Triple U Ranch

Meet Your Rancher:

Tell us about the family history of Triple U Ranch.

Craig Utesch “The Triple U Ranch is a family farm, my dad and my grandfather purchased this location in 1946. I’m extremely proud of the fact that my brothers, Kirk and Brad, along with my wife, Elaine and my daughter, Jessica and her husband, Cody, have been able to keep Triple U Ranch in our family for multiple generations. While each family member has their own responsibility within our ranch, we work together as a family to raise safe, nutritious and delicious beef.”

Tell us about the different sides of your ranch and who’s responsible for each of those sides of the business.

Elaine Utesch “Jessica was always two steps behind her Dad, and she and her Dad manage the cow-calf side of our ranch, where cows give birth to calves once a year and we raise those cow-calf pairs on pasture. Eventually, we wean them off of the mama cows’ milk and often times, those larger calves will then be put into our feedyard. Cody, Jessica’s husband, manages the feedyard and he makes sure that cattle at the feedyard are provided access to a water, room to move around and a high-quality diet or ration as they grow. Corn is an important part of the cattle’s diet at the feedyard and they eat some of the corn that Craig’s brother, Kirk, grows at our farm. We’re also able to take the manure from the feedyard and use it as a natural fertilizer for our corn crops.”

What’s it really like to live and work on a ranch?

Jessica Utesch Wilson “My days change with the season. If it’s calving season, I might pull all-nighters calving around-the-clock. Or if it’s harvest season, I’m helping out with the harvest. I’m waking up to get dressed, feed the kids, get them to daycare and start working. I don’t have a typical day.”

What does it mean to be a steward of the land?

Jessica Utesch Wilson “I think you have to be born with it. It’s this inner passion to just want to take care of these cows and this land to leave it in better shape for our children to continue on what we do now.”

What does sustainability mean to you?

Cody Wilson “Sustainability to me is leaving our operation in a better place than when we inherited it. I believe we are doing that by using better science and better technology in order to raise beef today. We’re raising our two young children on our ranch and we’re feeding them the same food that we raise – we want to make sure that they have the best food and so we keep our head in the game to make sure we’re doing things right all day, everyday.”