2017 Winter Cattlemens Edition

2017

WINTER

Cattlemen’s EDITION

Featuring Natrona County

A publication of

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

You read it didn’t you? I am glad you did!

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2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

While oil and gas are at the top of many Wyomingite’s minds when they think of Natrona County, the area saw its beginnings in the agriculture industry.

“Many early European explorers came through Wyoming, among them Robert Stuart and his companions, who traveled east from Fort Astoria on the Pacific Coast in 1812,” writes Rebecca Hunt in an article titled, “Natrona County, Wyoming” at wyohistory.org. “History credits Stuart with recording the first European travel west to

east on what became known as the Oregon Trail.”

Later, explorer John C. Fremont, whom Hunt notes was nicknamed The Pathfinder, traversed the area.

“In the mid-19th century, the North Platte and Sweetwater rivers became the route for numerous travelers moving to Oregon, California or the valley of the Great Salt Lake,” Hunt continues. “The Oregon/ California/Mormon Trail followed the river upstream from Nebraska, allowing emigrants to follow a clear path west.”

Starting businesses Hunt says that many of the earliest businesses in Natrona County were cattle and sheep operations.

“Joseph Carey and his brother controlled much of the west side of the county, including parts of what later became Casper,” she says.

Carey later became a U.S. senator for the state, and he was also elected as Wyoming’s governor.

Hunt adds, “Bryant B. Brooks, another land baron who invested in cattle and sheep, was also elected Wyoming governor.”

Natrona County operations featured in this edition

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developing, the small town of Casper began to formally organize. In 1890, Territorial Governor Francis E. Warren split Carbon County, thereby forming Natrona County.

Both Casper and Bessemer were in the running for the title of county seat, and Casper won the election after charges of fraudulent ballots for Bessemer.

“Casper in 1890 was hardly an upscale community,” Hunt says. “Most buildings were wood, but the addition of new government buildings constructed of sturdy brick led to reconstruction and expansion of business blocks in brick and stone. The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad and later the Burlington Northern made the town into a supply and distribution hub.”

Oil and ranching continued to draw people to the area, and the town grew.

Oil developments As early as the 1890s, oil investors were drawn to Casper at the promise of financial gains, and the oilfields continued to develop.

The Salt Creek oil patch was noted as the largest production field in the world in the 1910s and 1920s.

“The Great Depression arrived in most of the nation after the stock market crash of 1929, but economic difficulties hit Wyoming’s oil industry years

earlier,” says Hunt.

A drop in prices and demand led to Natrona County’s first energy bust in 1926.

Recent times The industry continued to grow, and oil and gas remain the city’s largest economic contributor, though Hunt says that Casper continued to evolved.

As Casper grew and developed, Wyoming’ first junior college was born, with much insight from farmers and ranchers in the area. Casper College was established in 1945, and it was originally located on the third floor of Natrona County High School. The ag program remains strong at the college, reminiscent of the community that championed the institution.

“As the county turned 120 years old in 2010, there was a sense of optimism in Natrona County,” Hunt writes.

She continues, “The resilience of the people showed through all the years of boom and bust.

From early days, Natrona County was not appreciated by everyone, but those hardy enough to stay during tough times held it dear.”

Saige Albert, managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, compiled this article from wyohistory.org. Send comments on this article to saige@wylr. net.

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Natrona County sees agriculture roots

Gilbert Searight, a Texas rancher, established the Goose Egg Ranch near Bessemer, just west of Casper. He sold to the Carey brothers, just avoiding the blizzard of 1886-87.

“Out in the Sweetwater country, the biggest ranchers were Tom Sun, Bonaparte ‘Boney’ Earnest, Albert and John Bothwell and Tom and John Durbin,” Hunt writes.

Numerous smaller ranches also dotted the countryside, raising both cattle and sheep.

Sheep ranching “Sheep began appearing on the ranges mostly in the northern and western parts of the county in the 1880s, but sheep ranching was not a big part of the economy until the 1890s,” Hunt says.

