The motto at Miller’s Viewlawn Angus Farm seems to be, “Do one thing, and do it very well.” And since the Miller family has been doing the same thing for over a century, they obviously have a knack for raising quality Angus beef cattle.
The farm of Larry and Margaret Miller, located a mile west of Prosper, actually straddles the border of Iowa and Minnesota. Larry said this creates a few unique challenges, as the state laws for one pasture are different from the laws for the pasture on the other side of the gravel road. Also, the Millers had to find insurance that would work in both states.
Larry explained that the original farm was bought by the Miller family in 1866, and was about a half-mile southeast of the current location. Roy Miller established in the current farm in 1903, and Larry proudly shared that, “There’s never been a break in the purebred operation since 1903, so it’s one of the oldest in the nation, and the world!” He also pointed out that he’s the sixth generation working the farm, and his grandchildren are the eighth.
Larry said that, “Our main business is selling breeding stock to other people,… bulls and females. We’ve got a lot of repeat customers, and we’ve been selling to them for two and three generations.” He added that, “We sell quite a bit of locker beef, too,” and said it’s important for customers to know where their beef is coming from.
One of the farm’s main goals is to have uniformity and consistency in their cattle. Larry explained that with their breeding, “We don’t want to make a few elite ones,…and then you drop down to all the others.” As Larry showed off over 60 of his bulls, an untrained eye found very few differences between any of the animals. The Millers also explained that they pay close attention to the temperament of their cattle. Any animals that are tough to handle will be sent to market rather than kept longterm or sold to another farm.
As the Millers talked about their operation, the term “customer service” popped up frequently. Margaret explained, “We sell everything ‘private treaty’ on the farm, so we don’t have a sale. They can come whenever it works for them.” Larry added that this allows him to provide better individual service than if he were dealing with a large crowd of customers all at once. He also said often customers will simply call him and explain their situation and what they want, and then Larry will select the animals that are the best fit for the customer, without the customer actually coming to the farm. Obviously, this approach is based on a strong trust between the buyer and seller, but that’s the way the Millers believe in doing business.
When asked about the number of cattle, Larry and Margaret’s son Chris said, “Typically, in a normal year we breed 300 cows. We retain 250 to calve. Of that, we sell 60 heifers and 60 to 80 bulls a year.” He added that, “There’s a lot of performance testing and measurements that we get… We want to have a holistic approach.”
Chris said the farm never has a slow season, “But spring is probably the busiest, because you’re calving, and you’re trying to put the crops in.” Larry added that, “And during the winter, the worse the weather is, the busier we are, because we’re taking care of our animals” by making sure the feed and water and bedding are provided.
Larry said, “We’re active in a lot of organizations. I’ve been on the Winneshiek Cattlemen’s Board for over 40 years now. Chris is a past president of the Iowa Angus Association and has been on the Fillmore Cattlemen’s Board most of his life, and he’s on the school board, and 4-H and FFA we’re real involved with.” Besides Angus cattle, the farm also has about 550 pigs, and Larry said, “Our sheep numbers are down a little right now, but we lambed out about 40 ewes this year.” The farm doesn’t have a website, but has a Facebook page (Miller’s Viewlawn Angus) showing a variety of photos of their operation and herd. They can also be reached by phone at (507) 743-8370.
When asked what he hopes for the future of the farm, Larry smiled and replied, “Well, back in 2003, we were celebrating our FIRST 100 years…” It seems a good bet that someday, the Miller family will be celebrating their second 100 years raising quality beef cattle.