2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

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Even after Wyoming became a state in 1890, it would be many years before Hot Springs County was formally organized. However, as towns popped up along the Big Horn River in northeast Wyoming, Thermopolis began to slowly grow.

“All of this time, Hot Springs County was a part of Big Horn County, with a county seat of Basin,” writes Tacetta B. Walker in Stories of Early Days in Wyoming. “But the day came when the settlers around Thermopolis felt the need of a new county.”

On Feb. 9, 1911, Hot Springs County emerged after Governor Carey signed a bill into law for its creation. The first county officials took office on Jan. 6, 1913.

Development The town of Thermopolis emerged in August 1897,

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

as people living at the hot springs petitioned the state authorities lay out a town site. After the request was granted, the town was laid out beginning on Sept. 3, 1897.

Railroads were also an integral part of the county, and rails first reached Kirby in 1908.

“Some said Thermopolis was a tough little joint at about that time,” Walker comments. “Others speak of it as the good old days.

On May 13, 1910, the steel rails passed through the town.”

Several other small towns emerged in Hot Springs County over time, including Gebo, Kirby and Grass Creek.

“Gebo is strictly a mining town,” Walker writes, noting that it started in 1897-8. “Its coal bed carries a very high grade of coal, which is shipped to all

parts of the United States.”

Kirby was a railroad terminal, and the land where Kirby stands was purchased

by John Nelson by 1904.

Grass Creek also established in the early 1900s, with the discovery of oil in 1907. It was strictly an oilfield town.

Livestock industry As the livestock industry grew around the state of Wyoming, it also grew in Hot Springs County, with many cattle brought from Texas.

“Mr. John Mercer Boots of Thermopolis came over this trail in the year 1873, with a herd of 3,500 head of cattle,” Walker says. “The Big Horn Basin was one of the last parts of Wyoming to be stocked, due chiefly to its distance from the railroad.”

In 1881-82, the LV Ranch was started on Grass Creek, and the M- was

1. V Ranch 2. White Horse Country Store 3. Mike Baker 4. Arapahoe Ranch 5. Hay Creek Land and Cattle 6. LU Ranch 7. Daniels Custom Haying 8. Bar H Bar Ranch 9. Owl Creek Vet Service

10. Kirby Creek Ranch 11. WYO Quarter Horse Ranch 12. Wyoming Whiskey 13. Diamond Bar Ranch 14. Maddock Family 15. Quien Sabe Ranch 16 Lofink Farms 17. Norsworthy Livestock/ Lucy’s Sheep Camp

18. Axtell Ranches 19. Merlin’s Hide Out 20. Jim and Cindy Collins 21. Becker Family Stock Farm 22. Baird Ranch 23. Pennoyer and Sons 24. Hillberry Ranches 25. Durbin Creek Ranch

started in 1871 on Owl Creek. Copper Mountain was settled by Disney and

Hayes.

“The Hanks Brothers settled on Ditch Creek,” Walker notes. “The Hanks Brokers raised the finest horses in the country, being among the first to bring blooded horses into the Basin.”

As a number of ranches popped up, the fascination and romanticism associated with raising cattle brought people from far and wide to the West, including to Hot Springs County.

“Many other small ranches were established throughout the Basin, but after 1884, there were no large ranches started,” Walker says. “Many of these earliest ranchers were foreigners or from other parts of the United States.”

Hard years In 1922-23, the highway through Wind River Canyon began its construction, but it wasn’t completed until 1924.

“Nineteen hundred and twenty-three was marked by one of the worst floods in the history of the white men in this country,” Walker says. “This flood covered a large part of the town of Thermopolis. East of the railroad tracks, the water stood in many places two to three feet in depth.”

Low ground across the county forced many people out of their homes as the floodwaters rose.

“A great deal of damage was done along Owl Creek,” Walker adds. “Cattle were drowned, and crops were damaged. Bridges were swept away.”

While no lives were lost, the monetary losses were large.

The same year brought a barrage of grasshoppers and crickets.

“Along the lower land about the river, grasshoppers took the crops, marching in hordes along the roads,” Walker says.

Ag today Today in Hot Springs County, agriculture still plays a large part in the annual revenues seen.

Cattle, sheep and crop production are all integral in the county.

According to the 2015 Wyoming Agricultural Statistics, produced by the National Agricultural Statistics Service and Wyoming Business Council, Hot Springs County is ranked 21st in all cattle production in Wyoming and 14 in all sheep production. They are also ranked sixth in barley production and 18th in alfalfa hay production.

Hot Springs County had 178 farms and 517,300 acres in farms in 2015.

Additionally, they had 386,000 acres assessed for ag value.

The 2015 Wyoming Agricultural Statistics also noted that Hot Springs County sold $14,353,000 in livestock products and $2,091,000 in crop products, for a total values of $16,445,000. Hot Springs County sits 22nd for value of ag products in the state.

A selection of the current farms and ranches from the county are depicted in the rest of this edition, and they show a bright future for the Thermopolis area.

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

Kevin Dickey, DVM 307-867-2600

1360 Owl Creek Road Thermopolis, WY 82443

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2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Twenty miles down Black Mountain Road, past the end of the pavement, sits V Ranch, a ranch operated by Jim and Terry Wilson. They’ve been on the Kirby Creek property, also known as the Box Cars, since 2006, but their ranching experience goes back much farther, to their parents and grandparents. “I was born and raised in Thermopolis,� says Jim. “My grandpa moved here from Hershey, Neb. when my dad was in third grade.

He had been here for almost 80 years.�

Terry moved to Thermopolis from Sterling, Colo. when she was in second grade. “We were living on the a ranch that my dad purchased from Sig and Maude Nelson, which bordered the coalmining town of Kirby.

We purchased the Nelson property from my parents in 1979,� says Jim. “Then, in 1986, we had an opportunity to buy a portion of the VeBar Ranch, which was owned by the Stan Smith family, Wyoming’s State Treasurer for five terms.�

Ranching philosophy The Wilson ranch with a philosophy that they developed on moving to their Kirby Creek property. “When we moved out here, I changed my thought process about ranching,�

Jim comments. “We don’t raise cows. We raise grass, and we think the best way to harvest it is with a cow.�

He continues, “We also raise a better beef product by getting the right kind of genetics in a cow that produces the most profitable product for the rancher, the feeder and the packer.

These cattle also need to be adaptable to the range, converting grass to pounds, with a high fertility percentage, and we expect 97 percent of those cows to come in with a ‘coupon,’ the calf.�

The Wilson’s cattle graze year-round and are fed very little, if any, hay, with the exception of the two- and three-year-old females. “A haystack covers up a lot of mistakes by the poordoing animal or ones that don’t convert,� he explains. “When our cattle go to the feedlot, they convert with a gain of four pounds a day.� “Fertility is also a high priority for us,� Jim says. “Nearly 90 percent of our heifers calve before 24 months of age.�

“Our cows are survivors out on the range,� Jim says.

Through the year The Wilsons winter their cows out on the range, where the cattle infrequently see humans. “We don’t see much of the cows from the first of January to the middle of May,� Jim comments, “at which time we start gathering pairs to process, brand and move to higher country.

We do put out protein tubs, free choice, for the cows, from January to May, using a 60 percent protein tub.�

The cattle are summered on Copper Mountain, and in the fall, they’re moved back down Kirby Creek.

The young cows go to pasture, to Mike and Phyllis Baker’s and to Jim and Cindy Collin’s in the Lucerne Valley. “Our motto on everything is low maintenance, no maintenance, which leads to low cost,� Terry emphasizes.

The Wilsons emphasize that their cows are a “factory� for production. Each cow is responsible for producing a “coupon,� or calf.

If she doesn’t produce a coupon she is the coupon and she gets sold. “We pay really close attention to nutrition to accomplish these goals,�

Terry says.

Jim adds, “We test grass and make sure we have the right protein and the right mineral supplements out for our cows.�

Terry explains that health problems they have previously seen in their cattle have all been solved through mineral programs. “We keep loose mineral and loose salt in front of them as much as possible. We can’t let it slip.�

They also maintain a strict vaccination protocol, and they stay on top of the health of their calves. “We still sell cattle by the pound, and we need every pound we can put on them,� Jim says. “We think we’re pretty efficient overall in our labor, feeding, nutrition and cow efficiency.�

Seedstock piece The Wilsons also raise a Salers-Angus cross bulls that they use in their own cowherd, as well as selling a few to neighbors in the area. “I grew up in the seedstock business,� Jim says. “We started as Herefords

Brokerage business Although he recently retired, for nearly 30 years, Jim Wilson ran a cattle brokerage business. “I was in a brokerage business with my dad, and I inherited from him,� Jim explains. “We worked together for probably 20 years, and then I went on my own for 10 years.�

While he enjoyed the business, Jim notes that it was very risky and required significant investments of time and energy. “We got out of the brokerage business last fall. We needed to slow down, and we think it was a good time to get out,� Jim says. “I do miss all of the good people I did business with.�

and went to Salers. We were in partnership with my folks.� “I enjoy the genetics and matching up the right cow with the right bull,� he continues. “We have 70 to 80 cows in our own seedstock herd, and we raise enough bulls for ourselves and to sell about 20 a year.�

Selling bulls helps to justify buying a highquality herd sire with outside genetics, to continue our breeding program. It is a family decision as to any genetic changes they need to select, to improve genetic traits, such as milk, intramuscluar fat, birthweight or weaning weight. “I use a half-outcross strategy when breeding the seedstock herd,� Jim explains. “We use a bull for three years, and then he goes out of our program.�

They utilize the Salers-Angus cross genetics to create uniformity in their herd.

Generations and the estate While Jim and Terry have focused on developing the ranch and improving their land and cattle, they also place high priority on succession and the transition of their estate. “I feel very, very strongly about sustainability, and a big part of that is estate planning, working closely with our lawyer and accountant,� Jim says.

Terry says that they continue to work on their estate as required to ensure that the ranch can successfully pass to the next generation.

Currently, their ranch operates in two corporations, with the land in an LLC. “Terry and I own V Ranch, which owns all the liquidable assets,� Jim explains. “We have gifted the majority of the land to the next generation. We want to make sure that if

our daughter, Billie Jo and her husband Jason, or our granddaughter Emme, want to come back, they have that opportunity.�

He adds, “We can’t rule from the grave, but we want to give them the opportunity.�

As they move into the future, Jim and Terry plan to continue ranching while they can and utilize their cattle as a retirement plan.

In the meantime, Jim is also making time do things that he enjoys.

In addition to his ranchwork, Jim is involved in many organizations including the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the Kirby Creek Coordinated Resource Management (CRM). “I used to rodeo and rope a lot,� Jim says. “We haven’t done much for

20-some years. This year, we built an indoor barn, and we’re going to play a little bit. Billie Jo likes cutting and Emme loves barrel racing, so we figure this new barn is going to get a lot of use.�

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

V Ranch - Jim and Terry Wilson operate V Ranch on West Kirby Creek, between Thermopolis and Kirby.

The ranch raises cow/calf pairs on the range. While they have focused on the ranch and improving their cattle, the Wilsons also emphasize estate planning and generational transfer on their operation. Saige Albert photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

White Horse Country Store first began serving the community of Thermopolis in July of 1997. After seeing a need in their community and desiring to use what they were blessed with to glorify God, Dave Denton and his wife Cindy decided to purchase the store.

“Our biggest goal is to glorify God with what we do and to help people,” says Denton.

He notes that couple drew inspiration for the store name from Revelation 19:11 in the Bible.

“People will say, ‘Well, why did you come up with

Talents – After realizing that they were not using their blessings to help others, Dave and Cindy Denton decided to purchase White Horse Country Store. Nineteen years later, the couple is still managing and operating the business. Emilee Gibb photo

the name White Horse?’

Well, because Jesus is going to return, and we want to point people toward Jesus,” explains Denton.

Denton comments that while the couple does not want to use their faith as a sales pitch, they do want people to know why they are here.

“God is not our salesman, but we want to glorify Him in everything that we do,” says Denton.

Talents After finding themselves with a paid off home and land, Dave and Cindy came to realize that they were “coasting along.”

Referencing the Bible parable discussing talents in Matthew 25, the couple realized that they were wasting the resources and gifts God had blessed them with.

“We were hiding our talents. We had a place – we still have it – that was all paid off, and we were coasting along,” says Denton.

When the store came up for sale, the couple made the decision to purchase it.

“We decided that we needed to not hide our talents but rather put them to work, so that’s what we did,” explains Denton.

After being well-received in the community, Dave and Cindy began expanding the store in 2003.

“We expanded, and the reason we did that was because God was blessing us so much we needed more room. We started the Country Store. Before that, it was just feed,” says Denton.

The store continued to expand until 2008, when the economy declined. Denton notes that after an eight-year dip, the store is beginning to come back up.

“We expanded, added and grew until 2008 when the economy kind of went south.

We’ve been going down ever since, but we’re coming back up now,” he says.

Services White Horse Country Store provides many different services to customers, ranging from livestock feeds and tack to home décor.

“Our livestock feed comes from Ranch-Way and Purina,” says Denton.

While they carry electric fence products, the store does not carry barbed wire or t-posts.

“There are two other guys in town who have those products, and there’s not much margin in them. We don’t have a supplier for wire and posts, so we decided not to carry them,” he explains.

Within the last year, the store has begun selling sporting good supplies, Wrangler apparel and Twisted X shoes.

“A sporting goods store in town closed because of a death in their family, so we brought it in here. We’re now supplying ammunition, reloading

supplies and archery equipment. We don’t have guns, but we sell everything that goes with them,” says Denton.

In the event that the store doesn’t have a certain product in stock that a customer needs, the store is able to custom order supplies.

“We do special orders every day,” comments Denton.

Goals Initially, Dave and Cindy planned on the store being a short-term investment.

“When we started, our goal was to build a store, sell it in five years and ride off into the sunset. Well, here it is 19 years later,” muses Denton.

The couple’s goals for the business have shifted over the last several years, says Denton. Providing goods to the community of Thermopolis and to the state of Wyoming is one need that the store meets.

“Our values are to deliver good products to our community and all of Wyoming. We sell saddles and tack all over the place,” explains Denton.

Denton also explains that creating jobs to support local families is another important goal for the store.

“We have five families that this store takes care of.

Our goal is to provide goods and services to our community, as well as to provide some jobs,” he says.

He notes that having a local store where community members can buy needed items like livestock feed and other products is an extremely

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important niche that they fill.

“We need to be here for our community. Otherwise, they would have to drive to Worland or Riverton to get feed, pet food and Wrangler jeans, so that’s what we’re trying to do,” Denton says.

Future plans Denton notes that cash flow has been a considerable challenge for the store in the past.

“It’s been a challenge since day one. I hope it will sustain itself a little better, so we’re not always looking for more funds,” he explains.

As the couple looks to retire and pass on the store, they hope that White Horse Country Store will continue growing and become more self-sustaining so that it can continue being a service to the community.

“We want it to sustain so the people who are working for us, even after we’re gone, will be able to maintain this because we’re a service to our community,” says Denton.

Challenges and rewards Managing the store does come with its own challenges, says Denton. For example, he notes that stores have become more specialized, carrying only the products that sell well with customers.

“All business anymore is getting more and more specialized. In other words, they’re not carrying the things that don’t sell well,” says Denton. “That’s hard because that’s what people need.”

He notes that they can order and receive most products relatively quickly. However, other items take longer to receive.

“Livestock feed comes every two weeks, so that makes it a real challenge sometimes,” continues Denton. “That’s the most challenging, having the products people need when they need them.”

Despite the challenges, the store lends the couple the opportunity to help community members solve problems, says Denton.

“Sometimes we don’t have the answers, but we can get them. If somebody has a need, we will help them to get that covered,” he emphasizes.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net

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2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

When Mike Baker toured his farm, he noticed something peculiar. The ditch banks and edges of his fields were much healthier than what was in his fields. Baker looked at it as a challenge to improve his fields, and has started the process with no-till farming and the use of cover crops.

Mike and Phyllis Baker are originally from Powell but moved to the Thermopolis area in 1979. There, they farm 250 acres of flood irrigated cropland and have about 250 acres of rangeland.

“We raise mostly malting barley, corn and some oats,” Baker says.

In the past, they also grew some dry edible beans.

New endeavors “We are currently turning some of the cropland into irrigated pasture,” Baker explains. “We have planted some areas into a mixture of grasses. This is our fifth year working with no-till or limited tillage.”

“We have been experimenting with no-till to see if it works with row crops, and so far everything except the edible beans has been successful,” he says.

Baker is the first to admit he loves trying new ideas and isn’t afraid of a challenge.

“The learning curve has been amazing,” he admits. “I feel like I’m learning to farm

all over again, and I find that very exciting and interesting.

It’s a whole new way of thinking.”

“I’ve gone from burning 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year to around 1,500 to 1,600 gallons. It is not only a significant fuel savings but time and tractor savings, too,” he says.

However, Baker says converting to no-till has had its drawbacks.

“For the first few years, our yields went down,” he explains. “But for the last two years, the yields have improved considerably. Our corn is nearing 200 bushels an acre.”

“I think, with the information I have now, I wouldn’t have had to take as long to get the soil into the kind of condition we are getting it into now,” he continues. “Our goal is to limit the amount of inputs into the soil and our investment of time and labor while still getting the same kind of return off the crop.”

Crops This fall, Baker planted a mixture of turnips, radishes, peas, collards and a broadleaf in barley stubble. Later, he will graze that field with cattle.

Baker’s goal is to grow two crops in one year and pasture cattle on the residue to graze the forage.

“What happens after the cattle graze is it recycles nutri-

ents back into the ground. It also aids in no-till next year because we won’t have all that surface residue left over from the crop,” he explains.

The corn also produces a lot of residue, providing feed for the cattle.

Baker plants winter wheat for fall and spring grazing.

Next spring, he will spray it with Roundup and plant corn into that residue.

“Basically, we use grazing as a means to manage surface residue,” he says. “We don’t have summer range, so we bring the cows in to graze all this residue.”

Cattle on the side His own cows are brokenmouth culls from the high desert country.

“They do really well here because we have soft feed and plenty of water. They are experienced cows that can calve on their own and take care of themselves,” he says.

“They are Angus-based cows that I hope to get another three to five calves out of.”

These cows calve on spring grass or winter wheat regrowth.

“I feel like they calve better,” he says. “They have more energy, and the calf just gets up and goes. They are healthier, and even though we don’t calve until April 1, we still have 600-pound calves in October.”

Since he doesn’t have enough cows of his own to harvest all this residue, Baker sells about 500 to 800 animal unit months (AUMs) of the crop aftermath each year for grazing.

He comments, “The cattle have it pretty easy here.

We have plenty of feed and live water running through our farm from Owl Creek and some springs.”

Taking care of the soil Baker believes the best thing for the soil is a live, growing crop or root in the soil.

“I like to have broadleaves and grasses growing in the field the same year. They are completely different species, and both are very beneficial to the soil,” he says.

Currently, Baker says the farm is divided into two pastures, but if he utilizes strip grazing in the future, he plans to divide the land into smaller parcels and add some additional water sources.

He is also looking at working an annual legume into the current rotation.

“I’ve looked at peas, which I think would work really well, but there isn’t a market for them in this area,” he says.

Some research Baker has found shows the peas provide a healthier fat profile in finishing cattle if its a significant part of their diet.

“I’m not sure if I want to get into finishing cattle,” he says. “I would rather see someone else capture that

idea, and I could sell my peas to them.”

“I’ve also looked into a legume that could be threshed into a hay crop,” he continues. “I think the best rotation would be a legume, warm season grass, then a cool season grass.”

“I have the warm sea-

son grass, which is corn, and the cool season grass, which is barley. I just need to find a legume that would fit into my rotation,” he states.

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

A6

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Since 1940, the Northern Arapahoe Tribe has raised cattle on 350,000 acres of rangeland in Hot Springs and Fremont counties.

“The Arapahoe Ranch is a wonderful example of a rejuvenated effort by the Northern Arapahoe Tribe to reconnect with its strong traditions as a hunter/ gather society whose very existence depended on its willingness to live in harmony with nature,” says the ranch website, arapahoeranch.com.

