Five Star Land & Livestock, Wilton

Abbie and Mark Nelson of Five Star Land & Livestock are fourth-generation breeders of registered Angus cattle. Abbie’s great-grandfather Thomas Ryan lived in Iowa and was one of the first to import Angus from Scotland. His descendants have maintained the herd he founded for more than 100 years. The ranch is now located in Sacramento County, Calif., and consists of 100 acres of irrigated pasture, 220 acres of winter range and four leased ranches. They maintain more than 200 cows, marketing bulls in a fall production sale and females in the spring at a sale on the ranch.

Five Star is a hands-on, owner-managed seedstock operation that is committed to benefiting the industry and providing quality genetics to its customers. Both artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) are used to improve genetics, and performance data and recordkeeping programs are important elements of herd management. Abbie is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Angus Association, and she and Mark are both actively involved with the California Cattlemen’s Association.

Other herds scheduled for display at this stop include: