Walter Livestock is owned and operated by Joel and Kelly Walter.
Joel handles the beef operations while Kelly specializes in the equine activities.
It is important to us that we involve our children in the day to day activities in hopes that they may eventually have interest in joining us in raising quality beef cattle and useful ranch horses.
Walter Equine:
Kelly completed her bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in 2007, and earned her M.S. and PhD from Texas A & M University, where she specialized in equine nutrition.
For anyone interested in all the details, her full dissertation and thesis can be read here:
https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/149340
https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-12-7623
Kelly began working in equine reproduction as a student worker in 2003 while at the University of Georgia, and continued on to advance in her studies during graduate school at Texas A & M University. She was finally able to begin breeding her own personally owned horses in 2013, although credits all of the university horses for the valuable learning experiences provided!
Kelly worked full time as a professor at Truman State University from 2012 to 2023, and contributed to significant growth in their equine breeding program over those years until finally taking the leap to switch to full time work at Walter Livestock in May of 2023.
She now focuses on western performance horse pedigrees with a particular interest in Reined Cowhorse and versatility ranch horse events.
Walter Beef Cattle:
Joel has many years of experience in the cattle industry. Additionally, Joel completed his bachelor's degree from Iowa State in 2006, and earned his Master of Science in Animal Science from Texas A & M University in December of 2011.
Joel specialized in beef cattle production and efficiency For all the details, his thesis can be read in full here- https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-12-10673
At Walter Livestock, we strive to combine our practical experience with the classroom knowledge gained in a university setting.
The main focus at Walter Livestock is raising quality commercial beef replacement heifers. Rex Blanchard, Joel Walter's grandfather, raised replacement heifers in Powersville, MO since the late 1980s. He taught Joel a lot about selecting and raising quality replacement heifers, as well as how to maintain good relationships with customers. When Rex passed away in December of 2012, Joel Walter moved back to Missouri to care for the heifers Rex had already purchased that fall. Joel bred and sold Rex's heifers in 2013, and decided to continue on in the replacement heifer business. We decided to continue to use the Rocking B brand for our replacement heifers to remember the family history. We hope that Rex would be proud of Joel's heifers and efforts to continue on in the cattle industry.
In addition to raising replacements, we also offer custom cattle care. We care for cattle during the grazing season and coordinate all necessary steps to synchronize, artificially inseminate, and run clean up bulls. We also finish out a small number of cattle on grain to take to local lockers for high quality beef. We are able to take a small number of custom orders and also sell beef to Country Roads Meat Market for sale at their meat counter in Centerville, IA. Please call, text, or email Joel at 515-231-5696 for more information on beef availability.
