5L was the brand chosen for a family of 5 L's - Lawrence, Lillian, Larry, Linda and Lenny Mehlhoff. Descending from a long line of farmers and ranchers, they began raising Red Angus cattle 30 years ago in North Dakota. Previous to that time, they raised registered Shorthorns and commercial cattle. In 1977 they purchased a few registered Red Angus. They took these along when they moved to Paradise Valley, south of Livingston, Montana in 1979. In 1979 they purchased the Centurion Cattle Co. Red Angus herd from Nebraska. Larry purchased some Red Angus females after graduating from high school in 1979 and started his own herd of reds. When his dad, Lawrence, was forced to sell out in 1985, Larry purchased some of his cattle. From that point we have expanded primarily by using an extensive A.I. program and retaining most of the heifer calves. It has been a long journey with 3 changes in location along the way. We thank the Lord for all He has brought us through and for His provision along the way.
The 5L's have now expanded to 7 L's in the 2nd generation. Larry married Lisa Stands in Paradise Valley in 1983 and they now have the 5 L children: Laramie (21), Larisa (19), Landon (17), Larinda (14) and Logan (11). They are all a very vital part of our ranch operation and help us with all phases of it , from haying and irrigating to all aspects of the cattle work. Most of the year, they are our only help and of course they are always our best help. What a blessing they are!
At 5L we are currently running around 1200 mother cows, breeding 1500 head every spring. Our cattle are a combination of registered 1A, 1B, and black-red carriers, along with a few registered black angus. In the spring of 2001 we purchased 1/2 of the XXX Red Angus cow herd and their replacement heifers. All of our cattle are run like the commercial cattle in our area on a variety of pasture ground from the valley floor to the mountains. We don't have time to pamper our cattle, so we try to breed them as trouble free as possible.
We focus on the female here at 5L. They are the ones we have to live with - the bread and butter of the cattleman. A cow that can't raise a big calf on her own, or comes up open, goes to town. Moderate-sized, good uddered, easy fleshing, structurally correct, fertile, wedge-shaped females, with adequate milk and a calm disposition are what we strive for. It takes a good balanced cow to produce great bulls and females consistently. Instead of following fads or focusing on extremes we breed for balanced, functional cattle that will perform in any environment. Middle-of- the road in all traits will make you more money in the long run, than chasing extremes or big numbers.
Calving ease is also an important factor at 5L. Calving ease does not necessarily mean low birth weight. A heavier calf that is made right will come easier than a lighter one that isn't. Remember, too, that length also adds birth weight, but doesn't affect calving ease. Birth Weight EPD's therefore may or may not be indicative of calving ease.
Our calves are contemporaried in large weaning contemporary groups as much as possible, according to the type of pasture they are running on. The more calves there are in a group, the more accurate your data will be. Accuracy and integrity are of top priority to us.
We feed our own bull calves here at the ranch and they are fed a high roughage ration after weaning for a 2.8#/day target gain. This enough to adequately test them without over-conditioning them. Over conditioned bulls are not ready to go to work and tend to have more feet and fertility problems.
At our annual production sale we sell red angus bulls and black-red carrier bulls we call profit plus bulls. These profit plus bulls are the result of part of our ET program, adding outcross genentics by using select black angus bulls on our top cows.
Location:
5L Red Angus is located 1 mile west of Sheridan in the heart of the beautiful Ruby Valley in southwestern Montana.
Thank you for your interest. You are always welcome to come and visit us.
