2015 Fall Cattlemens Edition

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Teton County provides a hotbed of tourist opportunities, ranging from wildlife viewing and hiking to horseback riding and whitewater rafting, but amongst the urban development that has occurred in the area, agriculture’s influence on the area can still be seen.

Jackson Hole refers to the 48-mile long valley that includes the towns of Jackson, Kelly, Moose, Moran, Wilson and Teton Village. The area was discovered in the early 1800s and valued for its wildlife and scenic beauty.

Jackson was incorporated in the early 1900s, and dude ranchers and cattle ranchers dominated the landscape.

“Teton County started out as a cold, barren place,” says Wyoming Senator Leland Christensen of Alta. “The early farmers came in here and fought the winters.”

Dude ranching continued to expand and began to replace agriculture, and Christensen says, “As the years have gone on, it has become overwhelmingly a tourist economy.”

He continues, “While there are only a few operations still out there, the community really treasures agriculture and dude ranching.”

Statistics According to the 2015 Wyoming Agriculture Statistics, Teton County was ranked last in cattle production, 20th in alfalfa hay production and 15th in other hay production in the state. The county had 154 farms across 40,200 acres.

Only three percent of the land in the county is privately owned.

Though the value of agricultural products sold in Teton County is the lowest across the state, it hit $9.04 million in 2014. Of that, $6.9 million

resulted from sale of livestock and $2.2 million from crop products.

In 2015, 3,000 cattle and calves were reported on Teton County operations, a number that has stayed consistent since 2013. Of those, 1,600 represent beef cows.

Too few sheep operations exist in the county for data to be reported without disclosing information about individual producers.

Alfalfa hay production for the county hit 10,000 tons in 2014, with a yield of 2.5 acres per ton on average. Other hay production hit 15,000 tons that same year, yielding only 1.9 tons per acre.

Impacts from ag Christensen further mentions that despite its limited economic footprint, agriculture still plays a large role in the county.

“Most people in the com-

munity see it as a benefit to have large open or protected swaths of land, whether that be private land, the forest, wilderness, National Elk Refuge or the National Park system,” he says. “The folks who gravitate to this area value the open space.”

In addition, tourists frequent guest ranches that offer horseback riding and a secluded ranch atmosphere.

However, Christensen mentions that running a ranch can be a challenge. Though residents appreciate the open space and benefits provided by agriculture, they do not always understand the industry.

“Wolves and grizzlies have made an impact, and brucellosis has made an impact,” Christensen notes. “It is very difficult for ranchers.”

Other industries Outside of the agriculture industry, Christensen says

the local economy in Teton County is supported through tourism, land development, construction and real estate.

“We are also starting to see more people do their business from home,” he says.

“With high-speed internet and fiber that has been laid around the state, we are seeing a lot more people coming from urban landscapes to here and working from home.”

Chopper Grassell, a real estate agent with Lewis Duerr Grassell, notes that Jackson’s air service has facilitated the ability of people to work from their homes or commute to larger cities.

“Jackson has done a great job, and there are now over 13 direct city destination flights,”

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Iconic landscapes - Teton County’s pristine landscapes provide the backdrop for a robust tourist industry in the county. Natasha Wheeler photo

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Grassell explains. “Many commuters live here now.”

County-wide challenges The pristine landscapes around Jackson also have their challenges, including development regulations and geographic isolation.

“One of our challenges is that we are somewhat geographically isolated,” Christensen says. “We have an airport so people can get in and out, and we have a fair amount of people who head west to Interstate 15 or east on 80, but access to the rest of Wyoming is limited. A large percentage of the people around here don’t travel around Wyoming nearly as much as the rest of the state moves around.”

Jackson’s community also doesn’t typically have the multi-generational roots seen around the state.

At the same time, the regulatory climate can also be challenging, but it also positions the community to be a leader in the state.

Opportunity “Many communities around the state are feeling the pressure of land development, planning and regulations. Other communities are going through the battles that we experienced,” Christensen says. “Others can look at what has happened here to see if they like the outcomes or if they want to improve on them.”

Despite the challenges seen from living in Jackson, Christensen comments, it also provides a number of opportunities for Wyoming.

“Jackson and Teton County can be a gateway to exploring other parts of Wyoming and bringing people into the state,” he says. “We have a chance to be the welcoming gate to encourage people to see the rest of this wonderful place.”

As a fourth generation Wyoming family, Christensen has spent time in many places across the state and comments, “This is a great state with wonderful people.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

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2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Jackson – “We see a lot of different types of people, from the farmer to the businessman,” comments Robert Mack, general manager at Linton’s Big R Ranch and Home in Jackson.

Robert sees many of his customers on a regular basis, and some come in two or three times a day to find supplies for their ranches, businesses and homes.

“Our customers are fun.

They are good people, and they enjoy coming in,” he states. “We get to form relationships with them, and that’s really great.”

The store gets its fair share of tourist traffic in the summer, but Robert predicts that most of his clientele is local.

“We probably have a good 100-mile radius of customers who come in for things,” he comments.

Visitors to the store range from horse, guest and cattle ranchers to plumbers, contractors and carpenters.

Homeowners and locals searching for clothing, pet food or hardware often stop in as well.

Variety of products “Our motto is, ‘Almost anything – Big R’s got it,’” Robert notes. “We do have a lot of items, and it’s fun to try and keep up with it all.”

Available inventory includes livestock feed, fencing materials, lawn and garden supplies, work clothes and boots, pet supplies, tractor implements, snow blowers and much more.

“It’s a fast-paced business, especially in this town,” he says.

May and June are the store’s two busiest months, as summer gets going and new seasonal inventory arrives at Linton’s Big R Ranch and Home.

Robert comments, “The staff gets into it, and the energy level is high. It’s the most fun and rewarding time as a business operator, when it’s crazy busy.”

Luckily, Robert works with a quality staff of dedicated employees.

“Our staff has been really great. When I first opened in May 2012, I hired seven core people. Now, almost three and half years later, I still have five of them working here. That’s a real blessing about this particular business,” he explains.

One of his core employees specializes in electric fence and other related items, one concentrates on the clothing department and another focuses his efforts

on large items kept in the outside lot.

“I am more of a generalist,” Robert remarks. “I keep my hand in a lot of the ordering and general management. There are a lot of different ways to do things, but we have a pretty good system here.”

Newest location Jackson’s Big R opened in May of 2012 as an extension of Linton’s Big R Ranch and Home locations in Powell and Riverton.

“The owner, Jim Linton, and his wife have a home here in Jackson, and he wanted to open a store here for a number of years,” Robert notes.

Jim’s father opened the first store in Powell in 1960, and Jim took over the business in the 1980s. His brother operates the store in Riverton.

“He could never quite find the right property or the right terms for a lease in Jackson,” continues Robert.

“The place we have now is an old lumberyard. Jim was able to negotiate a reasonable lease and decided to put his store here.”

Robert answered an ad in the paper for a general manager position when the store opened and accepted an interview.

“We got together and had a really good, productive conversation, and both thought it would be a good fit, so I decided to go for it,” he notes.

With over 30 years of experience in retail and hospitality, Robert recognizes the advantage of a good partnership.

“No one will ever hear anyone say a bad thing about Jim Linton. He’s such a great guy to work for. He cares about everyone, and he lets me run the business pretty much the way I see fit,” he says.

Community business Running the business includes interacting with the local community and reaching out to Jackson area families and friends.

“We’ve had some of our vendors, such as Ranchway Feed, come in and do barbeques, giving away hotdogs and hamburgers and doing drawings,” he mentions.

The store also hosts Chamber mixers, organized by the local Chamber of Commerce.

“On various Thursdays throughout the year, different businesses sign up to host a mixer. It’s a good way for networking and getting to know people that might

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All of Jackson’s community members are invited to stop by the hosted Chamber mixers to share refreshments.

“We have it catered with nice food, beer and wine, and we do store tours,” he adds.

Visitors welcomed Surprising to Robert, many locals in the Jackson area aren’t aware of Linton’s Big R Ranch and Home.

“I speak to people coming into the store on almost a daily basis who say they never had any idea that we are here,” he says.

One of his goals is to continue growing the customer base while also utilizing the store’s space as efficiently as possible to provide all of the products that his customers come looking for.

“We are always bringing in new items,” he says.

Robert lists an endless supply of goods from outdoor equipment to indoor supplies for work, hobby and play activities that are available for Jackson clientele, without the tourist markups common in area stores.

“We have regular items for the everyday guys and

gals who are sustaining this community,” he says.

Robert invites everyone to stop by, saying, “I encourage anyone who hasn’t been in to come and check it out.

They will definitely be surprised.”

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

Agricultural supplies - Located in Jackson, Linton’s Big R Ranch and Home offers everything from garden supplies and fencing equipment to clothing, children's toys and more. Natasha Wheeler photo

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Kelly – In 1950, Glenn Taylor, his parents Joella and Verland and his older sister Deon moved to the place where

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Taylor Ranch sits today up the Gros Ventre Road outside of Kelly. Glenn was 15 years old at the time, and at

81, he continues to ranch on the same place.

The property had been abandoned after the 1925

Ranching together - On Taylor Ranch, Brian (left) and Glenn Taylor work together to run cattle and guide hunters during the fall. The family has been ranching in the valley for many years. Courtesy photo

Gros Ventre Slide dammed the river, creating Slide Lake.

Their property sits on the south boundary of the lake.

Since there were no developments, the winter of 1950-51, the family lived in a tent. Their house was built in the summer of 1952.

Family on the ranch Today, Glenn and his wife Marian run their cow/ calf ranch on private and Forest Service lands in the Gros Ventre.

Glenn and Marian were married in 1960, just four years after she moved to Jackson from California.

“Marian and I have been married 55 years this spring,” Glenn says with a smile.

“She was a city girl, and she took to ranching like she’d done it all her life. When she came up here, she raked hay, rode horses, cooked at hunting camp and took care of us. She took the kids to school and got them raised up to be respectable adults.”

“I can’t say enough about how well she’s taken care of things here,” he adds.

Marian mentions that she

enjoys the ranch, saying, “It’s quiet up here, and I like it.”

The couple works together on their ranch, raising cattle and guiding hunters.

Cattle herd “We have mostly Angus cows,” Glenn explains. “We have a range permit for 120 head on the forest. Our permit is around the corner from our place here.”

The Taylor’s cowherd begins calving in the middle of March and usually finishes by mid-May. “We try to get the cows out of here by May 15,” Glenn says, noting that they move the cattle from lower pastures near the house to a higher pasture several miles away. “We keep the cattle at home until it is time to go to the range, but we try to get them off the hay field by about May 15.”

Their Forest Service permits open mid- to late June, but Glenn says they try to wait until the first of July. For the last three years, the Taylors have been running their cattle on a permit on Miner Creek, and their other permit has been in the family since the late 1950s.

“When we wait, the grass gets a little better,” he comments. “There is good water up on the range, so we don’t get in a hurry.”

The cows graze the high altitude range of the Gros Ventre Wilderness until late September.

“I like to keep the cows up there until the last minute,” Glenn says, “but sometimes we have trouble keeping them on the range.”

Selling, replacing As soon as the cattle return from the range, Glenn says they begin selling calves – either by private treaty or through the sale barn in Riverton.

“We try to sell the calves private treaty in the fall, but if we don’t sell them here, the calves go to Riverton,” he says.

In 2014, however, they only sold two heifer calves, keeping the rest for replacements. Glenn notes that they have only purchased nine head of Shorthorn replacement cows in the last 15 years, preferring to raise and retain their own replacements Continued on next page

In addition to the ranch, during the fall the Taylors guide hunters. The family has had an outfitting business since 1934, when the license was acquired. Last year, Glenn Taylor transferred the license to his son Brian.

“Our outfitting license has been around continuously since 1934,” Glenn says, noting that Brian guides all of their clients today. “Outfitting helps us make money around here.”

Clients stay at the Taylor’s backcountry camp that sits three hours by horse back away from their upper property. They primarily guide elk hunters, with the occasional Bighorn sheep or bear hunter. Moose also used to be prevalent in the area, but predators have made the species scarce.

“Brian will tell people that he doesn’t want to take anyone on an armed trail ride. He likes to take people to make sure they can take an animal,” Glenn notes.

With the wolves in the area, Glenn is concerned that the elk herd is in trouble, but he says they continue to be successful with elk hunters.

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2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Continued from previous page instead.

Range challenges Despite the pristine scenery of the ranch, Glenn notes that running on the Gros Ventre isn’t without its challenges. One of the challenges they face is predators.

“We have grizzly bears and wolves, and the cows don’t want to stay on the range,” he says. “They come back two or three times a year, and we take them back up to other areas.”

Occasionally, tourists and citizens on foot with dogs also will bring the cows back from the range, but predators are the primary problem.

“It is a struggle to deal with wolves and grizzly bears,” Glenn comments.

“We first saw the wolves the spring they were turned loose in Yellowstone. They haven’t killed a lot of our livestock that we can verify, but they are here.”

The Taylors have also had only one verified grizzly bear claim on their range this year, but Glenn says they have to remain aware of the potential risks.

Altitude and larkspur Aside from predators, Glenn says other problems on the ranch include high altitude disease and larkspur poisoning.

Cattle on Taylor Ranch run from an elevation of 6,600 feet at the home ranch to over 10,000 feet on the rangeland.

“We can get upwards of 10,000 feet pretty easily,” he says. “We are pretty careful, and I pay close attention to the Angus breed and the bulls we buy.”

Those calves that get brisket disease are traced back to their sire, and Glenn constantly evaluates the bulls.

“It isn’t always the bulls, though,” he says. “The cows can also be a problem, so we try to watch all the factors.”

Also on their summer range, larkspur can be lethal to the cattle. In an attempt to combat larkspur poisoning, Glenn feeds his cows a high quality salt called Silent Herder out of Bozeman, Mont.

“We have a lot of larkspur on our range, and the key is to get the cows eating Silent Herder before they go to the range,” he explains.

“It does pretty well, and we feed it all summer long. If we didn’t use the salt, our death loss would be critical.

Hay ground The Taylor family also puts up alfalfa and grass hay near their property, which feeds their cattle in the win-

Mom and daughters - Marian Taylor (center) moved to Jackson in 1956 to work as a nurse. Today, she advocates for the ag industry in Teton County through the Cowbelles and works alongside her husband on Taylor Ranch. Marian is pictured with her daughters Linda (left) and Laura. Courtesy photo

ter and also supplements wildlife feed.

“We grow our hay right here,” Glenn explains. “We could get two crops, but if we cut a second crop, it freezes the alfalfa out.”

He continues, “It is a struggle to grow alfalfa up here anyway, so we don’t cut it a second time. We let it grow, and the elk come and help eat it. We also have a lot of geese that come here.”

When the cows return to the ranch, they graze the remaining alfalfa in the hay fields until December when the snow gets too deep to graze. During that time, the Taylors also feed hay, which is supplemented with straw purchased from nearly 100 miles away in Idaho.

Raising children Glenn and Marian’s four children are spread across the western United States. Their oldest son Bruce operates a trucking business in North Dakota. Brian, the next in line, is highly involved on the ranch. He and his wife Amy help to operate the outfitting business and also help

with the cattle.

“Our daughter Linda lives in Washington state, and Laura, the youngest of our clan, is in Las Vegas,” Glenn says.

Their four children have nine grandchildren that keep the Taylor’s busy year-round.

Though they aren’t certain about the future of the ranch, Marian says, “We just hope for the best.”

“We keep going on and will for as long as we can,” Glenn adds. “I’ve owned a cow since I was 13 years old, and I never had a desire

to do anything else. I’ve felt an attachment to this place since I was young, and I like to stay up here and take care of it.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

Happily married - Glenn and Marian Taylor celebrated 55 years together in 2015, and they have worked hand-in-hand on the ranch for the entirety of their marriage. While Marian moved from California where she was a “city girl,” Glenn says that she fits right in on the ranch. Saige Albert photo

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Jackson – For nearly 70 years, the Teton Conservation District (TCD) has worked with landowners in an effort to protect soil, water and natural resources across the District.

“TCD was formed way back in 1946, and it has been around continuously since that time,” says Robb Sgroi,

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

land resources specialist for TCD. “In the 1930s, during the catastrophic Dust Bowl era, separate legislation first created the Soil Conservation Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service, then state conservation district laws were passed to provide additional conservation assistance to farmers.

