2025 recap: A letter from our team
As 2025 comes to a close, we’ve had the distinct privilege of reflecting upon the past year. While there is not a single word that can fully encapsulate this year’s lessons and accomplishments, “gratitude” certainly captures our spirit.
We began 2025 by selling our first set of registered black angus bulls. These 33 bulls represented the culmination of a year of hard work, innovation, adaptation and the beginnings of a defined program at Kinger Cattle Company. “Building the plane as we fly it” was our reality, and we’re grateful for the unexpected partners, advice and new relationships we built. At the center were our supportive customers, friends and family who took a chance on our program and helped share our vision with anyone and everyone who would listen. In an increasingly digital and impersonal world, we cannot overstate our gratitude for these opportunities to connect around the shared value of agriculture, black angus cattle and a western way of life.
The foundation of our program is built upon the welfare of our animals, which starts with their nutrition. As former commercial cattlemen, we know how important it is to breed livestock that will thrive in some of the harshest of climates. We worked in consultation with Oregon State University’s Extension Service to develop a feed program that supports the development of our bulls, while replicating the type of dry feed they will receive at their new homes. To catalyze the production of our own land, we also upgraded our irrigation system, which supported increased grassy hay yields despite drought conditions.
From the beginning, we’ve had a growth mindset - both in relation to pursuing industry-leading genetics as well as growing our operation. To pursue both outcomes, we embarked on our first foray into an embryo project. This involved months of planning, determining our desired genetic outcomes and identifying the appropriate matings we’d like to see replicated in the embryos. Not only will this project help to swiftly refine the genetics in our program, but also expand the number of bulls and females that will be available at our first live production sale in 2027. We are grateful to have partnered with Barheart ranch, utilizing their high-quality black angus females to serve as carrier cows for our embryos.
At Kinger Cattle Company we pride ourselves on living the Cowboy Way, which includes a recognition of some of our greatest partners here on the ranch: horses. Previous owners of World Champion and Hall of Fame Stallion Mr. Yella Fella, Paul and Cheryl Ables, have always had an eye and passion for performance horses. It is only natural that we try to carry on that legacy at Kinger Cattle through a promising young filly bred by Tyler Opie of Opie Performance Horses. This filly, who now calls the ranch home, is sired by Metallic Cat (a National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame member) and has a bright future ahead of her. Complimenting this addition is BNL Genuine Gentlemn, who was purchased from and is being trained by Rio Painter at Limitless Equine. This stud is sired by Sanctus (also a NCHA Hall of Fame member) and will be showing in 2026 in the National Reining Cow Horse Association’s programming. We hope to replicate the Ables’ storied tradition of excellence through these horses at the ranch in the coming years.
Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and we’re reminded of that now, as we begin our first season of spring calving. While the vast majority of our herd calves in the fall, we have made adjustments to cater to customers and their operations’ calendars. We’re proud of the spring herd we are building and its future implications.
Finally, we closed out the year with continued upgrades to our facilities to accommodate our first live production sale in February 2027. New infrastructure has allowed our daily operations to become more efficient, and more obviously supports the development of our cattle, horses and customers. We hope that these changes are felt by each person who sets foot on the ranch, and that our values of family, integrity and excellence shine through.
With gratitude,
Paul & Cheryl Ables
Ryan & Samantha Opie