Within that business, trust is at the core.

In the Sandhills of Nebraska, folks get one chance to get that trust right, so they better do it right, JW Simonson said.

Simonson runs Minert Simonson Angus at Dunning, Neb. He recently partnered with Drew Feller of Feller Cattle Company in Thedford, Neb. to form Sandhills Source. 

The company aims to produce cattle that will help increase ranchers’ profitability through both performance and maternal traits.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” said Feller, who was an American Angus Association region seven manager by the time he was 26.

Feller brings the performance driven cattle from Barstow Angus Ranch, whose herd he’s recently taken over, while Simonson’s cattle carry strong maternal traits. 

Feller said it’s really exciting to combine the two because they can directly meet a wide variety of producers’ needs and goals. 

For both Feller and Simonson, building and maintaining trust with current and prospective customers is a key component to a successful cattle company, but that trust starts between the two Nebraska Angus bull producers. 

Simonson reflected on meeting Feller in 2016, seeing him around sales, getting to know him and gaining a lot of confidence in him as both a businessman and a cattleman.

Feller recounted how lucky he was that Simonson, along with the Barstow family that sold him their cattle, both took him under his wing.

“It was a big deal for those guys to latch on to a 30-year old and give him a chance,” Feller said. 

Feller said that while he brings different marketing strategies to the table, “I also get to listen to JW who has 30 years of experience selling to ranchers, being a good person and has been in the people business.”

It’s another way that Sandhill Source gets to be the best of both worlds. In fact, Simonson is excited that Feller brings the vision and excitement of youth to the table.

He said it will even help them focus even more on their customers and help them market their cattle.

Marketing, Simonson said, is really all about getting to know people, learning their operation’s unique needs and goals and meeting them where they’re at.

“These bulls are kind of like buying a vehicle, they’re on every corner,” Simonson said, so it’s really about finding an operator you can trust. 

Simonson said he loves the mantra Loren Schnepft and John Hanson, two cattle buyers from Le Mars, Iowa, would always say: find good cattle and find good people and do business with them. 

Part of the reason Simonson said he has the opportunity to connect with so many people is because of the mentors he’s had in his life, especially his late father-in-law Lowell Minert. 

At Minert’s induction ceremony into the Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame, Simonson said he realized he knew about 80 percent of the people simply because of his parents and Minert. 

“I was blessed by my mentors that put me in contact with those kinds of people,” he said. It’s part of the reason he takes pride in knowing that a good majority of his customers come from within a 200 mile radius.

The importance of talking to people face to face simply can never be replaced. Simonson is excited that he and Feller can go out and meet customers where they are in order to help them with their unique marketing goals.

Feller said he truly appreciates that because of that, Sandhills Source is a “people business, not a competition business.”

Sandhill Source will hold their annual bull sale Saturday, Feb. 18 at Simonson’s ranch in Dunning, Neb. 

Approximately 175 bulls will run through the ring, most sired by Marcys Panhandle, Crawford Guarantee, TK Steamboat, Car Don Annuity and more.

Both Feller and Simonson are eager for the future and looking forward to being on the ground level with their customers.

“We’re excited to see where it grows,” Simonson said. 

For more information, visit SandhillsSource.com