A Ranch Built from the Ground Up

Ebersole Cattle Co. is a family-operated ranch located outside of Kellerton, Iowa. Beau's family raised Maine-Anjou cattle since the 1970s, and he and Shanen started their own operation in 1998 with the purchase of ten cows. What started as a small beginning has grown into a full family affair, with their children Adelyda, Jolene, and Wyatt growing up right alongside the herd. Today, the ranch is home to around 150 mother cows, all raised on the native pastures of Southern Iowa.

Shanen and Beau are proud first-generation ranchers. Beau was raised on a small acreage outside of Sterling, Illinois. Shanen grew up a horse girl outside of Des Moines, and the two met at Iowa State University. Shanen will be the first to tell you she was nearly vegetarian when they met and swore she would never eat anyone she had met. But life as a cattleman's wife has a way of changing your perspective. She became passionate about doing things better, both for the cattle and for the families they feed. She started learning about grass-fed beef and how to grow better grass, and the rest, as she says, is history.

Why Maine-Anjou?

The Ebersoles raise Maine-Anjou cattle, a heritage breed originally developed in the Maine and Anjou river valleys of France. These cattle are prized for being exceptional mothers and for producing superior beef. Their fullblood Maine-Anjou herd is one of the largest in the nation. Fullblood Maine-Anjous are red and white cattle that are extremely docile, long-bodied, and well-suited to the native pastures of Southern Iowa. That length means more steaks per animal, and the breed is celebrated for its depth of flavor. In fact, Anjou beef is a delicacy served on fine restaurant tables across the East Coast.

Shanen also loves that finishing their own beef gives Beau the freedom to breed any color of Maine-Anjou he wants. Sale barns typically only want black cattle, but the Ebersoles are committed to preserving fullblood red and white Maine-Anjou genetics, a breed with fewer than 100 head registered nationally each year.

Regenerative Ranching, Every Single Day

The Ebersoles don't just raise beef, they actively work to improve the land beneath their cattle's hooves. Their approach to ranching is rooted in holistic management and regenerative practices. They use no-till and cover crops, manage perennial grasses, and rotate their cattle across pastures to improve soil health, increase carbon sequestration, and create habitat for wildlife. In the winter, hay is rolled out across the grass rather than fed from a central location, which adds natural fertilizer to areas that need it and encourages cattle to graze in new spots each day.

All calves are born on the ranch in the fall, spend their first winter alongside their mothers, graze on fresh spring grass, and are harvested before their second winter. This natural lifecycle means the beef is never rushed, never forced, and always raised the right way.

The Ebersole Family

Beau is the cattleman at heart, preferring to stay on the ranch and tend to the herd. Shanen is the connector, bringing the family's story to farmers markets in Des Moines and to families across the country through their website and social media. Daughter Addie has followed in her parents' footsteps to Iowa State University and loves educating others about how animals are raised. Jolene is the horse lover and people person of the family, and Wyatt rounds out the crew. An Ebersole will always be there to answer your questions about how their animals are raised, because this business is as personal to them as it gets.