Leonard Limousin Newsletter/Spring 2008

Message from Mark

Mark Leonard

Thanks for coming back to visit our website.

We are having a good spring here at Leonard Limousin and at our AgCom offices.

We are seeing a real nice calf crop taking shape and we've had enough dry days to get into the fields.

I'd like to invite you to stop out at the farms north of Holstein, Iowa, and take a look at the cattle or come by the office and have a cup of coffee. Our new offices have been finished for a few months now and we'd like to show you around and visit with you about your financial goals, whether your interests lie in livestock production, ethanol or any sort of refinancing, expansion or investment venture.

Like most of you, we've kept a close eye on the political races and how that news and the candidates' views will affect our lives and livelihood. For us that means family, country, farming, cattle breeding, renewable fuels and banking. What's it mean for you? Give me a call or drop me a line - I'd enjoy the conversation.

We're committed to expanding ethanol use and production and I've traveled throughout the country working to broaden that market. Check out www.allfuelsandenergy.com for a better understanding of ethanol and our involvement in the industry.

I'm sure you're as tired as I am of ethanol being blamed for just about everything these days, from the high price of beer to worldwide political instability. Let's work together to dispel those myths and help the less informed and misinformed understand the truth. It's neither grain farmers nor ethanol producers who receive the subsidies, it's the petroleum companies; ethanol technology and efficiencies improve every day; EPA research shows automobiles enjoy the highest fuel economy at a 20-30 percent ethanol blend; and most importantly we can ultimately eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.

Let's get back to talking cattle a bit, with our herdsman at Leonard Limousin, Dale Riessen. We're big believers in performance and genetics here and I guess you could say that goes for our employees too. Dale's dad, Richard, worked for us a few years back and he was excellent help. Now Dale is working here and he's doing an outstanding job.

I'll let Dale talk to you about some specifics regarding the cow herd (scroll down), but I want to add a few personal notes.

No. 3 daughter Ember was married last July and her husband, Ross Muhlbauer, not only has really good taste in wives but he's also a good guy and a good soldier. He's leaving for Iraq this spring and our prayers go with him. I mentioned last time oldest daughter Emily and her husband, Marc Melody, had a girl last fall and now we have another grandbaby on the way due in October '08 from No. 2 daughter Erin and her husband, Raen Schechinger.

If you're looking for a top-of-the-line Limousin or Angus yearling or two-year-old to put on your heifers or cows, give us a call at 712-368-2611. All of our bulls are sold guaranteed and tested. If you're not happy, we're not happy.

In the last 38 years we have sold thousands of bulls with the majority going to repeat customers. Please come visit us at the farm and take advantage of a breeding program that has focused on a very simple goal since 1969: Produce more pounds of beef with less cost.

Have a great season. I hope to talk to you soon. Now here's Dale.

Mark Leonard

From Dale Riessen, Herdsman

Hi everyone,

To those of you I haven't met yet, I hope to get to know you this year. And to those of you I've met the past couple of years at the Leonards', it's been my pleasure working with you.

Dale Riessen

We have had a good calving season so far and still have a few cows to go. We added a skidloader to the machinery line-up which really helped with the mud and bedding situation in these wet months.

We're almost sold out of 2-year-old bulls already and we have some great 1-year-olds available for your appraisal.

We have some real stand-out '07 bulls you'll want to check out and some black yearling heifers that are just as pretty as they are packed with performance and pedigree. People looking for show cattle will be especially interested in them although I probably personally like the red cattle a little better. The Leonards have built their herd - for nearly 40 years now - on performance. And the building blocks of a high-performance herd are disposition, fertility and function. I've worked closely with these cows and closely with the family and I can tell you that "Performance Is Our Trademark" is more than a slogan.

We're happy to visit with you and show you around any time at the farms north of Holstein, Iowa. Send us an email at lori@leonardlimousin.com or give us a call at the office at 712-368-2611. The gateway always welcomes you.

Take care,

Dale Riessen