In the early 1960s, Chad Berger began sorting and riding bulls as a hobby. Today, he not only raises, buys and ships beef cattle across the U.S., but he also works as a rodeo bull riding stock contractor. Cat® cattle ranch equipment and dealer support help keep his busy North Dakota operations running smoothly.
To manage his large feeding operation on Lazy YX Ranch—along with numerous Professional Bull Riders Tour events—Berger turned to Cat dealer Butler Machinery Company for help building a productive, reliable, fuel-efficient fleet.
“Our Butler representative came out to the ranch with a small wheel loader and showed us all the things it could do,” he says. “We were so impressed with what we saw that we traded in the same day. It’s the best machine we’ve ever had, and I’m sure we’ll have one around here forever.”
Berger needs versatile, productive and maneuverable equipment to complete the many daily tasks his cattle ranch and bucking bull operations require, and that’s what he gets from his Cat cattle ranch equipment.
“We use a Cat 924K Small Wheel Loader to feed cattle, scrape our pens, pile materials and push snow in the winter. We wouldn’t be able to get as much work done in one day without it,” Berger says. “From a business standpoint, the more work we can finish relates to the amount of money we can save. From a more personal perspective, the machine saves us time that we can spend with our families.”
His 924K also delivers on operator comfort. Berger’s operations require year-round management, and given North Dakota’s extreme weather, an all-weather cab makes a big difference.
“Years ago we didn’t have this type of equipment. We had a little loader tractor with no cab on it so you either froze in the winter or you’d overheat in the summer,” Berger says. “With this loader, our operators can control the temperature inside while they are protected from the harsh weather outside.”
For work in the close quarters of his cattle pens, which requires superior maneuverability and ease of operation, Berger relies on a Cat 259D Compact Track Loader.
“With the machine’s tracks, it’s actually doing two jobs at once,” he says. “We can use the bucket to clean the pen while the tracks level the ground. That way we aren’t knee-deep in mud while sorting cattle. There’s no other machine this size that can get into the nooks and crannies.”
The 259D also offers a wide range of work tools that help Berger get everything done by day’s end. “The D Series is so simple to run, and changing attachments is very easy,” he says. “We can do 10 different things in a day with this machine.”
And, whether he’s cattle ranching or traveling to the next rodeo with his family and prized bucking bulls, Berger knows he can count on support for his cattle ranch equipment from Butler Machinery.
“When I leave town for the rodeo events, I feel 100 percent confident that the chores will get done even if there’s a problem,” said Berger. “We have great equipment service with Butler. If we need something, they’ll even come out on a Sunday, and I don’t know many dealers like that. I would tell any farmer to go with Cat because the service is bar-none the best in the area.”
