Being a 100 year old operation, Schrag Shorthorn Farms is no stranger to the cattle industry, especially the Shorthorn breed. Located in Marion, South Dakota, Cory and Melissa and their two kids, Samantha and Jaxon have made their operation into a highly successful one. They are strictly family based, with no hired hands to help. Just recently the Schrags revamped their farm name to Schrag 605 to coincide with their bull stud business called 605 Sires. They also partner with TransOva to do IVF collections on site. Schrag 605 is now a fifth generation Shorthorn operation with Sammi and Jaxon. They are now working to incorporate other breeds into their farm as well, such as Maines and Chiannas.

The Schrags are a very strong cattle family. Cory and Melissa met at the North American Livestock Exposition while Cory was President of the Junior Shorthorn Association and Melissa was Miss American Angus. Melissa was also on the National Junior Angus Board during her time as a junior member. Sammi is now following in her parents footsteps by taking on more leadership roles and being elected onto the American Junior Shorthorn Board just last year.
The Shorthorn breed is Notorious for being very strong in cow families and that is what Schrag 605 bases their herd on – the cow. When buying cattle they tend to look at the strengths of the operation and the people involved. They really put their emphasis when breeding, buying or selling cattle on the strength of the cow. Schrags have always looked at the cow family rather than the bull. They have been very fortunate to have three dominant cow families over the past years; the Revival family, Augusta Pride family, and the Dream Lady family.
The National Western Stock Show is a very special place for the Schrag family. They have been exhibiting at the NWSS for the last 20 years, the first year being Cory and Melissa’s honeymoon. Before the two were wed they had been exhibiting with their families for at least 20 years prior to that. Their favorite memory so far at the National Western would be in 2011 when Sammi was Reserve Grand Champion Shorthorn with SS Dream Lady 161. To Melissa, this is the favorite memory because it was the first time Jaxon got to help fit, so the whole family was able to take part in fitting their Champion. When asked, their favorite part of being in Denver would being with all the other breeds and getting to watch their respected shows. They love being able to see friends from other breeds compete and believe that the Pen Shows are the most unique part about the NWSS.

Sitting down as a family and discussing the direction they wanted their operation to go, Schrags came up with a new motto for their farm – “Breeding Your Success.” It has always been in the perspective of the farm to breed good cows. “We show a lot and of course everyone wants to do well. Our goal is not always necessarily to win. It is to know as soon as you walk out of the ring, that you know exactly what you are going to breed it to, and you know what you are going to be able to sell” says Melissa. The family wants to be able to forecast what their customers are going to want to buy and that has always been a top goal and priority of theirs.
Schrag 605 is a very family oriented cattle operation that has been very successful and they will continue to work towards getting more progressive breeders to use their genetics in order to make donors.