How the Millennial Rancher Is Building TW Angus
Building a cattle operation from scratch isn't easy. Building one while creating a direct-to-consumer beef business, raising a family, recovering from a devastating farm accident, and becoming a national voice for agriculture takes things to another level.
Calli Williams, better known online as the Millennial Rancher, joins Farm4Fun to share the story behind TW Angus and how she and her husband, Tate, are building their first-generation cattle operation in South Dakota.
Starting with a Couple of Heifers
Calli grew up around livestock, showing cattle through 4-H and FFA and developing a passion for the cattle industry early in life.
Tate's path looked much different.
He didn't grow up with a livestock background or inherit an established cattle operation. Instead, he took out a loan, bought a couple of heifers, and started building.
That beginning eventually became TW Angus, where the couple now raises cattle, markets bulls, sells beef directly to consumers, and continues looking for new ways to create value from their operation.
Their story is a reminder that getting started in agriculture doesn't always require inheriting generations of land and livestock—but it does require plenty of determination, calculated risk, and patience.
Going Beyond the Sale Barn
Today, TW Angus operates an annual online bull sale alongside a growing direct-to-consumer beef business.
But selling beef directly to consumers wasn't always part of the plan.
In 2020, Calli and Tate decided to stop sending their calves through the traditional sale barn system and began finishing cattle themselves.
What started as freezer beef continued to evolve.
They expanded into selling individual retail cuts, participating in local markets, supplying restaurants, and eventually adding products like beef sticks.
That evolution has allowed TW Angus to capture more value from the cattle they raise while also creating a direct relationship with the people eating their beef.
And as Calli explains, building that customer base requires much more than producing a good animal. Packaging, marketing, customer relationships, storytelling, processing availability, and consistency all become part of running the business.
The Farm Accident That Changed Everything
The conversation takes a much more serious turn when Calli shares the story of Tate's 2023 baler accident.
After a long day, Tate was trying to finish one more job when the accident happened.
What followed was a grueling recovery that included eight surgeries in just ten weeks.
Calli walks through the accident, the uncertainty that followed, and the impact it had on their family and operation.
It's also an important conversation about something nearly every farmer and rancher has experienced: fatigue.
Agriculture often rewards the mentality of pushing through, working until the job is finished, and squeezing in one more field, one more bale, or one more chore before calling it a day.
But fatigue can change everything in seconds.
Tate's experience serves as a powerful reminder that sometimes the job that "has to get done tonight" can wait until tomorrow.
Becoming the Millennial Rancher
While Calli is helping build TW Angus at home, she's also building a growing platform online.
Through social media, she gives consumers and fellow producers a look at cattle production, ranch life, beef, family, and the realities of building an agricultural business.
That work eventually helped lead to an opportunity with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Trailblazer Program, where Calli was selected as one of just ten participants.
The program helped her sharpen her skills as an agricultural communicator and advocate, including media training designed to prepare producers to talk about the cattle industry with audiences far beyond agriculture.
Those opportunities have taken Calli places she probably didn't expect when TW Angus began—including an appearance on CNN and even a trip to the White House.
Advocacy That Also Builds the Business
For Calli, agricultural advocacy and business aren't necessarily two separate things.
Every time she tells the story of cattle production, answers a consumer question, or brings people behind the scenes of ranch life, she's helping build understanding of agriculture.
At the same time, she's building recognition for TW Angus.
That audience can create opportunities for their beef business, cattle operation, and eventually the next generation.
It's a modern version of agricultural entrepreneurship where producing the product is only part of the equation. Farmers and ranchers increasingly have the ability to tell their own stories, build their own audiences, and create their own markets.
Calli and Tate are doing exactly that.
From a loan for a couple of heifers to an online bull sale, direct-to-consumer beef business, national media appearances, and a growing social following, TW Angus is proof that there's more than one way to build a future in agriculture.
And sometimes, telling the story of how you're building it can become part of the business itself.
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