By Kate Klimesh,
Virginia and Dennis Karlsbroten were named 2023 Winneshiek County Cattleman’s Association Beef Pioneers at the March Beef Banquet.
This year’s Winneshiek County Cattleman’s Banquet surprised Virginia and Dennis Karlsbroten of northern Winneshiek County as they were awarded the 2023 Beef Pioneer Award. “We were plenty blown away,” said Virgina. “And it’s both the man and wife being honored, which is pretty special,” added Dennis. “And that was it — it was always both of us together in this business.”
And in it together they have been, starting right after they were married in September 1976. They moved to their newly-purchased farm and bought their first commercial cows soon after. “He sent me to the cattle sale for three cows, and I came home with seven,” Virginia recalled. “The cows and calves were great, but we just didn’t have the money.” Dennis added, “The Limousins have been good to us over the years though, from the start.” And they have been one of very few Limousin breeders in the region.
They were very impressed by the progeny of those first cows, “I was upset she had bought so many that first time, but after the calves came, I told her she should have bought the bull too!” Dennis remarked. So the Karlsbroten pair found a good bull, bred heifers, raised calves and established a breed-up service offering registered Limousin cows. They then expanded into artificial insemination for Limousin and expanded their rented pasture to accommodate up to 50 Limousin cows and an added 10 Red Angus. Yes, they dabbled in another breed for about 12 years, then decided to stick with what “got us where we are.”
“We’ve raised pure-bred cattle for over 40 years, and the largest we ever got was 80 breds,” Virginia stated. “And if we didn’t love living in the country so much, this may not have worked as well as it did.” As it was, they made a name for themselves, selling their good beef genetics from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan down to Missouri and all points in between.
They have been very involved in local 4-H as well as the cattle industry, with Dennis spending 35 years as a board member of the Winneshiek County Cattleman’s Association. “I really liked being on the Winneshiek County Cattleman’s Association. I served with some great people and we did a lot of great things as WCCA.”
They were heavily involved with the Iowa and Minnesota Beef Expo for several years, as well as being very active members of in the Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin Limousin Associations (President of the Sparta association for eight years).
“It makes me very proud that so many outstanding cattle in the state of Iowa have been named from the Winneshiek County Cattleman’s Association,” Dennis said with a smile. “That’s quite an accomplishment. And we wouldn’t be where we are without our friends who have been here for us during the tough times. But we pulled out of it, always did.”
All three children had 4-H calves from the farm – Limousin steers – and the Karlsbroten family even had three of the top six Grand and Reserve at the Winneshiek County Fair one year, which made Dennis’s brass buttons pop. “Here in Winneshiek County, they have a very tough beef class at the fair.”
“We just never gave up,” said Virginia with a smile, “It was never an option. There were always early mornings and late nights on this farm.” Dennis stated, “And no matter how many cows we had on how many pastures in the Highlandville area, we checked cattle every day.”
Complete story can be found in the May 11 Public Opinion Newspaper.
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