Winter Cattle Journal 2025 | Petersek Family’s Raven Angus
“I enjoy going to the sale barn to see calves weigh up and sell well. I thrive off of other people’s success. At the end of the day, pounds pay. It’s rewarding to see producers getting a good amount of the market share.”
– Reed Petersek
For those at Raven Angus in Colome, SD, they believe “The sale is just the beginning.” Quality animals and great customer service are key to their business.
Why is this cattle company called Raven? According to Reed Petersek, “That’s the million-dollar question. My brother asked my grandpa Ray, 98. He said people can butcher our Bohemian name in many ways when trying to pronounce it. Since they were raising black cattle, they named it after a black bird — a raven.”
Ray and his wife Betty started raising Angus cattle in 1955 with 10 registered head.
Reed said, “The Angus breed has changed tenfold since then in terms of size, production, female traits to the feeder cattle side.”
When Reed, 39, was growing up, there were no cell phones. “I remember every morning started at Grandpa’s house with conversation and coffee to plan the day with my dad Rod and my brother RJ who is 8 years older than I am. We’d all be there. By the time we left the table, we’d have the official plan for the day.”
Now they keep in contact with cell phones even if they are miles apart. Plans are likely to be put together the night before or when there is a big project. Everyone fills in where there is a gap and all work together well.
Those working the ranch are Reed, RJ, his son Linkyn, and their folks Rod and Leslie. RJ’s wife Sara handles all of the registered Angus herd records. Reed’s wife Erin works with the commercial heifer development.
The home place for the Petersek operation is near Colome, South Dakota. The Raven herd has 1,100 cows, including bred heifers. All of the bulls for the bull sale, yearlings and coming 2s, along with the registered bred heifers are developed at the home place where RJ, Linkyn and Rod reside. Reed and his family live at a ranch 50 miles north and west of the headquarters.
Grandpa Ray always had the Angus journal next to a bowl of candy. He encouraged his grandsons to thumb through those issues to teach them about the breed.
Reed said, “Grandpa still enjoys talking about cattle. He’ll call and say, ‘Hey, I think I found a bull.’ He’s active in our conversations about what we are doing with the registered cows as well as the feeder cattle world. Ray is interested in what is happening with the genetics that are being provided. He tells us to pay attention to the markets and to auctions. His big thing is, ‘These cattle need to keep the length, they don’t need to be big, they need to be long.'”
“We have had good growth from the inside out. With our bull sale growing and our customer base, our sale circle is getting bigger with more volume at the sale. We market 400 bulls annually. Raven Angus has a spring sale and a winter production sale and then will fill in with private treaty sales.”
Reed said they pride themselves on customer sales. “Our product stands behind itself with customer service. We visit our customers to see how the calves and cows are doing. We like to see how the replacement heifers work with our genetic influence. It’s a great reward to see the results working for customers.”
Reed got an animal science degree at South Dakota State University. He worked off the ranch for about a year at High Plains Genetics, a bull collection facility. That experience provided a way to create some extra revenue on the ranch. “I went to my first AI school when I was 15 and did some after I got back. RJ, Linkyn and I do all of our AI’ing ourselves.”
“What started our numbers taking off is we did a fair amount of embryo work,” Reed said. “We wanted our best cows to reproduce at a faster rate. Embryo transplants allowed us to grow many more cattle consistently. We could stack the genetics of good cow families on top of each other. We aggressively continue ET work with our donor cows.”
The Peterseks raise corn and hay, with soybeans in the rotation as a cash crop. About 95 percent of the crops they raise are for feed. Despite a lack of moisture, Raven Angus is sitting good for hay. The farm side complements the cattle side. “We go from the cattle side, to farming, to calving to more cattle work. We are active in the sale barns in the fall, bidding and buying our customers’ calves.”
As far as the future, Reed believes they need improved organization. By using different technology, they can improve their operation by reducing costs and overhead.
For Reed, his favorite part of ranching is not knowing what they will face each day. “Every day is different; some days are more challenging than others.”
“I enjoy working with people and the customer service part of the business. Cattle intrigue me and I like the process of breeding and calving. I enjoy going to the sale barn to see calves weigh up and sell well. I thrive off of other people’s success. At the end of the day, pounds pay. It’s rewarding to see producers getting a good amount of the market share.”
“Our grandparents and parents worked through tough years,” Reed said. “Because of their perseverance, they’ve given us the opportunity to be back here and grow our operation. We’re fortunate to be able to continue this legacy.”