Working together - Livestock producers in Teton County work together with Teton Conservation District and the U.S. Forest Service on rangeland monitoring. The entities work together to assess cattle utilization on the range and select trend monitoring sites.

Courtesy photo

These state laws allowed for creation of democratically elected organizations, Conservation Districts, which lead conservation efforts at a local level.”

Since their formation, Robb notes that TCD has focused on much more than just soil.

“We promote conservation and management of natural resources,” he comments. “In our recent strategic planning, our Board sharpened our focus towards wildlife, water resources and agriculture.”

Influences Teton County is influenced by a wide array of perspectives, Robb continues, all of which contribute to the work of TCD. “There is a lot of advocacy, a lot of research and a lot of attention on resource issues,” he explains. “There is a great amount of analysis, opinion and involvement around these issues.”

Teton County’s primary economy is tourism, which is based on water, land and wildlife resources, so Robb notes that the interests of many impact their work.

“There is a really strong, broad collaboration and mixed land ownership between public, private, local, state, federal, non-profits, students, research and others, so it can be complex,” Robb comments, “but collaboration is the name of the game.”

By statute, research TCD is involved with must include state or federal agencies. This is recently most relevant with water resources, where the majority of TCD’s research has taken place.

“It’s a lot of hard work, and a lot of our projects take longer than many landowners would think,” he says, “but it takes persistence and transparency to get us to the end point we want to be at.”

Water work Because of the importance of water in the area for recreation and agricultural use, Robb notes that they

have worked on research, collected water samples and been engaged in water issues.

“Fish Creek is a good example of the work we do,” he comments. “We’ve worked on long-term research with the U.S. Geological Survey to study hydrology, water quality and biological communities. We take that information and help research solutions such as advanced treatment wastewater system.”

Robb mentions that recently, the creation of a newly formed water improvement district has been another one of their large efforts.

“The Flat Creek Water Improvement District runs right through the heart of town,” he explains. “The area sees winter flooding from frazil ice and development exists in close proximity to the creek.”

When the river floods, there is potential for property damage, so residents and stakeholders, including the Town of Jackson, organized the group to create tools to address immediate flooding and to look at long-term flood mitigation.

Water quality sampling is an additional important component of their work, and irrigation projects also seek support from TCD. Currently, the Wyoming Water Development Office is conducting a watershed study in the Upper Snake River Basin.

“The purpose of the study is to evaluate watershed conditions, needs and opportunities on irrigated lands, rangelands, wetlands and streams,” says Robb.

“Upon evaluation of conditions, TCD will be provided a plan that outlines possible improvements.”

Those opportunities include irrigation rehabilitation, livestock and wildlife water developments, and stream enhancements. TCD is the sponsor for the watershed study.

Wildlife work As another top priority, wildlife work continues across the District, particularly related to wildlife-friendly fences.

“When we have ag uses on private property that may be surrounded by public lands, we can do work with wildlife friendly fencing,” Robb explains. “There are certain standards we have to maintain, and we have to engage in cooperative efforts.”

For example, fencing along roadways may require collaboration with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, private landowners, Forest Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. In some areas, fencing is designed to allow easier passage of wildlife while in other locations fences strive to be wildlife-proof to keep animals off roadways.

“We are a cooperator in planning for wildlife-proof

fencing along roadways near Hoback Junction to reduce permeability and keep wildlife off the road,” Robb says.

“We want to funnel wildlife to underpasses that are being constructed.”

Invasive species Teton County has also been working on the land in numerous aspects, including with invasive species monitoring and planning efforts.

“We have had an invasive species program for 11 years,” Robb explains. “A lot of the program involves refunding landowners for noxious weed treatments.”

The program works in cooperation with Teton County Weed and Pest District to control and eradicate invasive species.

“We consult with the landowners, understand the property, talk about their values and then map the property based on species,” he says. “We provide recommendations, ranging from bio-control to mechanical treatments and chemical treatments.”

After treatments, the success of the program is evaluated.

“Over the past decade, we have involved almost half the private lands acreage of Teton County in this program, over 850 landowners,” says Robb. “Landowners have been reimbursed nearly $1.5 million dollars.”

Teton County is also actively involved in the Rangeland Health Assessment Program (RHAP), which engages stockgrowers in cooperative monitoring efforts to collect data on grazing allotments. The program sees very good participation in the county.

“We are also working to enhance land development regulations in the Teton County’s Comprehensive Plan,” Robb says. “We are in a good position to help the county revise regulations and have reputable science as part of a basis for those regulations. We can provide resources, so they can mesh policy, economic and social issues.”

Growing staff Currently, TCD is also working to expand its personnel to address resource needs.

“We recently hired a wildlife and GIS position,” Robb says.

He also notes that longtime Executive Director Randy Williams will be retiring toward the end of the year after 15 years with TCD. To that end, the TCD Board of Directors is working to hire a new director and ensure a seamless transition in leadership.

“We have a lot going on,” Robb comments. “It is complex, exciting and dynamic work.”

Teton Conservation District can be found online at tetonconservation.org.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

A7

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Kelly – “This ranch is my dad’s legacy,” explains Carolyn Stimmel of Red Rock Ranch, located on Crystal Creek in the Gros Ventre.

“He wanted to keep cattle and host guests.”

Forty-two years ago, Carolyn’s parents successfully purchased the ranch, sharing the sellers’ vision of preserving the area.

“It’s really neat that my parents didn’t exploit the land. Three parts of the ranch are even in conservation easement,” she remarks.

Her mother was also part of the Wyoming Nature Conservancy board, and Carolyn comments, “She loved Wyoming.”

History of Red Rock For nearly 30 years, Red Rock Ranch was both a cattle operation and a guest ranch.

“We had Black Angus, and we crossed them with Herefords to get black baldies. We had 850 pairs and a National Forest permit,” Carolyn says.

Ranch Manager Doug Hare comments, “At one time, this was all set up as a cattle operation with guests on the side. But financially, over time, it worked out better for the ranch to only have guests.”

Land economics in the Jackson area make it challenging for agricultural producers to operate profitably with livestock alone.

“There is not a lot of space. Three percent of available land in the county is available for public sale,” Doug remarks, noting that the rest of the land is public. “Agriculture in Teton County is very difficult, and we are finding fewer and fewer cattlemen.”

Ranch guests Red Rock Ranch eventually sold its grazing permit and now strives to provide an authentic experience throughout the summer, serving approximately 30 guests at a time from midJune through mid-September.

“Our guest experience here is a six-night stay, and it’s primarily focused around riding, kids’ programs, hiking and fly fishing,” Doug notes.

Two and a half miles of private water run through the ranch, providing an excellent location for fishing, and the ranch’s new “Top Hand” program gives guests a chance to learn advanced horsemanship skills.

“Our kids’ program is really amazing. I think that’s part of the reason we have so many return guests each season,” he continues.

The ranch boasts a 65 percent return ratio of guests, and many guests visit the ranch year after year, including one family that will soon be marking 15 summers at Red Rock Ranch.

“We have seen the kids grow up here,” he says.

Kids’ program Carolyn explains that children visiting the ranch have an opportunity to ride horses independently as young as age six, and the program includes a wide variety of activities.

For example, she comments, “We have a high line, and we string up donuts.

The kids sit on their horses and eat the donuts bouncing in their faces, without their hands. At the end, they can use their elbows. There is no award, but it is very compet-

itive. The kids love it.”

Riding activities also include gymkhana events such as barrel racing, pole bending and boot races.

“We also have vaulting,” Carolyn adds. “The idea came from my husband Harley’s mother who has done a lot of camps for kids. It’s a really good way to work on balance. The kids ride independently with no saddle and no hands. It’s like gymnastics on a horse.”

Family Although some activities involve only children and other activities are adults-only, family time is also highly encouraged throughout the experience.

“When they leave, families tends to be tighter together, and they’re happy.

They have had experiences in a wide-open wilderness that they don’t otherwise get to have,” Doug notes.

Before guests arrive, Doug speaks individually with each family to discuss their desires and expectations for their time at the ranch.

“I make sure they know what they’re getting, and I also want to make sure that the guests who are coming are going to mix well with each other,” he explains.

Doug summarizes the experience by commenting, “Dude ranching is family that takes in friends.”

Carolyn mentions that the Red Rock Ranch experience isn’t a typical family vacation.

“We know it’s not for everybody, but for the people who want to embrace it, we really want it to be genuine,” she says.

Western authenticity Activities throughout the week are intended to be

interactive, involving guests in the reality of a cowboy lifestyle.

“We invest in 20 to 30 steers in the spring and sell them in the fall,” notes Doug.

Guests have a chance to participate in team sorting and team penning, bringing everything together while riding horses and working cattle.

“This summer we have 20 Angus and five Longhorns,” comments Carolyn.

The roping steers also provide enhancement for the summer employees, who not only cater to the guests but strive to improve their own ranch skills as well.

“We want to enrich our wranglers’ experiences too.

If we can, we want to help them better their horsemanship. This summer, we have done a couple of lessons on how to swing a rope and track a cow,” she explains.

“It makes the whole experience more authentic when they are actually doing things.”

To accommodate all of the summer wranglers and guests, Red Rock Ranch

maintains nearly 65 horses.

Ranch operations “We have a few twoand three-year-olds that we are starting to work up but typically, we look for eightor nine-year-olds that have already been there and done that a little bit but will still be able to go another nine or 10 years,” Doug remarks.

Emily, the head wrangler, works with the horses year-round to make sure they are sound and ready for summer guests.

“We also put up our own hay,” Doug adds.

The ranch maintains over 200 irrigated acres, which supplements feed for the ranch horses throughout the year.

Ranching roots Looking into the future, Doug continues, “We are also working on potentially doing more grass-fed beef for our guests.”

USDA inspection remains a challenge in Wyoming, but he is looking into

possible venues for processing.

“This year, we will keep one or two steers for us over the winter,” he says.

In keeping with the authentic heritage of the ranch, Carolyn mentions, “We always try to go back to our roots. After all, this is a ranch.”

Ultimately, Red Rock Ranch continues to preserve the heritage of the area and provide an authentic western experience for guests.

Carolyn remarks, “I am reminded weekly, when these guests come out here and say, ‘Look where you live. Look at what you do.’

It humbles us. Even if we’re having a bad day, we just look at the mountain.”

For more information on Red Rock Ranch, visit theredrockranch.com.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr. net.

Guest ranch - Guests from all over the world visit Red Rock Ranch to partake in an authentic, Wyoming experience along Crystal Creek in the Gros Ventre. Natasha Wheeler photo

A8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Jackson – Nothing makes a customer happier than eating a good steak, and there is nothing that makes a rancher happier than providing that customer with a good steak.

A few years back, when Chase Lockhart joined the family cattle operation near Jackson with his parents Liz and Kelly Lockhart and his

brother Cody, he was looking for an enterprise he could add to their existing operation.

“Initially, I thought it would be expanding the seedstock operation,” Chase says, “But it quickly became apparent that wouldn’t work, because there aren’t many ranchers here.”

Grass finishing

“We decided to go the local food avenue, since it was clear from the beginning we were not going to be able to grain finish our livestock,” Chase continues. “The logistics of getting set up in that type of operation was impossible. It was going to be too expensive for me to buy a truck, build grain storage and

Hereford cattle - Lockhart Cattle Company raises both commercial and seedstock Herefords. They have developed their business by expanding into local meat production. Courtesy photo

truck in grain for the cattle.”

They also didn’t have a place or system in place to feed grain, like a small feedlot.

Chase’s next option was producing grass-finished beef. The ranch, which was started with Hereford cattle by his great-grandfather in the 1930s, had plenty of grass available for this new enterprise. So five years ago, Chase started raising grass-finished cattle on the Lockhart Ranch.

“Initially, when I started working on the ranch, I knew a value-added operation was the step we wanted to take,” he says. “I knew it needed to be from rancher to consumer, to get the value-added premium. Fortunately, the food scene is big business here. There are a lot of farm to table-type restaurants and small markets in Jackson.”

Production system Chase felt grassfed beef was an excellent fit for the family ranch.

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“Basically, we keep oursteer calves back for two years,” Chase explains. “In the fall, we also buy other naturally-produced calves from some local ranchers. We feed them for 18 to 30 months, and then we market them as local, natural, grass-finished beef with no added hormones or antibiotics.”

Selling locally Chase continues, “We sell our beef to local restaurants and markets in town with in-house butcher shops.

Our beef is also sold directly to consumers in either wholes or halves.”

The business started out small, but word of mouth has grown the Lockhart Cattle Company to what it is today.

“We have tried to feature our beef at different events, and that has helped it really catch on,” he says. “Marketing the beef can be difficult because most people are used to seeing those big, fatty ribeyes on their plate, and grass-finished beef is different. It is a lot leaner product.”

In fact, most of the cattle are finished at 1,250 to 1,400 pounds but will have a higher dressing percentage than grain-finished cattle.

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“With grass-finished beef, we get a higher yield because there is a lot of trim on a grain-finished beef,” he says.

The young entrepreneur has also made a point of working closely with the local processor who butchers his cattle, and Chase makes the deliveries himself.

“He was originally processing wild game, so he had to get his facility state-inspected before he could partner with us,” he explains.

Quality control and producing a consistent product have been critical to the success of the enterprise.

“The quality control is there, and I know what I am delivering,” Chase explains.

“I see every one of my beef on the rail.”

Future goals Eventually, Chase would like to get the meat USDA-inspected, but he hasn’t found a processor close to his area that could make it a viable venture.

“I am so hands-on, I have a hard time thinking about shipping the beef off to a USDA facility someplace,” he explains.

Grass-finished beef also has to cure in a locker for 21 days to dry age, which makes Continued on next page

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A9

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Continued from previous page the product more tender.

“A lot of meat packing facilities don’t want to tie up valuable locker space for that long,” Chase explains. “I just haven’t found a USDA plant that will work for my program yet.”

“For the time being, I would like to stay where I am with this business and maybe work on increasing internet sales by selling meat in packages or bundles,” he continues. “I think that could open doors across state lines.”

The current operation keeps Chase busy, though.

“Establishing markets is like a moving target.

Between the pricing, pack-

aging, delivering and invoicing, it is a whole other business. The marketing has been tough, but the key has been consistency,” he explains.

“Our biggest marketing tool has been word of mouth, which we have accomplished by producing a good product and marketing ourselves as a healthy, local, sustainable ranch.”

Associated challenges Producing grass-finished beef comes with some challenges.

“It can be difficult because of the amount of time we have to keep them until they are finished,” Chase says. “We can’t use the short-

cuts other feeders use to finish grain-fed beef.”

“It can take anywhere from 18 to 30 months to finish a grassfed animal,” he explains. “They are grazing all the time, but in the winter we feed them a lot of grass hay. Some of the calves are fed for two winters before they are finished.”

“It can be a challenge financially, and we have to consider that when we are pricing the beef,” Chase continues. “Consistency can be tough. Two animals can look the same live, but they can look totally different on the rail. They can marble differently, and the fat can be different. This can be more evident in grassfed animals.”

Grass-finished beef - Hereford cattle are the base of Lockhart Cattle Company. Their grass-finished beef have been a tradition of the ranch since the 1930s when the operation was started south of Jackson. Courtesy photo

Seedstock In fact, the Lockharts have cut back on their seedstock operation to put more focus on the meat-side of the business. They have commercial cows, as well as a registered herd.

“We use the bulls from the registered herd on our commercial cows,” Chase says. “All breeding is by natural service. Mostly, we select bulls with big yearling weights. We want cows that produce calves with good growth, especially since we feed them through every stage of their lives.”

“When we go to an auction, we try to focus on bulls

with good meat quality,” he adds. “We used to put a lot of emphasis on the maternal side and milking ability, but we have moved away from that because we have a pretty solid herd. Now, we are looking for bulls with good EPDs for ribeye and marbling.”

A look at the cattle Chase likes cattle that are square and appealing to the eye.

“Mainly, I need animals that are not ready for slaughter at the same time. I have to manage their feed intake, which is not easy when they are eating grass,” he says.

“Not all the cattle I raise go into the local program. The

bottom half is sold at the salebarn. We just keep the cherries.”

