CLICK THE PICTURES ABOVE TO SEE EACH OF THE CANDIDATES FARMS!
CANDIDATES ARE LISTED BELOW IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THE BIO WAS RECEIVED
——KYLE SKIDMORE——
Hello ABA Members,
As the American Beefalo Association Board Of Director election is upon us I was asked to write a little bit about myself to introduce myself to the membership. We have a slate of candidates this year which is great. We have been trying to get an increase of involvement over the past several years and finally this election is looking up!
In 1991 my dad bought our first farms Beefalo bull. At age 7 later that year I used my birthday money and bought my first Beefalo heifer. It’s been an incredible journey ever since. Over the past 28 years the Beefalo breed has put me all over the country and has given me the opportunity to meet lots of great people from all over the country. Off of our farm we have managed to put Beefalo in 23 different states. Hopefully one day we can get all 48 contiguous states.
As far as my work with the Association, I’ve been on the new ABA board since the merger in 2008. I was elected to the old ABI board while in college at Western Kentucky University. I graduated WKU with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture in 2007. I was able to work with Andrew Hammer a fellow ABI Board member and a few of the ABWR Board members to draw up the merger during my ABI Board Member years. Thankfully the merger is all behind us and we can keep moving forward with ONE Beefalo Association for everyone. Since the 2008 merger I have served as President for 4 years and Vice President for 3 years. The rest of the years I was on the Board of Directors as a Director and acted as an advisor being the immediate past President.
Shows and Sales are a great event to get everyone together throughout the year. I have had the opportunity Since 2011 to handle putting together the National Show, Sale and Meeting in Kentucky. A few years I had a Co-Chairman and that was nice but a few years I have not. There is a ton of work that goes into these events but they are what keeps the breeders interactive and looking forward to a brighter future!
With all of the ABA matters I still manage to run the farm with a rolling average of 150 head of Beefalo. We sell quite a bit of Beefalo meat and stock. We are proud to not have taken any Beefalo animals to the stockyards since 2006. I also have a Lawn Care business and am extremely active in Farm Bureau. I’ve served in many different capacities in Farm Bureau. Currently serving as President for our county which gives me the opportunity to talk to our elected officials from our State Capital to Washington D.C.! My duties are to make sure the politicians understand the farmers side of issues so that we can keep farming in the future.
Hopefully I will see most everyone there at the event the first weekend in March.
Sincerely,
Kyle Skidmore
Kyle Skidmore Beefalo - Broken Buckle Beefalo Farm
502-641-7878
—— LYTTON BASTIAN ——
My name is Lytton Bastian, I have a beautiful wife (Ashley) and 4 children (Remington, Paisley, Sadie and Kenzie). I am a 5th generation farmer/rancher and have been raised on my family ranch in Arimo Idaho all of my life where we currently run a 375 Sim Angus Ranch. I have a bachelor's in science degree from Utah State University in plant science with a minor in soil science and after receiving my B.S. degree I returned home to the ranch to raise my family where I could continue my passion and family legacy.
Back in the late 70's my father was introduced to the Beefalo breed and had raised a small herd for a few years. My father had told me a few stories about that old Beefalo herd it had intrigued me so I began doing research on them. I had become so interested in them that I had asked Dad if I could raise a few; so we began A.I.'ing some Foundation Bulls to some of our best cows.
I take great pride in my animals and share and educate people as much as possible about beefalo. What I hope to accomplish as a board member is to better develop and refine the Beefalo breed and be more recognized and accepted in commercial operations.
Lytton Bastian
—— SHAWN SIMMONS ——
My name is Shawn Simmons, I am 54 years old and a self employed transmission shop owner. My family and I moved here from Philadelphia 15 years ago. I became a member of the ABA in the fall of 2013. My wife Patricia and I own a small 40 acre rural farm in Mt. Vernon Ky. We love the breed, and we enjoy when the calves arrive, getting to watch them play and grow like weeds. The meat from our steers has been so worth the work, not to mention that we're starting to sell more meat each year. I lease a 70+ acre farm to cut for hay. We don't have enough pasture, so we feed hay year round. We started off with three heifers and a steer, and when we unloaded them into our pasture, we learned our first lesson of having a pair of Pyrenees dogs. Who took it upon them selves to try to herd our new additions around the farm. One heifer went one way through the fence, and the steer went through the other end. It took 2+ months to find our heifer and steer. We have learned a lot along the way and still learning with the help of others. Kyle being one of them. Our herd got to an all time high last year with 24+ Beefalo and had to be thinned down for the size of our farm, we have 14 head right now with some arriving this spring.
Shawn Simmons
KY’s Best Farm - Beefalo
859-358-0593
—— ANDREW DIETSCH ——
Andy Dietsch and his wife Kelly own and operate Splitlimb Ranch and A&K Ranch in the Ozarks of South Central Missouri. They moved to Missouri from New Jersey in 2009. They raise Beefalo breeding stock, fullbloods and purebred bulls and cows, for other Beefalo farmers and people just starting out. Their mission is to provide customers with a variety of bloodlines. They have done a lot of work with AI. They have purchased “foundation bull” semen and other semen from various places. They currently have bloodlines in their herd from the following bulls: Payday, Cork Preacher Man, Geronimo, Rebel Commander and others. This year they plan to AI several cows with a foundation bull called “Badlands”. Their herd was at one time around 100 head of Beefalo. Since their boys are graduating from high school and moving on to college and other pursuits, Andy and Kelly have cut their herd to 50- 60 head.
Before Moving to Missouri, Andy studied Agricultural Business in college and worked on farms in Germany and Africa. In New Jersey, Andy managed and operated several different farms about an hour southwest of NYC, raising Beefalo and Hereford cattle, hay, corn, and vegetables. He also managed a farm with a pig operation (with 50 breeding sows) and 400 layer hens. He started two vegetable farms and ran farm stands in 2 different locations. In the winter months, Andy and Kelly owned and operated a small maple syrup operation.
Andrew Dietsch
A&K Ranch
573-674-1262
—— JEFF HAWK ——
Jeff Hawk is a family man who loves his wife and three children. He loves to hunt and fish when time
permits and is the owner of Hawk Farms, specializing in Beefalo cattle. Jeff began working with Black
Angus in high school. He received a degree in Agri- Business at Southeast Missouri State University. For
the past 7 years, Jeff and his family have been raising Beefalo after switching their herd away from
Angus. During this 7 year period, Hawk Farms has become a business of live animal sales, as well as,
meat production and restaurant sales. The growth and success of Hawk Farms can be directly attributed
to Jeff’s business acumen and his belief in the quality of the Beefalo breed. Jeff Hawk would like to
represent YOU on the Board of Directors. One of the main ways we will grow to be a healthier
organization is to help all members be successful through fair representation, communication, and
marketing. Jeff believes we all have a part to play in growing the ABA and can do so by each of us
reaching out to other cattle producers in our local communities and sharing the benefits of raising
Beefalo. While we may be a small organization today, which many people have volunteered countless
hours to support over the years, it is now time for all members to come together and further support
the ABA association and the Beefalo breed so that we can take our organization to the next level within
the world of cattlemen. Jeff envisions our association to have a paid staff through corporate
sponsorships and other means which will ultimately better serve our current and future members.
Jeff Hawk
Hawk Farms Beefalo
864-216-1225
—— JOHN FOWLER ——
John Fowler
660-347-5680
—— BRET GREEN ——
Bret Green
Greens MM Beefalo
269-496-7814
—— BOB MEUCCI ——
Bob Meucci
662-895-3220