On the ranch, the Tribe raises Black Angus-Hereford cross cattle, and they’ve got big goals for the future.

Running the ranch Ranch Manager Ransom Logan has been at the place for 12 years and explains, “We’re a cow/ calf operation, just trying

to make a living raising beef.”

The ranch focuses on a Black Angus-Hereford cross.

“We also have a little Salers thrown in, but we’re diluting that out,” Logan comments. “Years ago, we used more Salers, and they’re pretty nice, but we’re slowly phasing them out because a lot of people don’t care for the Salers based on their history.”

Logan continues that their current Black AngusHereford cross cattle are balanced and perform well.

“We’re looking for a good, moderate-framed cow,” he explains. “She also needs to be a goodmilking cow with maternal traits and good feet.”

Aside from good performance, strong maternal traits and good structure,

Logan says they aren’t particular about other traits.

A year on the ranch Each year, Arapahoe Ranch starts calving in March.

“Our mature cows are calved out on the ranch on winter range,” Logan notes. “We also calve about 700 head of heifers on the creek near our headquarters and through a calving barn.”

He adds, “We take a little extra special care of the first-calf heifers. We keep them low and feed them.”

The ranch also brings in some of the oldest cows, as well, providing extra feed during the winter months.

“We give the older cows a maintenance feed if we have to, and we bring them in,” he adds. “Most of the time, they’re out on

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THE WYOMING LIVESTOCK BOARD is preparing for the 2017 brand renewal and wants to remind producers that it is very important to keep their mailing address current. By law, the Livestock Board must notify by mail at the address shown on the brand records, the party owning the brand that the brand must be re-recorded, and if the brand has not been re-recorded within sixty (60) days from the expiration date of the brand it will be declared abandoned. Brands that are subject to renewal expire on January 1 of the renewal year and the 60-day grace period expires March 1 of the renewal year.

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the range year-round.”

The ranch utilizes a full mineral program throughout the year to ensure the health of their livestock, but they only feed alfalfa and hay when necessary.

“We supplement them in the wintertime with enough protein to keep them on maintenance and keep them going,” Logan continues. “We don’t want our cows falling backwards, so we feed them enough protein for a maintenance ration, if they need it.”

He adds, “If they start slipping in condition, we’ll feed them, but most of the time, the cowherd is just run out on the range.”

While they opted not to background their calves this year, Logan says that they have done it in the past.

At weaning in midOctober, Logan says the ranch makes a decision whether to sell calves right away or hold them over to capture improvements in the market.

“We can hold out to see what the market is going to do,” he says. “We get rid of all the steers and don’t run them over to yearlings, but we retain a bunch of heifers.”

Arapahoe Ranch raises all of its own replacements to further grow and improve the herd.

The future Logan says that, as one

of the largest ranches in Hot Springs County, Arapahoe Ranch provides an integral part of the county’s ag community.

“We hope to keep growing our herd,” Logan comments. “We’d like to get up to about 5,000 cows and be able to run more yearlings, as well.”

Currently, they run about 3,500 cows and more than 2,000 yearlings.

He adds that they have adequate rangelands and hope to stock it with additional cows.

Sustainable ag In addition to raising cattle, Arapahoe Ranch operates an all-natural, grass-fed, non-hormone treated cattle herd, which they say “represents a strong commitment to biodiversity, and its grassfinished cattle show the Tribe’s belief in sustainable agriculture.”

To expand its herd and continue to maintain the rangelands, the ranch strives to finish their herd on the range while also monitoring range conditions.

“The main goal of management is to pre-

History According to the Wyoming State Archives, Arapahoe Ranch started operations on Nov. 1, 1940 after purchasing holdings from the Padlock Ranch. The purchase also included 3,023 cows, 750 heifers, 154 bulls and 261 horses.

“This tribal enterprise was established in 1940 as the Arapahoe Ranch under an agreement between the Tribe and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Much of the land in the ranch was purchased by the Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes as a part of the Land Acquisition Program authorized by the Shoshone Judgment Act of July 27, 1939,” the Archives continues.

They add, “Federal Rehabilitation Funds amounting to $290,000 were advanced by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs under a trust agreement to purchase livestock, equipment and to pay the first year’s operating expenses.”

The ranch began operations with 4,939 cattle.

They have since grown and transformed, focusing on developing and controlling livestock water, managing grazing and maintaining the ranch for sustainable agriculture production.

serve the delicate balance in nature, while keeping alive traditional Native American values,” the website continues, noting that they are also committed to preserve the diversity of plants and animal species on the ranch.

“Through careful monitoring of wildlife and range condition, along with proper grazing management, Arapahoe Ranch is able to sustain healthy ecosystems where key symbiotic relationships are allowed to flourish,” the ranch comments.

Ranching in Hot Springs County Arapahoe Ranch runs in both Hot Springs and Fremont counties, as well as on the Wind River Reservation.

“Hot Springs County is slower paced than other places in the state, and we like it there,” Logan says.

Logan also adds that ranching is a lifestyle that has become engrained in him and his family.

“I love what I do,” he comments. “Ranching is what I have a passion for, and it also provides identity to the Tribe. People associate the Northern Arapahoe Tribe with Arapahoe Ranch, and that’s a good thing.”

Logan also notes that the community in Hot Springs County makes ranching very enjoyable.

“There are really good people in every county, but in this county especially, the neighbors get along really well,” he comments.

“Everybody here tries to be neighborly, and that’s important when it come to ranching.

A good neighbor goes a long way, and a bad neighbor can make problems for everyone.”

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

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A7

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

WYOMING ANGUS ASSOCIATION Angel Angus Terry & Jackie Angel

Forgey/Smith Angus Wayne & Cheri Smith Shirley Forgey

PO Box 88 Riverton, WY 82501 307-856-0046 • 307-850-4291 tjangel@wyoming.com www.angelquarterhorses.com

1732 Esterbrook Rd. Douglas, WY 82633 307-351-1255 trippleswayne@yahoo.com

Staple J Angus-Baker Family Betty or Cory Baker

Horse Creek Angus Dan & Bobbie Frank

331 Normandy Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-322-2346 • 307-331-9144

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 brad@mdiamondangus.com www.mdiamondangus.com

Douglas Booth Family Angus Dudley & Jennifer Booth

5396 Rd. 236 Meriden, WY 82081 307-421-4022

SO Cattle Diane Frank Mike & Angie McConnell 420 Lyons Valley Rd. Lander, WY 82520 307-332-4062 • 307-332-5969 socattle@wyoming.com www.socattle.com

2 Bit Cattle Carlissa French & Keith Davis 3334 Road 14 Greybull, WY 82426 307-272-7638 carlissaf@yahoo.com

Clay Creek Angus Jim French 3334 Rd. 14 Greybull, WY 82426 307-762-3541 bulls@claycreek.net www.claycreek.net

4156 Rd. 82 Torrington, WY 82240 307-532-7179 • 307-532-6207 dbooth@scottsbluff.net www.boothfamilyangus.com

720 Missouri Valley Rd. Shoshoni, WY 82649 307-856-0282 (h) • 307-851-0282 (c)

Douglas Booth Family Angus Douglas & Carolyn Booth

Godley Angus Ranch Gary Godley

7618 Rd. 41 Torrington, WY 82240 307-532-5830 cbooth@actcom.net www.boothfamilyangus.com

Booth’s Cherry Creek Ranch Michael & Lindsy Booth 2162 Rd. 60 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-0164 • 307-532-1830 mlboothwyo@vistabeam.com www.boothscherrycreekranch.com

Booth’s Cherry Creek Ranch Shawn and 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 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

Curt & Diane Cox

1835 Willow Creek Rd. Casper, WY 82604 307-630-4604 curt@wylr.net

Lazy GT Ranch Don Cox

4024 I-25 Service Rd. Cheyenne, WY 82009 307-630-0400 lgtranch@wildblue.net

Davidson Angus Peter & Susan Davidson

Gardner Heart Dot Angus Bret & Laurie Gardner

PO Box 304 Kaycee, WY 82639 307-267-2683 godley@rtconnect.net www.godleyangus.com

Grandstaff Angus Curtis & Cheryl Grandstaff 800 W.S. Hwy 151 Box 155 LaGrange, WY 82221 307-834-2459 • 307-575-2459 granny@prairieweb.com

Gray’s Angus Ranch Rod & Lora Gray

4281 Henry Rd. Harrison, NE 69346 308-668-2520 (h) • 308-668-2525 (o)

Double Lazy A 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

Harsy Land & Cattle Nancy Harsy 14453 US Hwy. 85 Lusk, WY 82225 618-521-1243 (Cell)

6566 Clareton Hwy. Gillette, WY 82718 307-464-0315

Earhart Farms Larry & Andrea Earhart

Hiser Farms Wesley & Velvet Hiser

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 193 K-Field Rd. Lost Springs, WY 82224 307-351-2711 (c) labontecreek@hotmail.com

Dan Ingalls

Micheli Ranch Dale or Ron Micheli

Rock Lake Land & Cattle, LLC. Todd, Bill and Nancy Platt

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

Jensen Angus Justin & Renee Jensen

PO Box 316 Boulder, WY 82923 307-367-2510 (h) • 307-360-9136 (c) rjj@wyoming.com

Bill & Chris Johnson

5415 Rd. 31 Veteran, WY 82243 307-575-3026 • 307-575-0014 bcjohnson@bbcwb.net

XH Land & Cattle Co. XH Angus Chad Jones

HC 63 Box 17 Saratoga, WY 82331 307-326-3553 • 307-710-6700 xhranch@union-tel.com www.xhangus.com

Deer Creek Angus Ranch Bill & Jo Ann Keith 9250 Zero Rd. Casper, WY 82604 307-457-2314 jokeithkv@rtconnect.net

Kilts Angus Russell & Sheila Kilts

PO Box 382 Edgerton, WY 82635 307-437-6466 • 307-267-2566 shekilts@rtconnect.net

Klein Angus Bill Klein

256 Brookside Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-331-0136 bill82201@yahoo.com

Rafter T Angus Kale & Kim Kretschman

PO Box 882 Casper, WY 82602 307-262-1410 (Wes) • 307-277-5952 whiser@wyoheart.com velvethiser@yahoo.com

Hoggs Angus Ronee, Michael & Kurt Hogg

Redland Red Bank Angus Deb & Adam Redland

PO Box 1115 Glenrock, WY 82637 307-436-2504 stan@stanmitchem.com

J Bar M Angus John & ManDee Moore

7X Ranches Wayne & Kevie Morrison

Neiman Cattle Company Ryan & Sonnie Neiman

Nickel Cattle Co. Kevin & Jackie Nickel 3146 St. Hwy. 154 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2279

1926 Hwy 31 Hyattville, WY 82428 307-469-2206 • km@tctwest.net www.paintrockangus.com

568 Beaver Creek Road Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-6947 (h) 307-674-0848 (o) doublew@fiberpipe.net PABW@fiberpipe.net www.beavercreekranches.com

Sinclair Cattle Company

2749 Four Corners Rd. LaGrange, WY 82221 307-477-0029 nolkeangus@gmail.com

Wilkes 6-D Angus Ranch Darrell Wilkes

PO Box 1158 Buffalo, WY 82834 800-761-2077 www.sinclaircattle.com

George Ochsner & Sons Blake Ochsner

PO Box 36 Hawk Springs, WY 82217 307-532-2835 303-570-9207 docwilkes@comcast.net

Powder River Angus Neal & Amanda Sorenson

10672 Van Tassell Rd. Torrington, WY 82240 307-532-3282 • 307-532-5892 ochsner@dishmail.net www.qualitybulls.com

7241 US Hwy 14-16 Arvada, WY 82831 307-736-2260 • 307-680-7359 nasorenson@rangeweb.net www.powderriverangus.com

Oedekoven Angus David & Diana Oedekoven

WEBO Angus Buttons York & Family PO Box 848 Lusk, WY 82225 307-334-3006 307-216-0090 (Buttons) 307-340-1182 (Odessa) 307-340-1499 (Elly) www.weboangus.com

Steinbrecher Livestock Company Kody Steinbrecher PO Box 293 Sundance, WY 82729 307-290-0821 wyoming74@gmail.com

449 Carroll Lake Road Laramie, WY 82070 307-760-8429 307-745-3278 pageangus@yahoo.com

PO Box 850 Casper, WY 82602 307-234-2700 dennis@wylr.net www.wylr.net

325 US Hwy 14E Sheridan, Wy 82801 307-751-8213 • 307-751-4585 jcpeldo@yahoo.com

Zorko’s 7Z Livestock 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

PO Box 327 Cokeville, WY 83114 307-270-7334

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Casper College • Casper, WY

Wyoming Angus Association Officers President: Brad Boner, Glenrock 307-426-5406 • brad@mdiamondangus.com

Vice-President: Buttons York, Lusk 307-216-0090 • buttons@weboangus.com

Secretary/Treasurer: Curt Cox, Casper 307-630-4604 • curt@wylr.net

McConnell Angus Ranch Roger, Ryan & Royce McConnell

Paint Rock Angus Ranch, Inc. Martin & Kelli Mercer

Beaver Creek Ranches/WW Angus Pete & Lucy Widener

3788 Road 215 Cheyenne, WY 82009 307-631-8814 gselin@millect.com

Nolke Angus Calvin Nolke, Jr.

PO Box 128 LaGrange, WY 82221 307-834-0128

Hytrek Cattle Company Toby Hytrek

3000 West Co. Rd. 70 Fort Collins, CO 80524 970-568-3898 weaverrch@aol.com

G G Ranch Greg & Kim Selin

Lisco Angus Richard W. (Dick) Lisco

43 Signal Butte Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 307-462-1683 • 406-853-6961 cowcapital61@gmail.com www.cowcapital.com

Weaver Ranch Susan & Maxine Weaver and Sheldon Emerson

PO Box 569 Lander, WY 82520 307-330-8773 • 307-332-2839

390 Hwy. 14A Powell, WY 82435 307-202-1356

Cow Capital Livestock, LLC Doug McLean

44219 Business Loop 80 Lyman, WY 82937 307-787-6106

Popo Agie Angus Ted Seely

554 Hwy 112 Hulett, WY 82720 307-290-0791 www.neimancattle.com

LTJ Angus Tim & Julie Lathum

5740 Road 52 N Dix, NE 69133 308-682-5615 mcconnellangus@msn.com www.mcconnellangus.com

Walker Angus Ranch Ramon & Verla Walker

PO Box 837 Douglas, WY 82633 307-358-3675 tannarodeman@yahoo.com

Teichert Angus Mark Teichert

1929 Rd. 60 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2524 • 307-534-5141 jkmcclun@wyomail.com

401 Southfork Rd. Cody, WY 82414 307-587-5440 307-272-6727

5-5 Angus Colton & Tanna Rodeman

14355 Clark Rd. Casper, WY 82604 307-575-9555 (Wayne) 307-575-4013 (Kevie)

Jon & Cathy Peldo

Malm Ranch Co. Gordon Malm

Wagler Angus Kim & Elsie Wagler

98 Olson Rd. Wheatland, WY 82201 307-322-4848 307-331-1568 (Juan) 307-331-1530 (Jen) joreyes@wyoming.com www.mrangusranch.com

4095 Ross Rd. Douglas, WY 82633 307-464-6222 jjcattleco@gmail.com

Broken Arrow Angus, Inc. Travis & Katie Krein

SS Ranch Company Andy & Stacy Malm

72 West Pavillion Road Pavillion, WY 82523 307-709-8351 (c) 307-463-7475 (h)

MR Angus Ranch Juan Reyes or Jen Reyes-Burr

Wyoming Livestock Roundup Dennis Sun

554 Tank Farm Rd. Douglas, WY 82633 307-358-3810 (h) • 307-359-0167 (c) liscoangus@vcn.com

P\T Livestock Pete Thompson

2988 B Rd. 82 • Ten Sleep, WY 82442 307-250-1546 (Deb) 307-250-1548 (Adam)

Page Angus Ranch Tom & Margaret Page

5423 St. Hwy 120 Meeteetse, WY 82433 307-868-2431 • 307-272-9602 hoggsangus@tctwest.net

7405 Jacob Place Cheyenne, WY 82009 307-760-7664 thytrek@gmail.com

Mitchem Ranch Stan & Karen Mitchem

Kretschman Angus Kelby & Lacey Kretschman

6801 US Hwy 29 Harrison, NE 69346 308-665-5085 brokenarrowangus.com

PO Box 346 Meeteetse, WY 82433 307-868-2595 • 307-2724911 fkdramsrus@tctwest.net

714 Grange Rd. • Wheatland, WY 82201 307-331-1175 • 307-331-1745 wyocowdude1@yahoo.com danes-grandma@yahoo.com

721 Middle Prong Rd. Gillette, WY 82716 307-736-2415 • 307-299-4569 raftert@rangeweb.net

1336 Lower Powder River Rd. Arvada, WY 82831 307-736-2327 • 307-351-0794 klkret@rangeweb.net

Obsidian Angus Fred & Kay Thomas

PO Box 15 Ft. Bridger, WY 82428 307-780-8232 • 307-782-3897 dmicheli@bvea.net

PO Box 68 Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-7375 doangus@gmail.com www.oarangus.com

McClun’s Lazy JM Ranch Jim or Jeff McClun

5463 Rd. 27 Veteran, WY 82243 307-837-2540 • 307-532-6170 gbarh@bbcwb.net www.angusjournal.com/gbarh

Cross Diamond Cattle Co. Scott & Kim Ford

11882 Hwy 789 • Shoshoni, WY 82649 307-856-4401 • 307-851-4401 rpping@wyoming.com

Pat & Marilyn Herring

Flying M Angus Larry & Jackie Dobrenz

Pingetzer’s Six Iron Ranch Robert or George Pingetzer

993 Airport Rd. Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-9092 • 307-752-4085 twmich@optimum.net

Herring Angus Ranch Kal & Vickie Herring

PO Box 275 Encampment, WY 82325 307-327-5396 • 307-329-8228

Tom & Garcia Michelena

PO Box 1782 Riverton, WY 82501 307-690-7557 dan@ingalls.us

PO Box 55 Albin, WY 82050 307-246-3223 (Gordon) 307-834-0128 (Andy) mrc3mt@aol.com www.malmranch.com

208 S. Main Burlington, WY 82411 307-762-3612 davidson82411@yahoo.com

1373 Rd. 8 Powell, WY 82435 307-272-5171 • 307-754-3709 learhart@tctwest.net

Ingalls Angus & Quarter Horses

“THE BEST IN THE WEST”

DIRECTORS - 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 Shawn Booth, Veteran J.T. Guest, Hawk Springs Neal Sorenson, Arvada Kelli Mercer, Hyattville 307-837-2994 307-534-5823 307-736-2260 307-469-2206 boothangus@scottsbluff.net km@tctwest.net

TERMS EXPIRING 2018 Brad Boner, Glenrock 307-436-5406 mdiamond@hughes.net

Kale Kretschman, Gillette 307-736-2415 raftert@rangeweb.net

Jason ZumBrunnen, Lusk 307-481-7090 jason@zbangus.com

Dan Frank, Meriden 307-421-4022

Richard W. (Dick) Lisco, Douglas 307-358-3810 (h) • 307-359-0167 (c) liscoangus@vcn.com

Kim Kretschman, Gillette 307-736-2415 raftert@rangeweb.net

A8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

In 1994, Frank Robbins moved just outside of Thermopolis after purchasing the High Island Ranch, with the goal of building a successful cattle ranch.

“High Island was a dude ranch back then,” says Josh Longwell, Robbins’ son-inlaw, who operates the ranch today. “It was a dude ranch for several years, but later, we stopped the guest business. Due to actions by the federal government, we were not longer able to operate the

WE

guest business.”

Since the purchase of the first property, Hay Creek Land and Cattle has continued to grow, and the family continues to work toward growing their business.

Growing the property While the operation started with one ranch, Robbins purchased the HD Ranch in 2000, where they built the ranch headquarters.

“Then, he bought a third ranch in 2001,” explains Longwell. “The third ranch really

was important. It wasn’t big, but it had two parcels that tied the rest of the ranch together.

We’re one contiguous ranch that runs from high desert winter country to summer mountain ground.”

Longwell married Robbins’ daughter Hollie in 2001.