It is really hard raising animals naturally, Chase says, noting, “I end up doctoring some animals, and I can’t put those into the meat program. I try to hold off on doctoring, if I can.”

For more information about the Lockhart cattle operation, see their website at lockhartcattle.com. Chase can be reached at 307-7307424.

Gayle Smith is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

A10

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Jackson – Six years ago, Penny McBride of Jackson performed a food waste utilization feasibility study, hoping to create a project that would enhance her community.

“Caroline Croft Estay, a case manager for Citizens with Disabilities, called me looking for jobs for her clients,” Penny says.

At the time, Penny didn’t think she could do much to help, but she began to look into the possibilities.

“I have learned a lot since then. Her simple phone call motivated me to start meeting with stakeholders to see if there was a possibility to start a greenhouse in Jackson where people who can’t drive could get to work independently,” she comments.

Around that same time, Penny met Nona Yehia, an architect who was working on a residential greenhouse project.

“She was really excited

about expanding her work to do something like this,” Penny notes.

A town council member introduced the women to an available piece of property adjacent to a downtown parking lot. The size of the lot measures 150 feet long by 30 feet wide.

Initial concept “Nona has done design work from large-scale commercial to residential, but she definitely loves the concept of innovation, so this was a great match,” Penny mentions.

A feasibility study was then conducted, with funds from the Wyoming Business Council, to explore the practicality of building a greenhouse on the site and creating Jackson’s Vertical Harvest.

“We modeled a fourstory building being built across the street, where a Mariott is now being constructed, to study the affect of solar gain on the green-

house,” Penny explains.

Greenhouse Engineer Thomas Larssen was then introduced to the project and brought onboard with funds from the “One Percent for the Tetons” initiative.

“We asked him if our design was possible or practical. He really helped smooth things out. The conceptual design, in form, was not very different than how it looks today,” she says.

Most of the design incorporated into the project has been used in the greenhouse industry for many years. The challenge was configuring a vertical space that would take advantage of natural light.

Project designers are excited for their unique vertical farm that will integrate a strong business model while leveraging the ability to make a positive social impact.

Design elements The final construction

of Vertical Harvest includes three distinct floors and a rotating carousel system that will move growing plants throughout the greenhouse.

“The carousels will rotate in front of the southern façade and then move back into the second story growing space. It will rotate on a timer to take advantage of the natural light, and it will bring the plants to the workers,” she continues.

Plants will be grown in a hydroponic system, acquiring nutrients from a medium mixed with the water that is fed continuously to their roots.

“Thermal screens will be used to keep both the heat in and the sun out, so it doesn’t get too hot,” Penny adds.

Additional lighting will also be installed using high-pressure sodium and LED systems.

“When visitors walk into the atrium, they will see a three-story rotating, living wall that will sit in front of the public staircase. The public will also be able to view the greenhouse as they

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walk up the public staircase, where they will be able to see into each floor,” she adds.

Community network A public education space will also be included on the first floor, to be utilized by programs such as Extension and school groups.

“On the first floor, we will have flexible roller tables. Planting will take place on tables at waistheight,” Penny explains.

The first and second floors will contain various lettuces, herbs and microgreens.

“The third floor will work most like a typical greenhouse, and it’s all going to be tomatoes. The system is called ‘tomatoes on a high wire’ because the plants literally hang from high-strung wires,” Penny explains.

Project designers predict that the greenhouse will produce 100,000 pounds of vegetables per year. Produce will be supplied to local restaurants and grocery stores, including Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Lucky’s, the Jackson Hole Grocer, Snake River Brewery and the hospital.

“We have dedicated five percent of what we are growing to donations and to be sold at our on-site retail space,” Penny comments.

Donations are currently dedicated to the local diabetes center and the hospital.

“We will sell to the restaurant at the hospital and be donating to them as well,” she explains.

Business model The business will operate as an L3C, or low-profit limited liability company, which prioritizes a social mission alongside a business goal.

“An L3C is often called a for-profit with a non-profit soul,” Penny says.

Twenty trainees have already been trained for

work within the greenhouse, which has an employment model based on hiring citizens with developmental disabilities, working next to and with those without.

“This project is a public-private partnership with the Town of Jackson,” Penny states.

Along with the company’s social mission for inclusive employment, the greenhouse will also contribute annually to economic development programs in Jackson.

“We received a grant through the Wyoming Business Council for $1.5 million.

As part of that grant, there is an economic recapture component, equaling four percent of the grant. Every year, we will give $60,000 back to the Town of Jackson to go toward economic redevelopment,” Penny explains.

Local food Penny and her business partner Nona hope that their Vertical Harvest project will heighten awareness about the importance of buying local food whenever possible.

“Nona and I really have a passion for local food,” Penny says.

Construction is slated to be complete before Christmas 2015, and Penny hopes that planting will begin in January 2016.

She comments, “We couldn’t have done this without the great community support that we have. This project is innovative, and I feel that we are lucky to have a community that is able to get behind something that is innovative on so many different levels.”

Learn more about Vertical Harvest by visiting verticalharvestjackson.com.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

A11

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Jackson – Five years ago, Neal Robertson bought a milk cow.

“There was an old story I heard about my grandma.

Before she passed away, she would say there weren’t any milk cows left in Teton County,” Neal, owner of Alexander and Reed LLC Fencing, comments.

His grandparents ran a small cattle herd and owned a few of their own milk cows.

“I live in my grandmother’s old house now, and that sparked me to get a milk cow,” he comments.

Although he isn’t sure how true his grandmother’s statement was, he bought a Brown Swiss.

“I raised some of the calves from that milk cow, and I had to keep going from there,” he continues.

This year, Neal bought a bunch of yearlings, including 75 head of steers and 30 heifers. Mostly Angus, they are spending the summer in Bondurant on Forest Service land.

“The heifers are all on the range with several bulls.

The bulls are Black Angus and Hereford. What I want in the long run is to have some Red Angus and Black Angus, crossed with Hereford bulls,” he says.

Recently, Neal was able to purchase a range permit for 95 units, giving him the opportunity to buy his yearlings.

Building the herd “I also leased some old family land. I cut the hay on that, and it’s where I plan on keeping the cows this winter, spring and next fall,” Neal explains.

The land was purchased

by his grandmother’s family in the early 1900s, and he comments, “Most of the older generation in my family were ranchers and outfitters, and some still are.”

This year, he put up about 150 tons of hay, selling some to people in the valley and keeping enough to feed his own livestock this winter.

“It was a wet spring, and it seems like everyone has a lot of hay,” he comments.

As for future years, Neal says, “It will depend on how many cows I end up with in the years to come whether the place I hay produces on enough for me to use.”

The land that Neal to leases is located in Teton County, south of Jackson, where his family has been for nearly 100 years.

“They had some land here in 1910. Some of the family homesteaded here and some of them bought land,” he notes.

Bridging county lines Neal lived in Bondurant when he was young and moved with his family

to Jackson when he and his two older brothers started to become more involved in sports and other activities.

“We lived in Jackson until I graduated from high school, and then I moved back to Bondurant for a number of years,” he remarks.

“I’ve lived back in Teton County now for about six or eight years, so it’s been a constant back and forth.”

Between his leased land and Forest Service grazing permit, Neal’s cows will also go back and forth between Teton and Sublette counties.

In the last year, the pieces came together and this will be the first year that he is able to keep more than a small number of cows.

Family cows “My dad’s dad was a rancher, and I had an uncle who ranched, so it’s in the family, but I didn’t grow up doing it,” he remarks.

His father ran an outfitting business and had cows, on and off, as Neal was growing up.

“He used to run some

Milk cows - Neal Robertson and his family are some of the few producers who keep milk cows in Teton County. Courtesy photo

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mother cows. He had interest in a place in Big Piney, where he had 300 to 400 head. He’s gotten rid of those. Out of those, he is still running some yearlings,” he comments.

Neal’s dad is now located in Bondurant as well.

“We are paralleling each other on what we are doing,” Neal notes of their cattle.

“I really like the people I know who ranch, here in this valley and in the valley down in Bondurant. I’ve also always liked the cows. I had the opportunity this year to buy part of a range permit, so I did that,” he explains.

“This is all pretty new to me,” he adds. “I am in the learning process. I have been watching the reports for feeder cattle quite a lot lately.”

He has also been speaking with his family, visiting sales and looking at different kinds of cattle.

“I would like to raise

good, hearty beef cows,” he states.

Fencing the range Meanwhile, Neal also does some outfitting and owns a fencing business, with a home office in Jackson and a pole yard in Sublette County.

“My father was an outfitter for years when I was younger, and I started outfitting for him when I was 18,” he explains.

His father sold his business a number of years ago, and now Neal guides for his cousin.

“My brother and I didn’t have a lot to do one summer, so my dad got us a fencing job,” he comments about his own business. “He told some people he knew that we would build their fence for them, and it started from there.”

For the past 18 years, Neal has been keeping busy through word-of-mouth,

working quite a bit with residential fences and small properties of five or 10 acres.

“I build fence for people who have a few horses and other projects like that,” he notes.

His favorite projects involve wide-open spaces and big ranches.

“I’ve worked for the Hoback Cattle Association a few times, doing range fences and drift fences. That’s what I like to do,” he mentions.

Neal is looking forward to growing his cowherd and spending more time out on the range.

“I build fence, and I run just a little bunch of cows, but I hope that that will change,” he says.

For more information on Neal’s fencing business, visit arfencing.com.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

Teton County family - Neal Robertson carries on the tradition of ranching and outfitting in Teton County, where his family has been living for over 100 years. Courtesy photo

A12

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Jackson – “We live in Buffalo Valley, and we have a small herd of Angus-cross commercial cattle. We run those on the Forest Service in the summer, and then they are on our private property the rest of the year,” comments Chris Young of the Feuz Ranch in Teton County.

Chris’ grandparents homesteaded about five miles south of the present-day ranch in 1910, and her father bought a number of properties in the 1930s, including the ranch that she and her husband own today.

“We have been here ever

since then. Mom and Dad married, and they had four girls. Three of us are still on the property,” she continues.

Chris’ sister Joanne and her husband Brad Luton rent cabins and own saddle horses.

Her sister Jane trains horses and hosts special events at the ranch with her husband Grant Golliher, and the fourth Feuz sister, Marti, runs cattle with her husband Bryan Warner in Fremont County.

Feuz cattle “When I was growing up, we had Hereford cattle, which nearly everyone in Teton County did at that

time,” explains Chris.

Now, the herd is primarily black, with a few black baldies reminiscent of the old cows.

“We just try to raise very good, quality cattle,” Chris states.

“All of us kids were in 4-H when I was growing up. Then, when my husband Jerome and I had kids, our kids were in 4-H, so we really like attractive cattle,” she adds.

Healthy cattle with good dispositions are also important to the Youngs.

“The wild ones don’t

stay very long. We have a nice, gentle herd,” Chris says.

In addition to the Feuz Ranch, Jerome also manages the Hatchet Ranch next door.

Moving West “Jerome was raised on a tobacco farm in North Carolina. His family then moved to Virginia, which was slightly more populated, and he always wanted to get back to the country.” Chris comments.

Jerome drove out to visit Jackson Hole 40 years ago for a vacation and decided that it seemed like the place he had always wanted to be.

“He quit his job in Virginia, moved out and has lived here ever since. He worked on the ranch next to us when I met him, and we have been married 38 years,” she states.

Jerome was working on the neighboring Pinto Ranch when he met Chris.

“When I was growing up, we had our place, and my uncle had a place next to us.

The place next to that was the Hatchet Ranch. My dad leased that, and we worked with my uncle all of those years growing up,” Chris explains.

Hatchet Ranch After the Hatchet Ranch sold for a second time, Jerome took the opportunity to manage it.

“It is very nice because I grew up on that ranch or next

to it. We grew up running the ranch,” she notes. “When you grow up on the land, it always feels like that land is yours, whether it is or isn’t.

We are very fortunate to be able to manage it again and be on the property.”

As land values have increased in Teton County, the number of productive cattle operations has declined.

“We had a lot more cattle when we ran all three places, and we also had a big Forest Service grazing permit,” Chris recalls. “When I grew up here, there was lot of agriculture, and there were a lot of beef producers. We really miss having a big agriculture community like we did when I was growing up.”

Predators Another recent change on the ranch is the number of grizzly bears seen in the area.

Chris explains, “We see grizzly bears come and go through, but they haven’t become a problem, which is very nice. When I’m out fencing by myself or doing anything on the ranch alone, I don’t too often carry bear spray, although I should. I certainly keep a heads up and watch when I’m out and about so I don’t surprise a bear. We didn’t ever used to

Winter feeding - Chris and Jerome Young use draft horses to feed hay to their cattle when heavy snows are on the ground in the Buffalo Valley. Courtesy photo

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Feuz Ranch - Chris and Jerome Young run Angus-cross commercial cattle in the Buffalo Valley on the Feuz Ranch where Chris grew up. Courtesy photo

have to think about at all.”

Wolves, on the other hand, have become more of a problem in recent years. Over the past five or six years, Chris mentions they have really become an issue.

“We have a lot of wolves in our area. We border the Forest Service on one side and Grand Teton National Park on the other side,” she says.

Throughout the winter, wolf tracks are often spotted in the snow.

“During calving, they come through a lot,” she adds.

Two years ago, the Youngs bought a trailer to take out to the pasture.

“Jerome camps out with the cows during calving season because that is the only thing we can do to protect ourselves. We have to be there at night. That’s probably our biggest challenge, and it isn’t something we’ve historically had to deal with,” Chris adds.

Winters Long, hard winters can also be a challenge in Buffalo Valley, but Chris enjoys the snow.

“We always have lots of snow, which fortunately we’re used to, so we don’t mind it,” she comments. “We have very long winters, so we feed hay all winter with a team.”

The Youngs use two draft horses to carry feed across the snow to their cattle.

“When I was growing up, we leased a few places around us and fed a lot more cattle. We also had more snow. We always fed with a four-up, or four horses, but now we feed with a team of two horses, and they do a good job,” she says.

Snow in Teton County is one of many beautiful aspects of the area, and Chris is grateful for her ranch in Buffalo Valley.

“We are blessed to be in a very beautiful place and a beautiful area. We do appreciate and enjoy it,” she says.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

A13

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Jackson – “Our horses are our therapeutic partners. The horse and the rider have such a unique relationship. The horse fosters the growth of the individual,” explains Tori Fancher, executive director of the Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Association (JHTRA).

JHTRA, a premier Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) accredited center, promotes the relationship between horses and riders to improve the wellbeing of people with disabilities.

“We work with children and adults with emotional, physical, mental and behavioral disabilities. We are working on things that they need in their day-to-day lives to be successful in the real world,” adds Nealy Angell, program director.

Working with horses, riders acquire positive traits that transfer into other areas of their lives, including increased muscle strength, fine motor skills, communication techniques and more.

“We work with teachers, therapists and parents to come up with goals. Each rider is different,” says Nealy.

“Sometimes, riders don’t realize they are receiving therapy. That’s the benefit of using a horse as a therapy tool. The riders are able to accomplish so much in this

setting because it is not a sterile doctor’s environment, and it’s fun for them,” Tori notes.

Quality horses To provide quality care, JHTRA works extensively with their animals to ensure that both equine and human participants are comfortable and safe.

“We are fortunate enough to buy our horses, which is hugely helpful for us,” comments Nealy.

Horses are put through a rigorous, 30-day trial to determine where their sensitivities lie and what kinds of quirks they may have.

“This job is very different than one where a horse would normally feel safe. They have two people on each side and that is a very enclosed feeling.

They have to be okay with that,” she continues.

The horses have to be comfortable with being led, being placed in situations that may hinder their movements and being surrounded by people and distractions.

“They have bubbles, balls and rings on their ears.

Nothing fazes them,” Tori remarks.

Athleticism is also very important, as the animals must often carry heavy and unbalanced riders.

“These are really amazing animals. It is really hard to find a horse that can fit

into our program,” Nealy explains.

Patty Chapman, a board member and volunteer with the program, mentions the importance of animal temperament.

“The other thing is that horses have uniform behavior for the volunteers,” she adds.

Volunteers JHTRA welcomes the participation of 250 volunteers in their program.

“Most of us come in having no idea what we are doing, but we are trained.