Sheep numbers rose in the 1890s, and cattle numbers gradually declined. All the while, tension between cattle and sheep producers elevated over who had the right to utilize the open range.

“In 1909, the peak year for sheep, there were around 6 million in Wyoming and only about a seventh as many cattle. Cattle-sheep ratios were probably similar in Natrona County,” Hunt cites.

It wasn’t until the early 1910s that tension began to ease between cattle and sheep producers.

Forming towns While ranches were

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Embracing agriculture

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tHeSe BULLS SeLL! 1. Miles Land and Livestock 2. Forbes, Rabel and McGivney Rambouillets 3. 33 Mile Ranch 4. Pathfinder Ranch 5. Harlan Angus 6. XL Angus Ranch 7. Poison Spider Cattle Company 8. Marton Ranch 9. Barry and Kristen Crago 10. Jason and Kim Furnival 11. Clear Creek Cattle Company 12. Ring Tail R Ranch

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13. Roy and Kathleen Jarrard 14. Cole Creek Sheep Company 15. Brandi and Keith Forgey 16. Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack 17. 7L Livestock 18. Bummer Ranch 19. M&D LIvestock 20. Bates Creek Cattle Company 21. Noland Feed Store 22. Star Shadow Land and Cattle 23. Owens Land and Livestock 24. Eagle Ridge Ranch 25. Harlan Ranch

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aramie County Fai Wyoming’s Oldest & Largest County Fair

Generations of Fun July 31-August 3, 2017

at the Laramie County Fairgrounds at Archer

August 5-12, 2017 at Frontier Park Find us on

ApRiL 13, 2017 toRRiNgtoN LiveStock Offering consists of 15 Two-Year-Old Hereford Bulls, 35 Yearling Hereford Bulls, 45 Yearling Angus Bulls, 10 Head of Yearling Heifers and a few Cow/Calf Pairs.

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For more information, please visit

www.LaramieCountyFair.com

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Jim and Jerri McClun 1929 Road 60 • Veteran, WY • 307-837-2524 • Cell: 307-534-5141 Jeff and Kari McClun & Family 1930 Road 60 • Veteran, WY • JKMcClun@WYOMail.com • 307-837-2554 • Cell: 307-575-2113

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Focused on the family Prices look toward ranching with family at the top

Jim and Peggy Price have been ranching south of Casper their entire lives, and they raised their four daughters with a focus on agriculture.

“We run around 1,200 pairs out here,” says Jim. “We run a Charolais-Angus cross cow today. We were running a Charolais-Limousin cross up until a few

years ago. We thought our cattle started to get too big, so we started pulling in Angus bulls to try to moderate the size of them.”

First-calf heifers are

Working together - The Price family takes pride in working together as a family and a community.

Whenever there is work to be done, friends, neighbors and family all gather to accomplish the task at hand. Courtesy photo

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Cowboys are part of our electric co-op

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kept at their ranch until calving, when they are taken through the calving barn at headquarters.

After calving, cattle are trailed to their summer pasture 35 miles from headquarters on the head of Bates Creek.

“We trail in three bunches, and our cattle stay on the mountain until the second or third week of September,” Jim explains.

“We sort off our steer pairs in September, so when we’re ready, we can take the cows off and load the steers,” Peggy adds.

“We stay up on the mountain with the cows until the snow runs us off.”

Farming In addition to their cattle, they also operate a small farm, putting up enough hay to support their needs through the winter months.

“We put up a little grass hay at our headquar-

“Ranching is our way of life. I don’t care how bad it gets, we’re staying in this business.”

– Jim Price ters,” Jim says, “but we rely on the farm ground on the North Platte River for the hay. The hay over there is brome grass-alfalfa mix.”

They run their alfalfa under center pivots.

“We put one pivot in every year,” he continues.

“That reduced the water we used by two-thirds and improved our hay production. The idea was to help us clean up the selenium in the river.”

Ag lifestyle Jim and Peggy can’t imagine living a life outside of ranching.

