Generations of the Colyer family have ranched on the high desert along the Snake River, 60 miles southeast of Boise.

“This was my grandfather’s place,” says Guy Colyer, who runs the ranch today with the help of his son, Kyle.

“The ranch was homesteaded in 1933. We still have the old silver spurs that were worn by my mom’s granddad when he rode out here in 1878 from Cambridge, Ohio,” Guy says.

“We started with commercial Herefords and worked up to about 700 head, running on (Bureau of Land Management) allotments. After Sherry and I got married in 1976, we started a registered operation.”

They sold their BLM permit and currently run purebred cattle on deeded and rented private lands. This enabled them to have closer management of the cattle in terms of individual performance records and the ability to increase quality in the directions they wanted to go.

“We eventually phased out the commercial cattle and added the Angus herd in 1992, to produce both Hereford and Angus bulls for our customers,” Guy says.

His parents, Ray and Bonnie Colyer, started building the Angus herd to suit commercial customers that were utilizing the two breeds. The black-baldy is a popular cross and suits the environment well.

“We have a good background in the commercial industry since we ran our cattle in rough areas, and we know what our customers need,” he says. “We show some of our cattle around the country, but our main purpose is to produce the best bulls possible for our commercial customers here in the West.”

The two breeds have beneficial traits that complement one another.

“On the Herefords we’ve worked hard on the feedlot and carcass end of it; they needed more marbling. On the Angus side, we select for better disposition,” he says. “My dad used to help us calve and he was in his mid-80s. We want quiet Angus cattle. The Angus also needed to improve on feet and legs and structure.”

In October the ranch had its 22nd heifer sale, and their 44th bull sale will be in February.

“We try to meet the demands of our commercial customers. It’s nice to see their success as well. We’ve produced bulls that have gone all over the U.S. and into Mexico and Canada,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of foreign buyers for semen and embryos, but our main focus is our commercial ranchers.”

Their first embryo transplant program was started in 1982.

“We rely on a good (artificial insemination) program and a lot of embryo transplant calves so we can use the very best genetics,” Guy says. “This gives our commercial buyers the ability to purchase large groups of full brothers, half-brothers, three-quarter brothers, etc. We use all the techniques available to propagate top-end genetics.

“We’re not striving to be the largest breeders but to produce the best bulls possible while maintaining enough volume for the larger commercial ranchers. Our program allows ranchers to buy a volume of closely related genetics.”

Ray and Bonnie Colyer passed away in 2019, but their legacy continues. Guy’s wife, Sherry, whose father, Ray Shaffers, was a livestock market owner, manages the ranch finances and computer matters. They have two children, Kyle and Katie. Kyle spent two years on a livestock judging team at Colby College in Colby, Kan., then graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science.

Kyle is on the ranch full-time and has a daughter, Piper, and son, Cruz, who are fourth generation.

Katie graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in animal science-business. She is involved with show and sale preparations and does the pictures and videos, website updates and social media for the ranch. She works with LiveAuctions.tv and has her own video production company, Crystal Clear Creations.

“We have very loyal and devoted employees. It is a total team effort. We had one employee for 43 years before his retirement. We now have three guys that have been here over 12 years apiece. We feel this gives us consistency in the workplace and we all work together for a common goal,” Guy says.