About Us

Hello from the Caldwell outfit!

We have been “The Caldwell’s” since a beautiful June day in 1994 and were blessed to start our own cow herd, separate from, but with the help of, our families in 1996. Here we are now with our daughter and son grown, we have joined the grandparent club, and we continue to spend each day doing our part to bring the best tasting protein to folks all around the globe while manufacturing a product to make life a little easier for those who do the same type of work we do.

We are a cattle family who gets to do more than raise cattle.

We say “gets to do more” because, well, we certainly run enough cows to not be considered a small operation, but not nearly enough, in our minds to be considered large, either. Therefore, we “get” to do other things besides raise cattle to earn our living. Matt and Dawn both come from deep roots of beef raising heritage and like most in our beef community, take great pride in getting to do what we do.

While Dawn holds a full-time job off the ranch (yet helps with the cattle as much as she possibly can), Matt manages the day-to-day solo. He is a welder by trade and an astute cattleman by choice. When one must work solo much of the time, they not only get ample thinking time, but they become voraciously resourceful! Furthermore, when one works alone during calving season, any tool to make the work safer and more efficient is a welcome addition to the tool kit.

We all know those mama cows that are so good and protective that they do not want you crouching over their baby to tag it, much less, get it lifted in a sling to weigh it. We would contend, that even if the cow does not mind you messing with her calf, lifting all those babies by hand, and getting an accurate weight is a challenge – the scale will face the wrong way, the calf squirms and bounces, and most importantly, your shoulders and back get achy and tired.

Matt dreamed up a very practical solution for everyone who uses an ATV to get around to all their newborn calves – the Scale ‘n’ Trail. One of our largest clients for the unit has been the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Nebraska. They weigh and tag thousands of calves each year. Matt worked closely with staff from USMARC to make improvements in durability, and especially, to create the metal sling for weighing the calves.

We are eager to help you make your calving season a little easier.

As a fellow member of the beef community, we consider you a neighbor, whether you are across the county from us, or across the country from us and we look forward to hearing from you.