Melvin Leland was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in the Modern-Era Ranching Division on June 23 in Medora, N.D.
Leland was born January 14, 1944, in Sidney, Mont., to Tony and Mary (Link) Leland. He grew up on the ranch homesteaded by his father in 1911.His father died in 1948 and his mother Mary sustained the ranch with hired help until 1952 when she remarried. Leland helped on the ranch from a young age.
He attended Squaw Gap School in McKenzie County and Sidney (Mont.) High School. He earned a B.S. degree in Animal and Range Science from North Dakota State University in 1966 and introduced Red Angus cattle to the ranch.
Leland married Luella Roedeske in 1967 and they raised three children. After his mother died in 1971, he purchased his sister’s and brother’s shares of the ranch. In 1980 and again in 2005,Lelands purchased adjoining ranches.
They started marketing Red Angus bulls in 1971 as Leland Red Angus, and have hosted annual production sales for 28 years.
Lelands’ son Todd is in partnership on the ranch and they breed over 500 registered females annually. Daughter Tracey and her husband Steve Koester of Steele, N.D., consign bulls to the annual sale, and daughter Tana and her husband J.J. Hovde live near Sidney, Mont., where J.J. serves as the ranch veterinarian. Lelands have five grandchildren.
Leland has been a member of many associations including the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA), Red Angus Association of America (RAAA), Montana (MRAA) and North Dakota Red Angus Associations (NDRAA), McKenzie Co. Grazing Association, FFA Alumni, Mon-Dak Stockgrowers Association, Montana Stockgrowers and Sunnyside Cemetary Association.
He has served on the board of directors and as president of the NDSA, RAAA and MRAA and currently serves as chairman of the North Dakota Board of Animal Health.
He has been recognized as Society for Range Management’s Rangeman of the Year, Saddle and Sirloin Agriculturalist of the Year, McKenzie County Soil Conservation Award, RAAA Breeder of the Year, RAAA Pioneer Breeder of the Year, and NDSA Honorary Membership Award.
In 2011, he was honored as the first recipient of the RAAA’s Melvin Leland Innovative Leadership Award.
Leland believes that herd, range and land management are the backbone of his family’s successful ranch operation, and predictable performance of their cattle has always been a priority.
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