Williams Ranch Family

By Lura Roti for South Dakota Farmers Union

The 2014 South Dakota State Fair is where Tate and Calli Williams’ story begins.

“We joke that he used such a South Dakota pick-up line when he asked me if I would show his heifer for him,” explained Calli who grew up showing cattle at the State Fair, but because of an out-of-state college internship, she didn’t have any cattle to show in 2014.

Calli and Tate had a lot in common. In addition to the fact that they both enjoyed showing cattle, they each knew they wanted to build a herd and future in the cattle industry. And this goal was in spite of the fact that neither of their families were full-time cattle producers.

“I am a third-generation mason. My grandpa, James, started our masonry company in 1974,” Tate said.

Beginning in high school, Tate worked his way through the ranks of the family business, first as an apprentice, then as a journeyman and today he works as a Williams Masonry Inc. crew foreman, helping his dad, Joe.

As he was honing his masonry skills, Tate was also gaining skills as a cattleman. He got into showing cattle because of school friend, Justin Bussmus.

“Growing up, I would help them show cattle and they gave me the chance to buy a few cows and keep them at their place,” Tate explained.

He began to expand his herd after high school when another friend who raised Angus and Simmentals, the Graessers, needed help with a bull sale, and then asked him to help with calving. “I was only supposed to stay a couple weeks and I stayed to help them through calving. Winter can be slow in the masonry business, so it became an annual thing,” Tate explained.

In exchange for the help, Tate had a place to keep a few more cows.

For Calli, it was her parents, Terry and Robbi Pritchard, who introduced her to showing. Having grown up on Illinois livestock farms, the couple wanted their only child to gain the work ethic and responsibility that comes from caring for livestock even though they both had “town jobs.”

Robbi worked for South Dakota State University as an animal science professor teaching ruminant nutrition. Terry worked in food compliance for the Animal Industry Board.

“There were no siblings to pass cattle chores off to, I always had to get them done before I could do anything else,” Calli said.

Calli loved showing cattle and developed a strong loyalty to the Angus breed. “In high school I wrote a paper about my dream career. I said I was going to be the president of Certified Angus Beef. I always knew cattle were going to be in my future, whether I owned a herd myself, or I ended up somewhere working to promote the beef industry.”

She had just returned home from her second summer as a marketing intern with Certified Angus Beef when she met Tate at the South Dakota State Fair. A year later the couple was married and were signing the Farm Service Agency paperwork on a small farm just a few miles outside of Mitchell.

TW Angus Ranch

When they married, Tate and Calli were determined to not only build a life together, but a registered cattle herd as well.

And nine years later, these first-generation South Dakota ranchers are well on their way. Together with their sons, Jack, 6, and Tommy, 3, they have worked to expand their small herd with premier South Dakota genetics.

In 2020, they purchased several cows from Stoneville rancher Hugh Ingalls. “We have performance data along with the cattle, and we always say, when you get Ingalls’ cows and you look at today’s EPD numbers for cattle, compared to Hugh’s, they have no match,” Tate said. “Hugh is just about as passionate as they come and not only about his genetics, but his handling skills.”

Calm cattle matter to the Williams for many reasons, Calli explained. “It’s just the two of us working cattle and this was a hog operation before we bought it, so the fences are not meant for cattle,” she said. “The cows’ disposition also pays off in the spring when we are calving.”

When they work cattle, the couple practice low-stress cattle handling techniques and utilize the Bud Box system developed by stockman Bud Williams. 

“We don’t use any kind of sorting stick or whooping and hollering – my dad always told me that if you are running after cattle, you already lost,” Calli explained.

As their registered herd has expanded, so have the couple’s marketing strategies. In 2022 they launched an online bull sale. “We don’t have the numbers to do a live auction yet, so we put together videos and pictures of the sale offering and host the sale online via DV Auction,” Calli explained.

They advertise in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and on social media. “In addition to repeat customers, we have gained new customers all three years,” Tate said.

“It was exciting to have mostly new customers this year. As much as we would like repeat customers, we have to remember this is only our third online bull sale. We hope the bulls we sold in previous sales are still in their working clothes and doing a good job so they don’t need a new bull…yet,” Calli said.

Calli and Tate began direct marketing their beef bundles in 2021 in addition to their beef shares. They promote their beef online through their website TWAngus.com, social media and have beef available anytime at a local market that showcases a variety of products from local producers.

In addition to managing the direct market business, Calli also works full time as a livestock field service representative from the ranch for Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Looking to the future

Nearly a decade after the chance meeting at the South Dakota State Fair, reflecting on where they are today, the couple say they owe a lot to the generation of agriculture producers ahead of them who helped them along the way. In addition to Graessers, Bussmus and Ingalls, Forgey Angus also helped them out. “We have been fortunate for the people who have helped open doors for us as the next generation,” Tate said.

The opportunities Tate references include the friends who let him run cattle on their land before he had land of his own and the retiring farmer who came to him when he was ready to sell. They include the many friends, neighbors and family members who have helped the Williams over the last eight months following a baling accident that severely injured Tate’s hand.

Tate was putting up cornstalks in late fall 2023 when his baler began giving him issues. “I got my hand caught in the pully – it could have been worse,” Tate explained.

The accident occurred Nov. 14 and to save his hand Tate needed several surgeries – eight by Jan. 16. Right away Tate’s mom’s co-workers set up a meal train for the family and a neighbor stopped by to have Calli show him how to do chores.

“I was definitely overwhelmed, so to have a neighbor show up and ask what gets fed and where is the tractor was just what we needed,” Calli explained. “He wanted to learn our chores in case we had an emergency or needed to be gone for doctor appointments.”

Today, although Tate continues to undergo therapy and see specialists, he is able to use his hand. “I can pretty much do everything I did before, with a few small changes,” Tate said.

“Our son, Jack, said it best after Tate took off some bandages and he could see his hand better, ‘Well you still have five fingers. Some are just a bit shorter than they were before.’”

Jack and Tommy are top of mind as Tate and Calli look to the future of their growing cattle ranch. “It is our goal that at some point, if our boys want to pursue a career in livestock or a career in masonry, both businesses are there for them,” Tate said. “This is a good way of life.”