Stomprud Angus Ranch in South Dakota: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Find It
Profile updated November 2026
Stomprud Angus Ranch is a four-generation seedstock and commercial Angus operation near Mud Butte in western South Dakota. It runs about 6,600 acres and received the 2025 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award after more than a century of ranching.
| Location | Mud Butte, western South Dakota |
|---|---|
| Founded | Described as a 114-year history in 2025, implying about 1911 |
| Sectors | Registered Angus seedstock; commercial cows; hay |
| Scale | 6,600 acres, including 700 acres of hay; 220 to 300 heifers and cow-calf pairs |
| Why it is elite | 2025 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award; long-running family ranch |
| Ownership | Larry and Eileen Stomprud with son Jay, wife Jennifer and grandchildren |
| Official website | Sand County Foundation profile of Stomprud Angus Ranch (no ranch website found) |
History of Stomprud Angus Ranch
Stomprud Angus Ranch traces about 114 years of family history on the dry prairie of Meade County country near Mud Butte. The award profile does not give a founding year, which implies roughly 1911. Larry and Eileen Stomprud now own and operate the ranch with their son Jay, his wife Jennifer and their grandchildren.
The ranch was named the 2025 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award recipient, announced on April 21, 2025, with a $10,000 prize. The award honors landowners who combine productive agriculture with ethical land management, and the Stomprud story is largely about managing grass and water through drought.
What Stomprud Angus Ranch Grows and Raises
The ranch raises registered seedstock Angus and commercial cows. Herd size fluctuates between 220 and 300 heifers and cow-calf pairs depending on range conditions, a deliberate flexibility rather than a fixed number. About 700 of its 6,600 acres produce hay.
Grazing is rotational, and most pastures are grazed no more than 20 days in the growing season. The family subdivided 1,000-acre pastures into more than 30 pastures of 100 to 400 acres, with four miles of cross-fencing, 10 miles of water pipelines and 24 stock tanks. A deep well was drilled in 2005, and the ranch also uses 18 dams and dugouts, about 5,000 planted trees as shelterbelts and wildlife-friendly smooth-wire fences powered by solar batteries.
How Stomprud Angus Ranch Makes Money
Seedstock and commercial cattle
The ranch's public profile describes registered Angus seedstock alongside commercial cows. Seedstock sales supply genetics to other ranchers, while commercial cattle give a second outlet.
Hay production
Roughly 700 acres of hay provide winter feed, which reduces dependence on purchased forage in a dry region.
Flexible stocking
The herd is sized to range conditions, which protects grass and cash flow. Matching numbers to forage is an income-protection strategy as much as a conservation one.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Stomprud Angus Ranch
First, build flexibility into herd size. Stomprud lets numbers move between 220 and 300 head, which prevents overgrazing during dry years.
Second, small investments compound. Subdividing pastures, adding pipeline and a deep well turned a drought-prone place into a managed system. Operators can start with one pasture and one water source and expand as results appear.
A ranch with 24 stock tanks, 18 dams and a very good deep well knows that in western South Dakota, water is the real currency, which is why farm.FM is happy to tease it. For farm satire about stubborn clouds, farm humor about fence-building, ranch humor from Mud Butte and farm jokes starring the Angus in the back pasture, stop by, and keep an eye on the rain gauge.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
How to Contact Stomprud Angus Ranch
Website: https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award/stomprud-angus-ranch
No separate ranch website was found. The website field points to the best public page about the operation, and no private contact details are listed here; confirm any visit or purchase through the operation directly.
Stomprud Angus Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sand County Foundation ranch profile - Award profile for the ranch
- 2025 award announcement - Sand County news release
- Regional radio coverage - Independent news on the award
- USDA Census of Agriculture - National and state farm statistics from NASS
- USDA Farmers.gov - Federal programs including NRCS and FSA
Stomprud Angus Ranch FAQ
Where is Stomprud Angus Ranch?
Near Mud Butte in western South Dakota.
How many acres?
The award profile cites 6,600 acres, including 700 acres of hay.
What does it raise?
Registered seedstock Angus and commercial cows.
What award did it win?
The 2025 South Dakota Leopold Conservation Award.
Stomprud Angus Ranch shows how patient investment in grass and water keeps a family ranch strong. See the South Dakota farms guide for more operations and statewide strategy.