2018 Nebraska ANgus Association Producer of the Year Award Letter
This year’s Producer of the Year Award is well-deserved as the recipients have built their operation from the ground up with determination and grit!
Their story starts long ago in the heart of the Sandhills. John grew up near Ringgold, Nebraska. His mother was a school teacher, and his father worked for the county department of roads. His extremely hard work ethic and drive to excel started here. He and his brother were to tend to the sheep, fix fences, and work in the hayfields. John as a child dreamed of having his own cattle ranch and begged his father to buy cows but to no avail. At around the age of 11, John began to work summers for the Musser family west of Tryon, Nebraska where he met his future wife, Patricia.
Pat was born in a sod house north of Stapleton, Nebraska. Hard work has never been unfamiliar to her! Her Aunt Gertie Musser needed Pat’s help on the Musser ranch to help tend the stock and to prepare meals for a large crew of workers. If you've ever spent any time with Pat around animals you know that she has a special sense and connection to all animals.
John and Pat began to date after high school, and continued their relationship while John headed to Barber School in Lincoln. After graduation, he and Pat were married November 27th 1965. John barbered full-time for a few years before buying the Avery Ranch near Tryon in 1969 and stocking it with their own commercial cattle. In 1974, they took over the Musser Ranch, of which they were both well acquainted.
The Daiggers were progressive in their management of their herd of Angus-influenced commercial cattle. They were recording birth weights and manually adjusting weaning weights to 205 days of age. They had also begun an artificial insemination program. The jump to registered Angus cattle in the mid-1970s seemed to be a path of natural progression.
A purchase made in 1976 really set the foundation for the future of Daigger Angus. John and Pat bought a semi load of Angus cows that were bred to Band 234 of Ideal 3163. Those cows' daughters were truly tremendous. They bred those daughters to P S Power Play, which was an excellent mating. They continued to use Power Play with great success for quite some time. John and Pat realized the importance of carcass traits very early on. They carcass-evaluated many of their early herd sires. They were also early adopters of new technology. They began to carcass ultrasound all of their bulls and replacement heifers at the inception of that technology.
John became a Life Time Angus Association Member in the late 1970s, John served on the Nebraska Angus Association Board as a commercial representative in the 1980s. He and Fred Kraye of Mullen would carpool to Kearney for the meetings. Can you imagine the good times that they had?!! In the mid-80s John and Pat sold their first registered bulls in the Nebraska Angus Association Sale in Mullen. They consigned to several sales there before they began a joint sale with other producers in 1987.
In 1989, John and Pat made the decision to move to North Platte. They bought a place southeast of North Platte that had the attributes necessary to become a fully functioning bull and heifer development facility that was close to feed and hay supplies. The mama cattle stayed on summer grass and winter range at Tryon, but were calved and AIed in North Platte. That is still the current program.
1989 was also the year of the First Annual Daigger Angus Production Sale. Later on, a sale barn was built on site so the annual sale could be hosted right at the ranch headquarters. Many successful sales have occurred in that barn, and many herd sires have sold there. Some stud bull highlights include: Daigger 901, Victory, Deliverance, and Pay Dirt 546.
In 2002, the Daiggers bought a few foundation Red Angus cows and bred some Angus cattle to Red Angus bulls to aquire Category II Red Angus progeny. They became Red Angus Association of America members the following year. Their youngest daughter Ruth married David Orr in 2005. A few years later David and Ruth joined the operation, becoming Daigger - Orr Angus and Red Angus.
John and Pat have worked side-by-side their entire marriage, as equal partners, to build a progressive and meaningful operation. They built their family and ranch on steadfast determination, prudence, and integrity. John and Pat raised five daughters and taught them the stewardship of the land, the worth of the stock, and the value of a good work ethic! Their daughters are: Ginger (Tory) Smith of North Platte NE, Mary Daigger of Cheyenne WY, Betty Daigger of Jacksonville FL, Gladys (Mike) Henry of North Platte, NE, and Ruth (David) Orr of North Platte NE.
