About Open A Angus

Open A Angus is family owned Angus seedstock operation,

Owned by Jim & Lynn Arthaud along with their two children, Grace and Hudson located on the ND/MT border 18 miles north of Beach, ND or 20 miles north of Wibaux, MT. The seedstock operation started in 1997 with the purchase of a few heifer calves from Jaynbee Angus in Idaho with the goal of producing functional cattle that could withstand the terrain of the North Dakota badlands where the cattle were ran at that time.

While the focus since the beginning has been on producing solid cows,

In 2013 we shifted the focus to a more moderate framed female with fleshing ability while maintaining excellent udders, feet and calving ease. We like to see a 12-1300 pound mature cow with solid feet, level, clean udders, with small teats. The registered cowherd is calved in April through early May. We Ai every registered cow that is three years old or older with clean up bulls turned out for 42 days after AI. Our culling program is simple. If we have to help them do their job, they fail to breed, wean a calf or maintain themselves they are sold. While we test some new genetics from time to time, our focus in genetic selection is mainly geared towards older genetics that have proven themselves repeatedly. We use several of the bulls we raise on our commercial cowherd as well as our registered herd. We see a lot of the bulls we have retained still breeding cows between 6 and 8 years of age. Every bull is turned out in a multiple sire pasture every year of their life. In 2018, we developed a twice over grazing management program under the direction of Dennis Froemke. With his help we have been able to increase our stocking rates by 50% while seeing an increase in native species and a decrease in introduced grasses as well as a significant improvement in water infiltration rates and water holding capacity in our soil. The cattle we are raising today thrive under this managment and the improvments we’ve seen in our pastures speak for themselves. Open A has a number of employees that enable the operation to work on a daily basis including. Dey and Jen Obrigewitch, Tom and Becky Scheef, Chip Erickson, Tellan and Kayla Steffan, Ty Janda, Chance and Arielle Schneider and Ryan and Kalie Schmeltzer.

Our Team

Open A would not be possible if it were not for the dedicated employees that continue to keep the operation going on a day to day basis. We are grateful for their dedication to the operation and appreciate having each one of them here. Thank You!

Tellan And Kayla Steffan Family

Tellan Serves as General Manager of Open A keeping the business side of the ranch going throughout the year. Tellan also serves as CEO of EcoBalance Global, a start-up, rangeland carbon credit program that we started in 2021. EcoBalance has finished its initial proof of concept project and is getting close to opening enrollment for new ranches to start in the program. Kayla manages the marketing and PR piece for us.
Dey and Jen Obrigewitch Family

Dey and Jen have been with Open A since 201?. They manage the Kramer Ranch portion of Open A as well as helping in genetic selection on the registered cowherd. Their children have been a huge asset as well doing everything involved in the day-to-day operations from calving, moving cows, checking water, fencing and haying. They are greatly appreciated.
Tom and Becky Scheef

Tom and Becky have been with Open A since 201?? They manage the Franks Creek Ranch north of Belfield. Tom is our go to guy for anything that needs hauled on the operation.
Ty Janda

Ty has been with Open A for a little over a year. Ty takes care of the daily duties of the feedlot while we have cattle there and helps out on the ranches where he is needed the rest of the time.
Chance and Arielle Schneider Family

Chance and Arielle came to Open A in June of 2023. They oversee the State Line Ranch. We are happy to have them on board.
Ryan and Kalie Schmeltzer Family

Ryan and Kalie started in August of 2023. They care for the Dahl Ranch piece of Open A and oversee the registered cowherd. We are grateful to have them on the team.