Fellow Kansan,

Agriculture is the heartbeat of the Big First District. Each month, I highlight the life and work of Kansas ag heroes – the people who make our state the pilot light of America and who inspire me to continue fighting for Kansas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers. 

Yours in service,

Kansas Ag Hero of the Month:

Springhill Herefords

Pictured above, left to right: Dustin Denton, John Denton, Angie Denton, Wesley Denton, Lexi Schmidt, Delores Stump, Spencer Schmidt, Dave Stump, Callie Schmidt, Dan Schmidt, Kinsley Gillig, Kim Schmidt, Jami Gillig, Jarrod Gillig, Dakota Gillig.

This month’s ag hero is the Stump family of Springhill Herefords, a multi-generational family operation in Marshall County. Together, the people behind Springhill Herefords exemplify what American family farmers always have: faith, hard work, love of neighbor, personal responsibility, and selflessness. Today, this extended family is raising their children to embrace the same. 

Springhill Herefords was established in 1937 by Harold Stump. Today, Harold’s son, Dave, and his family run 200 registered Hereford cows, and 90% of the cows are descendants of the original herd. Located just 45 miles north of Manhattan on the edge of the Kansas Flint Hills, Springhill Herefords is the “home of the round barn.” The barn, originally built in 1911, has been used in a Hereford operation from the very beginning.  

Over the years, the family has strived to produce high-quality Hereford cattle that have the functionality, efficiency, and performance needed to excel in today’s beef industry. Their goal is to raise cattle that are structurally sound, graze the native pastures, have a calf every year unassisted, and wean at a respectable weight. Raising Hereford cows and farming the land is more than a business for the Stump family – it’s a way of life. Dave and Delores’s daughters have returned to the area with their families. Daughter Kim along with her husband Dan Schmidt care for the day-to-day operations of the farm, where they produce corn, soybeans, milo, and wheat. They raise 100% of the forages that their cattle use for the winter, and they market all their grains through the local cooperative system. Daughters Angie and Jami along with their husbands John Denton and Jarrod Gillig help with marketing and herd improvement.  

America was built by generational family farmers and ranchers like the extended Stump family. Generational farms are essential to the stability, quality, and security of our food supply in the United States. They preserve the traditions of the past and carry them into the future, and they support local economies and help rural America thrive. Thank you, Springhill Herefords, for carrying on the tradition of a multi-generational family operation in Kansas.