ALGOMA, Ore. — It’s scramble time for Bob and Kathleen Buchanan.
“We’re in the frantic week,” says Kathleen, who with her husband owns and operates the Buchanan Angus Ranch in the Algoma area north of Klamath Falls, of preparing for this weekend’s 24th annual Bull Sale at the Klamath County Fairgrounds.
They’ll have 82 Angus bulls at the sale, which begins at noon Sunday. Sale activities actually begin noon Saturday, when the bulls will be available for viewing. A hosted cocktail hour is set for 6 p.m. followed by a free tri-tip dinner. Before Sunday’s sale, brunch will be offered at 10 a.m. with entertainment by Shane Thornton.
“It’s the old-fashioned western hospitality,” Kathleen says of the pre- and post-sale activities, which typically lure upwards of 300 people. “It’s more work, but it’s worth it.”
Unlike the annual Klamath Bull & Select Horse Sale, which was held at the fairgrounds in Klamath Falls earlier this month, the Buchanan’s sale features all Angus bulls. While most are from the Buchanan Ranch, others are from ranches, including one from Eastern Oregon, that have built their operations around the Buchanan’s genetic program. The bulls up for bid are mostly about 14 months old.
It’s a two-person operation for Bob, 62, and Kathleen, 64, who use their 500 acres to raise hay and, more importantly, oversee their carefully selected herd of Angus cattle. They typically breed 150 to 160 cows by artificial insemination annually and have about 125 calves each season.
“This is a hands-on cattle operation. We do all the work here on our own ranch,” Bob and Kathleen emphasize, noting they share daily ranch chores with their border collie dogs. On big work days, they often enlist their three children — especially their cowboy inclined son, Billy — and their children’s families. “We do the breeding, calving, feeding, repairs and maintenance on the equipment and facilities.”
“It’s a beautiful hidden valley,” Kathleen says of the location of their fourth generation cattle ranch that’s been raising registered Angus since 1965. She and her husband believe their mission is to improve the quality of Angus beef in general and their stock in particular.
“We’re into it for the betterment of the industry and the betterment of the herd,” she says. “The reason for doing this has to be to the improve for breed. There really isn’t a good reason for not raising good beef.”
That ever-improving breeding goal has led the Buchanans to concentrate on upgrading their herd. They have been using artificial insemination and embryo transfer technology since 1987, when it was accepted by the Angus Association. They pride themselves on what they describe as “high volume, big ribbed females in a moderate framed package.” The cows are turned out to pasture with young calves, which are born in late December.
Working working hard is the couple’s mantra. As they emphasize, “Our ranch is not a hobby, it is a livelihood. Angus cattle our only business so we have to work hard and perform or we won’t stay in business.”
Staying in business has been a family tradition since 1894. Bob says his family had a large operation of commercial cattle. “I was the rebel,” he tells of converting to breeding Angus, a shift that began in 1965. By the late 1990s, the commercial operation was history.
History, however, is a tradition that dates back to 1894 when Bob’s great-grandparents, John and Marie Hagelstein, who had come to the United States by ship from Germany then moved to Oregon 1893, settled in the Algoma area. His great-grandparents farmed, but Bob’s grandparents, George and Hilda Hagelstein, began raising cattle that, along with such family farm crops as milk, potatoes and eggs, were sold to workers at the nearby Algoma Lumber Mill.
Bob’s history with Angus started as a teenager, when he started buying Angus from Scott Warren in the early 1950s. Gradually, he took over Warren’s operation and moved into a house his uncle Fred had built as a dairy, just up the road from where he had grown up. “I have moved twice in my lifetime for a total of a half-mile,” Bob laughs.
With Kathleen’s help, the Buchanans have crafted a partnership that blends tradition with technology. They computerize their data, information on things like carcass genetics and pregnancy tests, “But we still have to look at and work with the cattle.”
The yearly focus is their bull sale, always held the fourth Sunday of February. They launched the sales to “give everyone first pick” at their sought-after bulls.
Their special touches, along with high quality bulls, have helped the Buchanans’ success.
“We get a lot of repeat customers,” says Bob, noting one ranch has been buying Buchanan bulls since 1973. “We make friends with our customers.”
“You’ve got to show appreciation for your customers,” Kathleen explains, laughingly telling about a long-time friend and buyer who once told her, “I don’t need any bulls. I just came for the cinnamon rolls.”
Along with people at the fairgrounds, the sale is broadcast live on the Internet and reaches potential buyers from across the U.S. and Canada. Last year, the majority of bids came via the Internet. “It’s definitely high-tech, but still old-style Western hospitality. We figure our bulls sell themselves. We like to stay at a size where we can do it ourselves,” Bob says.
The annual sale is critical financially, but the Buchanans says they like all phases of their business.
“I really enjoy the cattle and the people. We deal with the greatest people on the Earth. When they tell you something you can count on that happening,” Bob says. “I love working with the animals. We are kind of our bosses. It’s very rewarding at calving season, seeing the fruits of your thoughts and labor. And the lifestyle. To be able to make a living in a lifestyle you love is nothing short of a blessing.”
