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2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition
Pine Bluffs – Gross-Wilkinson Ranch sits just west of Pine Bluffs and is home to three families. Bill and Phyllis Gross and their sons Greg and Pat work together to raise cattle, operate a feedlot and raise feedstuffs for the operation. “I’ve been here all my life,” says Bill. “I came back in 1961 after I graduated from the University of Wyoming.” After receiving a degree in animal science, Bill came back to help his ailing father run their ranch. “I was going to go to vet school when my family asked me to come back, and I’m glad I did,” he says. “At the time, we had a cow/ calf operation, but we never finished many cattle. Today, we fatten cattle in our feedlot for the March and April markets, and we sell off grass as feeder cattle – whichever we think will work best.” Building a feedlot When Bill returned home, the family began to build their feedlot, and they took their first set of cattle to feed in 1962. “Today, we could feed more cattle,” Bill says. “We expanded over a few years to the size we are today.” Bill primarily looks over the cattle, working with a partner on several ranches in the region to run both a cow/ calf herd and yearlings.
The feedlot keeps the Gross brothers busy during the winter months. “Pretty much everything but the grain we feed comes off the farm,” Greg explains, adding that they have to purchase corn, distiller’s grain and a liquid protein supplement to add to their ration. “If we are fattening cattle, we have to buy some corn, but if we are backgrounding, we have corn to sell,” Greg comments. “Other than the protein, we can produce most of our feed.” Cowherd Pat, who works with the cattle herd, says, “The cows are predominantly Angus crossbreds.” They retain their heifers, so he notes that the cowherd is gradually transitioning to a more crossbred herd. “The crossbred cows wean a bigger, more desirable calf,” Greg notes. The Gross’ also artificially inseminate their herd to stay ahead of the best genetics. “We calve our heifers beginning Feb. 20, and the cows start about a month later,” Pat comments. “It’s always nice to have calves when the grass is turning green.” The cows primarily run at LaGrange and across the state line in Nebraska where they calve. During the sum-
Gross-Wilkinson Ranch as a rich history. John Wilkinson emigrated to the U.S. from England in 1882, arriving with a wife and eight children. John and his brother Anthony were very entrepreneurial and build vast land holding in the Wilkinson name. Homesteading and purchasing adjacent homesteads played a part, but the Union Pacific Railroad offered huge opportunity when it came through. The Union Pacific owned alternate sections on both sides of the track for a distance of 20 miles each direction, and John and Anthony grasped the opportunity to acquire more land use by purchasing the alternate sections. Only 16 years after they came to Wyoming, John’s first wife Deborah died in 1896 at the age of 51. William Dolan also emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. and enlisted in the Navy, where he was awarded a Medal of Honor. He was on his way to California from New Orleans for the gold rush, but by the time he reached Julesburg, Colo., he was discouraged and hired on with the Union Pacific Railroad, which was under construction between Julesburg and Cheyenne. William reached Cheyenne in 1867 and was made section foreman, the first man to act in this capacity out of Cheyenne. While working for the railroad, he stared to buy cattle. In 1875, William homesteaded 160 acres of land on Muddy Creek near Pine Bluffs. William and his wife had seven children – six boys and one girl. Charles J. Gross came to Wyoming from Pennsylvania and married Mary Elizabeth Dolan in 1892. They ran a general store in Pine Bluffs and acquired ranch property across the state line in Nebraska. They were the parents of three boys – William A. “Brick,” Charles C. “Todd” and Henry. Henry died as a youngster from blood poisoning after stepping on a nail. Charles J. was killed in a railroad accident while taking horses to Omaha, Neb., leaving Mary a widow with two young sons. “Mary Elizabeth married John Wilkinson in 1904, and they had one daughter, Mildred. Wilkinson was a big rancher in this county,” says Bill Gross, the son of Brick, who now operates the ranch. “He was really an entrepreneur. He ran 30,000 head of sheep on 90 checker-boarded sections of deeded ground and another 90 in between. He died in 1914, and Mary died in 1954.” After John’s passing, Mary took one-tenth of his estate, distributing one-tenth to each of John’s eight children and their daughter Mildred.
mer, they also graze native rangelands. They spend a significant amount of time grazing cornstalks or other crop residue in the fall. “We try to feed mainly crop residue in the fall and early winter to feed as economically as possible,” Pat comments. “We also lease property from the City of Cheyenne to run yearlings on,” he adds. Marketing In selling their cattle, the Gross family tries to determine the best time to market each year, rather than sticking to the same marketing strategy year after year. “We sell cattle off grass in September and October, or we put them in the feedlot in November and sell fat cattle in the March and April markets,” Bill notes. “We also start buying calves for grass in December.”
Calves purchased in December are split between Gross and his partner’s ranch in Nebraska. They go to grass in April and May. In September and October, the calves are either sold or returned to the feedlot and finished for the March or April market. Farming operation While developing the cowherd and building a feedlot, the Gross family has grown their farming operation as well. They began installing sprinklers on their farm ground in the late 1960s. “The first pivots went in during 1969,” Greg says. “We have some of the earliest serial numbers on our pivots, which is pretty interesting.” Pat notes that they raise a lot of roughages to feed the cattle, including sorghum hay, native hay, alfalfa and triticale. They also raise corn, wheat and pinto beans. “We have irrigated meadows that we hay as well,” says Greg. With water challenges
plaguing the area, the family also notes that they have adapted to the current environment. “We’ve learned to work with water shortages by planting crops that don’t use as much water,” Greg notes. “So far, it’s been very good.” Ranching lifestyle The Gross family enjoys their operation, and they believe that agriculture is a great business to work in. Phyllis notes that the operation has provided a great place to raise their fam-
ily, and Pat says, “This is a good lifestyle to have.” “Raising cattle is all I’ve done,” Bill says. “I was educated that way, and we’ve had the ranch since I was born. I’ve always loved it, and it’s been good to me.” He adds, “A friend of mine told me, ‘First you have a ranch, and then the ranch has got you.’ He’s right, and it’s a good place to be.” Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.
Family - The Gross family, including (from left to right) Bill, Pat, Phyllis, Greg and Greg’s son Scott, work together at Gross-Wilkinson Ranch. Saige Albert photo