priorities.
They have advocated the program to other local producers, including their extended family, because of the value it creates for their business.
An added benefit is they don’t have to deal with paying monthly feed bills thanks to having only two payments per year.
“It’s worked well for us, and we’d highly recommend it,” says Wayne.
“We couldn’t ask for anybody better to do what we’re doing with Purina,” says Wayne. “Tim Peissig is our Purina nutritionist and he’s been really good, too,” adds Sam.
Due to drought, the Drouhard brothers didn’t have much alfalfa hay available to feed this past winter. They talked with Gerald and Tim, who recommended providing their cows with Purina® Accuration® liquid to help make up for some of their protein deficit. The liquid feed helped better utilize and further supplement what harvested forage they did have available, which included sudangrass and crabgrass hay, along with BMR sorghum silage.
Early on, Gerald called to inquire about the condition of the cows after refilling the feeders.
“Gerald said, ‘I’m worried.’ And I said, ‘Why?’” tells Wayne.
“Gerald goes, ‘They’re only consuming a pound. They should be consuming 2.5 pounds per day.’ I told him, ‘Well, they look better than they’ve ever looked, Gerald.’ And he said, ‘I’m glad to hear that. I thought I better come down and see what was wrong,’” adds Wayne.
Consumption of the Purina® Accuration® liquid did rise later in the winter, but not quite to the levels that were expected because of the excellent forage quality.
Another recent example of Wayne and Sam getting advice from Gerald and Tim was when it came to mineral supplementation. The brothers weren’t seeing the mineral consumption that they wanted from bagged mineral, so Gerald suggested switching to Purina® Wind and Rain® mineral tubs with Zinpro® Availa® 4 added.1
“We think the consumption is better on these tubs,” says Sam. “It is a little more costly, but we’re not putting that product out nearly as often. We’re also not having to handle all those bags.”
The brothers cite attending a Range Cattle VIP event six years ago at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center in Gray Summit, Missouri, as a reason for further strengthening their trust in the brand.
“I really enjoyed it and learned a lot while I was there. I highly recommend anybody attend if they get a chance,” says Wayne.
Does your cattle nutrition program stack up? Find out with a Proof Pays trial.
“If we have plenty of wheat pasture, our main program is to run our homegrown calves on wheat once we get them weaned in the fall,” says Sam. “Then we’ll sell them in late winter or early spring at a local sale barn.”
In some years, they’ve further diversified by purchasing 2-4 loads of yearlings when they’ve had plenty of wheat pasture. Unfortunately, in the past few years, both market dynamics and dry conditions have kept them from grazing additional yearlings with their home-raised calves.
The ranch, based in Harper, Kansas, grew to as many as 400 commercial cows, but a drought in 2023 forced the brothers to sell about 80 head.
“Last year, we went ahead and weaned our calves early,” says Sam. “If they were 100 days or older, we weaned them because we didn’t feel like we could retain that many cows with calves on them.”
Following weaning, they ran the calves on native pasture in the summer.
“We did keep them through the fall, then we had wheat pasture, so we were able to run them on the wheat, and we sold them in January,” says Wayne.
Nutrition shift
Last year wasn’t the first time the weather had altered Wayne and Sam’s weaning program. Amid a drought in 2012, the Drouhard brothers decided to switch to feeding Purina® products following a neighbor's recommendation to speak with local Purina® dealer, Woodard Mercantile. The first change they made was using Purina® Accuration® Starter complete feed.“When you try something new, you always worry, ‘Is it really what they say?’” says Wayne. “I kept thinking that these calves are probably not going to eat enough; they’re going to get sick and we’re going to have problems.”
During the first week, Wayne regularly walked the pens every morning and night to ensure the calves were doing well.
“They kept looking good. You could tell they were eating well and getting as much as they needed,” says Wayne. “It was pretty much exactly what they told us.”
Sam and Wayne had previously fed ground hay and mixed pellets in a feed bunk twice per day at weaning before moving to self-feeders with Purina® Accuration® Starter complete feed, which has been a significant labor saver for the brothers.
Since that first experience, Sam and Wayne have continued to utilize more and more Purina® products.
“Everybody says it costs more to feed Purina, but I’m not sure it does. I feel like in the end, we’re doing the right thing,” adds Sam.
Financial flexibility
Sam and Wayne have been utilizing the 6-4-0 Feed Financing Program for the past four years to purchase their feed and mineral from Woodard Mercantile. The program is available nationally for qualified participants at participating Purina® dealers through a collaboration with John Deere Financial.“It’s been a real advantage to pay 0% interest for six months [during the enrollment period],” says Wayne. “It definitely helps.”
The Drouhards use the program twice a year with payments being made in January and June.
“We are well aware of when that bill is coming, and we have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to cost us,” says Sam.
A benefit of using the 6-4-0 Feed Financing Program is its flexibility. Sam and Wayne can redistribute some of their funds, such as the operating loan, to focus on other business priorities.
They have advocated the program to other local producers, including their extended family, because of the value it creates for their business.
An added benefit is they don’t have to deal with paying monthly feed bills thanks to having only two payments per year.
“It’s worked well for us, and we’d highly recommend it,” says Wayne.
Maintaining a relationship
Located in Maize, Kansas, their local Purina® dealer is about 45 minutes from their ranch headquarters, and the owner, Gerald Woodard, tries to meet with Wayne and Sam every quarter.“We couldn’t ask for anybody better to do what we’re doing with Purina,” says Wayne. “Tim Peissig is our Purina nutritionist and he’s been really good, too,” adds Sam.
Due to drought, the Drouhard brothers didn’t have much alfalfa hay available to feed this past winter. They talked with Gerald and Tim, who recommended providing their cows with Purina® Accuration® liquid to help make up for some of their protein deficit. The liquid feed helped better utilize and further supplement what harvested forage they did have available, which included sudangrass and crabgrass hay, along with BMR sorghum silage.
Early on, Gerald called to inquire about the condition of the cows after refilling the feeders.
“Gerald said, ‘I’m worried.’ And I said, ‘Why?’” tells Wayne.
“Gerald goes, ‘They’re only consuming a pound. They should be consuming 2.5 pounds per day.’ I told him, ‘Well, they look better than they’ve ever looked, Gerald.’ And he said, ‘I’m glad to hear that. I thought I better come down and see what was wrong,’” adds Wayne.
Consumption of the Purina® Accuration® liquid did rise later in the winter, but not quite to the levels that were expected because of the excellent forage quality.
Another recent example of Wayne and Sam getting advice from Gerald and Tim was when it came to mineral supplementation. The brothers weren’t seeing the mineral consumption that they wanted from bagged mineral, so Gerald suggested switching to Purina® Wind and Rain® mineral tubs with Zinpro® Availa® 4 added.1
“We think the consumption is better on these tubs,” says Sam. “It is a little more costly, but we’re not putting that product out nearly as often. We’re also not having to handle all those bags.”
The brothers cite attending a Range Cattle VIP event six years ago at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center in Gray Summit, Missouri, as a reason for further strengthening their trust in the brand.
“I really enjoyed it and learned a lot while I was there. I highly recommend anybody attend if they get a chance,” says Wayne.
Does your cattle nutrition program stack up? Find out with a Proof Pays trial.
1 Availa® 4 is a registered trademark of Zinpro Corp.
