HARRISON, MT – Family-run businesses that last 100 or more years often leave a legacy, and when an Angus herd lasts that long the breed comes together to celebrate the accomplishment. At the 2024 Angus Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, the American Angus Association® honored Sitz Angus of Dillon and Harrison, Montana with the Century Award for their 100-plus years as a registered Angus herd.
“Being able to say we’ve been in the Angus business for over 100 years – that’s a feat itself,” said Jim Sitz of the Sitz Angus.
William and Frieda Sitz started Sitz Angus in the Nebraska Sandhills in 1923 with the purchase of registered Angus cows from William Williams of Clarks, Nebraska. William and Frieda had four children: Robert “Bob”, Bill, Dolores, and Ruth. In 1952, William and Frieda moved with son, Bob (Sr.), to a ranch in Longmont, Colorado. In 1959, two years after Bob married Donna Scriffiny, the young couple purchased a ranch in Harrison, Montana and moved the herd.
In Harrison, Bob Sr. and Donna raised two daughters and two sons – Deb, Sherrie, Bob, and Jim – while being early champions of performance testing and Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR®). In 1966, Sitz Angus hosted its first bull sale and began offering customers free delivery of their bulls. The family was also early adopters of artificial insemination. All four of Bob Sr. and Donna’s children are still involved in the cattle business through Sitz Angus, Bar 69 Angus Ranch and Stokman Angus of New Zealand.
Bob Sr. was inducted into the Angus Heritage Foundation in 1993, four years after his untimely death. Donna and her sons persevered through the loss with a cow sale and rebuilt the herd. The brothers, Jim and Bob, are 2024 inductees into the Angus Heritage Foundation.
Leaving a legacy of leadership within the breed at both the state and national level, Bob Sr. served on the American Angus Association Board of Directors from 1979 to1985. Donna was an active member of the National Angus Auxiliary and Montana Angus Auxiliary. Jim followed in his father’s footsteps, serving on the Board of Directors from 2009 to 2016 and as president in 2016. In 2001, Sitz Angus donated the Angus Foundation Heifer.
Today, William and Frieda’s grandsons, Bob and Jim, along with Jim’s wife Tammi (Huntsman), run Sitz Angus in Harrison and Dillon, Montana with their families. (The Dillon ranch was acquired in 1997.) The fourth generation, known sometimes as “the Sitz six,” are preparing to make their mark on the Angus breed as they each find unique ways to support the ranch through cattle breeding, raising crops, bookkeeping, hosting interns, influencing range management and even managing social media and promotion. They are Taylre, Lane, Amber, Ashley, Tyler and Tucker Sitz.
Speaking of the next generation on the ranch, Jim said, “I see no reason why they shouldn’t be able to take it to a whole new level.”
Sitz Angus sires have consistently held spots in the list of top 25 sires for breed registration and sell high-quality Angus genetics across the United States and internationally. The family offers yearling bulls each spring and nearly 2-year-old bulls at their annual fall sale. While being well-known for their bulls, Sitz Angus maintains its status as a MaternalPlus® herd, as it has since the program’s first year in 2012, proving their focus on producing high-performing, profit-yielding females for their commercial customers. After 100 years with the Business Breed, Sitz Angus – the family and others who have been dedicated to its success – still exhibits a forward-thinking attitude and a love of Angus cattle.
“My dad always said a long time ago that we have to be a jack of all trades,” Jim said. “That would fit Sitz Angus ranch to a T.”
