Spring Cove Ranch in Idaho: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Spring Cove Ranch is a Registered Angus seedstock operation in Idaho's Magic Valley whose herd traces to 1920. In 2019 the National Angus Association gave it its Centennial Herd Award and its Seedstock Producer of the Year Award, and the ranch also received the Certified Angus Beef Commitment to Excellence Award.
| Location | Magic Valley, near Jerome, Gooding and Twin Falls, Idaho |
|---|---|
| Founded | Homesteaded by Effie and Arthur H. Butler; first Registered Angus cows born in 1920 |
| Sectors | Registered Angus seedstock; bull and heifer sale; grain, hay and corn |
| Scale | Annual sale of about 170 bulls and 75 heifers, as reported by Farms.com in 2022 |
| Why it is elite | 2019 National Angus Association Centennial Herd and Seedstock Producer of the Year awards, plus a CAB award |
| Ownership | Butler family; Art and Stacy Butler lead the cattle operation |
| Official website | Spring Cove Ranch official site |
History of Spring Cove Ranch
Farms.com reports that Art Butler's grandparents, Effie and Arthur H. Butler, homesteaded the ranch, and that its first Registered Angus cows were born there in 1920. As of the 2022 article the herd was in its 103rd year. Arthur H. Butler also helped build the Northside Canal, which still supplies water to the ranch.
The ranch has held its bull sale since 1992 and built its own sale barn in 1998. In 2019 the National Angus Association recognized the herd's century of continuous registration and its seedstock work, a rare combination of longevity and current performance.
What Spring Cove Ranch Grows and Raises
Art and Stacy Butler run the cattle side with their son Josh Mavencamp, daughter Sarah Helmick and nephew Dale Butler. Art's brother Daniel runs the grain, hay and corn operation that supports the herd, and leases roughly 500 acres a year for potato and sugar beet production.
The ranch markets bulls and heifers through a single-day annual sale that draws about 450 people and is broadcast online. It also keeps a semen interest in each bull it sells, giving it a stake in how its genetics perform.
How Spring Cove Ranch Makes Money
Annual bull and heifer sale
The ranch sells about 170 bulls and 75 heifers in one day. A single high-attendance sale concentrates buyers and builds competitive bidding.
Semen interest in sold bulls
By retaining a semen interest, the ranch can earn from bulls after the sale and gains data on their offspring.
Feed crops and land leasing
Grain, hay and corn feed the herd, and leasing about 500 acres a year for potatoes and sugar beets adds crop-rotation income without the ranch taking on those crops itself.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Spring Cove Ranch
Spring Cove shows how a seedstock operation can compound reputation over a century. Consistent registration, performance data and awards give commercial buyers a reason to return each year.
It also shows the value of owning the sale: a ranch-run sale barn, online broadcast and a retained semen interest give control over presentation, reach and long-term genetic influence.
A herd that has been in continuous registration since 1920 has outlasted most trends, most fashion cycles and almost certainly most of the neckties worn at its own sales. At farm.FM we file farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and an Angus bull sale in the Magic Valley is the kind of event where a nod at the wrong moment may buy you a bull. Spring Cove Ranch has the sale barn and the bidding rhythm well practiced, so please bring a steady hand.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact Spring Cove Ranch
Website: https://springcoveranch.com/
Website as named in Farms.com coverage, November 2026. Sale dates and catalog details are posted by the ranch; confirm with the ranch before traveling.
Spring Cove Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Spring Cove Ranch official site - Ranch website for sale and herd information
- Farms.com: Pioneer herd of the West - Independent profile of the ranch and its herd
- Idaho Cattle Association Line Rider - State cattle producer association publication
- Idaho Beef Council: Malson Ranch - State beef council look at an Idaho ranch for comparison
- USDA NASS Idaho 2022 market value rankings - Cattle and calves rank second in Idaho sales
Spring Cove Ranch FAQ
Where is Spring Cove Ranch?
It is in Idaho's Magic Valley, near Jerome, Gooding and Twin Falls, and is supplied with water by the Northside Canal.
What awards has Spring Cove Ranch won?
In 2019 it received the National Angus Association Centennial Herd Award and Seedstock Producer of the Year, and the Certified Angus Beef Commitment to Excellence Award.
When does it hold its bull sale?
The ranch has held an annual bull and heifer sale since 1992; check the ranch site for the current date.
How old is the herd?
Its first Registered Angus cows were born in 1920.
Spring Cove Ranch combines a century-old Registered Angus herd with a modern sale and genetics program. For how cattle fit into Idaho agriculture, see the Idaho farms guide and the other profiles below it.