Their story starts long ago in the heart of the Sandhills. John grew up near Ringgold, Nebraska. His mother was a school teacher, and his father worked for the county department of roads. His extremely hard work ethic and drive to excel started here. He and his brother were to tend to the sheep, fix fences, and work in the hayfields. John as a child dreamed of having his own cattle ranch and begged his father to buy cows but to no avail. At around the age of 11, John began to work summers for the Musser family west of Tryon, Nebraska where he met his future wife, Patricia.
Pat was born in a sod house north of Stapleton, Nebraska. Hard work has never been unfamiliar to her! Her Aunt Gertie Musser needed Pat’s help on the Musser ranch to help tend the stock and to prepare meals for a large crew of workers. If you've ever spent any time with Pat around animals you know that she has a special sense and connection to all animals.
John and Pat began to date after high school, and continued their relationship while John headed to Barber School in Lincoln. After graduation, he and Pat were married November 27th 1965. John barbered full-time for a few years before buying the Avery Ranch near Tryon in 1969 and stocking it with their own commercial cattle. In 1974, they took over the Musser Ranch, of which they were both well acquainted.
The Daiggers were progressive in their management of their herd of Angus-influenced commercial cattle. They were recording birth weights and manually adjusting weaning weights to 205 days of age. They had also begun an artificial insemination program. The jump to registered Angus cattle in the mid-1970s seemed to be a path of natural progression.
A purchase made in 1976 really set the foundation for the future of Daigger Angus. John and Pat bought a semi load of Angus cows that were bred to Band 234 of Ideal 3163. Those cows' daughters were truly tremendous. They bred those daughters to P S Power Play, which was an excellent mating. They continued to use Power Play with great success for quite some time. John and Pat realized the importance of carcass traits very early on. They carcass-evaluated many of their early herd sires. They were also early adopters of new technology. They began to carcass ultrasound all of their bulls and replacement heifers at the inception of that technology.
John became a Life Time Angus Association Member in the late 1970s, John served on the Nebraska Angus Association Board as a commercial representative in the 1980s. He and Fred Kraye of Mullen would carpool to Kearney for the meetings. Can you imagine the good times that they had?!! In the mid-80s John and Pat sold their first registered bulls in the Nebraska Angus Association Sale in Mullen. They consigned to several sales there before they began a joint sale with other producers in 1987.
In 1989, John and Pat made the decision to move to North Platte. They bought a place southeast of North Platte that had the attributes necessary to become a fully functioning bull and heifer development facility that was close to feed and hay supplies. The mama cattle stayed on summer grass and winter range at Tryon, but were calved and AIed in North Platte. That is still the current program.
1989 was also the year of the First Annual Daigger Angus Production Sale. Later on, a sale barn was built on site so the annual sale could be hosted right at the ranch headquarters. Many successful sales have occurred in that barn, and many herd sires have sold there. Some stud bull highlights include: Daigger 901, Victory, Deliverance, and Pay Dirt 546.
In 2002, the Daiggers bought a few foundation Red Angus cows and bred some Angus cattle to Red Angus bulls to aquire Category II Red Angus progeny. They became Red Angus Association of America members the following year. Their youngest daughter Ruth married David Orr in 2005. A few years later David and Ruth joined the operation, becoming Daigger - Orr Angus and Red Angus.
John and Pat have worked side-by-side their entire marriage, as equal partners, to build a progressive and meaningful operation. They built their family and ranch on steadfast determination, prudence, and integrity. John and Pat raised five daughters and taught them the stewardship of the land, the worth of the stock, and the value of a good work ethic! Their daughters are: Ginger (Tory) Smith of North Platte NE, Mary Daigger of Cheyenne WY, Betty Daigger of Jacksonville FL, Gladys (Mike) Henry of North Platte, NE, and Ruth (David) Orr of North Platte NE.