Today, the couple raises their four children, Jase, 13, McCoy, 12, Jhett, 10, and Mesa, 8, on the ranch.

After some trouble with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the late 1990s, the

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family lost their BLM grazing permits, so they made some changes in the operation.

“We sold most of the cows and just kept what we could run on the private property,” he says. “Over the next few years, we built back our cows and continued to deal with BLM.” The family fenced their private property and utilized herders to keep cattle on the private property and off BLM lands.

Adding sheep In the last 10 years, Longwell says he has begun to work with BLM to restore their permits.

“We sat down with BLM, and they said they were going to work toward reissuing permits,” he says.

“We’ll likely have the permits to the lower ground back by the end of this year,” he says. “It’s been a long process.”

At the same time, Longwell has worked to build their relationship with BLM employees to develop an active, working partnership.

However, without their upper permits for cattle, the family decided that sheep would allow them to utilize their private property and harvest the grass from the mountain land effectively.

“If we were going to continue to ranch, we had to do something, so we bought sheep,” he says.

With no experience raising sheep, Hay Creek Land and Cattle purchased the highest quality sheep they could find.

“We bought 500 sheep,” Longwell comments, adding that the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation expressed concern with the move.

A Bighorn sheep herd resides at the top of Washakie Needle, which posed concerns for commingling between the Bighorn herd and domestic sheep. However, Longwell notes that their sheep aren’t in the same proximity as the Bighorn sheep.

“When we’re up there, the Bighorns are up really high,” he says, “and our sheep don’t even graze in the top-most pastures to create a buffer between the Bighorn and domestic sheep. The Bighorn sheep don’t come down

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country at 11,000 to 12,000 feet down to the low desert country near Kirby.

The cattle spend their winters on the range, along with the sheep.

“We feed hay to our calves, yearlings and the ewe lambs that we hold over,” Longwell explains.

During the year, the cattle and sheep never see a truck, except for when they are sold.

“We trail everything back and forth to the desert,” he continues. “They never see a truck because our property is contiguous.”

Because the ranch is contiguous, Longwell says they try to operate as naturally as possible, mimicking wildlife movements.

“We try to manage the grass like it should be managed,” he explains. “Our cattle go to the mountains in the summer as the snow melts off, and they go all the way down to the desert in the winter as the grass gets less available.”

The system allows them to effectively manage their grass.

Challenges While they continue to ranch, Longwell mentions that raising cattle and sheep is anything but easy on the property.

“We face wolves and bears that kill a significant number of our livestock each year,” Longwell says.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, either.”

He also mentions that he is working to mend broken relationships with federal agencies and continues to strive to carry on their ranch into the next generation.

“This is a family affair,” Longwell comments.

“Ranching is a good way to raise kids and teach them.”

He also notes that the ranch provides a good honest living.

Longwell comments, “Raising the animals, seeing the babies grow and seeing our finished product gives us a sense of accomplishment.”

Longwell adds, “I love this lifestyle, and I love the ranch. We’re doing all we can to keep it together.”

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

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to where our sheep are, especially in July and August when we’re there.”

The last two years, the ranch has established a working relationship with the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation to cooperatively graze sheep and make improvements on lower parts of the ranch to create a bigger buffer.

The sheep are a Rambouillet-Targhee cross.

“When the Meike brothers of Kaycee decided to sell, we bought all of their yearling ewe lambs,” Longwell says. “We didn’t know anything about sheep, but we’ve been learning as we go. We’re working our way through it.”

Cattle operation While they’ve recently added the sheep, Longwell says that cattle are where they got their start.

“We have a cow/calf operation,” he says. “We hold our yearlings over, as well.

We run the sheep right alongside the cattle.”

Their cattle are largely Black Angus, and they run a few Hereford bulls.

“We like the F-1 baldy cross,” Longwell explains.

“It’s a good cross, but we also recently started running some Chianina-Angus cross cattle.”

As the Angus breed has developed, Longwell mentions that the cattle have gotten smaller.

“We like the little bit of Chianina to add some size,” he explains. “Because they travel so much, they need to be fairly moderate sized so they can withstand the rugged terrain.”

They strive for a cow that can support herself nutritionally on the range but also raise a big calf.

They begin calving in March and finish up by May. After a summer on the mountain, Longwell notes that they sell yearlings in October at between 930 and 950 pounds.

“We hold all of our calves over and raise our replacements,” Longwell explains.

“Sometimes we sell pairs or bred cows. We try to keep things flexible.”

Overall, Hay Creek Land and Cattle strives for a young bunch of cows that is able to perform on their ranch.

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A9

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

When Mike Healy thinks about the part he has played in the success of the LU Ranch in the last 35 years, he hopes to be viewed as a good operator and steward of the range.

Everyone in the beef industry would agree ranching comes with its ups and downs. It’s how ranchers work through those ups and downs that really matters.

“We have started doing work in conservation easements on the ranch, and we have invested in facilities so we can handle the cattle as humanely as possible,” Healy says.

Those are just two of the projects Healy has invested in to improve the efficiency of ranch operations.

Converting to cattle The LU Sheep Company was a cattle and sheep ranching operation until 1984, when the sheep were sold, and the ranch started doing business as the LU Ranch.

“When we converted to cattle, we had a straight Angus operation,” Healy explains.

“We hadn’t introduced any new genetics in 20 years. We raised our own bulls and probably had a lot of inbreeding.”

They started to artificially inseminate (AI) the purebred herd, which was where their herd bulls were produced.

“It didn’t take long, and we ran into problems with high altitude and brisket disease,” Healy says. “We had really never thought of that as an issue.”

In the 1990s, they started purchasing their herd bulls so they could start a crossbreeding program. The first bulls

were Braunvieh, Salers and Angus cross, but eventually, they found a breeder who had a lot of luck with an AngusSimmental cross, which they have used since 2001.

Adapting to conditions Early in the program, the cows were small, but they got along great in the environment.

“We live in a very dry area, and we graze on the badlands in the winter,” Healy explains. “They need to be able to survive in areas where feed is scarce.”

Healy found that when they sold their calves, they were being discounted. Puzzled by the cause, Healy says they took the calves to a feedlot and retained ownership.

“We found out they were finishing too soon at only 1,000 pounds. Even though we had a high percentage of them grading choice, the carcasses were not big enough,” he explains.

“I learned that part of the process of making money in feeding cattle is having cattle that will stay in the feedyard a suitable length of time, while still performing,” he says of the experience. “The feedlot gain is cheaper than what it costs to raise the calf on a per pound basis.”

“The longer calves are in the feedlot, the more we can dilute that cost. It reduces the average cost on a per-pound basis,” he explains.

With some adjustments in genetics, the cows on the ranch now average 1,350 pounds and have been trained to perform in a really dry area.

“They have acclimated

The history of the LU

The LU Ranch is currently a cow/calf operation, although the roots of the operation go back to sheep. The formal corporate name of the ranch is the LU Sheep Company, but Mike Healy says the sheep were sold in 1984.

“Prices were not too good back then, and we had a lot of difficulty finding help. We were a range operation, and good sheepherders were hard to find back then. It was also difficult to find anyone to shear the sheep,” he explains.

The ranch was started in the late 1800s by a Scotsman named David Dickie. He was driving a flock of sheep through the Meeteetsee area on his way to Canada because he had heard there was available grazing there. About 20 miles south of Meeteetsee, he was forced to stop because he ran into a cattlemen’s enforced deadline for sheepmen. He wasn’t allowed to cross and didn’t attempt to go through it, so he decided to stay there and develop the ranch, Healy explains.

Dickie purchased some of the ranch land and homesteaded some. He also sent out his sheepherders, and some of his relatives, to homestead some of the land that is now part of the ranch.

“He basically used whomever he could to get to homestead land, and then he would acquire it from them,” Healy explains.

Dickie passed away in 1935. Before his death, he experienced some financial difficulties during the Depression. He owned a bank in Thermopolis and was having problems keeping it liquid enough to pay the depositors, so he borrowed heavily against the ranch and started to pay employees with stock shares.

“My grandpa had been in an operation in Buffalo that sold out in 1922,” Mike says. “He had money available and started buying out shares where he could from sheepherders.

When Dickie died, he acquired a lot of shares from the Dickie estate.”

“There are still Dickie heirs that are stockholders of the ranch, but we have acquired a majority of the stock shares. We have been involved with managing the ranch ever since,” he explains.

Mike and his wife Sarah currently manage the ranch with the help of three full-time employees and some seasonal help.

quite well,” Healy says. “They get along in the wintertime in marginal environments.”

Grazing and breeding decisions To help the cattle acclimate to their environment, Healy says they choose to raise their replacements, rather than purchase them.

“If they were used to eating hay all the time, it would be really difficult for them to go to an area where they would have to scrounge for grass,” he explains. “We have found that the training and how the calves grow up are more important than just the genetics.”

As calves, the replacement heifers are kept in a backgrounding lot through the winter. In the spring, they are moved to irrigated ground for a month during breeding season before they are moved to mid-elevation grazing land in the summer.

“We have found they

travel a lot more because they are younger. They will go up on the tops of hills where cows won’t go,” he says.

During the winter, they graze a winter pasture that has forage with higher protein.

“They learn to survive and usually come through the winter in good body condition,” he says. “We try to guide them by giving them the better pasture first,” he says.

Cattle are also supplemented with a 32 percent protein hard molasses tub lick that contains urea to help with body condition.

Since they start calving heifers Feb. 15, Healy says all of their cattle go through the calving barn. To reduce scour problems, the heifers are given a scour guard vaccination in August during pregnancy checking and a second shot a few days before calving.

“We still have some scours, but it really helps,” Healy says.

Continuing to improve Despite being in the business a long time, Healy still has areas of the ranching operation he would like to

improve.

“We need to determine a better way to handle our spring grazing,” he says. “We funnel everything through one area to brand, and that area gets grazed too hard. We have late spring and early summer pasture rotations we alternate through from year to year, but our pasture situation in late May and early June always poses a problem.”

Marketing goals Marketing is another area Healy would like to improve.

“We are saddled with the idea we are a commodity. I would like to find a way to get more out of the animals we are selling,” he says.

“We retain ownership of our calves in the feedlot, which helps us focus on the genetics of the bulls we purchase. We also do DNA selection of our replacement heifers, which is an effort to increase marbling.”

“In our retained ownership program, we sell our calves on a premium and discounts-based grid,” he continues.

The steers have averaged

3.7 pounds of gain a day and convert 5.5 pounds of dry matter to one pound of gain.

Over the years, they have been able to increase marbling from 78 percent choice to 96 percent last year. The number of calves qualifying from Certified Angus Beef (CAB) has also increased from 17 percent to 48 percent.

“Overall, we earn eight to nine cents in premium over the market,” he says. “That adds pretty good value to what we produce.”

Despite all that, Healy would like to find ways to better market the heifers that aren’t kept as replacements and the cull cows.

“Our genetics are changing the cattle enough that at some point, we may try to breed the heifers. In the past, we have not always made money doing that,” he explains. “I would like to capture more value from the market for the heifers.”

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

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A10

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Daniels Custom Haying, owned by Bill and Barb Daniels, has been serving the community of Thermopolis since the 1970s.

“We’ve been custom haying for 40 years,” says Barb.

Custom haying was not a business that the Daniels planned to get involved with originally.

“At one point, everybody who had a swather was broke down, and they would say, ‘Could you give us a hand?’ They seemed to like what we did, and it just evolved,” Barb notes.

Setbacks in Bill’s health in 2002 spurred the

couple to become more involved in the custom aspect of their haying business.

“Bill didn’t want me going by myself, and I didn’t want him going by himself, so we rode together on the same tractor,” explains Barb.

As it was not time efficient, the Daniels began brainstorming a new way to operate their haying business.

“One day I got the great idea that, if we had two tractors and balers, we could work in the same field,’” says Barb. “If I broke down, he could help me, and if he broke down, I

On the side Bill and Barb Daniels also stay busy raising cattle in their small cow/calf operation.

“We run about 50 head of Angus crosses,” Bill explains.

The couple pasture breeds their cows with a low birthweight bull to help keep labor to a minimum with their operation.

“That took care of pulling calves for our herd. That part of it we probably couldn’t do by ourselves anymore,” says Barb.

The calves are then weaned and sold at the local sale barn.

Bill comments that their program works really well for their business.

Bill also owns a land leveling business and does work for community members around Thermopolis.

“There’s not very much of that since pivots came in, but if someone wants a reservoir built, he’ll go build a reservoir for them,” notes Barb.

could help him. This way, we get twice as much done, twice as much sleep, twice everything.”

Custom haying Daniels Custom Haying is primarily run by Bill, Barb and their nephew.

“We probably hay 1,800 ton a year. That’s not a terrible amount, but it’s a lot of little farms,” says Bill.

The company hays numerous farms and ranches within a 50- to 60-mile radius of Owl Creek.

“The radius is not that big, but there’s a lot of places in-between,” he explains.

The services typically offered to interested producers are cutting and baling. They bale midsize bales that are three-foot by three-foot by eight-foot because they are less labor intensive for both baling and to feed.

“People who have a few horses can come get a few bales, drag it, cut it open and feed it. It’s a lot easier to handle than the one-ton bales, so they’re pretty popular,” says Bill.

In addition to putting up hay for other producers, the Daniels grow 250 acres of grass and alfalfa hay.

Future plans While not looking to expand their business, the couple says that they may upgrade some of their equipment.

“In the next 30 years, I’m going to take a little better care of myself and might upgrade someday on the swathers, not the balers. I like the balers we’ve got,” says Bill, teasingly.

In the future, the pair plans to pass on the family business to their two children.

“We have it all set up. We already have their names on deeds and their names are on all of our vehicles, so it just transitions over,” explains Barb.

The Daniels are also currently leasing a drylot to a local cattle producer to winter his cattle in. After a successful year last year, the producer plans to bring more cattle to the Daniels this year.

“It’s basically a feedlot we have over there. We’ll rent him a drylot and sell him hay. He had 50 head last year and is getting 100 more this year,” says Bill.

Integrity “The rule of thumb here is, do what you say you’re going do. If you say you’re going be there, be there,” says Bill when asked what values are most important to the family’s business.

He notes that factors such as weather do impact their timetable for getting jobs done.

“The weather is a big factor. That’s why we don’t always get things done exactly when we said we would. But that’s what we try to do,” he says.

The couple enjoys all aspects of owning and running the custom haying business, which then reflects in their work.

“We don’t consider it a challenge. We just go do our best and call it good.

There’s not very many people who have a problem with that,” says Barb.

Way of life Agriculture is not simply a job for the Daniels

but a way of life. They can’t imagine not being active and involved.

“Bill always says, ‘Well, if we quit working, what do we have to get up for in the morning?’” says Barb.

She credits their active lifestyle to their continued ability and desire to work in the agricultural industry.

“He’ll be 75 this month, and I’m 73. We’ve been married 55 years. I guess when we stay active, it’s better for us. I think when people say they have to retire at 55, it is kind of a farce,” continues Barb.

Looking ahead, the couple plans to remain active and living to the fullest.

“We’re not short of anything to do. We’re happy.

We don’t have any regrets,” she concludes.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr. net.

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A11

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

The Bar H Bar Ranch lies not too far west of the spa town of Thermopolis.

The landscape lends itself to running cows, especially in years with rain.

“I’ve been living on this ranch since I was young, and I’m 79 years old now,” notes Leroy Shumway. “Today we raise Black Angus cattle with a few red ones in there.

We have registered Black Angus bulls.”

Raising cattle and hay His cattle might be considered fortunate, with no steep mountain trails or wide, open prairies to search for water. They graze in hay meadows and don’t need to extend much effort into finding water, as Shumway has developed pipelines to bring water to most of his small pastures.

“We rotate pastures for grazing every 30 to 45 days,” he explains. “If there is water, we irrigate. If there’s not, we don’t.”

Shumway adds that they are part of the Owl Creek Water District, which came about when the highway was put in. At the time, the operation had an irrigation ditch, but they made a deal with the state to improve irrigation for their farm ground.

“They gave us the pipe, and I was able to put in pipeline irrigation,” he comments. “We grow hay, about 38 acres of alfalfa and generally about 400 of grass hay.

This year, I got about 350 acres of grass hay, although the grazing stayed pretty good until August. Then it got dry.”

Shumway continues, “Really, this was a pretty good hay year, and now I have hay to feed all winter. I have a few more cattle than I had planned, so I pasture all of them. I have to feed hay all winter.”

Managing the ground Pasture management includes flood irrigation and pasture rotation.

“With some of the fields, it’s worth more to graze them than hay them.

I move the cows depending on the grass and how much irrigation water we have. I also keep supplements out to help with the cows’ nutrition and help the grass last longer,” he says.

Shumway considers weed control and range management part of his duties as a responsible ranch owner.

“In my mind, one of the worst invasive weeds are Russian olive trees. It’s cost me $20,000 to eliminate a lot of those trees on my ranches. It’s a lot of work, time and money to eradicate them. First, we need to cut them down and spray the stump within 20 minutes of cutting,” the rancher says.

“I own three places, and we’ve have taken out acres and acres of Russian Olives on each of them. The only thing is, if our neighbors don’t spray, the seeds come down the irrigation ditch.”

He believes tough penalties must be developed for those who don’t destroy the invasive trees.

“I try to keep my place clean,” says Shumway.

“They should make a law that they all should be eradicated. Whether they want to get rid of them or not, they have to. I spend $2,000 to $3,000 each year to keep my land weed-free.”

Family involvement Although the Shumways have eight children – three boys and five girls – only one son lives close and is currently building a new home on land that was Shumway’s maternal grandfather’s homestead.

“I have two other

places. I’m what some call place poor,” Shumway chuckles. “I have some pasture on the mountain, and my brother and sisters run cattle there, but I prefer the lower elevation.”

He appreciates working with his son.

“He helps me a lot, as do his two sons. However, some of my other grandkids come back every summer,” he says, adding with a smile, “I have one grandson who has already laid claim to my horse and pickup.”

“We’re a close family, even with everyone scattered. I’m proud of my family. The kids enjoyed growing up a ranch. My girls were as good cowboys as the boys,” Shumway comments.

Changing times “Back when the kids were around, we did most of our work with horses. We even had horses pulling our stack wagon, and we put up small squares that had to be loaded on it,” Shumway says. “It was hard work, and if it was hot and there was a little water in the irrigation ditch, we’d pull that wagon over to the ditch and the kids would all swim in it.”

Haying has changed from those days. The Shumways now use tractors and put up round bales.

“The kids scold me that soon as they left home, that’s when I changed to round bales. No more stacking small squares by hand,” he explains.

“Now my brother does a lot of haying. He has a big place, and we’ve been haying like mad. We just finished haying in mid-September, so we are ready for the winter.”

Even a stroke hasn’t slowed him down. Although he can’t saddle up and ride

anymore – he leaves that to his son and grandsons – he uses a four-wheeler to check the cows and irrigate.

He’s worked hard through the years to put in pipelines to keep pastures watered.

Shumway relates that the Bar H Bar brand, which is still in the family, was Doc Holliday’s brand.

“My great-great grandfather was Doc Holliday’s brother,” he explains. “I guess that’s where I get all my orneriness from.”

The ranching business The Bar H Bar calves in March and generally sells calves at the sale in Riverton in the fall or sometimes

sells them individually. The rancher shakes his head about the volatility of the cattle market.

“This time, I got caught.

I bought some cows for up to $3,000,” he says. “It’s going to take while to get that back.”

Still, he wouldn’t change his decision to keep ranching.

“I was born to it, and it’s what I know,” he quips.

“I did work in the oilfield

for about 17 years so I could make enough money to put the kids through college, but I kept ranching that entire time. My wife is from California and was a big city gal, but she moved out here and now she says would never trade our lifestyle for anything.”

Rebecca Colnar is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

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A12

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Even from a young age Kevin Dickey knew that he wanted to be involved in veterinary medicine.

“I honestly think that this is all I ever wanted to do,” says Dickey, owner of Owl Creek Veterinary Service.

Originally from northeastern Texas, Dickey graduated with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Louisiana State University in 2002.

