Vaughn Thorstenson

Vaughn Thorstenson raises registered Gelbvieh cattle and Balancer bulls on Lazy TV Ranch near Selby, South Dakota, in the heart of north-central Walworth County — roughly an hour north of Mobridge.

The Thorstenson family's cattle roots in this part of South Dakota stretch back to 1885, when Vaughn's great-grandfather began working the land. The operation shifted toward registered Gelbvieh in the mid-1970s, when Vaughn's father, Ken, introduced the breed and it quickly proved to be the most functional cattle on the place. Ken was among the first producers in the United States to use imported Gelbvieh semen and seedstock to build out the cowherd, and by 1975 the ranch was a full registered Gelbvieh operation.

Angus cattle were added in 1993 to support production of Balancer bulls — a Gelbvieh-cross offering that gives commercial ranchers a straightforward path to hybrid vigor. Artificial insemination has been a core part of the breeding program since the early 1970s, with roughly two-thirds of the cowherd bred by AI each year. The ranch has used a GrowSafe feed efficiency system to test bulls and heifers on residual feed intake since around 2010, and genomic testing is performed on a portion of the bull offering. Maternal traits drive selection decisions at Lazy TV Ranch, with strict culling for fertility, longevity, and feet and udder quality; that focus earned the ranch the distinction of leading the Gelbvieh breed in Dams of Merit in 2019. Seedstock from this South Dakota Gelbvieh program has sold into more than 20 states and three foreign countries.

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