Build it Yourself: Ridder Herefords

Editor’s note: this article originally ran in the January 2023 issue of Hereford America.

The Ridder family motto could be: “If you want it built right, build it yourself.” They steadfastly apply this passion and work ethic to their registered Hereford cattle and building the health of the rangelands in their stewardship near Callaway, Nebraska. John Ridder’s grandparents, Theodore and Elizabeth (Praest) Ridder moved from northeastern Nebraska to Custer County in 1907 in search of more land for their growing family. Mary Ridder’s Irish and Moravian ancestors settled near Schuyler, in eastern Nebraska, working hard to be able to own land.

“My parents raised row crops and hay and fed cattle,” Mary said. “My brothers still farm there. John’s grandparents emigrated from Westphalia, Germany in the late 1800s.”

Theodore Ridder bought his first Hereford bull in 1908, and the family has raised Herefords for one hundred seventeen years. Theodore and Elizabeth’s son Paul, the youngest of their twelve children and a Naval Aviator and pilot instructor during WWII, decided to forgo college and instead purchased the ranch from his parents.

“When my grandparents came to this area they had black cattle,” John said. “It didn’t take them long to see that Herefords had the most fertility and longevity and opportunity for profit. Rector was the first sire my grandpa bought. He was a highly inbred bull who was from a very prominent bloodline at the time.”

While each generation of the Ridder family has primarily focused on practical traits, they have also used the show ring to promote their breeding program. Theodore Ridder started showing carloads of bulls in the 1940’s at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.

Theodore Ridder’s cattle were influential in the Hereford industry during his lifetime. When Ridders celebrated their ranch centennial in 2007, former Hereford Executive Bud Snidow told them that one in six Herefords registered during the 1940’s came from Custer County, Nebraska.

John’s father, Paul, showed carloads starting in the 1950’s. John’s first carload at the Stock Show was in 1975. In 1982 John won the National Western’s Grand Champion Hereford Bull “on the Hill” with L1 Domino G081, known as Metric.

“We select for profit driven traits, not the show ring, however the show ring has some advantages to it,” John said. “We showed Carloads in Denver at the National Western Stock Show for years and earned new customers that way.”

Ridders liked exhibiting carloads as it showed they could put a uniform group of 10 or 15 top bulls together.

Ridders breed for balance. John purchased his first Line 1 Sire from the Cooper-Holden sale in Montana. He and Mary began purchasing Canadian Herd Sires in 1989, crossing Line 1 and Canadian Herd Sires with great success.

One of the most prolific and all-around outstanding Herd Sires Ridder’s have owned or used is K 64H Ribstone Lad 157K. Breeders across the United States and Canada, Horned and Polled alike, bred cows and heifers to 157K. He was a 13-trait leader in the Hereford breed, with the look, thickness, performance, milk, and the disposition that people loved.

“We want cattle that all sectors of the industry can use,” John said. “Soundness, longevity, freedom of faults, cattle that feed well and hang well. They’ve got to be consumer accepted. We are partial to Line 1 and Canadian cattle. They complement each other very well. We’ve been raising Line 1 cattle since 1972 when I bought my first bulls. Before that we had some Advance Domino cattle and they worked well.”

“Each year when we start hunting for Herd Sires, we pay attention to the details,” Mary said. “We watch carcass, birthweight and growth EPDs, scrotum size, how the bull walks, pigmentation and of course we focus on the bloodlines we want and avoid those we want to stay away from.”

The Ridder breeding program is oriented to the commercial operation. They sell bulls to both purebred producers and cow-calf operators; approximately ten percent of their bulls go to other registered Hereford breeders.  

 When there are big jobs to do on the ranch, family shows up to help John and Mary. Aside from occasional day workers, Lucy the cow dog is their main ‘hired’ help.

“We are predominantly spring calving,” John said. “All of our cows are bull bred except for our replacement heifers which we AI. Our primary marketing is through our bull sale where customers are both in our sale barn and online. We sell about 100 bulls a year through our production sale and about seventy replacement heifers.”

To help their customers, Ridders deliver bulls within 250 miles and cooperate with customers on delivery at greater distances. They offer a first season breeding guarantee on their bulls, and will pay a portion of insurance covering bulls for the first six months.

Ridders feel that the rewards of building long term relationship with their customers, relationships that span generations, is one of the biggest rewards of what they do.

“Many of our customers are straight Hereford operations, over a dozen of them,” John said. “They’re lifetime customers and friends. Having a strong relationship with customers of several generations and seeing the success of our cattle in other operations both purebred and commercial is very rewarding.”

Ridders focus on their cattle, and don’t do any farming in their operation.

“Our only feed production is dryland hay,” John said. “As for our grazing – we are very particular about grazing and improving our range. All of our cows are in two, three or four cross fenced pasture rotations. This is also true for our yearling bulls and heifers. They all run on grass in the summer with no additional feed. We rent some pasture for about 40 cows.”

“We’ve rented that pasture since 2014 when our ranch was burned in a winter wildfire that started 5 miles northwest of us in 60 mph winds,” Mary said. “We were in Denver, getting ready to show our carload bulls the next day. All of our phones started lighting up. It’s the most helpless feeling in the world. Wonderful neighbors kept moving our cattle until the fire was under control and eight amazing volunteer fire departments took a stand on the west edge of our calving pastures. They evidently took several stands, because of the six operations burned, not one building, bale yard, tree stand or animal was burned.”

There have been other challenges through the years. 2022 marked fifty years since John took over the management of the ranch following his father’s death in a ranch accident. Paul passed away just a year after John graduated from Colorado State University at Ft. Collins in 1971 with a degree in Animal Science and minor in Ag Economics.

“We were married in 1982, and the 1980s were a very challenging time in agriculture,” Mary said. “Another big challenge we’ve faced has been drought years, especially 2012.”

“Our biggest challenge is getting the weather to cooperate” John said with a laugh.

No matter what challenges arise, Ridders enjoy what they do. They love their cattle, work hard for their customers, and are proud to be a part of the Hereford seedstock industry.

“I love the independence of being able to raise cattle the way we want them for our customers,” John said. “We want our customers to have cattle with calving ease, freedom of faults, and great dispositions. That’s a forgotten trait that our breed really has going for it as well as length, size, structural soundness on feet and legs, and good udders.”

John and Mary’s four daughters work in health care as do their two daughters-in-law, their son-in-law manages a John Deere dealership, and their two sons are in construction management. One owns his own contracting business, and the other is a V.P. in a construction company.

“They get that from their father and grandfathers – if you want it built right do it yourself,” John said. “It’s the same for cattle – it takes good genetics and doing it right. We’re in our 5^th generation of ownership here with our eight grandkids. Either our kids are awful smart or else I’m a damn good teacher. Their eye for cattle is surprisingly astute. I always asked my kids when out checking cattle to find something wrong. They could darn sure do it. We’ve got a family we’re extremely proud of and a great set of cows we are also very proud of.”

There is no other breed of cattle they would rather be raising.

“Herefords brought us to the dance, and we stick with them because they work the best,” John said. “We’ve been lucky with great neighbors, customers, and mentors along the way.