Drawn out West because of the rural lifestyle, Dickey purchased Owl Creek Veterinary Service in 2011 and has been growing the clinic since then.

“One of the things that’s cool about being a veterinarian, especially in a rural community, which this is really part of the draw that brought me here, is I never know what’s

going to come through that door next,” he continues.

Clinic operation Dickey manages the clinic with the help of his wife Sherri and two fulltime employees.

“My wife takes care of the books and keeps us in the good graces of the bankers,” says Dickey.

Periodically, the clinic also has students come and volunteer to gain experience.

“I’ve got a high school student who is taking an out-of-the-classroom learning credit observing and helping us out right now,” he explains.

The four major species that Dickey practices on are dogs, cats, horses and cattle. He notes that there are also several sheep producers and small swine producers in the area. The clinic has also seen other

animals including birds, guinea pigs and hedgehogs.

“This is rural Wyoming. We never know what’s going to walk through that door next,” says Dickey.

Client success “Goal number one is to see my clients do well on their operations,” says Dickey.

Dickey’s clients' goals vary from operation to operation, requiring a personalized approach in each case.

“I want to see them succeed at whatever it is that they’re trying to produce, whether it’s feeder calves that they’re shipping out of the ranches every fall, retaining ownership, raising heifers, raising purebred bulls or whatever,” he continues.

He explains that if his

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clients are able to reach their goals, particularly within production agriculture, then that indicates that he is doing his job well.

“I think that if they succeed, that means that I’m succeeding and I’m doing a good job,” says Dickey.

Information source One of the most valuable benefits that Owl Creek Veterinary Service can provide to local producers is pertinent information, says Dickey. Using the example of the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) that is going into place on Jan. 1, 2017, Dickey notes that his relationship with his clients is crucial.

“We continue to see, and in the future we’ll continue to see, the encroachment of government on what our livestock producers are doing,” says Dickey.

“Maybe there are some things that have changed in Washington or in Cheyenne that pertains to producers. That’s going to be important to their operation, and maybe they don’t know about. If I can help advise and consult with them on what steps they need to take to make sure that they’re jumping through the right regulatory hoops.”

Earlier this year, Dickey held a meeting with his clients regarding the VFD rule.

“We had a meeting with our clients to address that specifically, so it doesn’t take everybody by surprise on Jan. 1 when it goes into full implementation. We want to make sure that they are aware,” he says.

Relationships The most rewarding part of working as a clinical veterinarian in rural Wyoming is develop-

ing meaningful relationships with his clients, says Dickey.

“As much as I enjoy working on the animals, I enjoy the people I get to work with day-in and dayout. Ranchers and livestock people in this area are salt of the earth people who are good to be around,” commends Dickey.

As pregnancy-checking season is beginning, he is most looking forward to the time able to catch up with his clients around the chute.

“It’s fun to just visit with folks, catch up on what’s going on, speculate about what hunting season is going to be like and what cow prices are going to do and that sort of thing,” says Dickey.

Lifelong learning One of the most challenging aspects of veterinary medicine is staying up to date with the large body of rapidly changing information in the field.

“As much as I want to, and we strive for that dayin and day-out, it’s still very difficult to keep up with the body of knowledge as it grows,” says Dickey.

He notes that veterinary medicine has become extremely specialized, especially in urban environments.

“We want to be able to be good for our clients in all of those places, but it’s a challenge anymore because veterinary medicine – especially in urban areas – has kind of migrated into little subspecialties,” explains Dickey.

Oftentimes, particularly in a rural environment, veterinarians need to have a high level of proficiency in a wide variety of interests.

“There are vets that are really good at dermatology or really good at surgery, but here in a rural area, we have to be a little bit good at all of it. That’s a huge challenge. It really is,” he says.

However, the challenge of constantly learning new information is something that Dickey enjoys.

“I’m committed to being a lifelong learner, and I enjoy that, too,” comments Dickey.

Future plans In the future, Dickey hopes to make Owl Creek Veterinary Service one of the premier veterinary clinics in the Big Horn Basin.

“I want to see us recognized as a top-notch animal health facility in the Big Horn Basin in the years to come,” says Dickey.

According to Dickey, it is a privilege to be in the next generation of young veterinarians serving in the state.

“There’s a ton really good veterinarians in the Big Horn Basin. A lot of them are aging, and I’m humbled and glad to be part of the next wave of young veterinarians that are here in Wyoming,” says Dickey.

Dickey feels hopeful for the agricultural industry in Wyoming and looks forward to Wyoming being recognized around the country for superior livestock production.

“I don’t think ranching is going anywhere in this part of the world, so I want to be here to see that carry on and see Wyoming be recognized for the great beef products that it’s able to produce,” he concludes.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr. net.

Relationships – Practicing veterinarian and practice owner Kevin Dickey’s favorite part of veterinary medicine is the relationships that he has the opportunity to build with his clients. Emilee Gibb photo

A13

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

In the late 1800s, Everett Jones’ grandfather Everett bought land in Hot Springs County on the Owl Creek Mountains and started their ranching operation.

“They ran sheep and cows,” Everett, who currently runs the ranch, says.

“We do the same today.”

“I’m the third generation on this ranch,” he adds.

In 1937, the family moved to Kirby Creek, establishing the ranch at it’s current location. Everett’s mother Joann still lives on the property today, though her late husband Dave passed away 13 years ago.

“The ranch is a good place to be,” Joann comments. “I was raised in Idaho, and I came here when I was young. I met my husband when I was working as a waitress, and he was running around town like young cowboys do.”

Shortly after they were married, the couple moved to Kirby Creek, and she’s been there ever since.

Sheep operation Kirby Creek Ranch runs both sheep and cattle on their property, though the majority of their operation is in sheep production.

“There’s a lot of land out here that the cows don’t survive on very well,” Everett explains. “It’s really good feed for the sheep.”

At the same time, Everett comments that they are still working to develop water in many of their pastures, so in some places, only one water source is available.

“In the winter months, sheep can survive on the snow, so we don’t have to have as much water available for them,” he adds.

“It works well for raising sheep.”

The Jones family raises Rambouillet sheep, which provide a solid meat product, as well as fine wool that provides a second source of income.

“We’ve had sheep since the beginning,” Joann says.

“They had probably 2,000 sheep up on Owl Creek when they first started.”

Yearly production schedule Each year, the Jones family begins their year by calving their heifers, starting in the last part of February.

“We range calves and range lamb, except for our coming two-year-old heifers. We put them through a shed,” Everett says. “After we finish the heifers, our older cows start.”

Around May 10, the cows are moved up the mountain to Wild Horse Butte, where they graze until Sept. 27, usually.

“The sheep go to Copper Mountain the first of June, and normally we bring them down about Sept. 15,” he adds, noting that this year, a short-

age of grass meant they had to come home earlier.

“We take our lambs down to Worland to Andrew Miller’s feedlot.”

The cattle are sold in mid-October, and the family sold by video auction for the first time this year.

“For the past few years, our neighbor Jim Wilson bought our cattle and sold them for us,” Everett says. “When he retired last year, we had to move to the video.”

Cattle Kirby Creek Ranch runs an Angus-Salers cross, utilizing bulls produced by Wilson, in their breeding program.

Everett prefers the genetic cross because of their ability to utilize the rangeland.

“On the side hills, these cows climb higher and utilize the grass,” he says. “The straight Angus seemed to stay toward the bottom.”

“We normally hold back a few replacements,” Everett comments. “This year we also bought a few outside cows for the herd.”

Good country Everett says that Kirby

Creek provides a great location to raise cattle, sheep and a family.

“This is good country,” he comments. “Normally our winters are really good.

Sometimes we get a little snow, but it doesn’t last too long.”

To maintain their land, Everett notes that they’ve done some improvement work through the Kirby Creek CRM. “We’ve fenced off the creek in several places, trying to keep the livestock away from it and building the creek bottoms back,” he comments. “We’ve also put in a lot of pipeline to hold livestock out away from the creek and use the land better.”

As they move into the next few years, Everett mentions that they will continue to put in additional water lines, and they’re completing an additional project this fall.

“We put in another well, and it’s running at four gallons per minute right now,” he comments. “We think it will pick up quite a bit in the spring, so that will be a good well.”

He says that they con-

tinue to improve the land because it improves their livestock and makes the place better.

“We do these improvements to spread the livestock around and help the wildlife. They utilize the feed a lot better; and we don’t see overgrazing.”

The family has worked to improve their corrals and barns, and they put in a hay field several years ago to reduce the amount of hay they have to purchase.

“We buy some hay in the winter, and we also buy corn to feed the ewes,” Everett says.

Working together Everett notes that they have good partnerships with a number of state and federal agencies, where they’ve been successful and working together to implement new improvements.

“We do a lot of work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the small waters program through the Wyoming Water Development Commission,” he comments.

“We’ve also worked with the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust.”

Everett continues, “We get along really well with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the state is really easy to deal with.”

Sheep focused - Sheep are able to utilize areas of the rangeland that cattle cannot, but the Jones family run both on Kirby Creek Ranch. Their Rambouillet sheep provide two sources of income in both meat and wool. Saige Albert photo

The partnerships are valuable, since they provide financial assistance in developing projects.

“It takes a lot of money to put in pipelines and do as much work as we’ve done,” he comments.

“These groups really help a lot.”

In addition to the agencies across the state, Everett adds that he is fortunate to have good neighbors to work with.

“Jim and Terry Wilson have been really good neighbors,” he says. “We get along really well, and Jim gives me a lot of good ideas to use

on our place. We can really bounce ideas off of each other, and that helps a lot.”

Everett, who married his wife Dawn in June of this year, plans to continue ranching for many years.

“I took over the family ranch in 2007, and ranching is all I ever wanted to do,” he comments. “I grew up in Thermopolis and went to school here, but I couldn’t wait to get out of school and come back to the ranch.”

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

Family operation - Kirby Creek Ranch is operated by the Jones family, including (from left to right) Pat Bears, Rhyan Schmuck, Joann, Everett and Dawn Jones. Saige Albert photo

ANGUS MEANS BUSINESS. Kurt Kangas, Regional Manager

Montana Wyoming Alaska P.O. Box 819 Big Timber, MT 59011 406-366-4190 kkangas@angus.org

A reliable business partner is difficult to come by. Contact Kurt Kangas to locate Angus genetics, select marketing options tailored to your needs, and to access Association programs and services.

Put the business breed to work for you.

To subscribe to the Angus Journal, call 816.383.5200.

Watch The Angus Report on RFD-TV Monday mornings at 7:30 CST.

3201 Frederick Ave. | St. Joseph, MO 64506 816.383.5100 | www.ANGUS.org © 2016-2017 American Angus Association

A14

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Established in 1983, the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch has become known worldwide as a premier seller of quality ranch horses.

Owners and managers of the ranch Bill and Carole Smith first began their annual sale as a way to market their colts.

“Every fall, we’d have a little crop of colts and no place to go with them. We got a wild brainstorm that we would have a sale,” says Bill. “That’s where it started, and it kind of grew from there.”

50 sales Next year will mark the 50th sale for the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch, says Carole.

“We’ve had 33 spring sales, 16 fall sales, so by next year, it’ll be 50 sales total,” she continues.

The sale specializes in foundation-bred Quarter horses. While they have reached numbers as high as 120, the ranch usually features 90 to 100 head at each sale.

“The fall sale is more of a production sale. We sell 30 to 40 geldings, but mostly it’s yearlings, twoyear-olds and babies. In the spring, it’s mostly just ranch geldings,” explains

Bill.

The sale hosts buyers from across the country and around the world, selling horses to buyers in 23 states last year.

“We’ve sold horses to buyers in Wales, Scotland, England, Peru and Canada,” Bill continues.

Integrity The Smiths attribute the continued success of their sales to their reputation for being honest.

“Our reputation keeps business. We have a lot of repeat buyers,” says Carole.

Bill adds, “We're doing something right because no one can last in this business for 35 years without doing something right.”

The couple gives each horse in the sale a 30-day guarantee, including soundness.

“We always try to keep the quality as good as we can. Basically, we want to do what we say we’re going to do, be straight up with the people and keep our word,” says Bill.

He notes that they guarantee their horses to be what they advertise them to be.

“We don’t guarantee the buyer will like them, but we guarantee them to

be how we represented them,” Bill continues.

Raising horses Starting out, the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch raised all of the horses that were sold in the sales. Now, the sale has grown to the point that it encompasses both home-raised horses and purchased horses.

“We still raise part of them, but it’s outgrown that. We’ve got to have more horses than we can raise and get ready for the sale. We buy a lot of geldings down. We raise our young horses,” explains Bill.

The ranch keeps 100 horses on their acreage in Thermopolis throughout the year. They also have mares located in Chugwater at their business partner Woody Bartlett’s ranch.

“He has an 80,000-acre

ranch right north of Cheyenne in Chugwater. That’s where I run my mares.

Between us, we have about 120 mares and five stallions there,” says Bill.

The Smiths winter their stallions at the Thermopolis ranch and then move them to Chugwater during breeding season.

“In the middle of July, we bring the stallions to Thermopolis. We winter them and then they go back down to Chugwater on April 15,” notes Bill.

Changing industry Bill explains that changes in the equine and agricultural industries have dramatically impacted both the availability and demand for horses.

“People don’t ride horses and use them anymore. They have become a luxury or a toy,” says Bill.

“People buy horses because they want them, not because they need them.”

The buyers’ motivation for purchasing horses from

the sale has years from primarily ranch horses to trail horses, says Carole.

“I would say that 80 to 90 percent of our clientele are older people who want a nice trail horse that they feel safe on. That’s kind of the way our sale has evolved,” explains Carole.

The change in demand has influenced the number of horses that are produced and available for purchase.

“Finding horses right now is tough. Finding them at a wholesale where we can turn them at a profit is hard, too. If we don’t turn them at a profit, we’ll soon be out of business,” notes Bill.

Way of life Both Bill and Carole find themselves very fortunate to be able to make a living working with horses.

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Way of life – For Bill (right) and Carole (left) Smith, raising horses is not just a job but a way of life. The couple met while on the rodeo circuit and began the WYO Quarter Horse Ranch in 1983. Courtesy photo

“We love doing it.

We love being around the horses, so it’s a job that we can do where we have the horses,” says Carole.

She explains that before working full-time at the ranch, she was a schoolteacher.

“After I retired from that, which was as early as I could, I got involved here because I’ve always loved horses and riding,” Carole continues.

The couple also appreciates the freedom of running their own business.

“It’s a way of life for us. We’re our own bosses.

We’re self employed. We do our own thing,” comments Bill.

Looking ahead While horse markets are unpredictable, the Smiths plan to adapt and continue with market trends.

“We’ll just go with the market. Horses are high right now,” says Bill. “The market is good for them right now because – just like anything else, there’s not a lot of them, and it’s supply and demand.”

The couple notes that they were pioneers modeling national gelding sales and have been one of the top sales for the last 20 years.

“The horses are more scarce, but there’s more sales and more people following our lead. There is competition now. It’s tougher now than it ever was, but it’s still good,” he concludes.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr. net.

WINTER WORK DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!

For details contact Bob Fisher at (308) 765-2732.

Contact Sales Consultant: Bob Fisher: (308) 765-2732 Scottsbluff Office: (308) 635-2414

A15

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

In July 2009, the first bourbon company west of the Mississippi began production on an all-Wyoming product – Wyoming Whiskey. Today, Sam Mead, son of Brad Mead, and his family are working to continually improve their product and their business in Kirby, and they have big plans for the future.

“It’s been about 10 years since we started building the distillery,” Mead says. “Most bourbon and whiskey companies that are household names are so old nobody thinks about the problems they experienced when they start. We’ve had a few stumbling blocks, but we’ve also been lucky enough to learn from those guys and make real progress.”

A lot has changed since they first began, Mead says, noting, “Technology is a lot better, and information is a lot more freely available. We’ve changed a lot of stuff, and we’re continuing to work forward.”

“I’ve been back and running the distillery for about two years now,” Mead comments. “One of the first things I’ve done is work on optimizing production.”

Efficiency Since taking over, Mead notes that they’ve improved production by about 700 barrels per year, from 1,300 to 2,000 barrels, and he notes that they have plans to continue to increase efficiency and optimize production.

“The recipe hasn’t changed that much, but what we’re really doing is improving from the labor, efficiency and other standpoints,” Mead says. “Everything we improve adds up and makes a big difference.”

As they move forward, Mead hopes to optimize water use, recycling and other components to move toward a zero-waste facility.

“A distillery can be very synergistic, and we’re working hard to do everything the

best that we can,” he comments.

This summer, the distillery has worked to implement and install new equipment to increase automation.

“With the volumes we use, it’s really difficult – or nearly impossible – to accurately control our temperatures and mix the product without a computer doing it,” Mead says. “We’re moving toward automating our process to do it really accurately and to improve our record keeping.”

Currently, if they find an exceptional barrel of whiskey, there are very limited records to explain why that barrel is so good.

“Increased automation will help us learn more about our warehouses and the product because we have more control over the whole process,” he adds.

Wyoming Whiskey sources all of their grains within 97 miles of the distillery, with the exception of the malt product, which comes from Great Falls, Mont., their closest available option.

“There’s a malting facility going up outside of Cheyenne, and if that turns out to be feasible, we’ll look into getting our malted barley there,” Mead says. “One of the goals in starting this business was to have a product that is 100 percent Wyoming that Wyoming people can be proud of.”

The perfect product One thing Mead has also introduced since coming to run the distillery is the use of a specialist to create the blends that are bottled and sold.

“Our small batch bourbon is a blend of 40 barrels that we put together. The blending allows us to maintain a consistent flavor profile from batch to batch,” Mead says. “I wasn’t comfortable doing all that myself when I started, so we started working with a lady named Nancy Fraley, who blends for a lot of people.”

Starting a company “My family has been in Jackson since the 1880s,” Sam Mead says. “We had our cows over there, and we bought this place in Kirby for our cows.”

Several factors, including brucellosis, wolves, grizzly bears and pressure on grazing leases in Grand Teton National Park, made the change necessary.

“We moved over here to winter the cattle, and then we started building the distillery. It’s interesting to see how things have changed over the last 10 to 15 years,” he adds.

Their cattle are fed the spent grains from the distillery, and they also distribute the grains to several other ranchers in the area.

“The cows like it, and it’s a good feed for them,” Mead explains. “It’s between 20 and 25 percent protein, and it’s already gone through an initial breakdown, so it’s easier for them to digest.”

Wyoming Whiskey was started by Mead’s parents Brad and Kate, and after Steve McNally, the master distiller left, Mead notes that it provided an opportunity to come home and help out.

“When we first started, this isn’t something I really wanted to do, frankly,” says Mead. “I was living in Minnesota with my wife, and when Steve left in spring of 2014, it sounded like the family needed help back here.”

Mead moved home and started as the low man on the totem pole at the operation.

“As things changed, I took over six months later,” he comments. “It has worked out well, and I really enjoy it now.”

Fraley visits the distillery, where they pull samples from 200 to 300 barrels and develop their blends.

“Blending is very helpful because it helps us put a better, more consistent product on the shelves,” Mead explains. “We want our small batch bourbon to be an everyday drinker, and for that to happen, it has to be consistent.

We need consistency, quality and innovation.”

New products “Our small batch bourbon has a creamy, caramel, orange, vanilla flavor,” Mead says. “It’s got notes of oak, and overall, it definitely has more high, sweeter notes than other products.”

This fall, Wyoming Whiskey will be releasing several new products to create more of a presence on store shelves across the country.

“We’ve got a rye product coming out this fall,” he comments. “Again, it is 100 percent Wyoming grain, and it should be released mid-October to early November.”

They are also releasing a sherry around the same time.

“For the sherry, we take our five-year-old bourbon and transfer it to sherry barrels,” he explains. “That adds a raisin-y sweetness to the bourbon. It adds the darker notes and a sweetness. It’s a really nice combination.”

The single barrel and barrel strength whiskey products will also be released toward the end of the year.

“The single barrel is a barrel that is chosen because it stands out on its own,” Mead says. “It’s generally a little bit more complex than what we would find in the small batch.”

They hope to release approximately 400 cases toward the end of the year.