“We’ve been here our whole life,” Jim says.

“Natrona County has been good to us.”

“Ranching is our way of life,” he continues. “I

Origins of the ranch Miles Land and Livestock was launched at the turn of the century when J.H. “Hank” Miles and his twin brother left Georgia and set out for the West.

Hank homesteaded on Canyon Creek on 160 acres of land called the 4B Ranch.

“Hank raised horses, then later cattle and sheep,” says Peggy Price, the granddaughter of Hank Miles. “This was the start of present day Miles Land and Livestock Co.” The ranch began to acquire additional land and build their cattle herd, while simultaneously developing irrigated farmland near Alcova.

“In 1987, a 3,500 head feedlot was built to help utilize the forage from the irrigated lands and also to optimize profits backgrounding calves, finishing yearlings and feeding calves for other producers,” says Peggy.

Peggy and her husband Jim purchased the ranch in 1997 from Peggy’s mother and brother, and the Prices, with their four daughters, have worked on the ranch ever since.

The sold the feedlot in the 2005, along with about 1,600 acres. They also purchased the old Cheney Ranch, which serves as their current headquarters.

“We built this house, a new calving barn, a processing facility and some barns,” explains Jim, noting that they’ve expanded their operation as land becomes available and it’s feasible. “We’ve reworked this whole place to make it work for us today.”

don’t care how bad it gets.

We’re staying in this business.”

Peggy adds that the ranch is home, and it will always be the place that the family is able to gather and share memories.

“When I was in high school, I wasn’t going to come back to the ranch,” she says, “but I’m glad I didn’t go anywhere. This is what I love. Where else could I spend every day with the people I love and respect, all surrounded by God’s creation?”

“Even the bad days, when we’re covered in dirt or things have gone to hell in a hand-basket, all we have to do it look around and see something to be grateful for,” Peggy comments.

Family life Jim and Peggy’s four daughters have all stayed connected to the ranch.

“Family is what has always run this place,” Jim comments. “Even our outside help is our family now.”

Peggy adds, “It’s the family that makes it work.

It’s not always easy working with family, but it’s kept us together.”

As their children grew older, Jim and Peggy wanted to provide them each with the opportunity to be involved with the ranch, if they wanted to.

“They each have their own goals that might be different from our goals, but each kid has a place to go to, and they’re all still in ag,” says Jim. Jody, the oldest of the Price girls, left the ranch before the family bought Continued on next page

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2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page out Peggy’s mother and brother. Today, she lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. She previously worked as a physical therapist.

“She loves the ranch,” says Peggy.

Jim explains that Jody stays involved through blogging and advocating for agriculture.

“She’s written blogs about the big Atlas Storm and other topics,” Jim says. “She’s really good at saying things so city people can understand what we mean.”

Kim, the second oldest, married Jason Furnival, and the couple raises their two daughters while also operating a farm and feeding operation.

They both enjoy the ag industry, particularly because they see benefits for raising their girls.

“Ag provides a great lifestyle,” says Kim “The people in the ag industry are grounded and in touch

with the world, and it’s a great way to raise our children.”

Continued love of ag Jamie, the third daughter, is also married. Just recently, Jamie and her husband Chad Harkins returned to a piece of land that was owned by the family long ago.

“We’re on the 4B Ranch, which is pretty great,” says Jamie. “It was owned by my grandfather, and we had to sell it when we bought out my uncle and grandma.”

Jamie and Chad worked hard to build up the funds to purchase the operation by working in-town jobs.

Jamie says she would work all night calving for her dad, then come into town and work at her day job.

“Ag is fulfilling and rewarding,” says Jamie, who now works full-time on their ranch.

Youngest daughter Casey Rohrer and her husband Ryan help Jim on

Like father, like daughter - Casey Rohrer (left) says that her father Jim Price (right) was her idol, and she wanted to grow up to be just like him. The pair works together day in and day out at Miles Land and Livestock. Courtesy photo

their current operation.