Jenna Marton, our volunteer coordinator, puts on volunteer trainings for the horse leaders and side walkers so everyone treats these horses the same,” Patty remarks.

Nealy explains, “If we are not consistent with 250 volunteers, they would all be doing things in different ways, and our horses would be really grouchy.”

Tori comments that an important part of Jenna’s role is to ensure that volunteers make a good connection with the horses as well as the riders.

“Without that connection and emotional bond to the program, it wouldn’t survive.

All of us here are connected in some way,” she remarks.

“Our volunteers are huge in helping this program run,” Jenna adds. “The majority of

Therapeutic horses - One of 250 volunteers prepares a horse for a riding lesson at Jackson Hole Therapeutic Horse Ranch. Natasha Wheeler photo

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riders wouldn’t be able to ride if we didn’t have their help.”

Family connection Some volunteers have been with the program since it began in 1993. They have had the opportunity to watch riders learn and grow over a period of time.

“An important part of the riders’ growth is having us all here to support them, not just while they’re on the horse but also if we see them in town or anywhere else. This is a community and a family. It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of,” Tori comments.

The program also provides an opportunity for relatives of riders to connect.

Often, siblings, parents and caretakers meet each other during lessons, finding that they share common experiences.

“They can relate, talk and understand each other because they are kind of in the same boat,” Nealy points out.

“We stress the family connection between volunteers, riders, parents and staff.”

JHTRA strives for continuous outreach to ensure that they are an available resource for the community.

“Some people drive by every day for years and have no idea who we are. It is important that we are reaching riders that can take advantage of our program,” Patty notes.

Community outreach Staff and board members talk to schools, hospitals and doctors to reach their clientele.

“We also have events outside of our arena that we encourage our participants to be involved in. We have the community horse show, the

JHTRA horse show, Stomping the Divots and the Fourth of July parade,” adds Tori.

JHTRA has also been involved in Special Olympics, and they host several fundraisers each year.

“We recently partnered with the Wyoming Council for International Visitors.

They brought a group of 18 African delegates to our facility to learn more about how non-profits operate and what they could bring back and apply to their own countries,” she continues.

One member of the group, a man without limbs, was able to ride a horse for the first time during their visit.

“Our primary focus is to impact the individuals in our community, but we are always looking for the opportunity to impact the broader spectrum. We want all of Wyoming, all of the U.S. and all of the world to

know what is available for individuals with disabilities,” Tori states.

Therapeutic riding is one of the available options for people who are in need of extra support.

“The more centers that are available, the more opportunities people have to participate,” she explains.

Grateful for the outpouring of support from the community, JHTRA endeavors to make lives a little bit easier.

“Some progress is minor.

It might be a little more comfortable talking to a peer.

Other times it’s monumental things like first steps or first words, but progress is progress, and that is what we aim for here,” Tori says.

Visit the Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Association online at jhtra.org.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

Currently, at the Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding Association (JHTRA), 11 full-use and two mostly-retired horses are in use.

“Snake River Ranch, Lake Creek Ranch and Richard and Barbara Pack have pastured our horses for the last decade, out of the goodness of their hearts. We only pay for the hay, and they take extraordinary care of our animals. They know our horses just as well as we do,” JHTRA Executive Director Tori Fancher comments.

Each weekend, the horses are turned out onto the pasture.

“Every weekend, they get to go play. These horses take in a lot of stuff, and they need to let that be released,” Program Director Nealy Angell explains.

JY Ranch also supports the program, donating access to a trail system, allowing veterans and family groups to enjoy longer rides when the situation is appropriate.

“We have very generous individuals throughout the community who are willing to sponsor our horses and pay for the cost of their care,” Tori says.

A14

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Wilson – The Resor family came to Jackson Hole from Connecticut in 1930 at the recommendation of an 11-year-old boy who had visited the area. Since then, the family has operated Snake River Ranch, a very successful cattle ranch north of Wilson.

“As a child, my father Stanley Resor came out here in 1929,” says Bill Resor, the current generation at Snake River Ranch. “He was invited to spent the summer with the neighbor’s family out here.”

After a two-week journey

across the country and a summer north of Wilson, Stanley returned to Connecticut and told his father that they should buy land in Wyoming.

“My grandfather was in the advertising business and always wanted a cattle ranch,” Bill continues. “He bought the first part of the ranch – a couple hundred acres, sight unseen based on the recommendation of his 11-year-old son.”

Each summer, the family came to Wyoming and began to buy more land, putting the ranch together over time.

They maintained their primary residence in Connecticut at the time.

Bill was raised in Connecticut and Washington, D.C., and he moved to Wyoming in 1976.

“It wasn’t a hard choice,” he says. “I spent summers out here growing up, and I knew where I wanted to be.”

Today, Bill and his cousin Barbara Hauge operate the ranch. Ranch manager Lance Johnsen plays an integral role in the cattle aspect of the operation.

Snake River Ranch

expanded through the years until today, where the ranch runs yearlings and takes advantage of tourism opportunities.

Yearling operation “We are strictly yearling,” Bill comments of the cattle.

“We try to buy cattle that are at least 50 percent Angus.”

In addition to the marketability of Angus cattle, he also notes that they are predictable on grass.

The cattle are purchased primarily from states west of Wyoming to increase efficiency.

“Cattle mostly have to move in from the coast for slaughter,” says Bill. “If we ship them this way, we aren’t losing money because they are moving closer to slaughter.”

At the same time, he notes that cattle from Oregon and California are very good cattle.

Specialized marketing Snake River Ranch runs all natural, hormone-free cattle under a “never ever” model in their marketing.

The cattle don’t receive antibiotics, unless they are being treated for illness, at which point they are sorted off and sold separately. They also utilize age and source verification programs, enabling them to sell cattle into Europe.

“We have been doing this program for about 15 years,” Bill explains.

The top end of yearlings is sold to a company called Pasture One, which sells grassfed, all natural, hormone-free beef. Every one to two weeks, the ranch sorts off a load of the heaviest yearlings to send to Brush, Colo. for processing.

“They also can’t be fed grain to meet the grass-fed requirements,” Bill continues.

“It is much more complex to have natural cattle than most people think. There are so many records, and it isn’t for everyone. Lance is very good at it, though.”

“Our biggest chalContinued on next page

Working cattle - Bill Resor (left) and Lance Johnsen work together on the cattle aspect of Snake River Ranch. Bill moved to Wilson in 1976, and Lance has been working there for many years. They address the day-to-day challenges of running cattle. Saige Albert photo

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2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Continued from previous page lenge here is to keep the cattle healthy without sticking a needle in them,” Lance says, noting that he has instituted the use of mineral to reduce foot rot and other illnesses.

Snake River Ranch also strives for low-stress handling and quiet cattle, says Bill.

“We try to work our cattle with as few people as possible,” he explains.

“As a rule, the disposition of our cattle is something people are very happy about,” Lance adds. “The cattle aren’t quiet by accident. This is the way we like them.”

Yearling schedule Each year, the cattle begin arriving on the ranch in May. “In May, they come in over a period of time, and by June 1, they are basically all here,” Bill explains. “We have a four-month grazing season, and they start to go out by late August.”

The number of cattle increases steadily in the spring and then decreases in the fall.

“We run over 3,500 yearlings in the summer on this ranch and on our south ranch about eight miles south of Wilson,” he comments.

Water focused While working with cattle is enjoyable, Bill really appreciates dealing with water and water-related issues on the ranch as well.

He is a member of the Wyoming Water Develop-

ment Commission and spends much of his time delving into the complex issues surrounding water policy.

“I’ve always been interested in water policy,” Bill explains. “Our water law is really good.”

Bill has worked continuously on the ranch to develop their water and improve irrigation.

The Snake River has a levy system built on the west bank of the river, which runs through their ranch.

“The Army Corp of Engineers maintains the levy system,” he says.

The ranch diverts water from the Snake River for irrigation. The natural slope of the valley enables them to flood irrigate the property.

“Some people say that flood irrigation is bad, and it can be bad in some instances.

But in this case, flood irrigation is really beneficial. This part of Jackson Hole is alluvium,” says Bill. “It is like a bucket of marbles, so when the river starts to drop, all the streams dry up.”

He continues, “By diverting water, we are not only irrigating, we are creating fish habitat and introducing more water to the streams. Aesthetically it is also better. Everyone loves water.”

By flood irrigating, the water returns to Fish Creek at a lower temperature, creating flow and increasing

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fish habitat.

“We are working to maximize the benefits of water,” emphasizes Bill.

Taking advantage of tourists In addition to their cattle, Snake River Ranch also takes advantage of their location to bring additional diversity to the ranch.

Barbara handles most of the non-agricultural activity on the ranch.

“Even though we are running a cattle ranch, we can’t ignore the fact that tourism is growing,” says Bill. “The first thing we did was lease out a site to a horse riding concession. They ride completely on our property today.”

A ballooner launches hot air balloons from the ranch several times a day in the summer, and several river outfitters use exclusive locations on the Snake River to put in and take out river rafters.

“It also gives us an opportunity to educate people as they are coming through the ranch,” Bill says.

Snake River Ranch also hosts a number of weddings

each year.

Benefits of ranching Bill notes that he enjoys ranching and always has, and they continue to develop and improve the operation.

“When I was younger, I worked on the haying crew

and cowboyed,” he says. “I enjoyed it.”

While many assert that ranching life is often the same day to day, Bill says, “In reality, things on the ranch are always changing. It makes it more fun, and that’s part of

why I enjoy living here.”

Snake River Ranch can be found online at snakeriverranch.net.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

Quiet handling - Snake River Ranch emphasizes quiet handling of cattle. In the fall they sort the heaviest yearlings off one load at a time, where they are sent to Colorado for processing. The all-natural, hormone-free cattle do not receive antibiotics and are marketed in a specialty grassfed program. Saige Albert photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Wilson – Gerrit Hardeman emigrated to the U.S. from Holland at the turn of the century and started Hardeman Hereford Ranch, which would become one of the most iconic ranches in the Wilson area.

“My husband’s father really liked Herefords, so he decided to go into the purebred business,” says Pat Hardeman of her late father-in-law Gerrit.

“He provided bulls to the neighboring ranchers to help improve their herds.”

Building a ranch Gerrit’s start in ranching came when he purchased the Davis Farm northeast of Kelly in 1911.

“Gerrit homesteaded up at Kelly, and that is where they started the Hereford business,” says Pat. It wasn’t until 1926 that they began running Hereford cattle. At that point, they could afford to buy their first cattle, and

they continued to grow their herd.

Gerrit and his wife LaMar had two sons, Earl and Howard, and two daughters, Marie and Helen, who were raised at Kelly. The boys remained an integral part of the ranch’s operation, working to improve the cattle herd continually.

According to an article written by Karen L. Reinhart on the Hardeman’s history, “By 1948, University of Wyoming experts proclaimed the Hardemans’ purebred Herefords were among Wyoming’s best.”

Moving to Wilson The family grew their herd to nearly 200 head in Kelly. In 1956, however, they sold the ranch.

“There was a time when the Park Service was buying out property to increase acreage for Grand Teton National Park,” says

Pat, noting that in 1956 Gerrit and LaMar sold their land near Kelly.

At the same time, the Hardemans purchased Moseley Hereford Ranch in Wilson.

“When they sold to the Park Service, the Park gave Gerrit a 10-year lease to run cattle on the land,” Pat explains. “Earl stayed at Kelly until 1967, while his brother moved to Wilson to help their father.”

Pat married Earl in 1960, four years after she moved to Jackson from California. She came to the area to work as a nurse in St. John’s Hospital.

“We moved the cattle down to Wilson in the spring of 1967,” Pat says, remembering that they trailed cattle down Spring Gulch in sub-zero weather.

“When it got really cold, we got off and walked.”

The ranch continued for many years around

Wilson.

Purebred and commercial cattle “We not only raised purebred Herefords, but we also had steers and heifers that weren’t the purebred quality,” she says.

The cattle that didn’t meet their strict standards for the purebred business were run as commercial cattle.

“We had a forest permit, and the commercial cattle grazed on the forest in the summers,” Pat explains. “The purebreds were pastured at home.”

The diversity in their operation allowed them the chance for more income to make it through lean times.

“The only time we made money was when we sold bulls, but since we had the commercial herd, we could also sell steers at the Idaho Falls market anytime,” she says.

Traditional values The Hardemans used traditional methods of feeding and haying until they got out of the cattle

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“We fed everything with teams and sleighs during the winter. In the spring when there was less snow, we fed with wagons,” Pat says, “and we put hay up loose with beaver slides.”

She continues, “When we put up hay in Kelly, we used a beaver slide and teams. After we got a tractor, we used that, but we didn’t bale our hay. We just stacked it loose.”

She also notes that in the early days, ranchers would trail cattle to Victor, Idaho over Teton Pass.

Cattle would be loaded onto the train and sold.

“The isolation was hard, but when everyone was ranching, we all had the same problems and challenges,” Pat says.

Despite the challenges they experienced, Pat comments, “Ranching is a great environment to raise kids in. It gives them a strong work ethic and teaches them responsibility.”

Changing times Earl and Howard continued the family business into the 80s,when they sold the cattle, but remnants of their operation are still visible on the Wilson landscape today.

The Hardeman barn and meadows are protected under a conservation easement held by Jackson Hole Land Trust, along with 137 acres of hay meadows east of Wilson. Cattle still graze the meadows where Gerrit’s Herefords grazed many years ago.

“Everything has changed now,” Pat says.

“Back when I first moved

here, it seemed like everyone knew everyone else.

There were lots of ranchers, but there aren’t anymore.”

As the Wilson area became more developed and the affluent “West Bank” area became more noticeable, Earl always said, “I don’t live in West Bank. I live in Wilson, where we still say hello to everyone and hold the door open at the Post Office.”

Pat notes, “It isn’t necessarily that way anymore.”

Earl and Pat have two children – Rob and Heidi.

Rob remains close to home today with his wife Abby and daughters Gracie and Haley.

Connected to ag Though they aren’t in the cattle business anymore, Pat stays in touch with the agriculture industry.

“I’m a member of the Cowbelles here,” she says. “We promote beef, share recipes and do social events. We opened up the organization to everyone to be a member a long time ago when the ranches started phasing out.”

Pat is also a 4-H leader in the horse project.

“4-H is the greatest organization for kids,” she says.

“The lifestyle is what kept me here all these years,” she comments.

“My husband was born and raised here. This is just what we did.”

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Jackson – Ranching is never easy. Whether ranchers are dealing with a drought, wildlife, wildfires, irrigating, pasture management, fencing or machinery repair – it takes a tough person to be a rancher.

Throw in encroaching developments and extensive regulations, and ranching becomes even more challenging.

Some ranchers keep forging ahead despite the problems that come with ranching in a popular vacation spot where everyone wants to live.

When the ranch has been in the family for generations, it’s not necessarily practical – or easy – to pull up stakes.

Meet Robert Gill. On one hand, he is fortunate enough to live in the stunning area near Jackson, with the majesty of the Tetons in full view.

On the other hand, his ranch is experiencing encroaching development and wildlife issues that ranchers in more remote parts of the state don’t need to address.

Looking through time Robert’s great-grandfather ranched in the area, and his grandfather Bruce Porter came to the area while he was in college around 1915 to work in the summers. Porter became a pharmacist and bought Jackson Drug in 1919.

He bought the ranch, which had been a part of the Wort family homestead, in the 1930s and began raising Hereford cattle.

“After my granddad died in 1961, my parents bought an additional 200 acres from the Wilson family. That was the final piece of what made of our Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch,” Robert explains.

He then bought additional property with the hayfields in one section and their river bottom pastures, as well.

Tough challenges in history Robert explains that over the years, he has faced two especially challenging times: the family had run cattle in the area prior to it becoming a national park and the ranch held a sunshine lease the length of his mother’s life.

“However, once we lost that, there was a big change to our grazing capabilities,” says Robert.

An even greater setback took place in 2004 when three animals were diagnosed to be infected with brucellosis, and the entire herd of 800 animals was depopulated.

“That was really harsh.

They wouldn’t let us keep our bulls. They wouldn’t even let us keep the semen from our bulls,” he remembers sadly.

“That happened in the fall, and we were in shock for about six months before any of us knew what to do. We bought a few steers so we could stay in the ag business and try to keep ranching.”