2009 Letter
Welcome to DaiggerOrrAngus.com. It was in 1969 my family and I started in Angus cattle west of Tryon, NE. It was our goal to raise and develop a set of registered cows that were practical and range-efficient for our area, as the environment will dictate which cattle are successful. Back then we had commercial cows, but we were already weighing calves and adjusting weaning weight to 205 days. We were also artificially inseminating, so it just seemed natural to make the leap into registered Angus. Back then we had carcass-evaluated three of our herd sires, but when ultrasound came into use we started using it extensively on both bulls and heifers throughout the year.
A purchase we made in 1976 really set the foundation for the future of Daigger Angus. We bought a semi-load of cows that were bred to Bando 234 Ideal 112874. Those cows' daughters were truly awesome. We bred them to P.S. Power Play and continued to use him with great success for some time. Some of the AI sires we have followed up with are: Rito 2100, Hunts Calculator, Bon View Bando 598, New Trend 315, EXT, California Traveler, Sitz Alliance, Daigger 901, Future Direction, Bushwacker 41-93, Alberda Traveler, Paramount Ambush, 6807, and Bando 155. We have used additional sires, but this list gives an idea of the kind of bulls we like to use. Recently, we have been using In Focus, Foresight, Final Answer, Predestined, and a son of Predestined called Mission.
As for some highlights, we bred and raised J D Daigger 901 which sired tremendous females, had good carcass traits, and had great calving ease. We also bred and raised J D Blackcap 3003 which ranks very high in the Angus population for marbling. She sold to 44Farms for $48,000. As of the writing of this letter, she is currently ranked 9th in IMF for proven dams.
Daigger - Orr Angus has an annual production bull sale at the Ranch Headquarters southeast of North Platte on the first Tuesday in April. Most of the cattle are summered at the ranch west of Tryon and come home to Headquarters at calving time. We are still increasing our numbers in the Red Angus and are continuing to breed and improve our black herd. Our daughter Ruth and her husband David keep acquiring more registered cows and sell bulls in our sale. Ruth is doing most of the registration paperwork, and David does most of the A.I.ing now along with designing and maintaining this website. Both are involved in the day-to-day operations of the ranch, as am I and my wife, Pat. If you have any questions or if we can further assist you in any way, please feel free to call or stop by.
Sincerely,
John Daigger, 2009
A purchase we made in 1976 really set the foundation for the future of Daigger Angus. We bought a semi-load of cows that were bred to Bando 234 Ideal 112874. Those cows' daughters were truly awesome. We bred them to P.S. Power Play and continued to use him with great success for some time. Some of the AI sires we have followed up with are: Rito 2100, Hunts Calculator, Bon View Bando 598, New Trend 315, EXT, California Traveler, Sitz Alliance, Daigger 901, Future Direction, Bushwacker 41-93, Alberda Traveler, Paramount Ambush, 6807, and Bando 155. We have used additional sires, but this list gives an idea of the kind of bulls we like to use. Recently, we have been using In Focus, Foresight, Final Answer, Predestined, and a son of Predestined called Mission.
As for some highlights, we bred and raised J D Daigger 901 which sired tremendous females, had good carcass traits, and had great calving ease. We also bred and raised J D Blackcap 3003 which ranks very high in the Angus population for marbling. She sold to 44Farms for $48,000. As of the writing of this letter, she is currently ranked 9th in IMF for proven dams.
Daigger - Orr Angus has an annual production bull sale at the Ranch Headquarters southeast of North Platte on the first Tuesday in April. Most of the cattle are summered at the ranch west of Tryon and come home to Headquarters at calving time. We are still increasing our numbers in the Red Angus and are continuing to breed and improve our black herd. Our daughter Ruth and her husband David keep acquiring more registered cows and sell bulls in our sale. Ruth is doing most of the registration paperwork, and David does most of the A.I.ing now along with designing and maintaining this website. Both are involved in the day-to-day operations of the ranch, as am I and my wife, Pat. If you have any questions or if we can further assist you in any way, please feel free to call or stop by.
Sincerely,
John Daigger, 2009
John and Pat Daigger, 2017
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David and Ruth Orr Family, Christmas 2019
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