Bartholomay Kattle Kompany in North Dakota: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Bartholomay Kattle Kompany is a diversified crop and cow-calf operation near Sheldon in Ransom County, North Dakota, with more than 4,000 acres. It earned the 2023 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award and was named the 2023 Region VII winner of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Environmental Stewardship Award Program.
| Location | Sheldon, Ransom County, North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Founded | Family has farmed and ranched there for nearly 127 years; current partnership formed in 2019 |
| Sectors | Cow-calf; corn, soybeans, oats, wheat and sunflowers; restored tallgrass prairie |
| Scale | More than 4,000 acres of cropland, hayland, native range and pasture; 280 cow-calf pairs; nearly 300 acres of restored tallgrass prairie |
| Why it is elite | 2023 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award; 2023 NCBA Region VII Environmental Stewardship winner |
| Ownership | Keith and Sandi Bartholomay and son Karl and wife Becca |
| Official website | Drovers: Leopold Conservation Award coverage (no official site found) |
History of Bartholomay Kattle Kompany
The family has worked the Sheyenne Delta for nearly 127 years. Keith's parents, Joe and Marian, started the farm that Keith and his brother Kent later ran as K&K Bartholomay Farms. In 2019 Keith and Sandi Bartholomay formed the current partnership with their son Karl and his wife Becca, taking the name Bartholomay Kattle Kompany.
The land is wet and sandy, sitting above a shallow aquifer in the Red River Valley's Sheyenne Delta. That setting shapes every decision, from where cattle graze to how manure and runoff are handled.
What Bartholomay Kattle Kompany Grows and Raises
The 280 cow-calf pairs are split into four herds and rotated to fresh pasture every one to two weeks, with each pasture resting at least 100 days. Winter feeding and calving use alternatives to a conventional feedlot, including a hoop barn that keeps runoff away from the feedlot and manure.
Cropland is mostly no-till with a rotation of corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and sunflowers. Manure is used as fertilizer, and the family has planted trees, installed solar water systems and restored nearly 300 acres of tallgrass prairie.
How Bartholomay Kattle Kompany Makes Money
Calves and cattle
The cow-calf herd is the livestock enterprise, with rotational grazing used to stretch pasture and cut costs.
Row crops
Corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and sunflowers are raised in rotation, and oats and other crops also support the cattle.
Integrated use of manure and forage
Manure from the hoop barn replaces purchased fertilizer, and grazed and hayed acres supply feed, so the cattle and crop sides reinforce each other.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Bartholomay Kattle Kompany
The central lesson is integration: crops feed cattle, cattle fertilize crops and a rotation spreads weather and price risk. A diversified farm can have lower exposure to any one commodity.
The family also shows that stewardship and succession belong together. Forming a formal partnership in 2019 gave the next generation ownership and a shared plan, and the awards followed from consistent practice rather than one-time projects.
The Bartholomay cows reportedly get fresh pasture every one to two weeks, which is more variety than most of us get in a month. Fans of farm.FM who like farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes could picture four herds comparing grass reviews. We say it warmly, because a name that spells cattle with a K deserves at least one joke.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
How to Contact Bartholomay Kattle Kompany
No official website was found in the sources reviewed, so this link is a news report on the 2023 Leopold Conservation Award, November 2026. Business contact details were not confirmed; verify before traveling.
Bartholomay Kattle Kompany Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Drovers: Leopold award selection - News coverage of the 2023 award and the operation
- Northern Ag: NCBA Region VII winner - Coverage of the Environmental Stewardship Award Program regional win
- Leopold Conservation Award in North Dakota - Sand County Foundation call for nominations and program details
- USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture: North Dakota - State farm numbers, land and sales
- USDA Census of Agriculture - National census program and data
Bartholomay Kattle Kompany FAQ
Where is Bartholomay Kattle Kompany?
Near Sheldon in Ransom County, North Dakota.
How big is the operation?
More than 4,000 acres, with a herd of 280 cow-calf pairs.
What awards has it won?
The 2023 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award and the 2023 NCBA Region VII Environmental Stewardship Award.
What does it grow?
Corn, soybeans, oats, wheat and sunflowers, mostly under no-till.
Bartholomay Kattle Kompany shows how crops, cattle and prairie restoration can fit together on wet, sandy ground. For the wider state picture, see the North Dakota farms guide linked on this site.