Rebuilding Robert explains that they finally got their feet back on the ground and started slowly increasing the herd.

“We had a purebred herd before we had to liquidate.

We just purchased some registered purebreds this year,” he says. “Whether we go any further with getting back in the purebred Hereford business is still up in the air.”

The rancher admits to really liking Herefords and the quality of their meat. In fact, his daughter Nicole has started working to sell their beef locally, going for quality instead of quantity.

Feed resources Hay is an important commodity to all livestock owners but especially when the ranch is at higher elevations.

“We can have snow even in April. We calve mostly in April for that reason because there is usually some bare ground. In mid-June we head to summer pasture. We finally have another grazing permit and also lease a place in Wilson. That has helped us get by when we didn’t have the Forest Service permit,” Robert says.

“We used to need a lot of people when we put hay up with the beaver slide, which we did until about 2006,” remembers Robert. “We had one built in the 1960s and used that until 1990. I built a new one in 1992.”

Although some people may think putting up hay with a beaver slide is onerous, Robert enjoyed the teamwork.

“It was orchestrated.

Everyone knew their job. I miss it. My kids miss it. When I was a kid, the first ranch duty I got to help with was putting up hay,” he explains.

“The equipment for harvesting the hay is still around, but the cribs where the hay was stacked aren’t. It’s too hard to go out and get timber these days to make a new crib.”

All of Robert’s grown children and wife Patti participate with some aspect of ranch work. Although Robert doesn’t ride anymore, his employees and other family members use horses for cattle work. The hired hands all have their own horses and also participate in rodeo.

Changes through time Robert misses the old days when he was growing up, and there were 35 ranches near town. Today, there are five.

“I have other businesses in town because it’s hard to ranch here,” says Robert. “There are times I come home from a meeting and wonder why I am still ranching.”

He further explains, “We have people who think we need to be protected from ourselves, and that is unfortunate because we have five generations who have worked hard on land stewardship. It seems having five generations keeping on the ranching tradition doesn’t have much

credibility when it should speak volumes. I don’t think a lot of these people understand the connection we have with the land. We love our heritage and our property.”

Robert admits some changes are easier to simply block out.

“The community has changed, and I don’t like a lot of change. But when we’re on our ranch, it’s the same as it’s been for generations,” he says. “The same buildings, the irrigation and even some of the equipment is the same.”

He feels strongly that people should be allowed to

do what they want with their land.

“I don’t fault anyone for selling. People have different needs at different times, estate issues come into play and sometimes all one can do is liquidate,” Robert comments.

“When my kids are in control of the ranch, if they want to sell, that’s okay. This is a hard place to run a ranch.”

Still, with the Gill family, heritage trumps the challenges of development and urban mentalities moving in.

“I really enjoy the fact that we have been here a long time,” says Robert. “What we

Over the past few years, local food has become all the rage. Nicole Gill Ottaway, whose family ranches in Jackson Hole, realized she had an opportunity to market their beef with consumers literally at her doorstep, or ranch gate as it were.

“I moved back to Jackson Hole to work for my dad and grandfather in 2012 with the intention of only staying a year,” explains Nicole, adding that she got married and stayed. “In 2013, I told my dad I was committed to staying in Jackson, and I wanted to start selling our beef locally. My Dad said he supported the idea but wanted to see a business plan first.”

After taking part in a 10-week course, Nicole wrote the plan and handed the proposal to her father, which was met with approval.

Forming a branded beef company wasn’t an overnight project. Nicole needed to develop a website, get content, develop videos and assemble photos. She also needed to research where to get the beef processed and how to get similar cuts of meat for an equitable box of beef among

do is a big part of the community. I’d hate to see that go away.”

“I like being a rancher in Wyoming. I know how my family loved this place and I want my kids to be proud of it,” Robert comments. “I enjoy that we do the same things year in and year out.

I especially love the connections we have with the past.

That’s what makes our ranch so special.”

Rebecca Colnar is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

customers.

In spring 2015, Nicole launched Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch beef as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprise.

“People sign up and receive 10 pounds of beef per month in June, July and August for $150 per month. Each month they get a different assortment of cuts. Customers pick up their share the second Tuesday or Wednesday of the month,” Nicole explains.

She uses the CSA to educate customers about ranching and raising beef and also includes recipes and cooking tips.

“This is the first summer I’ve done this, and it went very well. We’re fortunate in our situation that people in Jackson want to support local,” Nicole says. "We have a very short season for growing crops, but we can sell beef year-round.”

She adds, “To me, the ranch is more than just a piece of land. It represents my family’s history in Jackson, a history I want to be able to pass down to future generations of my family. My siblings and I are deeply committed to carrying on the family ranching tradition in Jackson.”

B2

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Jackson – Slow Foods International began in Italy in 1989 as a response to a McDonald’s going up across from the Vatican.

“Slow food is about thinking about where our food comes from and taking the time to cook our food,” explains Kelly Smith, director of operations at Slow Foods in the Tetons.

In Jackson, it’s also about

focusing on local and regional food sources.

“We promote food and celebrate food in its various forms, but we also take a step back to appreciate where our food comes from,” Kelly says.

“We want producers to connect with consumers, and we want to make sure those relationships are strong.”

To strengthen those relationships, Slow Foods in the

Ranch supper - Slow Foods in the Tetons hosts an annual supper at Lockhart Cattle Company, featuring food from local producers.

Courtesy photo

Tetons facilitates various activities in the community, including the Jackson Hole People’s Market.

People’s Market “The People’s Market is the biggest event that we do.

For three months in the summer, every Wednesday night, we have a farmers’ market,” she remarks.

Local artisans are also incorporated into the market, but at least 60 percent of the vendors involved sell farm products.

“We also have prepared food, and a local brewery comes each week,” she continues.

The market is located at the base of Snow King so people can play in the park, do their shopping and eat outside.

“It is a little different than the Saturday morning market where people can get coffee or breakfast,” she notes.

The Saturday market is run by a separate organization, but the relationship between

the two markets is positive.

“We are in a type of community where we have a lot of service-type jobs. People work on Saturday morning guiding rafting trips, leading tours or other things, so Wednesday night is just another option during the week to get local food,” she adds.

Local ranch meal Slow Foods in the Tetons also hosts an annual meal at the Lockhart Ranch to showcase local producers in the area.

“This year, we sold 175 tickets. People came out, and we served food off of the tractor. Everyone got to see the ranch and celebrate ranching history in Wyoming. It was a fun event,” Kelly says.

This past summer was the second year for the event, and organizers decided to make it a bigger affair.

“The first year, we explored our options and did something more like a party.

We charged $10 to get in.

Then we had various food vendors come to sell food,” she notes.

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Guests were seated with place settings, and the gathering was smaller.

“People really liked the feeling of it this year, so I think we will probably continue to do something like that,” Kelly remarks.

Slow Foods coordinated with local vendors to supply the meal.

“Everything that we served was locally sourced,” she notes.

Cosmic Apple Farms, located in Victor, Idaho and Robinson Family Farms, located in Bedford, were two of the main suppliers, and Lockhart Cattle Company provided beef.

“We have a really great relationship with Lockhart Cattle Company. They donate so much to make the dinner possible and to keep it affordable,” Kelly remarks.

Youth cooking The next project that Slow Foods in the Tetons will be cultivating is their youth culinary project.

“We coordinate with the local Parks and Rec, which works with Teton County Youth and Family Services,” Kelly states.

As part of an after school club for students in third through fifth grades, Slow Foods will teach youth how to cook and about where their food comes from.

“We will be touring different ranches and learning different cooking skills,” she explains.

The after school program, called the Colter Discovery Club, has typically offered a cooking class, partnered with 4-H. “This will be the first time that Slow Foods is teaching the students. Hopefully we can do sessions every year because it is a crucial part of getting kids involved in learning about their food and how to cook it,” Kelly remarks.

Taste workshops Another way Slow Foods reaches out to the community is through their Taste Education Workshops, which involve local restaurants and discussions about food sources and production.

For example, Kelly says, “We did one workshop at a

local sushi restaurant on sustainable sushi and fish. What are the best fish that we can eat and what kinds are most sustainable?”

In another workshop, Slow Foods partnered with a local bakery for a wine and cheese tasting.

“We had the cheese maker come and discuss different cheeses and how they pair with wine,” she continued.

The workshops give local consumers an opportunity to understand how and where their meals are produced.

Regional partnerships “A lot of our producers come from Idaho,” Kelly comments in regards to locally sourced products.

Because of Jackson Hole’s climate, it is difficult to source food locally, but Slow Foods also educates students and consumers about regional sourcing.

“Until two years ago, we were based in Idaho,” Kelly comments. “We moved to the Wyoming side of Teton Pass because that is where the population is.”

Many producers live in Idaho, in Victor or Driggs, about 40 miles away from Jackson.

“A lot of them have community supported agriculture (CSA) programs with members in Wyoming, and they do pick-ups every week,” Kelly notes.

The People’s Market on Wednesday night is one opportunity for those farmers to make their products available to their CSA supporters.

“It’s definitely important to maintain those relationships, and they are more than happy to come over,” she says.

Slow Foods in the Tetons is also part of a much larger movement. It is one chapter in Slow Foods USA, which is part of an international organization.

“We are affiliated with the international movement, but we work on the local level,” Kelly says.

Learn more about Teton Slow Food by visiting tetonslowfood.org.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

B3

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Jackson – Bob Lucas is a fourth generation rancher who proudly maintains his family’s heritage on two properties in Teton County. He has continued the ranches that both sets of his grandparents started in the early 1900s.

South of Jackson, the U Lazy U Ranch is where Bob lives and spends much of his time during the winter and spring months.

“This place was homesteaded in 1903,” Bob says.

“My great-grandparents were some of the first white settlers here. They moved here in 1889.”

His grandparents on the other side homesteaded the Box L Ranch in Spring Gulch in 1896.

“Ranching is in my blood,” Bob says, mentioning that he is the hands-on manager of both operations today.

Running pairs At U Lazy U, Bob runs cow/calf pairs. The cattle winter on the property and spend summers on high mountain allotments.

“I start the first of March with calving,” he continues.

“We need some bare ground for the cows to lay down on, and sometimes we have it, but sometimes we don’t.”

While Bob says he would like to wait until April to calve, beginning in March gives the calves more time to grow before they go to Forest Service grazing allotments.

“If I wait until April, the calves are too young to go to the forest,” he comments.

At the end of June, cattle are trucked north of Dubois to forest grazing permits.

“We have trouble with grizzly bears up there,” he says. “We haven’t had a lot of wolf trouble, but the grizzly bears are pretty bad.”

Prior to their Dubois

allotment, Bob says his father ran cattle on the Gros Ventre.

“My dad had trailed cattle up and down the Gros Ventre for 69 years, and 66 of those were consecutive,” he explains. “The Gros Ventre is better range. Over at Dubois, it’s a lot farther between water and patches of grass.”

Early in November, the pairs return home, and Bob comments that he begins feeding hay shortly thereafter.

“We usually feed until the last week of May or beginning of June,” Bob says.

Hay and yearlings On the Box L, Bob raises hay for their cattle under two pivots in Spring Gulch.

In addition, he runs steers on the Box L Ranch in the summer months.

The steers provide additional income, but Bob mentions that he prefers running pairs.

“The difference between running yearlings and having mother cows raising calves is that it is hard to fall in love with the steers. Steers come in the spring, crawl through all the fences and then are gone in the fall,” Bob says.

He continues, “It is hard not to fall in love with a good cow that has raised 15 calves, and the calves need us in the spring. They need help to get a start in their lives. I have a soft spot in my heart for cows and their calves.”

Building a herd “I feed the heifers up there in the winter as well, but most of the hay comes down to the U Lazy U for the cows,” he notes. “We raise all of our replacements up there.”

“If a ranch raises all their replacements, the cattle are acclimated to everything they do,” he explains. “They know the summer range, and they know where to go, so we raise

our own heifers.”

His Angus-based cowherd still carries some of the traditional Hereford influence that is present across the valley.

“When I was a kid, most of the cattle were Herefords here,” Bob says. “In the 70s, dad started getting some black bulls because we like the black baldy cows. I’ve been running Angus since.”

Herefords, he notes, presented their own set of challenges.

“Herefords have pink skin around their eyes, and they had sunburned eyes and udders,” he explains. “That is one big advantage Black Angus brings.”

Bob maintains the quality of his cowherd by utilizing high-quality, high-altitude Angus bulls, but he is looking at increasing the Hereford influence.

“I’ve got some Hereford bulls because I like the F1 cross,” he says. “The hybrid vigor is nice, and they raise good calves.”

Challenges One of the biggest challenges associated with ranching in Teton County, says Bob, is the big city atmosphere.

“Jackson really wants to be a big city, and a lot of the people who have moved here don’t understand agriculture,” he explains.

However, as recent as the 1950s, agriculture was one of the major industries of the area.

“The people who are here now love what we provide – the green pastures and open space, but they don’t necessarily understand that we have to do things like drive cattle down the road,” Bob explains. “Jackson isn’t ranching-friendly in a lot of

ways, which can be frustrating.”

At the same time, Bob notes that extra help is difficult to find, especially when seeking experienced help.

Joy of agriculture Though the operating climate in Teton County can be challenging, Bob still enjoys his work.

He explains, “There are a lot of ways to get involved in the cattle business, but the

mother cows are what keep me interested in this business.”

Along with raising cattle, Bob is also a member of the Wyoming Livestock Board.

In his spare time, he spends time with his wife Kate and daughter Abigail.

Bob mentions that the ranch also gives him the chance to work with his family.

“I can’t thank my wife and family enough for all their

help,” he comments. “It’s great to have their support and cooperation on the ranch.”

He says, “Ranching isn’t like what it was, but my daughter is six years old, and I would like to hold this place together long enough for her to be raised in this life. I want to hold it together for her.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

Ranching family - Both sides of Bob Lucas’ family are involved in ranching. Today, he continues the legacy of both operations. One ranch sits south of Jackson, and the other lies in Spring Gulch between Jackson and Wilson. Saige Albert photo

B4

Jackson – Residents of Teton County have an appreciation for the environment, and Teton Science Schools presents an opportunity for resourcebased learning.

Founded in 1967, Teton Science Schools was created by science teacher Ted Major, who believed students learn best in nature.

“In the summer of 1967, Ted began an experiment to expand the classroom into the outdoors,” says Teton Science Schools. “Twelve high school students spent six weeks working on research projects and taking field trips around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It was a success.”

As a result, the school was formed.

Inside the school “We have five major

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

program areas,” says Kelli Petrick, a faculty member at Teton Science Schools.

Teton Science Schools has the Journeys School, which is a pre-K through 12th grade school in Jackson. There is also a kindergarten through fifth grade school in Victor, Idaho and three field education programs.

“Our youth education programs are built with the philosophy of education using the natural world surrounding us to teach the major subject areas,” Kelli comments.

The field education programs in three locations create learning environments for a wide variety of folks.

“We have programs through the school year and in the summer. School groups visit us for between one and 10 days,” she

Sampling the water - Teton Science Schools participants learn by doing. One area that they focus on in water, and this participant is sampling water in a stream on the school’s property. Courtesy photo

explains. “We also work loosely with teachers to integrate science education into their programming.”

“Our focus is on science and getting kids outside,” Kelli comments, “but we focus on leadership, stewardship and sustainability.”

More than youth Summer camps and adult programs also allow families to come to the area for science education.

Teton Science School also allows graduate students and teachers the opportunity for continued education.

“We have an 11 month graduate residential program at the Kelly Campus,” says Kelli. “Those in the program are focused on learning how to teach leadership and natural history skills in this arena.

They do outreach around the state and are also taking graduate level classes.”

In the Teacher Learning Center, professional development workshops for teachers are held, and Teton Science Schools faculty also travels throughout the state providing instruction for educators.

“We are continually expanding,” Kelli comments.

Place-based education “At Teton Science Schools, we use placebased education with all programs and students,” Kelli adds. “We use place-

based education because of the emphasis on ‘hands-on, real-world learning experiences’ that give students the opportunities to connect to the natural and human communities where they live.”

The education style utilizes a variety of strategies and focuses on an approach that looks at expanding students’ awareness and interaction with others at a level that fits their developmental level.

