In Loving Memory of Will Delong
Louise, Will, Katie, Billy, & Matti Delong
Over the Years, 5L Red Angus grew into one of the very few Red Angus bull suppliers for DeLong Ranches in Winnemucca, Nevada. We came to treasure the short time we’d get to visit with Will DeLong both at our April bull sale and again during our annual trek to the Superior Sale at Winnemucca, Nevada. As a rancher and a cattle- man, Will was without peer, and we’re thankful for any of his knowledge, savy or skill that rubbed off on us or our operation over the years. When it came to buying bulls, Will was a master. He, his superior rep and good friend, Jim Davis, and his fellow high desert ranchers would work each pen, evaluating each bull’s feet, legs and phenotype to ensure they’d hold up in country where you only run 3-4 pairs per section. Before he ever got to the sale, Will would have a spreadsheet sorted with candidate bulls identified that would maintain the desired trajectory for those traits Will considered economically relevant for DeLong Ranches. Annually, Will reviewed the genetic trends that determined calf value and leveraged those against the traits needed to build more efficient, fertile replacements. Will’s balanced ap- proach never allowed progress in growth and carcass traits to have adverse consequences for the cow herd. DeLong Ranches was named Red Angus Commercial Producer of the year and won many GridMaster awards. Just last year a set of Delong steers graded over 50% PRIME with only 2.4% Yield Grade 4’s. Another friend of ours fed a set of their heifers that gained over 4.24 lbs/day and converted at 5.23 lbs Dry feed per lb. of gain. Over time, the reputation of their cattle became baked into the market and when the DeLong cattle would show up on Superior’s video monitors, we’d get ready for a new market high that day. We felt fortunate to be the winning bidder on both DeLong Ranch steers and heifers last summer. The steers are on feed in Chappell, Nebraska and doing great. The heifers are soon to be featured in our commercial replacement sale, which was always the plan. A tribute to Will in our sale catalog wasn’t, and it’s heartbreaking. Will was hum- ble and unassuming. He showed up with a firm handshake and a genuine smile, but when the sale started, he generally left the rest of us considering our second choice bulls. His loss is tragic for his wife Katie and their kids, Billy, Matti and Louise, his parents, John and Judy, and for our industry in the western United States. The Mehlhoff family is blessed to have called him our friend and for our genetics to have played a small role in developing the genetic legacy that is the DeLong Ranch Red Angus herd Will DeLong: January 16, 1974 - November 13, 2024.
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