Winter Cattle Journal 2025 | Carmichael Herefords: Generations of Quality Cattle 

Ranchers in western South Dakota and the surrounding area know that the Carmichael name stands for hard working cattle, real world cows, and they have been showing up to purchase the family’s horned Hereford bulls for over fifty years. Keith Carmichael wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“We’re coming up on our 56^th annual bull sale,” Keith said. “About half go to cross on black cattle but we do have a lot of Hereford customers; about half of our bulls end up going back on Hereford cows.”  

The family has been in the area for over 100 years, with Keith’s maternal grandparents, John and Gertrude Hartman homesteading in Perkins County in 1909. Keith’s paternal grandparents, Pete and Garnet Carmichael, moved to Perkins County in the early 1940’s, bringing their family and a herd of Hereford cattle from Gregory, South Dakota.  

Pete Carmichael’s son James and his wife Dorothy introduced registered Herefords to the herd in the late 1950’s with a purchase of heifers from Thorpe Herefords at Britton, South Dakota, and Franklin Nash in Colorado. Bulls were initially sold private treaty to neighbors and friends. Through several generations, these families keep coming back for more.  

“We have a lot of really loyal local customers,” Brice Carmichael said. “Dad’s really happy with that. There are folks who have bought bulls from us for decades who are still coming back every year.” 

Keith currently operates the Hartman place, along with his significant other, Jami. His brother Bryan is on James and Dorothy’s place on Thunder Butte Creek. Bryan has carried on with James’ original registered herd. 

“We have a formula that we use to purchase the bull calves out of Bryan’s herd off the cows every fall,” Keith said. “He raises a lot of these bulls, and I buy them and develop them.” 

Keith’s children and their families are all involved on the ranch. Daughter Brittany Schaefers and her children J.J. and Brooklyn live at Madison, South Dakota, where she is a Special Ed teacher. She maintains her ties to the ranch and owns some cattle. Son Riley and his wife Roni, along with their son Hayzen and daughter Haylee run commercial Herefords. Son Brice and his wife Jessica are passionate about the registered herd and focus on them. All the families work together and trade help back and forth as needed. 

Carmichaels’ registered cattle are one hundred percent horned Hereford, focusing on Line One bloodlines with a touch of Canadian blood, initially using Prince Domino and Cruzerio lines and later using Cooper and Holden bulls. AI sires have been used over the years, but Keith and Brice are tending more toward bull breeding at present.  

“We figured it was easier than synchronizing and AI’ing,” Riley said. “It gets to be a lot of work and keeps at least two guys tied down when you should be haying.” 

Carmichael calves are born starting in late March on through May. Then it’s branding season; between working their own herds and trading work with neighbors it’s not long until it’s time to turn the bulls out and start haying. The black cows on the ranch get bred Hereford to produce F-1 baldies for commercial replacements. With changing seasons come fall shots, taking the bulls out, pregnancy testing cows, weaning calves. 

“And then we feed cows all winter,” Riley laughed. 

Their goal is to produce bulls out of the type of cow their customers need: docile, moderate framed, easy keeping cows that can handle the harsh environment of the prairie, raise a good calf, breed back, and keep doing it for a decade or more. 

“That’s one of our big goals,” Brice said, “to have cows that stay on the place till they are twelve or thirteen. It’s sure nice having old cows; they are the ones that have paid for themselves. We’re always working to improve udders and eyes, and we try to keep a balance in milk: not too much, not too little. Docility is a pretty big deal to us too.” 

“We focus a lot on the maternal side,” Keith said.  

First cross baldies are marketed in October at Faith Livestock along with customers’ calves sired by Carmichael bulls. 

Bulls are sold at the ranch on the third Saturday in February. 

“We sell two sire groups of yearling bulls,” Keith said. “The rest are sold as two-year-olds. Most of these bulls stay within a 150-mile radius. We have very good support among our neighbors and the community. Hereford people are unique. They are old school and share the same fundamental values. It always seems that when you go to the sale barn you will find the Hereford people together.”  

“We have really good customers,” Brice said. “We’re thankful that they continue to support us.” 

The customers keep coming back. Tim Seim’s family has been buying Carmichael bulls for almost as long as they have been offering them. 

“Our family has been friends and neighbors with the Carmichaels for many years,” Tim said. “My dad, Shelby Seim, and my uncle Wilford Seim bought bulls from them in the 60s. We started buying bulls in the early 70s, so we’ve been using them on our Hereford cows for about sixty years. The Carmichaels’ word is good. They stand by their bulls and have generously helped to market our cattle in the past as well.” 

Mick Kennedy and family have been buying Carmichael bulls for years. 

“I don’t know how long, it’s been that long,” he said. “Jim was still in the business when we started buying Carmichael bulls. We keep going back because we’ve had such good luck with them. We run two herds of cows, and breed one Limousin for a terminal cross. But I like a baldy cow. We breed our black cows to Hereford bulls to get black baldy heifers to raise up for replacements.” 

Mick said that another positive factor for him is the distance. 

“Carmichaels are close,” he said. We usually take an afternoon before the sale to go up and look at the bulls in the pasture to figure out which ones we think will work for us, and then we go back on Saturday for the sale. It’s inevitable that sometimes you’ll have bad luck with a bull, he might break himself or get lame. Keith has always had something available for us to pick from when that happens, and I really appreciate that too.”  

Five-year-old Hayzen likes to ride with Grandpa Keith in the side-by-side when it’s time to check cows and bulls, and helps run the gates when they work cattle. He’s getting a start in the bull business too. 

“He has his first bull calf this year,” Keith said. “Ever since that calf was born, he swears he’s not going to sell him.” 

Keith explained his business theory to his grandson. 

“‘We sell the bulls to buy more cows so that we can raise more bulls,’ I told him. He looked me straight in the eye, dead serious. ‘Grandpa,’ he said. ‘I got enough cows. I’m not going to sell my bull.’ 

“He has till next February to change his mind, but if he doesn’t, it’s his call; it’s his bull.” Keith said. “I still think he’ll come around to my way of thinking, but it might be a year or two.” 

Riley is thankful to be able to raise his family on the ranch where he grew up.  

“When you look around at the way the world is going it’s pretty awesome to be able to raise your kids the way you were raised in this western lifestyle,” he said.  

“This is the fifth generation running—from my grandpa to my grandkids—that the Carmichael name has been synonymous with Herefords,” Keith said. “It doesn’t happen all the time that the next generation wants to come back to the ranch. We are very blessed.” 

Author’s Note: An earlier version of this article was published in the September, 2021 issue of Hereford America.