Place-based education also looks at content in terms of economy, ecology and culture, and it is action-oriented.

Land programs Teton Science Schools’ Jackson Campus also manages about 860 acres of land.

“We put all of it under conservation easement with the Jackson Hole Land Trust when we acquired that property,” Kelli says. “We also use and manage the large piece of property, which is a fun and unique challenge.”

A couple faculty members are charged with helping to manage the land, as well as utilizing it to educate students at the school.

“Historically, it was livestock grazing. Under our easement, that is still part of the land use, so we lease the land to local ranchers for cattle grazing throughout the summer

months,” she says. “We also sell the hay off our fields.”

“We are connected to agriculture though the leasing and work with a local rancher,” Kelli continues.

“We have an opportunity to showcase the land.”

Kelli explains that they work the land into their programs, teaching students about land use, the choices they have made and why they were made.

They also discuss the importance of finding a balance in land management.

“We use high intensity, short duration grazing with electric fences in a way that also lets wildlife through because we are in a migration corridor,” she continues.

Water work Teton Science Schools is also involved in water management and a variety of strategies for using the water on their property.

“On the property, we also have two streams, so we are connected with a number of local partners on stream restoration to make the streams more habitable for trout spawning and rearing,” Kelli says. “We have a big col-

laboration with a private subdivision, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Teton Conservation District, Trout Unlimited and others to effectively use the water.”

They are also working on questions like avoiding impacts on riparian areas, using limited water and managing runoff when grazing.

Mission and goals Kelli says, “Every place is unique and different. To be active citizens in our community, we have to think about everything – from an economic standpoint, a conservation standpoint, a social standpoint and a wildlife standpoint. We are hoping to develop those connections to make the world a better place.”

“Part of our legacy here is in service learning,” says Kelli. “We are looking at the land, grazing and how part of the legacy can be kept alive.”

Teton Science Schools can be found online at tetonscience.org.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@ wylr.net.

Rehabilitation efforts - As part of the improvements on land owned by Teton Science Schools, participants planted willows in a riparian area to improve the land. Courtesy photo

B5

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Jackson – With the Red Hills as the backdrop, Red Hills Ranch is one of the most scenic in Teton County. Grazing on lush, green grass are 80 head of horses, mostly paints.

This majestic scene makes Brian Cook proud to be the manager of the Red Hills Ranch.

This ranch wasn’t always this scenic. When Sen. Herb Kohl of Milwaukee, Wisc. purchased the ranch over 40 years ago, it was an old 160acre homestead with just sagebrush for pasture. But when Sen. Kohl looked at the ranch, he saw potential. The sagebrush was soon plowed under, and lush grasses planted in its place.

He fenced the pastureland, built a lodge, a bunkhouse for workers and some cabins for guests. He built a pond, and then he started buying some horses.

The ranch today Today, most would agree the ranch is a beautiful sight.

“My favorite part of my job is just being able to live here,” Brian says. “It is a beautiful place to live. The Red Hills are right next to us, and on the other side is all trees. We have elk here all winter. Who wouldn’t want to live on a ranch with 80 head of horses?”

Brian has also found it a great place to raise a family.

He and his wife Jodi have five children, who all help take care of the horses. His oldest son Colten works fulltime on the ranch, helping Brian train the horses during the summer.

The drawback of living where they do is the winters, which can be severe, Brian says.

“The snow gets so deep we have to snowmobile out of here for two to three months just to get the kids to the pickup so they can get to school,” he explains.

During the summer, Sen. Kohl has private guests and friends who visit the ranch.

“It gives those people a chance to experience ranch life for a week,” Brian says.

“We really enjoy meeting all the guests who come to stay during the summer months.”

Breeding and training Brian has worked at the Red Hills Ranch since he was 14 years old. His first job was training horses and helping irrigate. The former managers, Roger and Paula Lasson, managed the ranch for 35 years before retiring.

“Roger is one of the greatest horsemen I know,” Brian says of his former boss. “I learned a lot from him, and he was a major influence on the training methods we use now.”

The ranch has a registered black Quarter Horse stallion, Dressed All In Black, which they’ve used for the last 18 years. They pasture breed the stallion to the 22 mares that make their home on the ranch.

“We turn him out with the mares in the spring and take him out in the fall. All our mares are pasture bred, unless there is one that we are having trouble getting bred. In that

case, we may hand breed her,” Brian explains.

The Quarter Horse stallion produces colts that vary in color. Because most of the mares are Paints, the foals are typically one-third Paints and two-thirds solid colors.

Brian is very proud of the ranch stallion.

“He is safe to be around and throws really nice colts,” he says. “Our stallion has really good breeding and bloodlines.”

Producing colts Brian continues, “The colts are really gentle and easy to train. When people come to look at them, they are amazed at how gentle they are. From a baby on, they will just come right up to us. They have good conformation and great mind.”

The mares typically produce about 18 colts a year.

“Since Herb likes having horses on the ranch, the business has evolved into raising, training and selling horses,” Brian says. “He likes Paint horses best, so that is mostly what we raise. We have everything from babies to finished horses for sale, but once they are two-year-olds, we start training them.”

He explains, “We used to have an auction every three years with about 40 head offered, but we now sell them private treaty through

our website. We have a photo of the horse, a description and what training it has had listed.”

Selling horses Selling horses private treaty gives the ranch an opportunity to attract more buyers.

“Buyers don’t have to worry about making it to a sale or missing it if it is on a bad day,” Brian says. “Now, they can just get on the website, look at our offering and come look at the horses whenever they want.”

Red Hills Ranch has built a solid base of clients mostly through word of mouth and repeat customers.

“We’ve been here a long time, and people have had such good luck with our horses, they come back. We have a lot of people ask our customers where they got their horses,” he says.

Customers come from the neighboring states of Idaho and Utah, as well as Oregon, Colorado and as far as from the eastern states.

Training methods “Our goal has always been to raise good ranch horses that are easy to work with and safe for people to be around,” Brian says. “These horses don’t kick or buck.”

By the time the horses are two-year-olds, they have been flagged out and lead

Paint horses - Red Hills Ranch Paints produces about one-third Paints and two-thirds solid-colored horses each year. Ranch owner Sen. Herb Kohl prefers Paint horses and appreciates the quality that results from their breeding program. Courtesy photo

really well.

“They are used to people,” Brian says. “They have been trimmed and tied up.”

At that point, they use a round pen to teach the horse how to trot, lope, stop and come back to them. They buck the colts out with a saddle until they are comfortable with it, then Colten will ride the colts in the round pen for a few days.

At that point, Brian grabs a mount, and the two take the horses into the mountains to put some miles on them.

“By the end of the summer, the horses are so gentle, anyone can do whatever they want with them,” he says.

Competitors The horses have also gone on to compete in nearly every event imaginable. Brian

has received pictures of horses he has sold that now compete in events like hunter/jumper, dressage and competitive shooting.

Others compete in more traditional events like rodeo, cutting and ranch roping events.

“The horses are so competitive and willing. That’s why we have so many repeat customers,” Brian explains.

A look to the future Sen. Kohl seems pretty satisfied with the horses and the ranch, and Brian doesn’t foresee any major changes in the future. However, they will begin scouting the country for

a new stallion in the coming years.

“Our stallion is getting older, so we will be looking for a new Quarter Horse stallion that is a good performance horse. We want to find the best one we can,” he says.

For more information about the Red Hills Ranch or to see the offering of horses they have for sale, see their website at redhillsranchpaints.com. Brian can be reached at 307-733-5021.

Gayle Smith is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Top quality - Red Hills Ranch Paints raises the highest quality horses. Their horses are sold across the region by private treaty each year. The ranch also works to train their horses. Courtesy photo

B6

Jackson – Paul T. Walton moved to Jackson from Utah in the late 1950s with the goal of establishing a ranch.

“My dad had moved to Salt Lake and became a well-known geologist, but he always wanted to get back to ranching,” says Ann Walton, Paul’s daughter. “He looked for many years all over the West, and he found this place in 1957.”

At the time, the land, which sits several miles west of Jackson, was owned by a handful of different people.

Paul and his wife Betty purchased the parcels and put together Walton Ranch.

Desire to ranch “Initially, my father lived up here in summer in a tent,” Ann says. “We came up in the summers and helped rebuild the pastures.”

When Paul first put

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

together the property, the hay meadows had been run down, and a swamp dominated several hundred acres of the land.

“My father drained the big swamp and put it into production,” Ann explains, fondly remembering the days they spent on the ranch when she was a child. “He put me at the far end of a survey rod many, many times. My dad and uncle built our house in 1964.”

The main house on Walton Ranch sits with its view overlooking the hay meadows on the ranch.

“My father loved to sit on the porch and look at the ranch,” says Ann. “People used to ask why he built the house facing away from the Tetons. My father used to say that anyone can look at the Tetons, but not many can sit and look at all of

Pristine landscapes - Settled between Jackson and Wilson, Walton Ranch raises hay and cattle. The operation focuses on quality stock and maintaining the agriculture lifestyle. Saige Albert photo

their property.”

Though Paul traveled the world with his career as a consulting geologist, she says, “He was always back on the ranch in the summer.

He loved to work cattle.”

Cattle ranch Walton Ranch continues to raise cattle today, both on the ranch and on summer range. Bill Cawley manages the operation.

The ranch runs an Angusbased cattle herd, but like many in the county, they got their start with Herefords.

“The Angus are bigger than the Herefords, and they are worth more,” Ann says, noting that some Hereford influence can still be seen in the cattle.

Walton Ranch begins calving in March and continues through April.

“We usually brand the second week of May, and at the end of May or beginning of June, the cows go to summer pasture,” Ann says.

Summer range “For many years, we trailed cattle up to our range near Togwotee in the spring and then brought them back in the fall,” she continues.

“We were literally run off that range by grizzly bears.”

The number of cattle losses and the safety of their range riders meant that the Walton family began searching for summer range

elsewhere.

“We have them grazing up Spring Gulch now,” says Ann. Because Walton Ranch also puts up hay all summer, and she adds, “We try to get the cattle off the main ranch as soon as we can so we can put up hay.”

They get one cutting of alfalfa grass hay each year, which helps to feed cows throughout the winter.

Coming home The first part of October, the cows are trailed back to the home ranch, and calves are sold.

Over the last five years, they have sold their cattle on an online auction, which has been very successful.

After selling calves Walton Ranch feeds hay to their cows all winter.

“We get quite a bit of snow,” Ann notes. “While we don’t get as much as we used to, it is still a lot. We start feeding hay the first part of November.”

A long feeding season means high feed costs, and she says that it is a financial burden to feed hay as long as they do.

“We have an enormous feed cost,” she adds.

Conservation on the land In the 1983, Paul began to put together conservation easements on the property.

“Jackson was starting to explode with development,” Ann says. “My father didn’t ever want to see this ranch developed, so he started put-

ting it in a conservation easement.”

Today, the entire ranch – 1,800 acres – is under easement, held by Jackson Hole Land Trust.

“The easements took a number of years to put together,” Ann says, mentioning that the property is under several different easements that do not allow division of the ranch.

Several of the easements were subsequently placed under a unifying easement.

In addition, only two home sites beyond the current development are allowed on the ranch.

The easement is the second largest private conservation effort in Teton County history, behind only the Rockefeller family’s gift to Grand Teton National Park, says Jackson Hole Land Trust.

Paul passed away in 1998, just two years before the conservation easements were completed, and his wife Betty passed in 2010.

Pressures of ranching In addition to vast development pressure that led Walton Ranch to pursuing conservation easements, other challenges pressure the ranch.

The pressure to subdivide the ranch continues, but the easement protects the Waltons.

“Because of the way Jackson is growing, there is a lot of other pressure from non-agricultural interests,” Ann explains. “We get environmental pressures as well.”

Despite those challenges, Ann says that the independence, freedom and isolation of the ranch make it all worth it.

Future of the ranch Today, Ann lives in Fort Collins, Colo. full time, visiting Teton County in the summer months.

Of Paul’s four children, Ann is the last surviving Walton.

“My brother Paul helped to manage the ranch before he unexpectedly passed away in February 2015,” Ann says. “Unfortunately, the ranch is currently for sale.”

Despite the fact that the ranch is up for sale, the easement protects the agricultural legacy of the ranch.

“Even though the ranch is for sale, we continue to run cattle and harvest hay each year,” Ann says. “Because of the easement, we have to stay in agriculture.”

She adds, “If I had things my way, I’d keep this ranch forever.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

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B7

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Wilson – When Elizabeth “Betty” Woolsey came to Jackson, she came to ski. She was captain of the first U.S. Women’s Olympic Ski Team in 1936, and she was looking for a place away from resorts around the world.

When skiing down Teton Pass, Betty came across a swath of land that she fell in love with because of the light powder snow and the lack of a crowd. She purchased the land in 1943 and created Trail Creek Ranch.

After several years, the addition of a barn and improvements to the log house, Betty began taking paying guests on the ranch.

In 1950, Margaret “Muggs” Schultz moved from her childhood home in Jackson to Trail Creek Ranch with her longtime friend Betty.

“I wanted to get out of town, and I didn’t like college,” Muggs says. “Betty said I could come up, help her out and keep my horses there.”

Muggs was also a talented skier, and she skied with Trail Creek Ranch guests for many years, helping Betty.

“I was the rear person on all the trips we took,” she continues. “Betty took guests skiing over the pass, and I hung back to help people get up and make sure they stayed together.”

Beginnings of a guest ranch “Betty was really just starting out with a few guests and getting the land back into shape,” Muggs says of when she moved to Trail Creek Ranch.

The guest business really kicked off as Betty had a handful of friends who began to visit in the 1940s.

“In the early 50s, quite a few friends started coming, and it got to the point where Betty had to charge people,” Muggs explains. “Guests used to come and stay all summer.”

As they moved into the

dude ranching business, Betty acquired more horses and began to take more guests.

“The dude ranch business started to pick up in this country right after the war,” Muggs says. “We were in the dude business for about 60 years.”

Muggs notes that they continued to grow when they had enough money to build a new cabin. They built two bunkhouses, allowing them to sleep older children together.

“One summer we took six girls and six boys without their families,” Muggs says, adding that many families returned year after year.

Horses and pack trips “We did a lot of packing, too,” Muggs says. “Betty knew the country pretty well, and she loved to take trips.”

During the biggest years on the ranch, six or seven wranglers also helped on pack trips and around the place. Trail Creek Ranch took guests on week-long excursions into the wilderness.

“A lot of time, when we were busy in the summer we’d have as many as 40 guests at once,” she says. “To do that, we’d have to send a pack trip off. We had 45 head of horses at one time, but we were never a big outfit.”

Muggs laughs, “We used to accuse Betty of being the single person in Jackson who overpopulated the town more than anyone else. There were a lot of guests who stayed here and later came back and bought land or homes.”

Farming endeavors In addition to the guests, Betty and Muggs worked to rehabilitate the land on the ranch into productive hay meadows.

“We had an old plow and an old rancher here loaned us a John Deere tractor,” says Muggs.

The women plowed up their back pasture, converting it from sagebrush to hay meadows.

“We worked a lot with

the local guys, and they were good about giving us advice,” Muggs explains, noting that neighbors helped them through rehabilitation of the pastures.

“We had some alfalfa, and it was really good hay,” she adds.

“I really like the farming and ranching – even more than the guests,” Muggs says.

“If I worked at something hard, I could see it grow and then we could cut the hay.”

Muggs notes that she truly enjoyed feeding during the winter and working with the stock.

“In the middle of the summer, after putting up with guests, when it came time to feed, I’d get on the tractor and go to the fields,” she says. “It kept me sane. I enjoyed the farming more than the guest end of the business.”

Trail Creek Ranch was one of the few operations in the valley that also wintered their horses, rather than sending them to Idaho or Riverton for the cold winter months.

“Most of the ranches in Jackson never wintered their horses,” Muggs says. “We put up hay because we winter our horses so we can make sure they are taken care of.”

She still winters horses on the ranch.

Changes in time After over 60 years in guest ranching, Muggs says that a number of things have changed.

“The biggest change is the people,” she explains.

“They aren’t like the people who used to come.”

Today, guests want to stay for three or four days and experience everything the area has to offer – from whitewater rafting to pack trips into the wilderness to hiking. When she first started, guests would stay two weeks, a month or even all summer.