Barrel strength whiskey is an exceptional barrel of product that is pulled straight out of the barrel and is bottled with no additional water added.

Mead says, “We will be releasing that this year only if

we find barrels that meet the standard we have set.”

“Our small batch is bottled at 88 proof,” Mead says.

“The barrel strength is somewhere between 110 and 120 proof. It’s really strong, and it’s the most complex whiskey we have.”

Last year, they released 100 bottles, and they hope to do a similar release this year.

Wyoming Whiskey also releases private stock whiskey. When an individual or a liquor store comes to the distillery, they can ask to purchase a single barrel and bottle the product with their own name.

“The private stock has the buyer’s name on it, and the barrel number,” Mead says.

“This gives people a really exclusive product.”

Moving forward As they continue to move into the future, Mead says he’s really excited about their new products and the future of the distillery.

“Our new products are going to be out this fall, and we’re really pleased with them,” he says.

Wyoming Whiskey is sold in 38 states across the U.S., and Chicago is the second biggest market for the

product.

“Chicago is a big cocktail market, with some really knowledgeable drinkers and people who support our product,” Mead says, “but Wyoming is our biggest market.

Wyoming has always been a huge supporter of our distillery and our product. It’s great to be in such a supportive state.”

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

Distillery - Wyoming Whiskey is the first bourbon distillery west of the Mississippi, and their product sells in 38 states across the West. The distillery (pictured) is the tallest building in the small town of Kirby.

Saige Albert photo

A16

Boasting an interesting history, the Diamond Bar Ranch is owned and operated

by Matt Brown and his wife Teresa. The couple both came from ranching backgrounds before they purchased their current ranch, and they share a common passion for agri-

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

culture and the ranching lifestyle.

“I married the best gal in the world. It’s amazing the similarities between her upbringing and my upbringing,” says Brown.

The operation produces high quality Black Angus

and Angus-Charolais cattle, emphasizing feed efficiency and preventative health.

Ranch history Brown’s ancestors have been ranching since the late 1800s. His father and grandfather started the ranch that Brown and his family are

Family – Working side-by-side with his family is one of the most rewarding parts of running the family ranch for Matt Brown. Matt (middle) runs the operation with his wife Teresa, their four children and numerous grandchildren. Courtesy photo

now on. Brown notes that the ranch’s story is unique.

“The ranch we have right now has an interesting past,” says Brown.

Brown explains that in the early 60s, the family was faced with a severe financial crisis after his father died of a heart attack.

"This led to an escalating crisis for our family,” he said.

“Then, during the early 80s, when everyone went through tough financial times, my mother lost the ranch."

Shortly after that Matt and Teresa purchased back part of the original family ranch and farm on Owl Creek and combined it with their summer property on Black Mountain and Lysite Mountain, which they had purchased soon after they were married in 1977.

"When we decided to purchase back the farm, we made a commitment we would we would keep it together for our children and grandchildren,” he adds. "So far we have been able to live our dream and become financially independent."

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Current operation The Diamond Bar Ranch runs 450 cow/calf pairs on 25,000 acres of deeded, state and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. The calves are backgrounded on the ranch until the middle of February and are then sold.

“We normally sell our calves at 650 pounds, roughly,” says Brown The main cowherd consists of Angus cattle. The yearlings, two- and some three-year-olds are bred back to Angus bulls. The three- to 10-year-old cattle are bred to Charolais bulls.

“We pasture breed and run plenty of bulls. We think it’s the cheapest insurance,” he says.

Reducing input costs is a top priority for the ranch, says Brown. The ranch winters the cows out, meaning that they don’t feed the cattle unless there is severe weather.

“In today’s agriculture world, we’ve got to cheapen up everything possible, and I don’t know how anyone can feed mother cows much hay and make any money,” says Brown.

The calves are backgrounded on grass hay, pasture and liquid protein. The ranch raises all of its own feed, baling 1,000 tons of hay.

“We do no farming.

It’s all natural grass hay,” explains Brown.

Prevention Brown is extremely conscientious of disease threats such as trichomoniasis and brucellosis and, as such, prioritizes vaccinating his cattle and prevents co-mingling with elk herds.

“We vaccinate for both brucellosis and trichomoniasis, along with Preg-Guard,” says Brown.

He discusses his involvement with the state Board of Ag, noting that many producers he met throughout the state do not vaccinate their adult cattle for many diseases.

“With all of these diseases that are around, I think prevention is the best thing,” says Brown. “I’ve never had an outbreak of those diseases, but I sure don’t want one either.”

Challenges in ag Brown recognizes that there are many challenges for agricultural producers to stay in business.

“It’s tough. Agriculture is tough, and we have to love it and want to be in it to stick with it,” he says.

Working with government agencies is one of the greatest challenges for his operation.

“Of the 25,000 acres, we’ve got about 10,000 of it deeded. We are pretty heavily reliant on BLM, especially in our winter country,” explains Brown. “It’s always a challenge to deal with government agencies. My advice there is we have to sit down and work with them.”

He notes that budgeting for an operation with a volatile market also presents a challenge.

“If we stepped out in 2014 and started a three-year project, we got $1,730 a calf that year. Now we’re getting $740 dollars. How do we budget, and how do we plan when we look at that?”

Brown encourages producers to find ways to use different challenges that they are faced with to their advantage.

“When I was chairman of the state Board of Agriculture, there was a big fight on coalbed methane water that was out in the Powder River Basin,” says Brown.

His operation uses the oilfield discharge water almost exclusively four months out of the year and pipes the water several miles.

“I think it’s important to let people know that there’s a beneficial use to oilfield discharge water,” continues Brown.

Rewarding As he reflects on the most rewarding aspects of being involved in the agricultural industry, Brown highlights day-to-day activities on the ranch including moving cattle, irrigating and feeding.

“It’s a good feeling at the end of the day when we go out and we know we’ve trailed cattle and got them from point A to point B. It’s a good feeling when we go out and we cut a field of hay,” says Brown.

The feeling of a job well done and improving what he’s managing is one of the most rewarding aspects for Brown.

“We have a feeling of accomplishment, and we’re constantly trying to do things better year after year. I think that’s the most rewarding thing for me in agriculture,” he says.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr. net

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Mothering up – After moving the herd earlier that day, Matt Brown and two of his grandchildren mother up the cows and calves. Courtesy photo

Starting their operation five years ago, Duane Maddock and his wife Cindy have tirelessly worked to improve their small alfalfa and beef farm.

“It was kind of run down, overgrazed and needed some attention,” says Maddock about the condition of the farm when they purchased it. “It’s been a productive five years bringing it back to life.”

Roots Maddock was first exposed to agriculture growing up on his family’s ranch. He received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business and economics from Utah State University.

While he was in college, Maddock’s father became ill, prompting the family to sell the ranch.

“When I was in college, my father became sick with cancer, and we ended up selling everything,” explains Maddock.

He continued to stay involved with agriculture throughout his life, leading him to purchase his operation in Thermopolis.

“I always kept in touch with agriculture, and then I had the opportunity to buy a place here in Thermopolis,” says Maddock.

One of Maddock’s brothers owns land close to his own and is also involved in agriculture.

“We’re kind of hobby farmers, but it’s a lifestyle we enjoy,” he says.

Current operation Maddock currently operates 17 irrigated acres, along with 13 acres of native meadows.

“I worked a nine-acre field, so it would irrigate well, then seeded it down to alfalfa. I’ll be producing hay on that,” says Maddock.

He recently finished construction on an irrigation system for the remaining eight acres to convert them to grass pasture.

“I’m going to do a cover crop as a double crop each year with some cool season grasses and then warm season grasses to stimulate the topsoil,” continues Maddock. “Right now, it’s covered in cheatgrass. I get some benefit from that in the spring, but I need more than that.”

Maddock currently runs 14 head of Angus cattle on his land.

“I’ve tried to bring in some good genetics. Black Angus is prevalent here, and we have some good bloodlines in the area,” explains Maddock. “I was just out looking at my calf crop and how even they look. It’s been fun to see.”

Oil and gas In addition to his involvement in agriculture, Maddock continues to be

involved in the oil and gas industry.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a career in the oil and gas industry,” says Maddock.

In a unique situation, Maddock and three of his brothers manage an oilfield service company.

“Myself and three other brothers are involved in an oilfield service company, and we work together to run the company. It’s been a great opportunity to work with them in that industry as well, with the four of us,” he continues. “It’s a unique situation. I don’t know another family who’s done this.”

Family Like many involved in the agricultural industry, Maddock highly values his family and their involvement in the operation.

“My kids have learned how to take care of animals and be responsible.

We have some of those traditions that family comes first, and we take care of each other – a lot of the things that we see in agriculture life,” explains Maddock.

Duane and Cindy have five children and three grandchildren. Their two youngest are attending high school in Thermopolis and help at the family farm.

The Maddock family has instilled the value of work and craftsmanship into each of their children.

Maddock illustrates with an irrigation project that his children were actively involved with at the farm.

“We put in 1,700 feet of underground pipe as part of the irrigation system, and we had to lay it on grade.

More than 1,700 feet on grade took a lot of work on my kids’ part,” says Maddock. “We would get it close and then hand dig. It was hard, but they did it right.”

Improvements After five years of work, Maddock is encouraged by the improvements that can be seen in his land.

“Improving the land and making things better than it was before has been really rewarding to me,” comments Maddock.

He notes that the farm was in poor condition when he purchased it.

“When I purchased this place, it was overgrazed. I looked around, and the pastures around me had grass growing tall and lush, while my place was growing nothing but weeds,” says Maddock.

Using resources from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Maddock was able to improve irrigation and control many of the present weeds.

“I had a serious goathead problem that got brought under control.

Cheatgrass is the next weed that I will eliminate as I start to farm the next seven to eight acres,” he says.

Future plans Maddock also plans to expand his beef cattle herd in the coming years.

“There are some possibilities of leasing pasture nearby, and I’m hoping to pick up some of those leases and continue to increase the herd size of the cows,” says Maddock.

He also plans to continue improving his facilities for cattle work, such as fences and facilities.

Maddock explains that the area that he lives in is

invaded with Russian olive trees.

“I’ve seen some aerial photos of this place in the 50s, and it was some very productive farm ground.

When we look at it now, it’s

completely invaded with Russian olive trees,” continues Maddock.

As efforts are made to control the trees, Maddock hopes to be involved.

“I would really like

to be part of bringing that under control,” he says.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr. net.

Family – The Maddock family emphasizes the importance of hard work and quality craftsmanship in everything that they do, on and off of the farm. The family includes (left to right) Choc, holding Kaizleigh, Chase, Christina, Chandra, Gabi, Chance, Duane, Cindy and Chandler Maddock. Courtesy photo

The Berry’s Selling 68 Bulls

Annual Bull Sale

Mon. Oct. 17, 2016 1:00 pm at the ranch • Cheyenne, WY

Featuring Progeny of CL 1 Domino 314A “Pi” Also including progeny of Churchill Sensation 028X

B PI DOMINO 8C

BW 2.0; WW 53; YW 85; M 37; M&G 64 Sire: CL 1 DOMINO 314A

B PI DOMINO 30C

BW 0.3; WW 50; YW 77; M 40; M&G 64 Sire: CL 1 DOMINO 314A

B TOTAL SENSATION 23C

BW 0.6; WW 57; YW 82; M 38; M&G 66 Sire: CHURCHILL SENSATION 028X

B SENSATION 32C

BW 0.8; WW 56; YW 82; M 36; M&G 64 Sire: CHURCHILL SENSATION 028X

B PI DOMINO 21C

BW 2.8; WW 56; YW 92; M 38; M&G 65 Sire: CL 1 DOMINO 314A

PI DOMINO 43C

BW 2.1; WW 56; YW 84; M 37; M&G 64 Sire: CL 1 DOMINO 314A

A pen of Black Baldy Replacement Heifers will be available sale day. Many out of Sensation daughters.

Call or e-mail for more information or a catalog:

The Berry’s 3049 CR 225 Cheyenne, WY 82009

Jay and Janice Berry Home: (307) 634-5178 Cell: (307) 630-7944 jaberryherefords@msn.com

See videos online at: www.thelivestocklink.com or wherecowmenbuybulls.com

B2

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

For the first time in three generations, James Van Heule is pursuing a career in ranching. The young Thermopolis native came back from college with a love of ranching, ready to start his own operation.

“I lease my grandparents ranch, the Quien Sabe Ranch,” Van Heule says.

“Today, I run cows with my brother.”

Getting a start Van Heule’s great-grandparents were the last generation to be involved on the ranch. The children of Bill

and Fran Thoren chose nonagricultural professions but continue to help out as time allows.

“Raising cattle wasn’t ever something that the rest of my family was passionate about. Jim Wilson used to lease my grandparents ranch,” he explains. “When I was a kid, I started going with him and helping him. As I got older, I started to help more and more. I worked for Jim in high school and during the summers when I was in college.”

“I worked at Menards in

Centennial ranch The Quien Sabe Ranch was homesteaded in 1883 by Harry Jevons, Richard Ashworth and Richard Berry, three English cattle barons. The trio had cattle that roamed across a wide expanse.

Quien Sabe means, "who knows" in Spanish. The name came from the long-told story that alleged Mexican caballeros living on the Quien Sabe before it was homesteaded made their money by selling stolen horses, according to the Wyoming State Historical Preservation Office (WSHPO).

In the last 1890s, ownership transferred to Tom Osborne, and the ranch became a gathering place for rustlers and outlaws.

In 1907, Emil Thoren, an ancestor of James Van Heule, acquired the ranch, and it has remained with the family since.

Emil moved to Fremont County from Sweetwater County, though he was born in Kansas.

Emil passed the ranch to his son Dennis, who transitioned the operation to his son William and his wife Frances. The ranch is now beginning the transition to James Van Heule’s mother, aunt and uncles from his grandparents.

The Quien Sabe Ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, says WSHPO.

Casper when I got out of college for two years, but there was something missing. I wanted to be back on the ranch,” Van Heule says.

He also notes that right now is a good time to get into agriculture for young people, particularly with the innovations in technology and the aging ranching community.

“There have to be young people willing to come in and take over for them,” he adds.

Buying a cowherd When he came back, Van Heule purchased half of his cattle from sale barns and utilized a broker to purchase the rest of his herd.

“I have a Salers-Angus cross cow,” he says, noting that he was familiar with the cattle after working for Wilsons. “Jim was a great mentor for me, and I liked his cattle.”

Today, Van Heule calves starting in the middle of March near Thermopolis.

“After calving, I ship over to my grandparents,” he says. “We finish up calving and then brand over there.”

The cattle move over the top of Copper Mountain into Jones Creek Basin in Fremont County through the summer months.

“I usually wean around the first of October and then come back here from November to April,” he says.

During the winter, Van Heule says they are fortunate that usually, snows don’t stay too long, so he doesn’t feed much hay.

“My biggest challenges come from timing,” he adds.

Working in town Van Heule and his brother Ben run about 200 head of cattle, and he also holds down a full-time job in town to help supplement income and provide for benefits, like health insurance and

Working together - James Van Heule and his brother Ben raise Angus-Salers cattle together on the their grandparents ranch, the Quien Sabe Ranch. Courtesy photo

retirement.

“I work for the Town of Thermopolis in the water treatment plant,” Van Heule comments. “I actually got the job because of some of the work I did working for Jim Wilson.”

While working with Wilson, Van Heule participated in installation of pipelines, tanks and water storage.

“That experience helped me to get the job in town,” he says. “At the treatment plant, we take water in from the river and add soda ash and lime to take out all the dissolved solids from the water.”

Chlorine is added, as well, and then the water is pumped throughout the town and utilized as drinking water, for watering lawns and more.

“The in-town job is important, but it’s also a challenge,” Van Heule explains.

“Timing is a big challenge. I have to work on the timing to make the in-town job work with the cattle schedule.”

Adding conservation In addition to raising cattle, Van Heule mentions that he also works to improve the ranch through conservation work.

“We’ve put in pipelines at my grandparent’s place,” he says. “We’ve done work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.”

They’ve also worked to improve irrigation by installing eight-inch pipe for flood irrigation, rather than utilizing the dirt ditches that were

in place.

“These improvements have made it easier to irrigate the meadows on my grandparent’s ranch,” Van Heule comments. “It certainly helps in the timing, from my work standpoint.”

Ranching in Hot Springs County Van Heule grew up in Hot Springs County and returned home after graduating from the University of Wyoming with a degree in business administration.

“One of the things I like about Hot Springs County is that this is a fairly tight-knit community,” he explains.

“Whenever someone needs help, the other producers are willing to step in and help out.

It’s a great place.”

He also says that the agriculture industry is a place he feels like he should be.

“I’ve always enjoyed agriculture,” Van Heule says, “but I knew I didn’t want to be just a hired man for somebody.”

He continues, “I thought the best route for me was to have cows in my own. I have the in-town job to pay the month-to-month bills while I’m building my cowherd.”

“My story is pretty simple,” Van Heule comments.

“I got started with the Wilsons and just decided to come back.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to saige@wylr.net.

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B3

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

When Verne Lofink looks at both sides of his family, farmers are present everywhere.

“My grandpa farmed, and my dad and his brothers farmed, too,” says Verne.

“It’s the same on the other side. My mother-in-law came from the metropolis of Lance Creek, and they farmed and ranched on my wife’s side of the family, as well.”

Verne has continued the tradition of farming throughout the state of Wyoming, and his son Brad is following in his footsteps, helping to run their farm today.

“There are three generations on the farm right now,” Verne adds. “Farming is just something that we do.”

Hot Springs County Verne relocated from Worland to Hot Springs County in March 1989.

Before that, he had lived in Worland for 24 years. He moved to Worland from the Torrington area.

“At the time, we were looking for a place to expand,” he says. “We found this place, and it works for us.”

Brad never left the farm.

Brad says, “I knew what I wanted to do when I was in fifth grade. I knew I wanted to be a farmer.”

Verne and Brad raise malt barley, alfalfa and grass hay, but their primary crop is certified dry bean seed.

“There’s not a lot of difference between growing good commercial beans and seed,” Verne says. “If we’re going to grow good commercial beans, we might as well grow the seed. The cultural practices are about the same.”

The seed beans are grown under contract.

They also see returns from seed production that are sometimes 30 percent above commercial prices.

The seed market also allows more income stability, alleviating some of the risk.

“The commercial bean market can go from $30 to $12.50 overnight, so participating in seed growing provides for a more stable income,” Verne explains.

They also grow alfalfa, which they sell at a yearly December hay auction.

When barley contracts are reduced or they need an additional crop, Verne says that they plant spring wheat, which addresses some of the protein challenges they saw with other crops.

Changes “We used to grow sugarbeets,” adds Brad, “but we had a lot more road risk.”

Brad explains that they

are able to fit 10 acres of beans into one semi load, but every acre of sugarbeets required at least two loads to Worland.

“We have to take the beans to Burlington, but it’s still fewer total miles than with the sugarbeets,” Verne adds. “Because of our hauling distance, our beet trucks would be on the road 1,500 miles per day.”

They also used to operate a cattle herd in addition to the farming, but when family challenges hit, they took the opportunity to sell their herd and focus on the farming and their family.

Challenges While they’re passionate about farming, Verne also notes that the public perception provides a continual challenge.

“The future is going to be a struggle,” he explains. “Too many misdirected people don’t understand GMOs or herbicide use because of their more concentrated products.”

He says that the industry is under fire for GMOs, despite the benefits of less chemical use on the crops.

“We have the healthiest plants we’ve ever seen,” Brad says. “The chemicals we put on our conventional sugarbeets were much worse than what they use now.”

He adds, “We have Roundup Ready soybeans, corn and alfalfa, and it allows us more options for production.”

Other income In addition to running the farm, Verne and Brad also run an auction company, Lofink Auctions.

“I sold my first farm sale on Jan. 24, 1978,” Verne says.

“After I watched what was going on in the auction business in the area, I saw room for changes and improvements.”

Verne prides himself on marketing items differently, holding a continuous sale and keeping things moving.

He emphasizes, “When we’re doing a sale, we ask, but we don’t beg. We work for the seller and with the buyer and charge no buyers’ fees.”

Brad is also a licensed automobile dealer.

Family Brad’s daughters also help out on the farm when they’re around.

