Yuma-area agriculture is more than just fields of crops; cattle thrive here

The Yuma area relies heavily on crop production to sustain the economy, but there are several companies here that also raise cattle and produce milk.

Dees Brothers Brangus, located on 160 acres of land nicknamed The Island near Bard, Calif., raises bulls that are sold to larger companies.

“We are just growing them,” said Alex Dees, company owner and founder. “We are just a feedstock. We breed the bulls, develop them and sell them to the commercial breeders. They will take those cattle and breed to their cows, and then the calves, those are the ones they market for meat.”

The company has about 600 head of cattle at any one time and three full-time employees, as well as additional student employees in the summer months getting hands-on experience.

The company specializes in an Angus-Brahmin hybrid known as the Brangus.

“Angus is one of the best meat animals we have in the United States,” explained Dees.

“So we stuck with the Angus because of that, but in this dry country out here, the straight Angus couldn't make it, so we need something with a little Brahmin in it. Brahmin is really kind of a tough animal and can take the terrain, take the temperature, travel a long ways and utilize the range land the Angus would not use. Plus the fact they are a bigger animal, so they give you a little bigger carcass when you go to the feedlot with them and you get ready to sell it.”

The meat quality of a Brangus is just as good as traditional Angus, Dees said.

Dees grew up on The Island, first homesteaded by John and Alliliy Dees about 1950.

In the early 1970s, Alex, their oldest son, assumed the responsibility of running the farm. Using the business skills that his father had passed on to him and the experience from previous employers, he turned it into a cattle ranch.

The business is still there today, although like other industries, it took a hit during the Great Recession.

“Two years ago it was real tough, because the economy was so damned bad — 2008 and 2009 were just terrible,” Alex said. “Everything was bad. People weren't buying as much food.”

Another issue is the high cost of gasoline, Alex added.

“One of the things that's really hurting the people in agriculture and most people in industry is that damned diesel cost. Salt, minerals and sack feed cost another 25 or 30 percent more. Our hay and all our commodities cost three times as much as a year ago.”

A year ago hay was $65 a ton. Now it is $200 a ton, and the cattle on the ranch eat about 35 bales of hay a day.

However, Alex makes more money now when selling his bulls.

“Last year we were selling bulls for $1,500 or $1,600, and now we are getting $2,500 to $3,000 for them. At the end of the year, we'll have to see if we've made any money or not. I am sure we'll make a little money this year. It's been up and down, but right now it's up, so we hope we can make as much as we can.”

Out in the Wellton area, the McElhaney Cattle Co. has a capacity of 120,000 head of cattle. It was founded by Sam McElhaney in 1940 and was taken over by son-in-law Gary C. Oden in 1973. Last year it was sold to JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding LLC.

Five Rivers has a combined feeding capacity of more than 900,000 head of cattle with locations in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Idaho.

According to the Arizona Farm Bureau, the McElhaney Cattle Co. operation can unload 100 train cars of grain in less than 15 hours, produce 120 tons of mixed feed per hour and deliver it to 120,000 head of cattle. It is located at 34673 E. County 9th St. Company administrators were unavailable for comment.

At 2751 E. Palo Verde Street in Yuma sits the $10 million Sarah Farms Dairy plant, which processes, pasteurizes, homogenizes and bottles fresh milk from area dairies that is then sold to retail chains.

It is owned by independent businessman Hein Hettinga, a Dutch-born dairyman, who has been in the business for over 40 years. Hettinga was unavailable for comment.