Spann Ranches Named NALF “Commercial Producer of the Year”

The Spann Ranches crew stands with Mark Anderson (left), NALF Executive Director, upon being named Commercial Producer Of The Year.

Spann Ranches, Inc. of Gunnison, Colorado, was named the 2024 Commercial Producer Of The Year by the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) at the Annual Award Ceremony and Genetics On Ice Benefit Auction January 6, 2025 in conjunction with the Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

​Spann Ranches is a fifth generation cow-calf and feeder cattle producer headquartered in the high mountain valley of Gunnison, Colorado. The ranches are owned and operated by the Spann and Washburn families, the descendants of the ranch founders: Lang, Virgil and Lee Spann. With supporting ranches at Crested Butte, Almont and Olathe, Colorado, and a farm and 800-head calf backgrounding feedlot in Delta, Colorado, the Spann family runs up to 900 mother cows, and raises high-quality feeder cattle, including 400 outstanding bred yearling heifers each year.

Calving in April on the headquarters ranch at Gunnison, moving to the high country at Crested Butte in the summer, and returning to the Uncompahgre Valley at Olathe and Delta in the winter, the Spann cattle move with the seasons. Nearly three-quarters of the cow herd is black-white faced F1 Hereford/Angus or 25% Lim-Flex cross cows, bred annually to Lim-Flex bulls to generate true terminal cross steer and heifer calves. The Lim-Flex calves have proven to consistently perform at some of the highest levels in the industry.

​Spann Ranches operates a sophisticated cattle record-keeping system they have developed over the past three decades using Excel spreadsheets. Beginning within 12 hours of a calf’s birth, animals are tagged, tracked and evaluated throughout their life. Jan Washburn manages computer inputs at the chutes during processing, pregnancy checking and weaning. This provides timely and objective production information which allows for efficient real-time decision making and longer-term marketing and management planning. The entire ranch crew is trained to assist in that process and to utilize the tagging outputs for sorting, feeding and breeding purposes.

Congratulations to all involved!