“I’m down to my last daughter at home,” he explains. “Elizabeth is a senior this year.”

His oldest daughter Baely teaches school in Casa Grande, Ariz., and another daughter, Ray Ann, is married and teaches in Cheyenne.

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“My third daughter, Makayla, is back and forth between the farm and Torrington, where she was going to school,” Brad comments.

“She isn’t sure what she wants to do now, but she does like the farm.”

Verne says that if farming is in their blood, Brad’s daughters will come to be involved.

“Ray Ann has farming in her blood,” he comments. “All the girls are great clerks for the auction business, as well.”

Challenges and opportunities Brad and Verne both com-

ment that they can’t imagine doing anything but farming.

“The farm is a great place to raise kids,” Brad mentions.

“My girls understand a lot of things that their peers don’t.”

The pair says they continue farming because of the challenges and opportunities it presents.

He explains that the growing season in the Thermopolis area is different from across the rest of the Big Horn Basin, and that sometimes presents a challenge.

“We have to look at the scheduled maturity dates for the crops that we want to plant and select the varieties that will mature in our area,” Verne explains.

Love for farming Verne says, “There are rewards from farming and ranching life that cannot be written on a bank deposit slip.”

“Not everybody can farm,” Verne says. “There’s a lot more to farming than meets the eye. It’s more complicated than most people realize.”

He continues, “Each farmer feeds 155 people aside from ourselves, but many people have no understanding of what it takes to get food on

their plates.”

“Farmers are less than two percent of the population,” he adds. “There are very few industries that have increased their productivity as much as the American farmer and rancher. We’ve produced, in abundance, the highest quality and safest food supply available anywhere, and we’re proud of it.”

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

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B4

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Third generation Wyoming rancher Billie Jo Norsworthy helps her family operate Norsworthy Livestock Company and is the driving force behind her wool company, Lucy’s Sheep Camp.

The Norsworthy family moved to Wyoming when Billie Jo’s grandfather what a small child.

“My great-grandpa was raised on farms in Nebraska, and he’s the one who moved to Wyoming. They moved to Wyoming when my grandpa was in elementary school,” says Norsworthy.

The family transitioned from farming to cattle when her grandfather returned from World War II. “When my grandpa returned from World War II, he bought the place that we currently live on and started raising registered Herefords,” Norsworthy continues.

Norsworthy Livestock

now runs 850 cow/calf pairs on their 60,000-acre ranch in Thermopolis.

“My husband, daughter and I ranch with my mom and dad. The cattle we run are Angus-Salers composites,” says Norsworthy Norsworthy also raises 150 Teeswater sheep on 300 acres next to the family’s house.

The ranch produces their own hay on their farmland and leases cropland to a neighbor to use.

Coming home Unlike many now in the ranching community, Norsworthy did not plan on returning to the family business. The aspiring musician planned on becoming a college music professor.

“I was a music major in college. I thought that I would be playing in a symphony and teaching college level music,” explains Norsworthy.

During her graduate pro-

gram, she began missing the ranching lifestyle and started discussing moving back with her husband. While her husband Jason did not grow up on a ranch, he did have experience working on ranches in high school.

“My husband did not grow up with a ranching background. He worked on some places in high school, but his family was in the oil business,” continues Norsworthy.

After deciding they wanted to be involved in the family ranch again, the couple started discussing their plans with Norsworthy’s parents.

She says, “We talked to my mom and dad and basically asked, ‘Is there a place for us? Is there room for us there?’”

Wool business Norsworthy began Lucy’s Sheep Camp after the birth of her daughter, Emme.

“It was hard for me to be a stay-at-home mom exclu-

Coming home – While pursuing her master’s degree in music, Billie Jo Norsworthy (right) decided that she missed the quality of life that ranching offered and returned home to live near her parents, Jim and Terry Wilson (left, middle). Courtesy photo

sively, so I was thinking of things to do to occupy my time,” explains Norsworthy.

She learned how to knit and then learned how to spin her own yarn. Working with natural fibers sparked the idea of owning her own sheep.

“I thought, ‘Well, we have this little pasture right by out house. Why can’t I have

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a few sheep?’ So I just went and found some to start with,” says Norsworthy.

Her hobby soon grew into a thriving wool business featuring raw wool, yarns, roving and felt. Norsworthy has a small shop set up next to her house and sells many of her products on Etsy and in a local shop in Thermopolis.

“I sell the dyed yarn, roving and felt through my Etsy shop, or I have a local business here in town that carries some of it for me,” explains Norsworthy.

The majority of the wool that Norsworthy sells is raw fleeces.

“I sell probably 90 percent of my wool straight off of the sheep,” she explains.

The raw wool is individually bagged, tagged with the animal’s number and is graded by Norsworthy based on its quality.

“When we take them off of the sheep, they all get bagged individually with their tag number and then I give them a star rating,” she says.

“The best fleeces go off the shelves right away.

The wool is divided into three price categories, depending on its quality rating.

The remaining wool is processed at a mill in Kansas and is sent back to Norsworthy as its natural color.

“I do the dying of the products,” says Norsworthy.

Rewards and challenges The greatest reward of returning to the family ranch is being able to raise their daughter Emme in a ranching environment, says Norsworthy.

“There are not very many kids who get to have that anymore,” she continues. “It gives her a lot of different opportunities, and she loves horses. I can’t imagine not being able to give that to her.”

While marketing is a challenge for her, Norsworthy notes that managing Lucy’s Sheep Camp has provided her

with invaluable opportunities to network with others from across the United States.

“I get to know a lot of different people throughout the United States. I get exposed to people I probably would never meet otherwise,” says Norsworthy.

The greatest challenges that she faces with the ranch are those that are common for all of agriculture, says Norsworthy.

“The most challenging part of the ranching side of all of it are the challenges of agriculture in general, like the economy and expenses growing higher,” she comments. “I guess I would say the value that society places on agriculture now is less than it used to be.”

Future goals The ranch will eventually be passed to their daughter Emme, says Norsworthy.

“I don’t know what she’s going to want to do there.

She’s only 13,” she explains.

Overall, Norsworthy is happy with where her wool business is, but she would not be opposed to expanding her flock slightly.

“It’s about where I would like it to be, really,” says Norsworthy. “I wouldn’t mind if I could maybe increase my flock to 200 and sell that many fleeces a year, but I’m not sure that that is realistic in this economy.”

She does hope to eventually sell her wool products in a large city to promote Wyoming agriculture and the ranching way of life.

“I think it would be really great if I had a bunch of yarn in New York City where more people are. It would give them something to think about, as far as what a real ranch can produce and where their things really and truly come from,” she concludes.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net.

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B5

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

The Axtell Ranch and family boasts a rich history in the shaping of Thermopolis and Wyoming history, as well as a strong spirit to persevere for over a century.

Fourth generation rancher Chip Axtell operates the family ranch with his wife Jennifer, their four children, his mother and two sisters.

Growing up actively involved in the family ranch, Axtell has never wanted to do anything else.

“I’ve always wanted to ranch. It’s the only job I’ve ever had, and I’ve always been around it,” says Axtell.

Ranch history The Axtell family has been ranching in Wyoming for over 100 years, says Axtell.

Axtell’s great-grandfather CW Axtell was the first of the family to come to the Thermopolis area around the turn of the century, and he began the family ranch.

CW’s primary occupation was as a lawyer.

“He moved out to Wyoming from New York straight out of college,” comments Axtell.

Drawn out West because of the Homestead Act, CW Axtell began accumulating land by using his education as a lawyer.

“He would take land as payment for lawyer services. That’s how some of the place got put together,” Axtell explains.

Current operations The Axtell Ranch is a cow/calf operation and has a heifer development program. They currently run 1,100 head of commercial Black Angus on 32,000 acres.

“For the last 20 years, it’s been Angus. Before that, it was Hereford cattle, and before that, it was Scottish Highlanders that my grandpa ran,” says Axtell.

In addition to cattle, the ranch also has 250 acres of hayfields and farm ground along the Big Horn River.

The family does a considerable amount of work to improve forage growth on their land.

“We do quite a few pipeline projects on the ranch in the summertime.

My kids are very involved with that stuff, as well as building fence, branding, weaning, riding and other ranch jobs,” says Axtell.

The ranch calves in March and April, so the cattle can be moved off of the hayfields to allow them to grow.

“I like to be done calving by the first of May, so we can have everything off of the hayfields and up on the mountain. Then, we can get our water on and our hay put up,” explains Axtell.

The Axtells artificially inseminate their heifers, then transition to pasture breeding for their older cows.

“I’ve done that for 22 years, since I was a freshman in college,” says Axtell.

Family value As a family, the Axtells find it very important for all family members to be actively involved at the ranch.

“We put a large value on the family being able to work together and keeping our labor costs down because the family is around,” says Axtell.

Axtell notes that while his wife Jennifer did not come from a ranching background, she is extremely involved in all aspects of the ranch. Their

four children are Spencer, 15, Audrey, 14, Lance, 10, and Ryan, 8.

Axtell’s mother also continues to play an active role in managing the family ranch.

“My mom Debbie is the bookkeeper and the babysitter,” says Axtell.

Axtell’s two sisters, Darcy and Diane, are also involved with ranching operations and work offranch, as well. The ranch has also employed one ranch hand for the last 34 years.

“Cecil McNeff has worked with us for 34 years. He’s a huge part of what we do,” explains Axtell.

The Axtells find it very important to provide their children with knowledge and skills to use later in life through their ranching experience.

“We put a large value on teaching the kids the business end of what we do and maybe give them a leg up for their education down the road,” continues Axtell.

“They’re involved in 4-H and FFA for the same reasons, so they can be prepared for life.”

Ranching challenges Running the family ranch has challenges that are similar for all livestock producers, says Axtell.

Weather influences all aspects of the ranching operation, from haying to weaning and calving.

“I would definitely say the weather is the most challenging,” says Axtell.

“Year-in and year-out, we

ranch on Copper Mountain, and the weather can come in early in the fall when we’re weaning and throw a wrench in our plans.”

In addition to environmental factors, Axtell notes that the volatility of the cattle markets are another challenge that he and other cattle producers face.

“The markets are for sure a factor, too. Weather and markets are probably equal issues,” he says.

Overcoming adversity According to Axtell, sometimes the greatest rewards in the ranching lifestyle can come from some of the greatest chal-

lenges.

When Axtell was seven years old, his father passed away.

“When my dad passed away, we had a lot of inheritance tax debt,” says Axtell.

Through his mother’s and the entire family’s hard work, they have been able to keep the ranch and are paying off the debt.

“My mom raised three kids without a husband and ran the ranch. If it weren’t for her, we probably wouldn’t have the place anymore,” commends Axtell.

While the ranch is still

paying off the debt, they have been able to successfully stay in business and grow the ranch.

“The most rewarding part is that we’ve been able to withstand that adversity and build our operation, in spite of the huge tax burden. We’re still going strong, year after year,” emphasizes Axtell.

“Overcoming that financial adversity is probably one of the biggest things for me.”

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr. net.

Family value – Strong emphasis is placed on family involvement in the ranch. The Axtell family includes (back, left to right) Jennifer, Audrey, Spencer, Chip (front, left to right) Darcy, Lance, Debbie and Ryan.

Courtesy photo

Next generation Chip Axtell hopes that the family ranch will someday pass on to his children to own and operate.

“I hope that one of my kids wants to continue to run it, or if they all want to run it, there’s room for them,” says Axtell.

If his children decide that they do not want to return to the ranch, Axtell wants the ranch to be placed into a trust.

“If they don’t want to run it, we’ll probably set up some kind of a trust, so it doesn’t get broken up,” explains Axtell.

He notes that his children are still young, so there is time for them to decide what they want to do. Axtell comments that there is one condition in place before the children would be able to take over the family ranch.

“They have to go to college first,” emphasizes Axtell.

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B6

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

In the late 1990s, Merlin Heinze decided he needed a new pair of beaver gaiters.

“Instead of ordering a pair off the internet, he decided he would trap the beaver and tan them himself,” says Merlin’s wife

Barb. “We tarped off our spare bedroom, got some Rubbermaid totes and Merlin made himself some beaver gaiters.”

At that point, Barb thought that they were finished with fur, but she says,

“Soon after that, we got a couple fox to tan.”

Merlin continued to grow and expand his tanning business until today, where they are busy yearround and have filled their 5,000-square-foot shop.

Starting small After Merlin Heinze tanned his first foxes, he had a friend show up with a buffalo hide that he wanted tanned.

“I said, that’s fine, but not in the spare bedroom,” Merlin's wife Barb says, noting that she kicked Merlin out of the house into a lean-to outside.

The following year, they built a 10-foot by 15-foot log shed to use as a tannery.

Barb comments, “I could never find Merlin. He was always out there, so for his birthday, I got him a sign that said, ‘Merlin’s Hide Out.’ I never thought the name would stick.”

Merlin continued to tan more and more hides, and in 1997, they began looking at a way to tan full-time.

“We were living in the country at the time, but because of the amount of water we use, we had to move into town,” Barb says. “I didn’t want to move to town, so I vetoed every piece of property we looked at.”

However, in 2005, after Merlin’s brother was killed in a logging accident, Barb says she realized that being happy is more important than anything else, so they bought their first property in town.

“We moved into town, built a 1,200-square-foot shop that was going to be big enough for the tannery and the pickup,” she explains. “The pickup has never seen the inside of a building, and within three months, we had to turn away work.”

Growing the business As they built a tannery, Merlin and Barb opened Merlin’s Hide Out, with the business plan to tan hides for others and tan buffalo hides to sell.

“People would tan their hides and then want product made, so we started making product,” Barb comments.

“We soon turned the log shed that Merlin started out in into our 150-square-foot retail space.”

They nearly immediately outgrew the building.

“In 2012, we had to make the decision whether to cut way back or build again and get bigger,” Barb says. “We built more. Today, we are in a 5,000-squarefoot building, and in three years, we’ve all but maxed out on this space.”

Today, Merlin’s Hide Out consists of three entities – tanning, production and retail.

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each year.

“Buffalo is our specialty, but we do all North American hides,” Barb explains. “We have done some exotics, including a zebra, but we prefer to stick with North American hides.”

The sooner they can get the hide after it is off the animal, the better, and Barb says they start by removing the flesh, fat and the first membrane.

“The first membrane is the most important to remove because it’s the water barrier,” she says.

“We flesh the hide by hand with knives. Merlin can flesh a buffalo hide in just under two hours.”

After the hide is fleshed, it is laid out on salt board, and 150 to 200 pounds of salt are spread across the hide.

“The salt stays on for 24 hours,” she continues.

“Then, it comes off, and we put another 150 to 200 pounds of salt on the hide.”

The second salting stays on four to five days, until the hide is 95 to 100 percent dry.

“At that point, we can fold the hide and store it indefinitely because it has been preserved and all the moisture is gone,” Barb explains.

Tanning process When it is the hide’s turn to be tanned, it is first rehydrated.

“First, the hide is rehydrated in a saltwater bath with a little bit of acid to fluff the fibers,” she says, noting that they then thin the hide, removing the first layers of the hide until they see the bluing of the hair root.

“We have to remove down to the hair root so it stays soft after the tanning process,” Barb comments.

“If we leave it any thicker, we’ll have a layer of tanner leather, a layer of rawhide and then the fur. We want soft hides when we’re done.”

After the hide is thinned completely, it goes through the tanning process, which involves three different vats of three solutions.

“It goes through a degreaser, a pickle and then a tanning solution,” Barb comments. “After it comes out of the tanning solutions, we hang it up and drip-dry the hide.”

The following morning, the hide is oiled with a hot tanning oil. It is rolled up in

a tight ball and sits for 24 hours.

“After 24 hours, we hang the hide, let it dry to about 95 percent dry,” she says. “At that point, we start the finishing process.”

Finishing The first step in finishing the tanning process is tumbling.

“Our tumbler is filled with hardwood flour, and the motion of the tumbler with the flour cleans the fur and softens the leather,” Barb explains. “A buffalo hide stays in the tumbler about two hours, and then it goes into the cage, which shakes all the wood flour out.”

After a cycle in the cage, the hide is groomed completely and its edges are trimmed.

“We sew the holes, and the process is completed,” Barb says. “From beginning to end, the process takes about 45 days.”

Opportunities While Thermopolis may not be considered by some to be the ideal location for Merlin’s Hide Out, Barb says, “Merlin was born and raised in Thermopolis, and we love it here. We will never leave Thermopolis.”

The prevalence of the internet enables the couple to sell their product online, and they have seen successful online business.

“I like the fur, and I like wearing fur,” Merlin comments. “This is what I do, and I love it.”

He continues, “Fur is a renewable resource, and it’s the warmest stuff out there.”

Merlin adds that he plans to be involved in the business for the rest of his life.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Merlin says.

Barb adds, “This business is his passion. He wakes up every day and can hardly wait to get to work.”

“I was told by a former boss, Ray Banister, to find the hardest job, do it faster and better than anyone else and I would never be out of work,” Merlin comments.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to do here, and I think we’ve come pretty close.”

Visit merlinshideout. com for more information or to purchase products.

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

RL Hudson Land Surveyor 307-864-9389

“Guardian of Wyoming’s Cow County since 1872”

For more information contact: John Henn at the Wyoming Business Council by phone 307.777.2847 or email john.henn@wyo.gov.

Dr. Scott Lake at the University of Wyoming by phone 307.460.8129 or email scotlake@uwyo.edu.

PO Box 784 • 419 Broadway St. Thermopolis, WY 82443

B7

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

After managing a successful cattle operation near Casper for three decades, Jim Collins and his wife of 46 years, Cindy, purchased the Big Horn Ranch in Thermopolis and transitioned to farming alfalfa and malt barley in 2004.

The Collins family puts pride in their work and the quality of the products that they produce. “A very important value for us is the quality of the products that we turn out on the place,� says Collins.

Before Thermopolis Both Jim and Cindy grew up involved in the agricultural industry. Cindy’s father began homesteading an allotment that came from the internment camp at Heart Mountain. “She started pretty young in one of those barracks that was moved out to the homestead,� says Jim. Jim’s father worked as an electrician and operated the family ranch on the side. “My dad was an electrician and ranched. He’s the one that kind of got us into the place on Sand Creek.

We worked for him for part of our life, then we bought it from my folks,� he says.

The couple managed the Sand Creek Ranch near the Pathfinder Reservoir for over 30 years, where they raised their four children. “It was 22,000 acres of cattle and grass meadows,� explains Jim. Collins remembers that it was challenging for the family to get their children to school from the ranch.

“It was 87 miles for them to get to high school.

They went to high school in Jeffery City and Casper because both were the same distance,� he says.

The family sold the Sand Creek Ranch in 2004 and then bought their current operation in Thermopolis.

Operation Jim and Cindy now manage 400 acres of irrigated land in the Owl Creek Irrigation District for crop and forage production. “We raise about 1,500 ton of alfalfa and grass hay, about 120 acres of malt barley and certified barley straw, and then we have dryland grazing on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lease,� says Collins.

After harvest, they lease the land to a local cattle producer to winter on. “We lease the aftermath to Jim and Terry Wilson of the V Ranch. The run their heifer calves and their first-calf heifers on us in the winter,� explains Collins.

While they are not planning to expand the farm, the Collins’ hope to keep the business in the family. “We’re in the process of trying to decide now whether we want to hold over for some of our grandchildren,� he says.

The couple’s oldest daughter Jamie, along with her two children, lives on the farm and helps with the operation. Raising their four children in the country and exposing their six grandchildren to the agricultural lifestyle is highly rewarding for the couple.

“I would have to say that our family is the most rewarding part of being in agriculture. We have Jamie, a grandson and a granddaughter on the place with us right now, and that’s really rewarding,� says Jim. Transition Collins notes that the transition from ranching to farming was challenging. “Switching from livestock and native meadows to irrigation and farming has been the most challenging part of our operation,� says Jim. In part, he attributes their success to the helping nature of their neighbors and others in the agricultural industry. “We knew very little when we came here. We’ve had a lot of help from good neighbors, which is part of the spirit of Wyoming,� he says, adding that Briess Malt has also been helpful.

