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.
The Bulls you need for the Cows you’ve always wanted!
While the focus from the beginning has been on a solid trouble free female, we dialed in the focus in 2013 to a more moderate framed female with fleshing ability while maintaining excellent udders, feet and calving ease. We got much more selective on the pedigrees allowed into the gene pool and shied away from the mainstream fad and EPD chasing terminal genetics found in most of the Angus breed today. We like to see a 4.5 frame 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, nurse other cows, or prove they can’t mother a calf, they are gone. 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. The cattle we are raising today thrive under this management and the improvements we’ve seen in our pastures speak for themselves. Open A has a number of employees that contribute in countless ways and in different capacities including Dey and Jen Obrigewitch, Ryan and Kalie Schmeltzer, JT Saunders, Diana Obrigewitch, Chip and Linda Erickson, Kent Roth, Gage Edwards and Tellan and Kayla Steffan .
Our Team
Open A would not be possible without 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!
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Tellan And Kayla Steffan Family
Tellan Serves as General Manager of Open A keeping the business side of the ranch going throughout the year. Kayla fills in gaps in different ways as she juggles taking care of their four kids and running their ranch at home.
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Dey and Jen Obrigewitch Family
Dey and Jen have been with Open A since 2014. They manage the Kramer Ranch portion of Open A, Dey also helps with 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.
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Ryan and Kalli Schmeltzer Family
Ryan and Kalli Schmeltzer operate the other part of the ranch north of Wibaux take care of the registered cowherd. They are a huge asset to us with their meticulous record keeping, attention to detail and professional management style.
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JT Saunders
JT started with us the in the fall of 2025 taking care of the ranch north of Belfield as well as the grow yard south of Belfield. We appreciate the value he brings to the team and look forward to the future with him on board.
Join us for our Annual Production Sale
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | 1:00 PM MST