AgriCULTURE 2026 | Lyon Ranch Beef

When a family farm has been the focus for six generations, each generation has an opportunity to leave its mark on the family business. That’s what Colby and Kendra Olson, Kimball, South Dakota, are doing today at their family’s ranch. 

The ranch is home to multiple business enterprises, all related to the cattle industry, including a feedlot, cow-calf operation, backgrounding and most recently, a direct-to-consumer beef business.  

“We’re trying to be as diverse as we can with different enterprises,” Colby said. 

Started with a Feedyard 

Colby’s great-grandfather, Clifford, passed the ranch down to his daughter (Colby’s grandmother), Nancy, and her husband, Wayne. While the couple enjoyed raising show cattle, they branched out into the feedlot business. In 2007, Wayne got all the required permits for a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) and built a feedyard. Wayne and Nancy also expanded the cow-calf operation under their leadership. Today, the feedyard is in two locations, and Colby and Kendra are working to expand the feedyard. 

Cattle from the feedlot are sold on the grid to Cargill, taking advantage of both genetics and quality grade. The family does custom feed quite a few cattle, a practice that started small and has kept growing over the years.  

Colby’s father, Chad, bought out the cow-calf operation from Wayne in 2016. Colby and Kendra have their own commercial Angus cows, too. Colby and Wayne have also purchased some cows from other Angus herd dispersals, keeping the best sons out of those cows to raise as bulls that are used on their own cow herd.  

Artificial insemination has been at the core of the family’s commitment to excellent cattle genetics for 50 years. Around 1977, Wayne approached Clifford and asked for his blessing to try AI on the cow herd. Clifford gave his approval, and the family has never looked back, breeding everything by AI to registered Angus bulls ever since. The family also uses CIDRs and a seven and seven synchronization protocol, so all females can be bred the same day. 

“We like to stay on the cutting edge of technology while still evolving,” Colby said. “With a multigenerational ranch, the more generations it lasts, the tougher the ranching business gets.” 

Another aspect of the business that Colby has started is a bred heifer operation. Each year, either in the fall or spring, Colby buys heifers from reputable Angus ranches and breeds them by AI. The heifers are then turned out with bulls purchased from Conneally Angus for clean up, and they’re developed on a cost-effective ration before being sold.  

Lyon Ranch Beef 

Lyon Ranch Beef launched on Jan. 1, 2025, selling prime, home-raised beef directly to consumers. The business has been successful, selling beef processed in a federally inspected plant in Nebraska. The couple uses social media to promote their beef and sells beef from Easter to Christmas. They sell prime rib, tenderloin, hamburger, and 28-day aged steaks—what Colby calls “special occasion steaks”.  

“When we have an open buying window, it’s non-stop messaging,” he said. 

Colby always knew he was going into the meat business in some form. He competed on the South Dakota State University livestock judging and meat judging teams while in college, and did an internship in Garden City, Kansas, as a carcass merchandiser.  

Colby and Kendra’s four children are the seventh generation to grow up on the ranch: Clancy, 10; Georgia, 9; River, 6; and Vera, 3. Kendra will be returning to work at the ranch this spring after teaching kindergarten for 13 years. 

Providing Genetic Value 

“The Angus breed just seems to check all of the boxes for us,” Colby said. “Carcass traits with the Angus breed have gotten substantially better, even in the last five to 10 years. When we sell our home raised cattle on the grid, we’re pushing 50 percent prime. We want to sell the best you can buy, whether that’s a fat steer, a bred heifer, a backgrounded calf, or beef. That’s our goal, and Angus bulls help us do that.” 

Even younger calves with an Angus bloodline have enough performance to make the weaning weight standard that Colby and Kendra aim for. Heifers look soft, broody, deep-bodied, and have a “cow look” to them, while still maintaining high foot and udder quality. 

Colby said he used to pick 10 bulls and be very intentional about matings. But for the last couple of years, he’s bred every female to the same bull, a Conneally bull that sold to Select Sires. Breeding 800 units of semen from the same bull has resulted in consistent cattle that are all half-siblings.  

“We want replacement heifers that are sired by a bull with carcass data behind him, so if she’s used for the beef business, it’s a quality product, and if she’s sold as an open heifer, there’s still value there.” 

Heifers are bred the first week of June, with cows being bred the first week of July. Bulls are turned out five days later, with females calving in March and April. 

Once heifer calves are selected to keep in the herd, the other calves are backgrounded in the family feedyard before being sold at Kimball Livestock in the spring. 

“We’re lucky here in South Dakota that we have really good livestock auction markets,” Colby said. “Kimball is only 14 miles away and it’s as good a yearling market as anywhere in the country.” 

The family chops silage and puts up hay each year to help feed the cattle, although they do buy some hay, too. 

Important Perspective 

Colby and Kendra would like their cattle business to be in such a place that if one or more of their children want to return to the operation, there’s a place for them to be able to do that.  

“It gets in your blood, and they enjoy working with us every day,” Colby said. “In the cattle business, there’s good days and not so good days. We want them to come back to the ranch because they love ranching, not because it was expected of them.” 

In his free time, Colby is active on the board of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association. He has noticed a trend that there’s not as many young people getting back into the beef business, while ranchers aren’t getting any younger.  

“I’ve been the youngest guy at the sale barn for 12 years,” he said. “I hope the next generation steps up a little bit. It’s our turn to get involved and give our opinions. If you want a seat at the table, you have to be willing to get involved.” 

Photo Captions 

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6585: Colby’s father, Chad, bought out the cow-calf operation from his grandfather, Wayne, in 2016. Colby and Kendra have their own commercial Angus cows, too. Colby and Wayne have also purchased some cows from other Angus herd dispersals, keeping the best sons out of those cows to raise as bulls that are used on their own cow herd. Photo courtesy of the Olson family. 

6590: The Olson family are committed to managing multiple business enterprises, all related to the cattle industry, including a feedlot, cow-calf operation, backgrounding and most recently, a direct-to-consumer beef business. Photo courtesy of the Olson family. 

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