Collins explains that he is now a member of Briess

Malt’s growers advisory board. “Briess Malt has been a great help to us,� says Jim. Community involvement Jim and Cindy find it very important and rewarding to be involved in their community. “We thought we were going to slow down a little bit when we moved here, but we’re busier than we’ve ever been. If we have half a minute, then we volunteer for something else,� jokes Jim. He currently serves as chairman on the Lucerne Pumping Plant Canal, which is the irrigation district where the Collins’ are located. He served on the Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board for eight years and is involved with the Republican Party for Hot Springs County. “I’m currently the precinct committeeman for the Republican Party in Hot Springs County,� says Jim. Wildlife management Balancing agricultural production and wildlife conservation is a top priority for the Collins family.

“We feel pretty strongly that people who are involved in agriculture have a responsibility toward wildlife,� says Jim. Because of their conviction, the couple is actively involved with the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation. “We’ve volunteered a lot of time with the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation. We work very hard trying to work through the issues between Bighorn

sheep and domestic sheep,� explains Jim. While the issue is very challenging, Jim feels that the group has been able to meet the needs of all parties. “I think we’ve done a fairly decent job of making that work for everybody,� he says.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net.

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B8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Located on Owl Creek, the Becker Family Stock Farm was established in 1957 as a beef and sheep farm.

“My grandpa and grandma had beef cattle and sheep. My dad came in and took over. He got rid of the sheep but continued to run beef cattle until the 80s,” says third generation farmer Sonja Becker.

Under the care of Becker, her three children and longtime farm hand Karl Anderson, the farm has evolved into a diverse operation that produces wholesome meat, dairy and produce to the Thermopolis community.

Coming home Becker left home after she

graduated from high school when she had the opportunity to live abroad in large cities and get her college degree in natural resource management.

She also served in the military for four years.

Becker and her ex-husband decided to move back to the farm after having children in 1997 but never expected to live the farming lifestyle again.

“I didn’t expect even then to go back into farming. I just wanted to be back on the place because it’s beautiful and a wonderful place to be,” says Becker.

The family operated the local theater in town for 10 years. After their divorce,

Becker began getting involved with the family farm again.

She then married her late husband Jon, who was a farmer from Wisconsin, and they began farming the Becker Family Stock Farm.

What initially started as a small investment to produce their own milk and sell a few heifers to ranchers for bum calves soon became the starting point for where the farm is now.

A farm auction in Jon’s hometown also led the couple to invest in a few Jersey dairy cows.

“When he went back, the prices that Jersey cows were selling for at an auction were

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really low,” says Becker. “He ended up putting 10 lactating cows, 11 heifers, 14 little bull calves and 20 piglets on the semi truck and sending them home to me.”

Farm operation Becker has now grown her dairy operation to 45 cattle, with 28 cows due to calve this spring. After many years of selecting for cattle that are able to maintain condition in Wyoming weather, Becker is now able to sell heifers.

“I’ve been real stingy with getting rid of any of them because I’ve been gradually watching which of the dairy cows can hold their condition in Wyoming conditions on my hay,” says Becker, noting that her operation is completely grass-fed.

In addition to cattle, Becker raises a dozen sheep and is transitioning from wool breeds to hair breeds.

“Most of the big shearing operations don’t want to deal with a dozen to 20 sheep, so

I’m transitioning over from the wool sheep to the Dorper and Katahdin crosses,” she explains.

More livestock diversity The farm also raises 100 laying hens and processes approximately 200 broiler chickens each year.

In the past, Becker has farrowed her six sows over the summer. She has decided to begin farrowing in the fall to make it more cost efficient to keep the piglets over the winter, she says.

“I can carry the piglets over the winter months on mom when they’re little and not try to feed large pigs all winter long,” says Becker.

In addition to livestock, the farm also grows their own hay and leases land to a local

producer.

While she raises livestock and crops, Becker identifies herself as a soil farmer, first and foremost.

“If I get a good working system, I don’t fight the bugs.

I don’t raise plants or beef. I raise bugs. That feeds everything else all of the way up,” says Becker.

WWOOF Over the last four years, Becker has been involved in the Worldwide Opportunity on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program, which allows participants to experience what an operating farm looks like.

“This system is set up as an information and educational exchange, so people who want to come to a Continued on next page

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Home – When she graduated high school, Sonja Becker did not think she wanted to farm. After pursuing other careers, Becker returned home because of her love for the land and to raise her children. Emilee Gibb photo

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2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Continued from previous page farm, want to experience what a farm is like and see a real farm in action – specifically an organic farm,” explains Becker.

The website charges a minimal fee for farms to list themselves and then a fee for the WWOOFers to access the site and farm contact infor-

mation.

“We lay out what our farm is, what we provide and what we’re doing. We could say, ‘I have a bedroom, tent space or whatever lodging facilities I can provide them,’ and people look on there and say, ‘I want to go here,” says Becker.

Serving community The greatest reward for Sonya Becker is hearing back from her customers.

“The most rewarding part is going into town, delivering my stuff and have people say, ‘We’re really thankful you’re here.

We really appreciate that you’re providing this because it’s really important to us,’” Becker says.

Her desire to provide nutritious food to her community is what inspired Becker to get back into farming and to expand her business.

“I bring in all of the different animals and add to it to provide really nutritious food back to my community,” says Becker.

As she began watching the health of the environment and the population, Becker determined that food was a crucial factor.

“People are getting sick left and right, and obesity rates are going up. People look around and ask, why is this happening? I’ve determined that it’s the food,” she says. “My philosophy has always been that the food is the problem, and food can also be the solution.”

For Becker, it is important that she provides that source to local community members and reduces the traveling time between the production of the product to the customers plate.

“I don’t try to sell it outside of my community. Sometimes people start to try to come in and get it, but I want to try and decrease that footprint – the foot travel of how far our food travels,” she explains.

The farm makes weekly trips into town to deliver products to customers and also has items available to community member at the local farmers market.

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The interested WWOOFer then contacts the farm directly.

“They are basically just a website to connect WWOOFers and WWOOF hosts,” she continues.

The farm has attracted over 25 participants from around the world.

Looking ahead After several years of hard work, Becker has reached the point where she has established an effective farming strategy and can move on to refining her equipment and facilities.

“I’m coalescing into a working situation here. I’ve worked out a lot of my bugs and a lot of the kinks. Most of

what is left is just infrastructure,” says Becker.

She is now working on adding additional coolers, sheds and improving her milking parlor.

“I want to revamp my milk parlor, so that it’s a little bit warmer in the winter time,” she explains.

Becker is also currently building a small store on her property that will expand her business and make it easier for customers to purchase products.

“We’re currently working on moving a garage and building a foundation to make a bigger place so I can have a little store. Then, people can come out and pick stuff up

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Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net.

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B10

An example of the cowboy spirit, John Baird has always been involved in the ranching lifestyle. He now

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

runs the Baird Ranch with his wife of almost 50 years, Virginia.

As they reflect on their

involvement in the agricultural industry, the couple reminisces of the summers spent living out of a sheep-

Family tradition – John (far left) and Virginia (far right) pose with their youngest daughter’s family after a morning vaccinating calves. Their grandchildren are the fifth generation of the Baird family to ranch.

Emilee Gibb photo

wagon at Washakie while John was working with his parents Tom and Edna Baird and his brothers.

“In the early days, when we were going to the forest permit, we lived in that sheepwagon with four little kids. That was probably the best years of our lives,” says John.

Long history “My grandparents came here in the early 1900s – not onto this place – on Gooseberry. It was all part of Big Horn County at that time,” says John.

John’s grandmother on the Baird side was born in the United States. His other three grandparents immigrated to the United States from Scotland between 1900 and 1910.

“To make a long story short, they were all sheep men at that time,” says John.

His grandfather John “Pop” Baird went out of the stock business after his sheep died in a severe snowstorm in late March 1928.

“It was a dry winter,

and, of course, the Depression was coming on. There was no money for feed for the young guys. Pop was a young guy, so the bankers wouldn’t give him any money,” explains Baird.

“That put him out of the stock business at that time, and he never got back into ranching.”

The Rankine side of the family, however, stayed in the ranching business.

“I don’t know for sure when they switched from sheep to cattle, but it was along about that time, in the late 1920s or early 30s,” says John.

Early years John’s father Tom bought a ranch where Cottonwood and Grass Creek come together in 1936. He married Edna Rankine in 1939. The couple bought land along Gooseberry Creek, as well as the forest permit at the head of Owl Creek from Tat Hillberry’s widow, Leora. They later purchased the Akerman place on Cottonwood where John and Virginia lived for

a period.

John remembers the first time he trailed cattle 65 miles on his own from one of the family ranches to the mountain.

“That was quite a chore.

The first time I went up there, a neighbor boy and myself took the cows up there. I was 16, and he was 15,” says John.

John’s father was busy haying but would move the wagon to wherever the boys would be later that day for dinner, spend the night with them and then would return to the hay fields.

“It was quite an undertaking for a couple of kids.

It took six days going up and five days coming home,” he explains.

Leasing to owning After selling John’s share in Baird and Sons in 1990, John and Virginia began running their own cattle on leased land before purchasing their own. They first took over a lease from the Axtell family.

“We moved to Buffalo Continued on next page

Blessings and challenges “It’s always been my desire to ranch. I never thought about doing anything else. It was in my blood. That’s all I’ll ever do,” says John Baird. “Sitting on a horse is the most rewarding part. We do all of our work off of horseback.”

John and Virginia feel incredibly blessed to make a living doing what they love and that they were able to raise their children in a ranching environment.

However, the lifestyle is not without challenges, both environmentally and legislatively, says John.

“I do enjoy the challenges. We live for a challenge, and it’s been a challenge all of our life,” says John.

He notes that Wyoming weather is oftentimes unpredictable, but the bad doesn’t last forever.

“The weather has always been a challenge, but we weather the storms. In Wyoming, the weather will change tomorrow. There’s no two days alike,” says John.

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B11

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Continued from previous page Creek with a very understanding landlord and a very understanding banker.

We didn’t have much else,” he laughs.

They began picking up more leases as the herd increased. The couple purchased land from Lester and Jeanie Neilson at the head of Warm Springs Creek in 1994 and purchased part of their current land from the Axtell family in 1996.

“Debbie Axtell and the

Kellys had a lot to do with our success,” comments John.

Cattle operation Between John, Virginia and their youngest daughter’s family, the Baird Ranch runs approximately 550 head of cattle.

“Virginia and I are down to about 150 head.

We’re just working enough to fund our retirement,” John explains.

When they first moved

to Buffalo Creek, the family ran primarily Hereford-Salers crosses.

“I knew it wouldn’t work very good because of the red hills here and sunburned bags. We pretty much quit the Salers-Hereford crosses and went to blacks. We’ve been black ever since,” he says.

When the family moved to the ranch, they decided to convert the hay fields to irrigated pastures. The ranch is designed to use very little hay throughout the year.

“We calve in the latter part of April and early May, so we use very little hay.

We’re pretty much a grass operation,” continues John.

Honesty and integrity Many qualities are a priority for John and Virginia in managing the family ranch, including humane care of their livestock and managing the environment that they are grazing.

“My parents and my grandfather were stockmen. I take care of the stock first. The cows have always come first,” comments John.

John attributes their emphasis on honesty and

integrity for their ability to have good working relationships with neighbors and to lease land for many years.

“We just try to do the best with what we got. I’ve tried to do my best with my neighbors and everyone else. If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have had those leases for as long as I have,” he says.

Future family plans “I have no intention of selling this place, not while I’m alive. Every one of the kids could operate it, and that’s how I want it,” says John.

The couple works with

their children and grandchildren to operate the ranch.

“We’re in partnership with our youngest daughter Ginger, her husband and their five kids. They help us here quite a bit. Our son is just down the creek here, too,” comments John.

All four of the couple’s children have returned to the ranching lifestyle.

“A lot of times the kids are not interested in carrying that on. We’re blessed that way,” notes Virginia.

Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net.

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B12

Stanley Pennoyer came to Hot Springs County in 1939. He later bought ranches on Owl Creek in 1950.

“They started with a small place,” says Arnold Pennoyer, Stanley’s son.

“We added on gradually, and then in 1980, we incorporated.”

Pennoyer and Sons now runs an Angus-based cow/calf operation about 40 miles west of Thermopolis, near Anchor Dam. “We started out with Hereford cattle, and then we mixed Salers into the herd,” he says. “Now, we’re pretty much an Angus cattle herd.”

The darker pigment of the cattle means that the Pennoyers are able to

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

avoid pink eye and sunburned bags in the winter when it snows.

“Everyone went black, so we went with cattle the consumers wanted,” he says.

Running cattle Each year, Pennoyer and Sons begins calving the first part of March along the creek bottoms near their place.

“We bring the heifers and cows in closer to our place to keep watch, but they all calve out on the range,” he explains.

They feed hay to the cattle while they’re calving, to provide adequate nutrition and ensure the health of the livestock.

After calving, the cattle move to one of two

lower allotments, gradually making their way up the mountain.

“We don’t have any forest permits, but we do have summer range in the mountains at 8,000 to 8,500 feet,” Pennoyer says. “We go up the mountain in the first part of July and usually stay until the middle of September.”

After they come home, calves are weaned and then steers are sold in October and November, usually at the sale barn.

“Last year, we used the video auction for the heifers in the spring, but usually we go to the sale barn,” he explains.

“We hold the heifers over until after the first of the year,” Pennoyer adds.

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“Then, we pick out our replacements and sell the rest.”

He continues, “Disease is one of the biggest reasons we buy our own replacements. We’d rather not buy cattle and pick up diseases. Also, the cattle raised here have immunity built up for the disease that is here. We have better luck with our own replacements.”

Being involved Outside of just working on the ranch, Pennoyer has been highly involved in the community’s ag groups.

“I spent a number of years on the Conservation District Board,” he says. “I’m not on that Board now, but I’m still involved.”

Pennoyer continues to work with a project that started when he was on the Board with the Owl Creek Watershed feasibility study.

“I’ve been working with the Wyoming Water Development Commission on that project,” he says.

“They have an engineering company going around talking to landowners to look at projects and different things that we can implement here.”

The operation has also worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to put in pipelines on the operation.

“I was also involved in the Kirby Creek CRM when I was on the Conservation District Board,” Pennoyer adds.

Today, he continues his work on the Weed and Pest Board and the Fair Board.

“I’m involved because I’d like to help out the

younger kids in the area,” Pennoyer explains. “I’m try to learn more about what goes on around the area with different projects, different people and they way they operate.

We’re trying to learn from the other people around us.”

Challenging moments While many things about Hot Springs County make the area advantageous for ranching, Pennoyer says he sees challenges from the large carnivores that inhabit his forestlands.

“We’re dealing with the grizzly bears and wolves on the depredation of livestock,” he says. “The last four to five years, we’ve had more problems with the bears.”

Over 2016, Pennoyer also comments that wolves have escalated in severity for many of the producers in the area.

“We’ve had more problems with bears, and we’ve lost several calves and a cow this year,” Pennoyer mentions. “The Wyoming Game and Fish Department will pay us back. They’ll send us affidavits that the animals were killed by grizzly bears and pay us to compensate for the loss.”

The only solution at this point, he says, would be to be on the mountain with livestock 24/7, which isn’t feasible.

“We try to go up the mountain every two or three days,” he comments.

“Sometimes we find dead calves, and sometimes we don’t, but the wolves and

bears continue to move back and forth through our land.”

Looking forward Pennoyer says he enjoys working outside and working with the livestock, so he continues in the ranching business.

“We also do some haying, so it adds farming to the operation,” he says.

“I enjoy the outdoors, and being my own boss, too.”

“I like it here on this ranch,” Pennoyer continues. “My grandfather was originally in this country, and he started here.

The ranch has come down through the years.”

He also adds that he hopes his daughter Jessie will continue the legacy.

“Jessie’s a senior in high school this year, and she’s planning on going to college,” he says. “Hopefully we can maintain this place.”

Pennoyer also mentions that he hopes cattle prices will come back a bit to stabilize the industry and the operation.

“Like usual, we’ve been in an up-and-down market,” he comments.

“It’s kind of like being in Vegas.”

With all the challenges facing ranching, Pennoyer says, “We try to take care of the land, and we rotate our pastures to do that.

As long as we try to keep plenty of feed at all time for our cattle, we’ll be okay.”

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

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B13

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

As the fourth generation of his family on the land, Dee Hillberry was born on Gooseberry Creek.

His family homesteaded on the land in the late 1800s, with great vision and ambition, and Hillberry went to private school on the ranch.

“When it came time for me to go to high school, we went to Oregon, where my mother’s family was from,” he says. “I went to Oregon State University for college, and then I was gone for many years.”

Hillberry made his professional career in the glass business, spending much of his time internationally in Brazil, Spain and Puerto Rico.

“Then I came back,” he comments. “I kept tied to the ranch all the time and kept things going while I was gone.”

“When I was working abroad, I’d spend my vacations back at the ranch when they needed help,” Hillberry continues. “I was also fortunate enough to be able to expand and accumulate more during that time, putting a workable ranch together.”

Coming home Hillberry returned to Hot Springs County in 1999, shortly after they purchased a farm on the Big Horn River.

“The farm complemented our upper ranches with production of alfalfa hay and irrigated pastures,” he says. “We also began a program on the farm to attack noxious weeds and remove all the Russian olive trees.”

When Hillberry returned, he had 800 to 1,000 head of Red Angus cattle that he ran across the ranch.

“After the major drought, in 2004, I sold the main herd of cattle and leased the place,” Hillberry explains. “When I came back and after the drought hit, we had a really good herd of Angus cows. We said, let’s take a breathe and look things over from

a business standpoint.”

In his glass career, Hillberry notes that he had run businesses all his life, so he took that experience and applied it to the ranch.

“We sold the cows and have leased the ranch to Durbin Creek Ranch since then,” he comments.

“Durbin Creek Ranch supports our conservation efforts and continues to make improvements.”

He adds, “We have completed that task, with the removal of over 100 percent of Russian olives.”

Hillberry says that leasing the ranch allows him to oversee whole-ranch planning efforts, without having to worry about day-today operations.

Zero-based planning Hillberry starts what he calls zero-based planning in 2001.

“Zero-based planning looks at what we would do if we drew a line around the property and didn’t have anything there. What would we do with it to make it the most efficient operation possible?” he explains.

“We looked at water availability, pasture size and more.”

They worked to equalize their pasture and remove unnecessary fences.

“We worked to create a flexible grazing plan to take 11 allotments and 36 pastures and make them more manageable,” Hillberry says. “Each allotment had a different restriction on time or use.”

They were hoping to make the ranch more efficient.

“When we started this, we concentrated on spring development and water distribution, riparian exclosures, aspen stands and more,” he continues.

“We also worked on basic weed control and pasture improvement.”

They also implemented a monitoring program to assess their progress.

Since beginning their conservation work, Hillberry Ranches has installed 26 new springs, ranging from four to 30 gallons per minutes, installed 80 watering tanks and put in 254,000

Wine endeavors Dee Hillberry spent much of his professional career in Spain. He started raising wine grapes in the Willamette Valley in 1985 to diversify the operation.

“Oregon is on virtually on the same latitude as Burgundy, France,” Hillberry explains. “I was living in Spain at the time, so I had to hire a farmer after I bought a vineyard from a man named Dick Erath, who had to sell his pioneer vineyard.”

Today, Hillberry’s son George runs the vineyard, where they produce high-end wines under the name La Colina.

“We’re just beginning to sell our 2014 vintage,” he says.

“We took it to Jackson to introduce it, and it went very well.

People seem to like our wine.”

Hillberry adds, “Our goal is to produce the best pinot noir in the U.S.”

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feet of polyethylene underground pipe. Additionally, they developed 17 riparian ex-closures for 145 acres.

Also on his ranch, Hillberry has removed 300 acres of juniper and limber pine, and they installed 22,000 feet of fence markers for sage grouse.

“Virtually all of my place is in a sage grouse core area,” he says. “We have a couple of leks, as well, so we were asked to put in fence markers.”

Hillberry adds that they have also started to treat cheatgrass on the property, and they plan to continue that process.

Continuing to work As they look forward, Hillberry says he’s got big plans for the future.

