BC Beef

We are Brock & Carly Klein

Brock and I have been together for 11 years and married for 4! Together we shared a love for animals and have dreamt of one day owning our own farm. That dream finally came true in 2017 when we purchased our little farmstead in rural Des Lacs, ND. However, we did not start out with cattle right away. Our farm started with few back yard chickens. Including a cat named Fussy and our 2 dogs Hank and Max. 

Our first taste of ranching came in 2019 when I chose to buy 10 bred red angus heifers, instead of going on a honeymoon! At the time we did not have anything set up at home to take care of the cows. We instead, kept them on shares with the rancher we had bought them from. While they were at his place, we started setting up our operation at home. Basically starting from scratch because everything we had was old and dilapidated. Barbed wire fence, corrals, a falling over barn, and abandoned pastures all needed to be fixed or replaced. With the help of good friends and family this huge project got underway. We started by fencing in our small pasture at home with barbed wire. Next Brock did a bunch of dirt work with our backhoe, to make a level place to build our corrals and chutes. Before the corrals were put up we had to run water and electricity for lights and our watering system. After the corrals were up our attention turned to the barn. It was leaning bad and was ready to fall over. With some help we got the roof lifted up, then pushed the walls back straight. Then dug in new poles inside to set the barn down straight again. Next our summer pastures that had not seen a cow hoof in many years needed fencing. We had to nearly resurrect all the fence around those. It was a big project and is still ongoing, as there is always a need to improve.

Once we were comfortable with our cattle handling set up we knew we could bring our cows home in the fall. So finally in November of 2019 a bottles of champagne were popped as the last of the cows stepped off trailer. We were so proud!!

God has blessed us with two sweet baby boys named Nash Erling and Jack James. Nash was born November 18th, 2021, he was named after my grandfather, Erling Alm. Jack was born May 19th, 2023, he was named after Brock's Grandfather, James Adam.

Nash loves everything on the farm, animals, tractors, trucks, etc.... He likes to go for tractor rides with Daddy when it's not too hot or cold. Jack is still just a baby and all he loves is mommy!! We love all the ups and downs of parenting. Life on the farm is busy especially when we have baby boys running our lives! We are so grateful that our boys will get to grow up on the farm.

Our ranch started with 10 bred Red Angus heifers, we call those 10 our good girls because they're tame and they know the drill! Most of them have names, and are treated like pets. Our herd has grown a bit in the last couple of years. Currently we have 37 cows and 2 bulls. Our bulls are named Todd and Copper. 

Our ranch is still a small operation so we can give special care and attention to our animals. In the wintertime when our herd is home, Brock goes out every day to feed and check each cow individually to make sure they are all doing well. Walking slowly through the herd and hand feeding them also helps them get used to people. They are much easier to work with when it’s calving season or in the spring and fall when we have to move them on trailers.

We have God to thank for giving us all the opportunities to start our business and everything that led up to this big decision. Farming and ranching is a 24/7 365 kind of business, there is always something you can be doing! My husband Brock is very dedicated to all our animals on the ranch. He spends countless hours doing everything he can to make our cows comfortable, no matter the weather!

Our operation runs as follows:

Our herd consists of mostly red and black angus cows. We also run two four-year-old red angus bulls named Todd and Copper. In late spring we monitor the grass conditions to make sure the pastures are ready for the cows to graze. Our bulls will head out with the girls mid to end June for breeding. That makes calving season late March early April. During calving season our cows are at home, we go out at all hours of the day and night to check for calves. We take a little more care to watch any heifers that are calving because they are the most likely to have issues during the birthing process and don’t always know what to do with their calf as a first-time mom. We have smaller pens that we call “pair pens” for the mom and baby pairs to go in. We separate them to give them a
little 1 on 1 time without other cows bothering them. We also keep the pregnant cows and cow calf pairs separate too. Sometimes you have a cow that won’t accept her calf for whatever reason and you kind of have to make her. We try everything from using the placenta on the calf to dumping mom’s milk all over it. This is for scent; it helps mama realize that this is her calf, and she needs to take care of it. However, it doesn't always work, and you need to bottle feed or graft her onto another cow that lost her calf.

Very soon after birth the calf is vaccinated, banded, and ear tagged. (We use the band method instead of castration) We also take a few extra precautionary measures with our calves because of the time of year they're born. Once the calf has been worked and we know it has suckled and gotten its mother claustrum we will let them out of the pair pens and in with the rest of the pairs. Brock and I have a little joke for when we let them out: we say, "It's time to head out to gen. pop." We keep a close eye on the fresh calves because they can get sick, especially in the winter!

Every year we go into calving season wondering what kind of crazyness is going to happen this year! We always have something to deal with, if it isn't a big winter storm it’s pulling a calf that's breech or just not coming. We learn something new every year! They do get treats too, we spoil our cows often…probably too often because they will eat breeder cubes (a.k.a. Cake) right out of our hands, Nash just loves it! Jack will too someday but for now, he'll just enjoy them from afar!