“It got to the point where we would not do a pack trip unless it was at least four days,” says Muggs. “It was too much work to go for two days.”

Finding good help that is dependable has also been a challenge.

“As years went by, fewer young kids wanted to actually

do the work,” she says. “To be successful in dude ranching today, one has to have family who is interested in it.”

Young people today aren’t familiar with how to handle horses, and they don’t want to work, she continues, which makes it difficult to operate the ranch.

“We couldn’t hire decent help anymore,” she says.

Shifting the business When Betty passed away in 2003, Muggs had a difficult decision to make – continue the guest ranching business or downscale. After about a year off, Muggs, Alex Menolascino and Alex’s her

husband Mike continued to care for Trail Creek Ranch, which is owned by the Elizabeth D. Woolsey Testamentary Trust. Today they rent the cabins to visitors to the Jackson area.

“I miss the old dude ranch days,” says Muggs.

“They were fun here. People were fun, and the guests were fun. It was a good time to be in Jackson.”

Visit Trail Creek Ranch online at trailcreekranch. com.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

Rehabilitating the land - What once was just a sagebrush plain was transformed into lush, quality grass pastures by Muggs Schultz and Betty Woolsey. The women turned Trail Creek Ranch into a thriving guest operation. Saige Albert photo

There’s a Years of dude ranching - Since 1950, Muggs Schulz has lived at Trail Creek Ranch. Though the operation only rents out cabins today, between 1943 and 2003, they boarded guests, guided pack trips and helped others experience all there was to see around Teton County. Saige Albert photo

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B8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

When Jackson was first incorporated in the early 1900s, ranchers dominated the landscape of the valley.

“We had a lot of dude ranchers and cattle ranchers who ran the valley through the 50s, 60s and 70s,” explains Chopper Grassell, a real estate agent and owner at Lewis Duerr Grassell in Jackson.

“Land prices were always stiff, but into the 80s, particularly 1985-89, they

really began to skyrocket” Chopper continues, “The increase was almost stratospheric – to the extent that last year, we broke the per-acre record for land sales with a 140acre parcel that sold for over $140,000 per acre.”

“This is a very different market now than it was in the 20th century,” he comments. “Teton County has always been a recreational hotspot and a place for guest ranches.”

Land values With the dramatic increase in land prices, Chopper explains that ranchers became unable to afford to expand their operations, and selling the ranch became a more attractive option in many cases.

However, the high value of land is largely limited to Teton County.

“It is a very different market here, when compared to the rest of

High-valued lands - Teton County’s limited private land is often sold at a high premium. The value of the land makes ranching and an agriculture lifestyle difficult. Saige Albert photo

Booth’s Cherry Creek Angus Performance Cattle for ANY Altitude!

the state as it relates to ranches,” he says. “If we travel 30 to 60 minutes to the south, we find larger ranches that are worth big dollars, but the peracre value is less. Smaller places might trade for up to $10,000 per acre, but there isn’t anything available for those prices anymore in Teton County.”

Chopper works with buyers and sellers of ranches throughout the region and state and has indicated per acre pricing can average from below $1,000 to over $4,000 per acre on large to medium size ranches throughout the state of Wyoming.

The scarcity of land in Teton County contributes to the high land values.

“Of the 23 counties in Wyoming, which has the least private land?” asks Chopper. “It’s Teton County, where 97 percent of the land is public and only three percent of the ground is even available to own. There is a finite amount of land that people can build a home on.”

Living in Jackson Jackson has drawn a unique group of residents that isn’t normally seen anywhere else in Wyoming.

“Many of the people who live in Jackson today came here as guests on dude ranches many years ago,” Chopper says.

“Many of those dude ranch guests now own homes in Teton County.”

Because of the effort that the Town of Jackson undertook in developing the community, it is an attractive place to live.

Chopper mentions that Jackson has done a great job of developing for a pleasing aesthetic value.

“People come to Jackson, own a home, live in the valley and commute out on a weekly or monthly basis,” he comments. “This is an iconic place to live because of the Tetons, and there are a lot of amenities here.”

Included among the amenities, world-class skiing and picturesque scenery are all within minutes of Jackson.

“Teton Village has the largest vertical drop in the U.S., which makes for incredible skiing, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort was recently ranked the number one destination ski resort in the country,” Chopper says. “The fact that we have direct city flight options is particularly helpful.”

Today, Jackson has 13 direct flights to destination cities around the U.S., which makes the city attrac-

Meet Jackson Ramsay,

RSNB Bank’s new Agriculture Loan Officer.

For the past two years we have summered 90 of our weaned fall bulls at 8,000’ feet in Centennial, WY where we had Dr. Tim Holt PAP test them.

We couldn’t be any happier with the results.

V A R Reserve 1111

18 Sons Average PAP 39

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Banking for the Wyoming Lifestyle Cherry Crk Destination 2513 M 3 Sons Average PAP 39.6

Haynes Upward 307R 032 10 Sons Average PAP 39.9

KM Broken Bow 002

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They All Sell In Our Annual ‘Progress Through Performance’ Bull Sale February 11, 2016 At the Ranch in Veteran, WY Lunch: Noon • Sale: 1 p.m.

Shawn & Diane 307-837-2994 • Michael & Lindsy 307-837-0164 • Kacey 307-532-1532 boothangus@scottsbluff.net • www.boothscherrycreekranch.com

tive to businesspeople from around the country.

“We don’t see the number of direct city flight options anywhere else in Wyoming,” Chopper says.

A future for land values While Chopper notes that he doesn’t have a crystal ball, he predicts that as long as the economy remains relatively strong, prices should stay strong.

“I don’t see prices going up drastically, but I don’t see the bottom falling out either,” he says.

“There are a small percentage of folks who are able to live and thrive in a community like Jackson Hole.”

“There isn’t much ranchland remaining,” he notes. “Everything currently in Teton County is largely utilized for summer grazing and native hay production. We don’t have a widespread ag base, but thankfully, there is a strong group of ranchers still hanging onto our heritage to keep a sense of what used to be.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr. net.

rsnb.com • 307-362-8801

B9

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Jackson – Since the turn of the century, the Hansen family has been immersed in Teton County’s agriculture industry, and today, Brad Mead and his wife Kate continue his family’s longstanding traditions.

“This ranch comes from my mom’s side of the family,” Brad explains. “This ranch was established by my great-grandfather in the mid-1890s.”

The Hansen family homesteaded the land, and it was passed down to Cliff Hansen, Brad’s grandfather, who continued to ranch.

Cliff’s daughter Mary Mead then took over the operation until 1996.

“In 1996, mom was killed in a horse accident, so the ranch passed to my brother, sister and I,” Brad says. “I’m the only sibling who continues to ranch fulltime in Teton County.”

Running cattle Mead Ranch is a traditional cow/calf operation, Brad comments, also noting that the majority of their cattle herd is only in Teton County during the summer months.

“We no longer pasture our cattle or feed them here in the winter,” he says.

“We truck them to Hot Springs County for the winter months where we have

another ranch.”

The cattle spend their winters grazing winter range in Hot Springs County.

“One thing we do a little differently is that we feed the cows grain from the Wyoming Whiskey distillery during the winter,” Brad says.

The cows also calve on their winter range in Hot Springs County beginning in March, and they return to Teton County at the end of May. The cattle are pastured in Teton County in the summer. The family also raises hay on the ranch in the summer months.

“We no longer use any public land for grazing,” he adds. “It became very cumbersome and controversial.

We spent as much time in meetings as we did working productively on the ranch, so we raise them on all private land now.”

Genetics When developing their cattle, Brad says, “My ideal mother cow is a pretty, almost all black cow that doesn’t have too large a frame. I’m not into the large frames. They aren’t as efficient.”

He explains that for a while, the cattle got continuously taller, and he worked to bring them back to a

more moderate size.

“I have all Angus bulls that are high-altitude range bulls,” Brad says. “As I try to improve the cattle herd, I make little changes and watch what happens over time to see what happens.”

He adds, “I inherited a great cowherd.”

Sales and marketing The majority of cattle are marketed through online auctions, but a handful are also sold locally.

“The online marketing and auctions have been really good for us,” says Brad, noting that online auctions allow him to concentrate on other aspects of the business. “They are straightforward, and I think it is valuable for us.”

Brad also notes that he sells Kate 50 to 80 head of cattle every fall, and she feeds them on grass for the winter on their ranch.

“Kate keeps those cattle in Teton County yearround,” he explains. “We feed them hay and a pickup load of spent grain from the local brewpub every day.”

The cattle are sold as natural beef to local restaurants, grocery stores and directly to consumers.

Natural beef “The natural beef business has been quite successful,” Brad continues,

also noting that it was her idea. “When Kate came up with the idea, I didn’t think it was a good idea, but she said she wanted to try it.

Over the course of three to four years, it started to boom.”

Brad notes that Teton County provides a great market for farm-to-table products, adding that they have been successful in the local food business.

“Not every piece of a cow is tenderloin, and we got advice that we might have a hard time getting rid of the burger,” he says.

“That has turned out not to be true because the ski area swallows it up, which has been an advantage for sure.”

However, Brad notes that they have to take cattle to Tetonia, Idaho for slaughter, which has been a challenge.

Teton County challenges “Ranching in Teton County can be a challenge because of climate,” Brad says. “There are a lot of people who are relatively

new as well, so it can be politically complicated sometimes.”

In addition to political and climatic challenges, Brad says that disease challenges, like brucellosis, also add to the difficulty of ranching in the county.

Regardless, he notes, “I think there is a future for ranching here.”

Building ag interest Crediting Kate for her work in connecting with the community, Brad notes that there is constant interaction with consumers through restaurant sales, farmers’ markets and farm-to-table events, Brad says, “I think a lot of people who would otherwise not pay attention to ag feel invested. I think that benefits us and other ranchers, too.”

Though the farm-to-table movement has created an interesting dynamic, Brad says that ranchers are

better understood in the community.

“I think ranching in Teton County will be stable,” he comments. “The only change is that I foresee more local ranchers trying to get involved in raising natural beef and farmto-table.”

While Brad practiced law for nearly 30 years, he says that ranching has always been something he’s wanted to do.

“After my mom was killed, I stepped in to manage the ranch on behalf of the other members of the family because I was in Jackson,” he says. “Ranching is what I have always wanted to do.”

Mead Ranch can be found online at meadranch. com.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

The Willwood Herd Yearling bulls and yearling heifers for sale next Spring

For the history of our herd, we have selected for economic traits, calving ease, growth, disposition, structure, fertility and carcass.

This year’s calves are sired bulls with superior marblingBaldridge Willie Y34, PA Safeguard 021 and Mohnen Long Haul

The bulls for sale in the Spring from these high-marbling bulls will sire calves that will reach the choice grade at a younger age and in a shorter feeding period which means more profit!

Our Yearling Bull Offering will Include:

This son of Baldridge Willie

Sire: IMF +1.52 $B +168.99 • Dam: IMF +1.15 $B +146.23

LARAMIE SPINAL CARE CENTER

This son of PA Safeguard 021

Sire: IMF +1.22 $B +163.81 • Dam: IMF +.72 $B 112.96

JEREMY D. JONES, D.C., DACBSP, CCEP Board Certified Doctor of Chiropractic Official Chiropractor of UW Athletics 2130 E. Grand Ave • Laramie, WY 82070 307-742-0232 • 307-742-4893 (fax)

www.laramiespinalcarecenter.com

Come see what our herd has to offer!

Larry Earhart • Andrea Earhart

307-754-3709 • 770 Lane 13 • Powell, WY 82435

B10

WYOMING ANGUS ASSOCIATION Angel Angus

Terry & Jackie Angel PO Box 88 Riverton, WY 82501 307-856-0046 307-850-4291 tjangel@wyoming.com www.angelquarterhorses.com

Staple J Angus-Baker Family Betty or Cory Baker 331 Normandy Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-322-2346 307-331-9144

Baker Livestock

Logan & Jolene Baker 2243 Hwy 14 Banner, WY 82832 307-737-2239 307-254-1477 bakerlivestock@tctwest.net

XL Angus Ranch Bob & Kate Ballew PO Box 989 Evansville, WY 82636 307-258-0107 bob@bkfarmsllc.com

Ballou Angus

Roger & Bonnie Ballou 266 Gov. Canyon Rd. Hulett, WY 82720 307-467-5767 ballouangrch@rtconnect.net

M Diamond Angus Brad Boner PO Box 1345 Glenrock, WY 82637 307-436-5406 mdiamond@hughes.net

Douglas Booth Family Angus

Forgey/Smith Angus

Stan & Karen Mitchem PO Box 1115 Glenrock, WY 82637 307-436-2504 stan@stanmitchem.com

SO Cattle

Bill & Chris Johnson

John & ManDee Moore 4095 Ross Rd. Douglas, WY 82633 307-464-6222 jjcattleco@gmail.com

Diane Frank Mike & Angie McConnell 420 Lyons Valley Rd. Lander, WY 82520 307-332-4062 • 307-332-5969 socattle@wyoming.com www.socattle.com

Clay Creek Angus Jim French 3334 Rd. 14 Greybull, WY 82426 307-762-3541 bulls@claycreek.net www.claycreek.net

Gardner Heart Dot Angus Bret & Laurie Gardner 720 Missouri Valley Rd. Shoshoni, WY 82649 307-857-4444

Godley Angus Ranch

Shawn & Diane Booth 2749 Rd. 60 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2994 boothangus@scottsbluff.net www.boothscherrycreekranch.com

Bowman Cattle

Lyle Bowman 3410 County Rd. 163 Pine Bluffs, WY 82082 307-246-3281

Little Goose Ranch

Chad Bradshaw, Manager 228 Little Goose Canyon Rd. Big Horn, WY 82833 307-751-1535 • 307-673-0049 chad4lgr@yahoo.com www.littlegooseranch.com

Buline Angus

Jim, Pam & Robert Buline 623 Old Yellowstone Hwy Crowheart, WY 82512 307-486-2300

WS Ranch

Sheridan & Lindy Burgess PO Box 80 Wyarno, WY 82845 307-737-2261

Earhart Farms

Larry & Andrea Earhart 1373 Rd. 8 Powell, WY 82435 307-272-5171 307-754-3709 learhart@tctwest.net

Cross Diamond Cattle Co.

Scott & Kim Ford 72862 C Rd. Bertrand, NE 68927 308-876-2211 • 308-991-2452 thefords@crossdiamondcattle.com www.crossdiamondcattle.com

Labonte Creek Angus Ranch

Neil & Clarice Forgey 2956 West Ponderosa Wheatland, WY 82201 307-351-1944 labontecreek@hotmail.com

Kilts Angus

Bill Klein 256 Brookside Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-331-0136 bill82201@yahoo.com

Gray’s Angus Ranch

Kale & Kim Kretschman 721 Middle Prong Rd. Gillette, WY 82716 307-736-2415 307-299-4569 raftert@rangeweb.net

Daniel Greet 1728A Hwy 434 Ten Sleep, WY 82442 307-366-2062 dgreet@tctwest.net

Guest Angus & Quarter Horse Ranch J.T. Guest PO Box 86 Hawk Springs, WY 82217 307-534-5823

B & D Cattle Co.

