The Heartland Management Team
Dr. Patsy Houghton -
President and General Manager,
Heartland Cattle Company
-
e-mail: phoughton@heartlandcattle.com
office phone: (308)345-4524
cell phone: (308)340-7632
Patsy Houghton was born and raised on a large cow-calf operation near Tipton Kansas. She received her BS in Animal Science and MS in reproductive physiology from Kansas State University. Patsy then served as an instructor for California State University-Fresno as well as the Youth and Education Manager for the American Simmental Association in Montana prior to returning to school to earn a PhD in Ruminant Nutrition from Purdue University in 1986. Patsy held the position of KSU Northwest Kansas Beef Cattle Extension Specialist until 1990 when the concept of Professional Heifer Development was first developed. Having the foresight to see the tremendous need for this specialized service in the US, Heartland Cattle Company was founded in 1990. Today, the company remains the premier heifer development facility in the country with over 60,000 heifers to back their reputation.
In addition to managing the business from the McCook, NE office, Patsy also stays involved in the beef industry by serving as co-chair of NCBA's Cattleman's College Committee and by participating in panel discussions and speaking engagements to beef industry groups throughout the United States. In her spare time, Patsy is an avid sports fan and western art lover.
Janet Lynch-Rippe -
Director of Research
and
Information Transfer
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e-mail: jrippe@heartlandcattle.com
office phone: (308)345-4524
cell phone: (308)340-1225
Janet Rippe was born and raised on a farm in North-Central Indiana. She received her BS from Purdue University in 1993 and her MS in Reproductive Physiology from Kansas State University in 1996. A summer internship with ABS, the responsibility of coordinating a statewide AI internship program in Kansas, and conducting various reproductive and ultrasound clinics throughout the area made Janet an obvious candidate for the heifer development facility. After two internships with Heartland, Janet spent six months in Australia working on a cattle station. Upon returning to the U.S., she joined the Heartland staff full-time as their Director of Research and Information Transfer. Her duties include artificial insemination, data management and analyses, coordinating research trials, and overseeing innercompany communication and efficiency among the staff.
Janet has been recognized for her work at Heartland by being selected as a Certified Angus Beef Quality Assurance Officer of the Month, the winner of the Outstanding Young Agribusiness Award from the American Society of Animal Science, and a member of the Nebraska Ag Leadership program (LEAD). Janet's interests include international traveling, snow skiing, and spending family time with her husband Gail and two children, Allison and Nathan.
Gail Rippe -
Operations Manager,
Heartland Cattle Co. – McCook, NE
e-mail: grippe@heartlandcattle.com
office phone/fax: 308-345-4524
cell phone: 308-340-8345
Gail Rippe is the on-site operations manager for Heartland Cattle Company, our 4,000 head (one-time capacity) professional heifer development and research center located near McCook, NE. Born and raised near Oberlin, Kansas, Gail grew up in an agriculture based community where his inherent talent for livestock management became apparent. Gail attended Colby Community College prior to beginning his career in the feedlot industry. He brings many years of feedlot experience to the company and has been an integral part of the heifer development and calf weaning programs since 1997.
In his spare time, Gail enjoys training colts and working on his farm as well as spending time with his wife, Janet, and children Allison and Nathan. If you are in the McCook area, please stop in and ask for Gail. He will be happy to show you around and introduce the rest of the Heartland team!