Kimball's Succeed With Good Cattle, Family

By Sarah Watson, Livestock Editor
Thursday, September 20, 2007 9:06 AM CDT

Seymour is home of the hamburger and home to the Kimball family. Dan and Diane Kimball and their children have been active in the state's beef industry and even more dedicated to the Simmental breed.

Dan, a lamb and veal hauler for Provimi for over 30 years, first got involved in the beef industry 35 years ago after meeting his wife and high school sweetheart, Diane, who works at Good Shepherd Childcare Center. Diane's family had taken part in showing beef. The couple has three children, the late Bobbi Jean who lost her battle with cancer in 2001, Justin, 22, and Emily, 17.

Dan originally came from a dairy farm and, according to Diane, "wore white and walked backwards" showing Guernsey dairy cattle.

"At that time it was the only thing I had to do with cattle," he says. "It's really where I wanted to be."

From that time - a few decades ago - the Kimballs have continued to stay active in the beef industry as avid seedstock producers and showring enthusiasts.

Although the family has dabbled in other breeds like Shorthorn and Limousin over the years, Simmentals have consistently remained the main breed on the farm.

"They've always made me happy," Dan says. He likes the fast growth and great milk production of the breed.

Twenty-eight head call the 10-acre Kimball farmstead home.

"Our main goal is seedstock," he says. "Showing is just a form of advertising."

And advertise they do. The family usually attends 10 shows every summer and take "way too many" head to the shows, they say. At weekend shows, the Kimballs take on average five to six head, but State Fair is a different story. The Kimballs exhibited 15 head of the 109 total this year and did very well.

"It was our year," Dan says, of the overpowering State Fair performance that was judged by Bert Moore from North Dakota.

The Kimballs cleaned-house so to speak by exhibiting eight class winners, five seconds and five division champions.

The family exhibited the grand champion percentage female: KFA Miss Polly; champion junior heifer calf: KFA Miss McKenna, champion summer yearling: SLA Majic Wanda; champion junior yearling heifer: FFA Miss Minerva; grand champion purebred female: KFA Ms Mackenzie K449; and the champion cow/calf pair: KFA Ms Mackenzie K449.

The family also brought home the junior get-of-sire, breeder's herd, best six head, premier breeder and premier exhibitor awards.

"It doesn't happen every year," he says. "It was the right cattle for the right judge."

The family has also been successful at World Beef Expo exhibiting the Simmental champion cow/calf pair at last year's show. Dan hopes for a repeat at this year's show Sept. 28-30 at State Fair Park in West Allis.

"We pride ourselves in cow/calf pairs," Dan says. "Its not easy - you have to keep those calves going all year long."

The farm focuses on maternal traits and quality. Almost 100 percent of their cattle are A.I. bred. They credit friend and A.I. technician Jim Early for great service.

"Em and Diane can be here to do it," he says. "That means a lot to me."

One of Dan's fondest memories is when his son, Justin, won the Wisconsin State Fair carcass contest in 1998.

Another highlight of their showing career was when Bobbi Jean won overall showmanship at the State Fair - a goal she had always had and distinctively won just before she passed away. Bobbi also took home champion calf honors in 2000 at the North American Simmental Show. That calf - now a cow - has produced quality winners for the Kimball family.

While in the hospital, Bobbi created a list of names for both heifer and bull calves for any animals that were born from her cow. Each season, the list is brought out to determine the calf's name.

Bobbi Jean was always very gifted when it came to cattle, Dan says. He recalls that at a young age, she would venture out into the pasture amongst the cattle and find herself sitting in the feed bunk being nuzzled by the cattle.

"She was one of a kind when it comes to cattle," Dan says. When the family would attend shows, Bobbi could always be found with other kids because she enjoyed the cattle at the show as much as the people she met.

When things aren't going their way in the ring - sometimes the family looks up to the sky and asks Bobbi for help - and "sometimes it works," he says.

Bobbi was only 18 when she lost her fight with melanoma. The honor student had just graduated from high school a few months earlier, and somehow found the strength to compete at State Fair.

Diane says Bobbi had her own fan club from the hospital, including nurses and other hospital staff, that came to watch Bobbi's skills in the show ring.

Dan credits Bobbi's can-do attitude for her greatness in the ring.

"Her mentality for a young person in the ring was awesome," he says of her natural ability to show and compete. "Where she would be today - I can't fathom."

The other two Kimball children follow Bobbi Jean's example. Both Justin and Emily have done great in the show ring. At the 2007 State Fair, Emily won her division showmanship. Emily, active in Seymour FFA and the Crystal Star 4-H club, plans to attend UW-Platteville and major in something agriculture related, most likely genetics.

After graduation, Justin attended North Western Technical where he graduated in welding and metal fabrication. He has been employed by Robinson Metal as a metal fabricator for the past two years.

All three children have been active in the Wisconsin Junior Simmental Association and the National Junior Simmental Association by participating in events.

"I like the experience that the kids get" through showing, Dan says. "Communication skills - that's a valuable tool in my eyes."

Looking to the future the family has goals they want to achieve like winning the supreme champion heifer trailer at the Wisconsin State Fair and to win at the National Western Stock Show.

Dan, like his kids, is very involved in Wisconsin's beef industry. He has served on the Wisconsin Simmental Association Board for 17 years; Outagamie County Livestock Committee; Outagamie County beef co-superintendent; World Beef Expo board; Valley Beef Association; and State Fair beef committee. He participates to make an impact and stay current with Wisconsin's beef industry. He says its hard living so far north when a lot of the involved cattle producers live south.

"It's not ideal beef country," he explains. There are not a lot of cattle and it's necessary to drive over 250 miles to sell cattle.

In his spare time, Dan enjoys clipping cattle. He does a lot of work in Wisconsin and will be taking his second six-day trip to Denver to clip. He works a lot of sales and weekends clipping cattle.

The family is looking forward to showing at the World Beef Expo (WBE). The Kimballs have participated in every WBE.

"I like the exposure," Dan says. "More beef people in Wisconsin need to participate."

He says WBE and Badger Kick-Off Classic are two of the premier shows in Wisconsin.

The Kimball family wants to stay viable within the cattle business and keep enjoying showing cattle as a family. If it wasn't for the entire family the farm wouldn't be as successful. Everyone pitches in when needed.

"You get out what you put into it," Diane says. The Kimballs have put in a lot of time and love into their work.

"We're just going to keep doing what we're doing and doing it right," Dan says.

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