The Schachtel family originally home steaded back in 1907 about 14 miles SE of Macklin, Saskatchewan in a community called Grosswerder. In 1979 Pius and Theresa Schachtel were married and started a herd of dairy cattle which milked 50 cows up until they dispersed the herd in 2002, in addition they also grain farmed roughly 1000 acres at that time. Pius and Theresa have one son, Brennan who along with his wife Taryn and children Resch and Lyndi live north of Marshall; and two daughters, Melissa Graham who along with her husband Kirk and children Lincoln, Beckett, Adley, and Rowynn live east of Lone Rock, Saskatchewan where they have a farm consisting of purebred Short horn cattle and their youngest daughter is Tera who along with her husband Lee and children Luke, Lawson, Teddy, and Tess farm north of Cactus Lake where they have a mixed cattle and grain operation.

Eyehill Stock Farm was established in 1996 with the purchase of a package of replacement heifers from Flat Lake Red Angus. The Eye Hill name comes simply from the name of the RM where the Schachtel family grew up. In 1997 the first 4-H beef heifer was purchased and that was the foundation of where the passion and interest in the breed took ahold for Brennan.

Over the next number of years, the herd was slowly built with purchases from consignment sales such as the Lakeland Select, Angus Pride, Touch of Class as well as at a number of dispersal sales. In 2017 a majority of the cowherd moved up to Marshall where Brennan and Taryn live and farm along side Taryn’s family, Greg and Tami Holtby-Holtby Farms, which operates a large mixed farm of grain and commercial cattle. In the fall of 2018 Brennan was able to go in and select 20 bred females from the heart of the Spittal burn Farms program. This really added to the base of the herd where it reached calving out 100 purebred females in 2024.

The Schachtel’s feel that Red Angus have always been easy to work with in regard to calving ease, vigour, and the longevity they possess. They have always concentrated on the cowherd as the backbone of their program with a key focus on structure, fleshing ability, maternal qualities and calving ease. Cow families such as the Syringas, Ms. Poteets, Shawnee and Miss anchor the cowherd
today. They enjoy touring producers through the herd and believe you need to start with the mothers before you tour the bull pen. Countless hours of research of genetics over the years has been fun, challenging and rewarding when seeking out new AI sires to use or the next great herd bull. One of their major criteria is having a top quality productive dam, that is built for longevity.

They sell bulls by private treaty and in 2018 they joined the Standard Hill Connection Sale with good friends at Standard Hill Livestock-the Myer family, as well as MG Angus-the Gerlinsky family. The sale happens annually the second Friday in March with approximately 60 bulls on offer as well as groups of commercial heifers. Early on they also consigned to the Pride of the Prairies Bull Sale in Lloydminster. Since 2014 they have sold females in the Touch of Class Sale in Saskatoon with a great group of consignors and friends.

Pius worked off the farm for 37 years at Nutrien Ag solutions and still grain farms roughly 800 acres and has 30 commercial cows. Theresa worked for many years at the Macklin care home and retired in recent years. She stays very active spending time with their 10 grandchildren. Pius first chose Red Angus cattle as he needed a bull to breed his Holstein heifers. Pius was so impressed with the calf vigour and how low maintenance the cattle were. It was a natural fit to try a select group of Red Angus heifers to integrate with the small commercial herd they had and essentially it snowballed from there.

Brennan was part of the 4-H program for 10 years which included dairy in the first few years and then beef projects the last number of years. He also spent time on the Saskatchewan 4-H board of directors and the 4-H alumni when he went to University in Saskatoon. The 4-H program allowed him to discover his passion of the cattle business, built many important skills and made for life long friendships.

After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan in 2006 with a degree in animal science Brennan went out and worked for Cargill Animal Nutrition in Alberta where he was a nutrition consultant for six years. He enjoyed discovering solutions for producers and establishing relationships with his customers. In the spring of 2012 Brennan relocated to Lloydminster to work on the family farm.

Brennan joined the Saskatchewan Angus Association board of directors in 2018 where he sits as the Commercial Committee chair and was very recently elected 1st Vice-President. He enjoys attending events representing the association and connecting with producers, helping out with various things throughout the year such as being a ringman at shows, processing show cattle and checking tattoos, presenting recognition awards and planning activities for fellow breeders to attend. The best part of being on the board for him is continually meeting new people and reconnecting with old contacts.

Brennan has numerous mentors and friends that he has met over the years and likes to stay in contact with. The Eye Hill program values its commercial customers and Brennan always enjoys touring customers operations and seeing how the Eye Hill genetics impact their program. He believes in building long-term relationships and that the cattle are a by-product of the business - the people come first. Eye Hill Stock Farm take pride in the success of their customers.

Congratulations to the Schachtel’s on being awarded Saskatchewan Angus Association Breeder of the Year