Breeder’s Connection 2026 | Graff Cattle

Chuck Graff has been involved in raising pure bred Angus cattle from his youth. Through the years the cattle breeds changed some, but he came back to his first love and is still raising registered Black Angus cows. 

The Graff family has raised cattle in Nebraska since 1898. Graff’s great-great grandfather raised registered draft horses and Red Polled cattle in Cuming County. Registered Angus cows were first bought and bred on the same home place in 1950.  

Graff came of age in the Joe Watson, Dr. Bob Long and R.B. Warren era, so structural correctness is primary in his breeding selection criteria. Maternal, performance and carcass merits follow. 

Chuck and Nancy Graff married in 1973. He attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where he earned a master’s in animal science: ruminant nutrition and management. During this time he managed the Judging Pavilion under R.B. Warren. They went on to work for Ankony Angus and Greenway Angus. In 1984 the couple settled near Ogallala, Nebraska, with their three daughters, Jennifer, Amy, and Brenda. They chose the area due to easy access to I-80, close proximity to Sandhills and the cow numbers in Nebraska. 

Graff was an original partner in Profit Maker bulls and grew his own herds of both Angus and Gelbvieh cattle. Since 1989 they have only raised Angus cattle. A pioneer of breeding technology, he transferred his first embryo in 1976. For more than 50 years Graff Cattle have utilized both artificial insemination and embryo transplants in his herd of over 250 to improve the cows and raise quality bulls for commercial producers. 

The herd is bred to start calving in January with 60 of them bred for fall calving. They use windbreaks and calf huts due to limited space in the barns. “The winter calving accommodates the late spring/early summer breeding needs of our bull customers,” Graff said. “With over 40 years of selling bulls near Ogallala, multi-generational families have developed into friends, I’ve sold bulls to three generations of ranch families. Customers are always “first and right” which is something Cy Winkler emphasized to me back in 1975 when I worked for Ankony Angus.” 

The cow herd summers in the Sandhills of Arthur County, Nebraska and spend the fall and early winter on corn stalks until they come home for calving. They are fed a ground hay ration with distillers. “We AI the first of April and place embryos for our January 10^th caving date. We wean the bulls the end of August and the heifers in September. The bull calves are brought home and fed free choice grass hay and a Cargill ration with added oats,” Graff said. “We treat our registered herd just like commercial cows.” 

The heifer calves are also weaned on free-choice grass hay to carry them until December 1^st when they receive supplemental distillers grain until green grass in May. 

The fall herd summers on native grass, they are supplemented with hay and distillers in November and December with an AI date of December first. After they are bred, they go back to roughing it. 

Today through the sire selection process Graff as well as his competitors can select from any genetic pool that is present. Bulls can have similar EPD’s, but Graff’s selection process coupled with DNA analysis and years of experience, his cow herd produces uniform and consistent bulls for his customers. He also travels and physically looks at every bull before AI’ing to it. “Plenty of bulls have the numbers but they don’t all look the same,” Graff said. 

He has also been breeding genetics to help prevent congestive heart failure for those who are feeding for heavier weights.  

The cow herd receives modified live virus vaccinations prior to breeding, another chute working prior to synchronization and breeding that has proven beneficial and was recommended by their veterinarian. One of Graff’s mottos is  

“Raising cattle isn’t just a business. It is a way of life we were born into and choose to continue.” 

Nancy passed away in 2018, but her legacy continues. Their daughters all are in the medical field and they come home whenever possible to help, especially with the bull sale. Amy and her husband Trevor Dam along with their daughters Ella and Hailey live near Arthur, Nebraska, and are close enough to help with the workload and decision-making and are vital to the operation. 

The annual bull sale in the first Saturday in February at the ranch near Roscoe, seven and a half miles east of Ogallala. “We sell in catalog order, offering age advantage bulls and early winter bulls. We stand behind our bulls, repeat customers are vital to us,” Graff said. “Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.” 

Graff offers free delivery of the bulls in Nebraska and surrounding states and a volume discount of 5 percent on 5 or more bulls. He also offers a few bulls private treaty throughout the year. 

“I guess I’m addicted to breeding purebred cattle and I will keep doing it ’till the creek doesn’t rise,” Graff said.