Bill Haas 2578 Rd. 58 Veteran, WY 82243 307-575-0294 • 307-837-2925

Ken Haas Angus

Ken & Heather Haas 4766 State Hwy 151 LaGrange, WY 82221 307-834-2356 www.kenhaasangus.com

Hancock Livestock Charles Hancock PO Box 435 Basin, WY 82410 307-250-6900 hancockc90@yahoo.com

Herring Angus Ranch Kal & Vickie Herring PO Box 275 Encampment, WY 82325 307-327-5396 • 307-329-8228

Pat & Marilyn Herring

5463 Rd. 27 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2540 • 307-532-6170 gbarh@bbcwb.net www.angusjournal.com/gbarh

Hiser Farms

Hoggs Angus

Flying M Angus

Bill & Jo Ann Keith 9250 Zero Road Casper, WY 82604 307-457-2314 jokeithkv@rtconnect.net

Klein Angus

Lazy GT Ranch

Larry & Jackie Dobrenz 6566 Clareton Hwy. Gillette, WY 82718 307-464-0315

Deer Creek Angus Ranch

Grandstaff Angus

1835 Willow Creek Rd. Casper, WY 82604 307-630-4604 curt@wylr.net

Don Cox 4024 I-25 Service Rd. Cheyenne, WY 82009 307-630-0400 lgtranch@wildblue.net

Chad Jones HC 63 Box 17 Saratoga, WY 82331 307-326-3553 307-710-6700 xhranch@union-tel.com www.xhangus.com

Curtis & Cheryl Grandstaff 800 W.S. Hwy 151 Box 155 LaGrange, WY 82221 307-834-2459 • 307-575-2459 granny@prairieweb.com

Wesley & Velvet Hiser PO Box 882 Casper, WY 82602 307-262-1410 (Wes) • 307-277-5952 whiser@wyoheart.com velvethiser@yahoo.com

Curt & Diane Cox

XH Land & Cattle Co. XH Angus

Russell & Sheila Kilts PO Box 382 Edgerton, WY 82635 307-437-6466 307-267-2566 shekilts@rtconnect.net

Double Lazy A

Booth’s Cherry Creek Ranch

5415 Rd. 31 Veteran, WY 82243 307-575-3026 307-575-0014 bcjohnson@bbcwb.net

Gary Godley PO Box 304 Kaycee, WY 82639 307-267-2683 godley@rtconnect.net www.godleyangus.com

Douglas Booth Family Angus

Michael & Lindsy Booth 2162 Rd. 60 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-0164 • 307-532-1830 mlboothwyo@vistabeam.com www.boothscherrycreekranch.com

Mitchem Ranch

Justin & Renee Jensen PO Box 316 Boulder, WY 82923 307-367-2510 (h) 307-360-9136 (c) rjj@wyoming.com

Rod & Lora Gray 4281 Henry Rd. Harrison, NE 69346 308-668-2520 (h) • 308-668-2525 (o)

Booth’s Cherry Creek Ranch

“THE BEST IN THE WEST”

Wayne & Cheri Smith Shirley Forgey 1732 Esterbrook Rd. Douglas, WY 82633 307-351-1255 trippleswayne@yahoo.com

Dudley & Jennifer Booth 4156 Rd. 82 Torrington, WY 82240 307-532-7179 307-532-6207 dbooth@scottsbluff.net www.boothfamilyangus.com

Douglas & Carolyn Booth 7618 Rd. 41 Torrington, WY 82240 307-532-5830 cbooth@actcom.net www.boothfamilyangus.com

Jensen Angus

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Ronee, Michael & Kurt Hogg 5423 St. Hwy 120 Meeteetse, WY 82433 307-868-2431• 307-272-9602 hoggsangus@tctwest.net

Hytrek Cattle Company Toby Hytrek 7405 Jacob Place Cheyenne, WY 82009 307-760-7664 thytrek@gmail.com

Ingalls Angus & Quarter Horses PO Box 1782 Riverton, WY 82501 307-690-7557 dan@ingalls.us

Dan Ingalls

PO Box 1782 Riverton, WY 82501 307-690-7557 dan@ingalls.us

Lucky 7 Angus

Jim & Jamie Jensen PO Box 1445 Riverton, WY 82501 307-850-2514 cowboybulls@hotmail.com www.lucky7angus.com

Rafter T Angus

Kretschman Angus

Kelby & Lacey Kretschman 1336 Lower Powder River Rd. Arvada, WY 82831 307-736-2327 307-351-0794 klkret@rangeweb.net

Broken Arrow Angus, Inc.

Travis & Katie Krein 6801 US Hwy 29 Harrison, NE 69346 308-665-5085 www.brokenarrowangus.com

LTJ Angus

Tim & Julie Lathum 390 Hwy. 14A Powell, WY 82435 307-202-1356

Lisco Angus

Richard W. (Dick) Lisco 554 Tank Farm Rd. Douglas, WY 82633 307-358-3810 (h) 307-359-0167 (c) liscoangus@vcn.com

Deb & Adam Redland 2988 B Rd. 82 Ten Sleep, WY 82442 307-250-1546 (Deb) 307-250-1548 (Adam)

J Bar M Angus

MR Angus Ranch

7X Ranches

Wayne & Kevie Morrison 14355 Clark Rd. Casper, WY 82604 307-575-9555 (Wayne) 307-575-4013 (Kevie)

P\T Livestock

Pete Thompson 72 West Pavillion Road Pavillion, WY 82523 307-463-7475 (h) 307-709-8351 9 (c)

5-5 Angus

Wagler Angus

Colton & Tanna Rodeman PO Box 837 Douglas, WY 82633 307-358-3675 tannarodeman@yahoo.com

Neiman Cattle Company Ryan & Sonnie Neiman 554 Hwy 112 Hulett, WY 82720 307-290-0791 www.neimancattle.com

Kim & Elsie Wagler 401 Southfork Rd. Cody, WY 82414 307-587-5440 • 307-272-6727

Double JR Ranch

Walker Angus Ranch

John & Judy Rueb 291 Highway 14 Sheridan, WY 82801 307-672-9499 doublejrranch@gmail.com

Nickel Cattle Co. Kevin & Jackie Nickel 3146 St. Hwy. 154 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2279

Ramon & Verla Walker 44219 Business Loop 80 Lyman, WY 82937 307-787-6106

Weaver Ranch

Popo Agie Angus

Susan, Maurine & Maxine Weaver or Sheldon Emerson 3000 West Co. Rd. 70 Fort Collins, CO 80524 970-568-3898 weaverrch@aol.com

Ted Seely PO Box 569 Lander, WY 82520 307-330-8773 307-332-2839

Nolke Angus

Calvin Nolke, Jr. 2749 Four Corners Rd. LaGrange, WY 82221 307-477-0029 nolkeangus@gmail.com

G G Ranch

Greg & Kim Selin 3788 Road 215 Cheyenne, WY 82009 307-631-8814 gselin@millect.com

George Ochsner & Sons Blake Ochsner 10672 Van Tassell Rd. Torrington, WY 82240 307-532-3282 • 307-532-5892 ochsner@dishmail.net www.qualitybulls.com

Oedekoven Angus

David & Diana Oedekoven PO Box 68 Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-7375 doangus@gmail.com www.oarangus.com

Beaver Creek Ranches/ WW Angus

Sinclair Cattle Company PO Box 1158 Buffalo, WY 82834 800-761-2077 www.sinclaircattle.com

Pete & Lucy Widener 568 Beaver Creek Road Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-6947 (h) 307-674-0848 (o) doublew@fiberpipe.net PABW@fiberpipe.net www.beavercreekranches.com

Powder River Angus

Wilkes 6-D Angus Ranch

Neal & Amanda Sorenson 7241 US Hwy 14-16 Arvada, WY 82831 307-736-2260 • 307-680-7359 nasorenson@rangeweb.net www.powderriverangus.com

Page Angus Ranch

Tom & Margaret Page 449 Carroll Lake Road Laramie, WY 82070 307-760-8429 • 307-745-3278 pageangus@yahoo.com

Don or Darrell Wilkes PO Box 36 Hawk Springs, WY 82217 307-532-2835 303-570-9207 docwilkes@comcast.net

Steinbrecher Livestock Company

WEBO Angus

325 US Hwy. 14E Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-5541

Kody Steinbrecher PO Box 293 Sundance, WY 82729 307-290-0821 wyoming74@gmail.com

Waldon & Buttons York PO Box 848 Lusk, WY 82225 307-334-3006 • 307-334-9989 www.weboangus.com

Pingetzer’s Six Iron Ranch

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Zorko’s 7Z Livestock

Rock Lake Land & Cattle, LLC.

Obsidian Angus

Jon & Cathy Peldo

Dennis Sun PO Box 850 Casper, WY 82602 307-234-2700 dennis@wylr.net www.wylr.net

Robert or George Pingetzer 11882 Hwy 789 Shoshoni, WY 82649 307-856-4401 • 307-851-4401 rpping@wyoming.com

Todd, Bill & Nancy Platt 714 Grange Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-331-1175 • 307-331-1745 wyocowdude1@yahoo.com danes-grandma@yahoo.com

Robert J. Zorko PO Box 1211 Laramie, WY 82073 307-742-4077 bobless2@vcn.com

ZumBrunnen Angus Jason & Shirley ZumBrunnen 1174 Kirtley Rd. Lusk, WY 82225 307-481-7090 jason@zbangus.com

Fred & Kay Thomas PO Box 346 Meeteetse, WY 82433 307-868-2595 307-2724911 fkdramsrus@tctwest.net

Wyoming

Andy & Stacy Malm PO Box 128 LaGrange, WY 82221 307-834-0128

Malm Ranch Co.

5th Annual Wyoming Select Female Sale

McClun’s Lazy JM Ranch Jim or Jeff McClun 1929 Rd. 60 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2524 • 307-534-5141 jkmcclun@wyomail.com

Dr. Darrell Wilkes Genetic Solutions Manager 3883 Hwy 85 Yoder, WY 82244 303-570-9207 (c) 307-532-BULL (o) docwilkes4@gmail.com www.thomasangusranch.com

Juan Reyes or Jen Reyes-Burr 98 Olson Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-322-4848 307-331-1568 (Juan) 307-331-1530 (Jen) joreyes@wyoming.com www.mrangusranch.com

SS Ranch Company

Gordon Malm PO Box 55 Albin, WY 82050 307-246-3223 (Gordon) 307-834-0128 (Andy) mrc3mt@aol.com www.malmranch.com

Thomas Angus Ranch

Redland Red Bank Angus

®

November 15, 2015 • 12:30 p.m.

Casper College • Casper, WY

McConnell Angus Ranch Roger, Ryan & Royce McConnell 5740 Road 52 N Dix, NE 69133 308-682-5615 mcconnellangus@msn.com www.mcconnellangus.com

Cow Capital Livestock, LLC Doug McLean 43 Signal Butte Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 307-462-1683 406-853-6961 cowcapital61@gmail.com www.cowcapital.com

Paint Rock Angus Ranch, Inc. Martin & Kelli Mercer 1926 Hwy 31 Hyattville, WY 82428 307-469-2206 km@tctwest.net www.paintrockangus.com

Tom & Garcia Michelena 993 Airport Rd. Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-9092 • 307-752-4085 twmich@optimum.net

Micheli Ranch

Dale or Ron Micheli PO Box 15 Ft. Bridger, WY 82428 307-780-8232 • 307-782-3897 dmicheli@bvea.net

Wyoming Angus Association Officers President: Brad Boner, Glenrock 307-426-5406 • mdiamond@hughes.net

Vice-President: Buttons York, Lusk 307-216-0090 • buttons@weboangus.com

Secretary/Treasurer: Curt Cox, Casper 307-630-4604 • curt@wylr.net

DIRECTORS - TERMS EXPIRING 2015 Larry Earhart, Powell (307) 754-3709 Learhart@tctwest.net

Dan Ingalls, Powder River (307) 797-4370 dan@ingalls.us

Kale Kretschman, Gillette (307) 736-2415 raftert@rangeweb.net

Neil Forgey, Douglas (307) 358-9232 labontecreek@hotmail.com

Brad Boner, Glenrock (307) 436-5406 mdiamond@hughes.net

Teasa Nauta, Douglas (307) 359-2206 teas2008@hotmail.com

TERMS EXPIRING 2016 Wayne Smith, Douglas (307) 351-1255 tripleswayne@yahoo.com

Buttons York, Lusk (307) 334-3006 • (307) 334-9989 buttons@weboangus.com

Amanda Sorenson, Arvada (307) 736-2260 nasorenson@rangeweb.net

TERMS EXPIRING 2017 Neal Sorenson, Arvada (307) 736-2260

Kelli Mercer, Hyattville (307) 469-2206 km@tctwest.net Shawn Booth, Veteran (307) 837-2994 boothangus@scottsbluff.net

J.T. Guest, Hawk Springs 307-534-5823

B11

2015 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Alta – “People are looking for good, nutrient-dense foods, and we can do that with chicken,” remarks Andy Heffron, owner of Purely by Chance Farm in Alta. “We pasture-raise ours, and it’s been a very successful enterprise.”

This year, the farm produced over 600 chickens, and demand is growing.

“We keep them in portable shelters, with about 30 to 35 birds in each shelter,” Andy explains.

The enclosures measure 10 feet by 12 feet, giving the birds 120 square feet of space.

At least once a day, the shelters are moved to new areas of fresh pasture.

“It depends on the quality of the pasture,” he says regarding the frequency of relocating birds.

Organic feed Andy continues, “The chickens get an opportunity to eat grass and whatever other good stuff is out there, like bugs.”

Andy and his wife Sue raise Cornish Cross and Red Ranger broiler chickens, as well as layer hens, turkeys, pigs and vegetables.

“Cornish Cross grow very well on organic feeds. The Red Ranger grows a little bit slower, but it has a better balance, for example, between breast size and leg size,” he

notes.

All of the poultry raised on the farm is grown without hormones, antibiotics or medicated feeds.

“In addition to pasture and the organic grain we feed them, we also add sprouted barley. The photoenzymes in the spouted barley gives the meat a little bit of a pop, and that’s pretty interesting,” he says.

Purely by Chance Farm strives to source the barley locally, feeding nearly 4,000 pounds per year.

“I have local producers who are producing really good, chemical-free barley for us so we can sprout it and feed it to our animals,” he comments.

The farm markets their products in local markets, selling to neighbors and at the Saturday farmers’ market in Jackson.

Local markets “Wyoming has just passed the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, and we’re grateful that our Legislature decided it is important for farmers and consumers to come together,” Andy remarks.

In the future, he hopes that his chickens will not be limited to the farmers’ market and his neighbors, but that they will also be available in local restaurants and grocery stores.

“Maybe the Legisla-

ture can find a way or create a pathway for us to do that,” he says, adding that he also understands the importance of making sure products are grown safely and correctly in clean facilities.

“There are a lot of markets and restaurants we could support. I know some chefs who really appreciate what we produce,” he continues.

Restaurants in Jackson are continuously looking for locally and regionally-produced items, and Andy believes Purely by Chance Farms could form a good partnership with some of those businesses.

“Chefs know the difference between a spring egg and a winter egg. They know the difference when eggs in the spring come from chickens that have been out on pasture,” he explains.

In the spring, egg yolks tend to have a different color and consistency.

“We call those ‘eggs with muscle tone,’ because they stand up,” he comments, “and the yolks are bright orange.”

Better practices While larger markets may lay in the future, Andy and Sue also work toward more efficient production practices for the markets they already have.

“It’s just my wife and I who work on the farm. We

know we can produce good food, and we know we can produce a really tasty chicken.

We need enough time to do it, so we are creating more efficiency as we go along,” Andy explains.

For example, the couple performs time and motion studies as they move through their workday, counting steps or visits to specific areas of the farm.

“It’s about infrastructure.

We want to get better and be more efficient at what we do on a daily basis,” he notes.

Researching other operations also informs the couple as they strive for continual improvement.

“I work full time at the Chamber of Commerce in Jackson, and we live in Alta, an hour away. I ride the bus both ways and that gives me great research time to read about people who have been doing this kind of farming all over the country,” he explains.

Virginia farmer Joel Salatin and Connecticut farmer John Suscovich are two producers who have greatly informed the methods used at Purely by Chance Farm.

Chance “We are grateful for people who are willing to share their knowledge. We’ve learned a ton about how to produce good foods and why it’s important to do that,” com-

ments Andy.

He goes on to say, “That’s become part of our mission here at our farm – to produce good, nutrient-dense food and teach others how to do the same thing.”

Andy and Sue began researching their current farming methods when their grandson Chance became ill as a young child. They noticed marked improvements in his health after moving away from processed foods. They have been growing their own meat and produce ever since.

“The farm has developed

purely by chance, and that’s how the name came about, after our little grandson,” he notes.

He also expresses gratitude for the farm, saying, “We live in a beautiful, stunning area. We wake up every day in Alta, thankful that we have the opportunity to do what we do.”

Purely by Chance can be visited online at purelybychance.com.

Natasha Wheeler is editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be contacted at natasha@wylr.net.

Pasture-raised poultry - Chickens are raised on pasture at Purely

By Chance Farm in Alta and sold locally to neighbors and through the farmers’ market. Courtesy photo

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