“We’re hoping to install another 69,000 feet, or 13 miles, of pipelines and put in 15 stock tanks,” he explains. “We’ll also remove about 93,000 feet, or 18 miles, of redundant fences and add about three miles of new fence.”

In 2016, Hillberry has removed 42,000 feet of fence, rolling up wire, pulling posts and cleaning up the ranch.

“To date, we’ve removed 100 percent of the Russian olives on Grass Creek,” he comments.

“We removed 90-plus percent on Cottonwood Creek from Highway 20 to the river. There’s still some

that haven’t been removed, but west of Highway 20, all except one place have been cleared out.”

“We’ll also continue our monitoring through the Rangeland Health Assessment Program (RHAP),” he adds.

Partnerships While Hillberry has been instrumental in many conservation efforts around the county, he also notes that partnerships have been very important.

“There were a lot of folks, frankly, who participated, contributed and helped,” he commented. “The local Hot Springs County Conservation District and Watershed Improvement District helped us with small water projects and more. The Meeteetse Conservation District was also very helpful in the RHAP program.”

For their other projects, Hillberry cites the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wyoming Water Development Office, Hot Springs County Weed and Pest, The Nature Conservancy, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and more as being integral.

“Nowadays, particularly in Wyoming with the checkerboard ownership that exists, everyone has to be a part of our work,” he

comments. “If we want to put in any project, we have to work with everybody.”

Motivation for conservation “My motivation is to make the ranch operate profitably and effectively within the environment that we live in today,” Hillberry explains. “There’s a lot of potential here. We have to assess what part of that we are and how our ranch fits.”

He continues that as they make each change on the operation, they see more improvements to make.

“We can improve the possibilities on the ranch,” he says. “What all this work has amounted to is the opportunity to use another 40 to 50 percent of the ranch that was never used effectively due to the lack of water distribution.”

Hillberry notes that he’s enjoyed being back at the ranch and looks forward to the future of the operation.

“I had a business career out of Wyoming,” Hillberry comments. “I kept the ranch because I always said I wanted to come back, which I ended up doing. Had we not done these things on the ranch, it would not be a sustainable operation today.”

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

B14

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

“The basis of Durbin Creek Ranch is wholeoperation synergy and efficiency,” says Wyatt Agar, one of the six Agars who raises his family at Durbin Creek Ranch on Grass Creek between Meeteetse and Thermopolis.

Wyatt, his wife Joey, brother Jake, sister-in-law Hannah, father Bruce and mother Mary all make their living at the ranch, each taking ownership of a piece of the operation to create a business that sustains the whole family.

“We’re a little bit different than most operations in the West,” Bruce explains.

“We run a purebred operation, horse operation, com-

mercial cow operation and stocker operation. We tie it all together, so each segment benefits the others.”

Every year on the third Friday in February, they sell the fruits of their labor at an annual bull sale, where saddle-started horses, bulls and stock dogs are sold to a wide array of buyers.

“Hannah and Jake head up the commercial operation and horses,” Bruce continues. “Wyatt and Joey handle the purebred cattle, and Mary and I fill in where we need to help out.”

Moving to Wyoming Durbin Creek Ranch moved to their current location in 2008, after living in Oregon since 1978. Prior to

Oregon, they called Washington home.

“The ranch in Oregon was never very well balanced,” Mary says. “We had to go to crop aftermath to increase our numbers, and we needed to continue to increase our numbers so the ranch could support all three of our families.”

While the family moved from place to place in the past, they note that the Grass Creek location provides them benefits that they hadn’t seen before.

“This is a really balanced ranch,” Bruce says.

Jake adds, “We’ve got good summer country, and we have a good place to winter. We don’t have min-

eral problems like we’ve had other places, either.”

“We like Wyoming,” Bruce mentions, “and we’re here permanently now.”

Commercial cattle The commercial operation serves as an opportunity for the ranch to put their seedstock bulls to work and track the results.

“Our commercial herd is Hereford and Red Angus, and we run a few black cows,” Bruce says. “We like the baldy calves. We’ve been pretty successful marketing the F-1 cross.”

The cows winter out on the range and are supplemented minimally with protein.

“We use the commercial cowherd as a testing center,” Wyatt says. “For example, this year, we have three new, young sires, and we artificially inseminated (AIed) 150 head of cows to each bull so we can follow

them through to the feedlot and see how they perform.”

Bruce notes that the AI program at Durbin Creek is extensive. They also utilize embryo transfer work in their commercial cows.

“This is the first year we’ve used AI in the commercial cows,” he adds.

Wyatt chimes in, “It takes a lot of labor, but it also allows us to gather a lot of information on the young sires that we are using.”

Seedstock Wyatt and Joey concentrate on the seedstock aspect of the ranch, and Wyatt says, “Our ideal bull is the one that will go out and make money for our customers.”

He continues, “We put a

lot of pressure on the cowherd, and for the most part, the seedstock cows forage out just like the commercial cows.”

They strive for an efficient cow that can hold her body condition through the winter and has a sound udder.

The mature cows must also be able to calve on their own.

“We want an efficient cow that is going to bring in a big calf,” Wyatt continues.

“We stress the end product a lot. Our customers sell the end product, and they need an animal that will feed well, too.”

They also strive for Continued on next page

Durbin Creek - Durbin Creek Ranch raises Hereford bulls on Grass Creek, between Meeteetse and Thermopolis. Courtesy photo

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B15

2016 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

Continued from previous page early maturing cows that sustain their mature weight at 1,250 to 1,300 pounds.

“They need to have enough fore rib and volume to turn trash feeds into energy,” Wyatt says, “but they can’t be so big that they can’t maintain themselves.”

The bulls

are sold at two years of age. After weaning, they are developed in a feedlot before they return to grass for the summer.

“They go back to the feedlot in the fall again, where they are developed on a slow grow ration, so we don’t burn up their

feet and don’t damage the bulls,” he adds.

Wyatt emphasizes, “The future of our program is really bright now. We’ve had some extremely successful sales.”

The vast majority of the bulls sold by Durbin Creek Ranch go to black cowherds, says Wyatt, noting that many commercial pro-

ducers seek a black baldy female and the benefits of heterosis.

Quarter horses For Jake and Hannah, the Quarter horse aspect of their ranch is their specialty.

“We raise ranch horses,” Jake says. “This is pretty rough country, and they’ve got to hold up over a 20 to 25 mile ride each day.”

He continues, “We like a horse that can go out and perform. We’ve had really luck with our horses.”

The horses must hold up on a ranch but also have the mental capacity to perform in the arena, if the rancher desires.

“We started raising colts when we couldn’t buy the kind of horses we wanted,” Brue adds.

During their annual bull sale, they sell a few threeyear-old horses that have 60 days on them.

“Most of our success has been with the three- and four-year-olds with 60 days on them,” Jake continues.

Opportunities With nearly 10 years in Hot Springs County, Durbin Creek Ranch is excited about the future.

“We’ve been quite a few places in the western United States, and we’ve learned a lot of ideas and

techniques that we’ve been able to incorporate here,” Bruce says.

Wyatt also mentions that the community they’ve found in Hot Springs County and the Big Horn Basin provides a great place to raise children.

“We’ve had the opportunity here in Wyoming to put things together that will work together and complement each other,” Bruce says. “We’re happy with this ranch.”

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

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Family focused - For Durbin Creek Ranch, family and ranching with the next generation in mind is a top priority. Bruce and Mary Agar run the ranch with their sons Wyatt and Jake (pictured on left), who have raised their families on the ranch. Wyatt and Jake’s children, all younger than age nine, are all as actively involved in the operation as they can be. Courtesy photo

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B16

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

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BW +4.3 BW +4.3 WW +60 BW BW +4.3 +4.3 WW +60 YW +101 BW +4.3 WW WW +60 +60 BW +4.3 BW YW +101 BW +4.3 MILK +29 WW +60 YW YW +101 +101 BW +4.3 WW +60 WW BW +4.3 MILK +29 WW +60 REA +0.64 YW +101 MILK MILK +29 +29 WW +60 YW +0.64 +101 WW +60 YW REA YW +101 MARB +0.10 BW +4.3 MILK +29 REA REA +0.64 +0.64 YW +101 MILK +29MILK YW +101 MARB +0.10 MILK +29 BW +4.3 $CHB $32 WW +0.64 +60 REA MARB MARB +0.10 MILK +29 REA +0.10 +0.64 MILK +29 $CHB $32 REA +0.64 WW +60 REA YW +101 MARB +0.10 $CHB $CHB $32 $32 REA +0.64 BW +2.3 MARB +0.10 REA +0.64 MARB +0.10 YW +101 MILK +29MARB $CHB $32 BW +2.3 MARB +0.10 WW +53 $CHB +0.10 $32 MARB SIRED BY $CHB $32 MILK +29 BW BW +0.64 +2.3 +2.3 $CHB KT229 BUILT REA WW +53 SIRED SIRED BY BY $CHB $32 YW +86 BW +2.3 $CHB $32 KT BUILT REA +0.64 WW +53 WW +53 TUFF 1010 MARB SIRED BY BW +0.10 +2.3 YW +86 BW +2.3 KT KT BUILT BUILT MILK +26 SIRED BY WW +0.10 +53 BW TUFF 1010 SIRED BY MARB YW +86 YW +86 BW +2.3 $CHB $32 KT BUILT WW +53 SIRED BY BW +2.3 MILK +26 WW +53 TUFF TUFF 1010 1010 SIRED BY REA +0.30 KT BUILT YW +86 SIRED BY KT BUILT WW $CHB $32 MILK +26 MILK +26 WW +53 TUFF 1010 YW +0.30 +86 WW +53 KT BUILT REA YW +86 KT TUFF 1010 MARB +0.13 BW +2.3 KT BUILT BUILT MILK +26 YW TUFF 1010 REA +0.30 REA +0.30 YW +86 SIREDTUFF BY 1010 MILK +26 YW +86 MILK +26 MARB +0.13 BW +2.3 TUFF 1010 $CHB $29 WW +53 TUFF 1010 REA +0.30 SIRED BY MILK MARB MARB +0.13 KT BUILT MILK +26 REA +0.13 +0.30 MILK +26 REA +0.30 $CHB $29 WW +53 YW +86 MARB +0.13 KT BUILT $CHB $29 $CHB $29 REA TUFF 1010 REA +0.30 BW +2.3 MARB +0.13 REA +0.30 MARB +0.13 YW +86 SIRED BY MILK +26 $CHB $29 TUFF 1010 BW +2.3 MARB WW +0.13 +57 $CHB $29MARB MARB +0.13 SIRED BY MILK +26 $CHB $29 BW BW +0.30 +2.3 +2.3 SHF RIB EYE REA WW +57 SIRED SIRED BY BY $CHB $29 YW +86 BW +2.3 $CHB $29 SHF RIB EYE REA +0.30 WW WW +57 +57$CHB M326 R117 MARB +0.13 SIRED BY BW +2.3 BW +2.3 YW +86 SHF SHF RIB RIB EYE EYE MILK +26 SIRED BY WW +0.13 +57 M326 R117 SIRED BY MARB YW YW +86 +86 BW +2.3 $CHB $29 SHF RIB EYE WW +57 BW BW +2.3 WW +57 MILK +26 M326 M326 R117 R117 SIRED BY REA +0.42 SHF RIBBY EYE YW +86 SIRED SHF RIB EYE $CHB $29 SIRED BY MILK MILK +26 +26 WW +57 M326 R117 YW +0.42 +86 WW +57 YW +86 REA SHF RIB EYE M326 R117 BW +2.3 MARB +0.18 SHF RIB EYE MILK +26 WW M326 R117 SHF REA REA +0.42 +0.42 YW +86 SIRED

BY RIB EYE MILK +26 YW +86 BW +2.3 MILK +26 MARB +0.18 M326 R117 WW +57 M326 R117 $CHB $31 YW REA +0.42 SIRED BY MARB MARB +0.18 +0.18 M326 SHF RIB EYE R117 MILK +26 REA +0.42 +0.42 MILK +26 WW +57 REA $CHB $31 YW +86 MILK MARB +0.18 SHF RIB EYE M326 R117 $CHB $CHB $31 $31 REA +0.42 BW +2.9 MARB +0.18 REA +0.42 YW +86 MARB +0.18 MILK +26 REA M326 R117 $CHB $31 BW +2.9 WW +48 MARB +0.18 $CHB $31 MARB +0.18 SIRED BY MILK +26 $CHB $31 BW BW +2.9 +2.9 REA WW +0.42 +48MARB YW +98 SIRED BY $CHB $31 BW +2.9 $CHB $31 L3 REA WW WW +0.42 +48 +48 MARB +0.18 BW +2.9 SIRED SIRED BY BY YW +98 BW +2.9 MILK +32 L3 WW +0.18 +48$CHB DIAMOND MARB YW YW +98 +98 SIRED BY BW +2.9 $CHB $31 WW +48 L3 L3 BW +2.9 MILK +32 WW +48 SIRED BY DIAMOND REA +0.54 SIRED133 BY YW +98 Selling 105 Bulls $CHB $31 MILK MILK +32 +32 BW L3 WW +48 DIAMOND DIAMOND YW +0.54 +98 WW +48 REA YW +98 SIRED BY L3 Selling 105 Bulls SIRED133 BY MARB +0.25 L3 BW +2.9 MILK +32 DIAMOND REA REA +0.54 +0.54 Selling YW +98 Selling Selling 40 105 105Heifer Bulls Bulls Calves 133 133 MILK +32 WW YW +98 MARB +0.25 MILK +32 L3 BW +2.9 DIAMOND L3 SIRED BY $CHB $32 DIAMOND WW +48 REA +0.54 Selling 40 Heifer Calves Selling Bulls SIRED133 BY MARB MARB +0.25 +0.25 MILK +32 Call for 105 information, catalog and videos when DIAMOND REA +0.54 +0.54 MILK +32 $CHB $32 REA Selling 40 40 Heifer Heifer Calves Selling 105 Bulls Calves WW +48 YW 133 DIAMOND Selling 105 Bulls 133 L3 YW +98 SIRED BY MARB +0.25 Call for information, catalog and videos when BW +4.6 L3 $CHB $CHB $32 $32 available REA +0.54 Selling 40 Heifer Calves MARB +0.25 Selling 105 Bulls REA +0.54 133 MARB +0.25 YW +98 Selling 105 Bulls 133 Call Call for for information, information, catalog catalog and and videos videos when when Selling 40 Heifer Calves BW +4.6 MILK +32MILK L3 DIAMOND $CHB $32 Selling 40 Heifer Calves available DIAMOND WW +53 SIRED BY MARB +0.25 $CHB $32 Call for information, catalog and videos when Free delivery on total bull purchase of $5,000 MARB BW BW +0.25 +4.6 +4.6 $CHB $32 MILK +32 available available Selling 40 Heifer Calves DIAMOND REA WW +0.54 +53 REA Selling 40 Heifer Calves SIRED BY 133 Call for information, catalog and videos when Selling 105 Bulls 133 Call for information, catalog and videos when YW +85 Free delivery on total bull purchase of $5,000 STAR L3 BW +4.6 $CHB $32 available $CHB $32 WW WW +53 +53 SIRED SIRED133 BY BY REA +0.54 Full two-year guarantee on the bulls!

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053 P.O. Box 66Cathy Kaycee, WY 82639 miles south on I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com GERBER MARB +0.24 053 Mark and 307-738-2443 Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 $CHB $29MILK MARB +0.24 Hereford cattle since 1902 GERBER MILK +29 $CHB $29 VISION P.O. P.O. Box Box 66 66 Kaycee, Kaycee, WY WY 82639 82639 10 10 miles miles south south on on I-25 I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com www.largentandsons.com REA +0.33 Hereford cattle since 1902 Mark’s Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s Cell VISION Mark and Cathy since 307-738-2443 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 Hereford cattle 1902 $CHB $29 VISION $CHB $29 REA P.O. Box 66 Kaycee, WY 82639 10 miles south on I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com REA +0.33 053 Mark Mark and and Cathy Cathy 307-738-2443 307-738-2443 Mark’s Mark’s Cell Cell 307-267-3229 307-267-3229 Dave’s Dave’s Cell Cell 307-267-4491 307-267-4491 Toby Toby 307-267-1997 307-267-1997 Laura Laura 307-267-6786 307-267-6786 MARB +0.24 Hereford cattle since 1902 P.O. Box Boxcattle 66 Kaycee, Kaycee, WY 82639 82639 10 10 miles miles south south on on I-25 I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com www.largentandsons.com Hereford since 1902 P.O. 66 WY 053 Mark and Cathy 307-738-2443 Mark’s Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s 053 Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 MARB MARB +0.24 $CHB $29 P.O. Box 66 Kaycee, WY 82639 10 miles south on I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com Mark and Cathy 307-738-2443 Mark’s Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 P.O. Box 66Cathy Kaycee, WY 82639 miles south on I-25 www.largentandsons.com Mark and 307-738-2443 Mark’s10 Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s largentandsons@yahoo.com Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 Hereford cattle since 1902 $CHB $29$CHB Mark Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 STAR L3 GERBER VISION 053 Mark and and Cathy Cathy 307-738-2443 307-738-2443 Mark’s Mark’s Cell Cell 307-267-3229 307-267-3229 Dave’s Dave’s Cell Cell 307-267-4491 307-267-4491 SIRED Toby BY 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HESELLS! SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS!

SIRED BY SIRED BY L3 KING SIRED SIRED BY BY L3 KING COMFORT SIRED BY L3 L3 KING KING SIRED BY SIRED BY COMFORT SIRED BY 229 L3 KING COMFORT COMFORT L3 KING SIRED BY L3229 KING SIRED BY L3 KING COMFORT 229 229 L3 COMFORT COMFORT L3 KING KING COMFORT 229BY SIRED COMFORT 229 229 COMFORT 229 SIRED BY L3 KING 229 L3229 KING COMFORT COMFORT SIRED 229 BY

HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE HESELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE HE SELLS! SELLS! AT THE RANCH

HE SELLS!

AT THE RANCH HE SELLS!Sale 1 P.M. (MST) Lunch 12 Noon AT AT THE THE RANCH RANCH HE SELLS!Sale 1 P.M. (MST) Lunch 12 Noon AT THE RANCH Lunch Lunch 12 12 Noon Noon Sale Sale 11 P.M. P.M. (MST) (MST) AT THE THE RANCH RANCH AT Lunch 12 Noon Sale 1 P.M. (MST) AT THE RANCH AT THE RANCH Lunch 12 Noon Noon Sale Sale 11 P.M. P.M. (MST) (MST) Lunch 12

Lunch 12 Noon AT THE THERANCH RANCH Lunch 12 Noon Sale Sale 1 1 P.M. P.M. (MST) (MST) AT

AT THE RANCH Lunch 12Noon Noon Sale Sale 1 P.M. (MST) Lunch 12 1 P.M. (MST)

Lunch 12 Noon Sale 1 P.M. (MST) Selling 105 115 Bulls Bulls

Selling 40 Heifer Calves

LARGENT AND SONS LARGENT AND SONS LARGENT AND SONS LARGENT AND SONS LARGENT AND SONS LARGENT AND SONS LARGENT AND SONS LARGENTAND ANDSONS SONS LARGENT

Call for information, catalog and videos when available

Free delivery on total bull purchase of $5,000 Full two-year guarantee on the bulls!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

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HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS!

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HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

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HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE HE SELLS! SELLS!

HE SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE HE SELLS! SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE HE SELLS! SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS! SELLS! HE HE HE SELLS! SELLS!

HE SELLS! HE SELLS! HE SELLS!

Hereford cattle since 1902 Hereford cattle since P.O. Box 66 Kaycee, WY1902 82639 10 miles south on I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com

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P.O. Box 66 Kaycee, WYWY 82639 miles southsouth on I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com P.O. Box 66 Kaycee, 82639 10 miles on I-25 largentandsons@yahoo.com www.largentandsons.com Mark and Cathy 307-738-2443 Mark’s10 Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786 Mark and Cathy 307-738-2443 Mark’s Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786

Mark and Cathy 307-738-2443 Mark’s Cell 307-267-3229 Dave’s Cell 307-267-4491 Toby 307-267-1997 Laura 307-267-6786