Cow Camp Ranch in Kansas: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Cow Camp Ranch is a registered Simmental, SimAngus and Angus seedstock operation at Lost Springs, Kansas, on the western edge of the Flint Hills. The Beef Improvement Federation named it its 2021 Seedstock Producer of the Year, and BIF coverage describes 800 registered cows, about 15,000 owned and leased acres and a 9,000-head commercial feedyard run by family members. The Brunner family has farmed and ranched since the early 1890s.
| Location | Lost Springs, Kansas, just off the old Santa Fe Trail |
|---|---|
| Founded | Registered cowherd founded in 1969; family in agriculture since the early 1890s |
| Sectors | Simmental, SimAngus and Angus seedstock; commercial cattle feeding; hay and crops |
| Scale | 800 registered cows, 15,000 owned and leased acres, a 9,000-head commercial feedyard (BIF, 2021) |
| Why it is elite | 2021 BIF Seedstock Producer of the Year, nominated by the Kansas Livestock Association |
| Ownership | Brunner family, fifth generation; Kent and son Nolan run the ranch, Mark and Tracy Brunner the feedyard |
| Official website | Beef Improvement Federation 2021 Seedstock Producer of the Year page |
History of Cow Camp Ranch
The Brunner family has farmed and ranched in Kansas since the early 1890s. Kent Brunner founded the registered cowherd in 1969, using some of the original Simmental genetics imported into the United States, according to Drovers and the Beef Improvement Federation.
Today the ranch is in its fifth generation. Kent and his son Nolan manage the ranch, while Kent's brothers Mark and Tracy Brunner manage the commercial feedyard. In 2021 BIF presented Kent and his wife Jean the Seedstock Producer of the Year award at its symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, and the American Simmental Association later ran its own honor for Cow Camp, reported in September 2024.
What Cow Camp Ranch Grows and Raises
The registered herd is 800 Simmental, SimAngus and Angus cows, with much of the land in native Flint Hills grazing and the rest in hay and crops. BIF reports that the ranch crossbreeds to combine Simmental and Angus genetics, transfers about 300 embryos a year, and artificially inseminates the rest of the cows and replacement heifers.
Selection leans on data: progeny performance testing, EPDs and DNA profiles all feed the breeding program, and Drovers says the genetic improvement shows up in many commercial cowherds. The family's commercial feedyard, with about 9,000 head, gives it a place to see how cattle perform to the rail.
How Cow Camp Ranch Makes Money
Spring bull sale
About 250 bulls are marketed annually, mostly at a spring bull sale held the first Friday in February, according to BIF. Sale books published online show a Cow Camp Ranch Spring Bull Sale each year.
Grass Time sale and genetics
The ranch also publishes a Grass Time Sale catalog and a semen guide, so customers can buy females and frozen genetics as well as bulls.
Commercial feeding
The family runs a commercial feedyard of about 9,000 head, a separate business that connects the seedstock program to the feeding and packing end of the beef chain.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Cow Camp Ranch
Run the whole chain. A seedstock ranch with its own feedyard in the family sees what its genetics do after weaning, which sharpens selection. Operators without a feedyard can get similar feedback through partner feeders and carcass data.
Use crossbreeding and records deliberately. Cow Camp mixes breeds, flushes elite donors and tests progeny, then sells on a fixed annual calendar that customers can plan around.
A spring bull sale on the first Friday in February means someone at Cow Camp is checking the Kansas forecast with the same hope the rest of us give lottery tickets. That is where farm.FM comes in with its farm satire and farm humor. We keep the ranch humor affectionate, and the farm jokes about Simmental bulls and sale-day weather stay on the right side of the fence.
farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, also runs Tractor Tunes, a country music lineup for farmers. For a sample of the writing, try the archive of one of its staff humorists.
How to Contact Cow Camp Ranch
Website: https://bifconference.com/bif2021/awards/21_BIFSeedstock_CowCampRanch.html
No official ranch website appeared in my research, so this is the BIF award page. Confirm sale dates and contact details with the ranch or the Kansas Livestock Association. Information as of November 2026.
Cow Camp Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- BIF award page - Beef Improvement Federation profile of the ranch
- Drovers award coverage - Independent report on the 2021 award
- High Plains Journal coverage - Regional news on the BIF award
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - Official data on Kansas farms, cattle and land
- Kansas Livestock Association - State cattle producer association
Cow Camp Ranch FAQ
Where is Cow Camp Ranch?
It is at Lost Springs, Kansas, on the western edge of the Flint Hills.
What award did Cow Camp Ranch win?
The Beef Improvement Federation named it 2021 Seedstock Producer of the Year.
What does Cow Camp Ranch raise?
Registered Simmental, SimAngus and Angus cattle, plus a family commercial feedyard.
When is the Cow Camp Ranch bull sale?
BIF reports the main bull sale is held the first Friday in February; confirm the date with the ranch.
Cow Camp Ranch is one example of what elite Simmental seedstock operations look like in Kansas. For more profiled operations, climate and market guidance, and programs available to producers in the state, read the Kansas farms guide on this site.