CEO; Leachman Cattle of Colorado
Lee Leachman is the CEO of Leachman Cattle of Colorado. Leachman Cattle markets over 2,500 bulls per year and is currently one of the three largest seedstock breeders in the US. Lee graduated from Harvard University with an Honors BA in Economics in 1988. Lee also completed graduate level work in animal breeding at Colorado State University.
After college, Lee joined his father Jim and brother Seth at Leachman Cattle Company, in Billings, MT. Together, the family built the company into the largest beef seedstock company in North America. Lee then moved to Colorado in 2003 and formed Leachman Cattle of Colorado. The new company began large scale collection of feed intake and conversion data in 2004. In 2005, Dallas Horton asked Lee the critical question, “Which of our sale bulls will make the most money in my commercial cow/calf operation?” This started the company’s pursuit of indexes that predicted profitability. Today, the company offers three innovative indexes:
- $Ranch – the predictor of a bull’s daughter profitability assuming calves are sold at weaning.
- $Feedlot – the predictor of a bull’s offspring profitability in the feedlot and on the rail. This index is being used to project the value of feeder calves at market.
- $Profit – the predictor of profit from conception to harvest.
Leachman Cattle of Colorado now markets Angus, Red Angus, Stabilizer, and Charolais bulls produced from a pool of 12,500 females in over 45 cooperator herds. Selection objectives are largely based on the company’s proprietary indexes. The company’s flagship sale is held in March each year in Fort Collins, CO.
In addition to marketing seed stock, the company also has a semen marketing division, a custom semen collection division (Rocky Mountain Sire Services), and a data services department ($Profit Share) that provides EPD and index calculation to other seed stock and commercial producers. The Leachman database currently includes over 1.4 million animals and annually receives data on over 35,000 calves from over 125 herds in five countries. Leachman has a strategic relationship with Zoetis to enhance the accuracy of the Leachman genetic selection program with genomics while also enabling commercial ranchers to make better replacement heifer decisions using Zoetis’ Inherit Select DNA product.
Lee has been active in the industry through groups including the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, various breed associations, and the Beef Improvement Federation, where he recently served as President. He also serves on the non-executive board of directors for the Beef Improvement Company in York, UK, as Chairman of Itrack, and on the board of the Sonoran Institute. Lee frequently speaks to cattlemen both in United States and internationally.
Lee and his wife, Lisa, reside in Fort Collins, Colorado. They enjoy spending time with their son, Graham and his wife, Jenn. Lee and Lisa also enjoy traveling and are active in their church community through small groups and marriage ministry.