“My dad and my sister Jamie were my idols growing up,” says Casey.

“I wanted to be them ever since I was a little girl.”

While Peggy encouraged Casey to go to college, Peggy says, “Casey told me she knew she could learn more from her dad than in a book or in a classroom.”

“I still learn something new everyday,” adds Casey.

“There’s no better job.”

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

Pride in traditions - Miles Land and Livestock is located on Highway 487 outside of Casper, and this cowboy cut-out holding the America flag stands at the entrance to Jim and Peggy Price’s home. Similar cut-outs can be seen at Chad and Jamie Harkins’ place, as well. Saige Albert photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Raising Rambouillet sheep Forbes family strives for highest quality in sheep genetics

Ian McGivney, a senior at Kaycee High School says, “My earnings from showing our Rambouillet sheep are going to help me through college. Thanks to the breeding program my family has worked on for a good portion of their lives, I’ve been to a lot of really neat places and won some really cool awards. Plus, I’ve learned the value of hard work – that it does pay off.”

Ian has successfully shown Forbes, Rabel and McGivney Rambouillet sheep since he was two

years old. His Grandma Betty bought him his first ewe from Ralph Streeter.

Ian is headed for college and phasing out of showing. He’s paved the way for his cousin Matt Rabel’s two young sons, Lance and Lane, as they’ve taken over the lead ropes and already begun collecting Supreme Champion ribbons.

Starting a ranch In 1953, Ian and Matt’s grandparents Bob and Betty Forbes bought their ranch west of Kaycee to raise cattle, sheep and five children.

They built the house in

which two of their sons, Jim and Emory Forbes, still live.

Jim focuses on the sheep, while Emory oversees the cattle end. Brother John Forbes, east of Kaycee, is well known for his bucking horses.

The ranch has commercial Red Angus and Red Angus-cross cows. They use registered Red Angus bulls, keeping replacement heifers and sell all the steers at weaning.

Forbes family Ethel (Forbes) Rabel and her husband Mike started their sons Shawn

and Matt showing 4-H sheep. Now Matt and his wife Alysa are doing the same with Lance, 11, and Lane, 9.

Matt works and lives in Buffalo, but, he says, “I get down to the ranch as often as I can, at least once or twice a week.”

Ian’s mother, Rosemary (Forbes) McGivney, is a teacher. She and husband Pat have a place east of Kaycee. They run their cows with the ranch cows on the summer lease, then bring their cows home to calve. She is an active partner in the ranch’s sheep program.

Rosemary says, “My family blames me for this sheep business.”

“Dad ran a shearing crew and worked for ranches before he bought our place. He raised cattle and some sheep,” she continues. “Mom raised bum lambs, so I always had sheep around. I was the youngest, and Mom and Dad took me to State Fair in Douglas to let me pick my first 4-H lambs. My older brother Jim had Suffolks, but Dad had just picked up a couple of Rambouillet rams, so we were looking.”

“We ran into Dick Strom, who raised Rambouillets near Laramie,” Rosemary adds. “I fell in love with one of his yearling ewes. Petunia was broke to lead and just beautiful. She went home with us, along with Tiger Lily, Tulip and Daisy. A few years later, I’d partnered with Jim, and we went to straight Rambouillets. We began putting the rams on Performance Feed Tests and started showing.”

The operation today Jim says, “We have about 250 head of registered ewes, most of which are replacements. We focus on selling range rams. We lamb most of the sheep and calve all the cows in April.”

After branding toward the end of June, the family trails the cows and sheep 14 miles to summer pasture on a mountain lease and leave them together.

“I leave three to five guard dogs with them,” Jim adds. “I go up and check once or twice a week.”

They come off the mountain at the end of summer and ship. Cows go to leased pastures and then back to the ranch for calving.

“The sheep stay here. In November, I turn the bucks into five pastures with five different lots of ewes for a month, based on bloodlines and eartags,” he says. “Then I put all the ewes together and turn a new buck in with them.”

Running Rambouillets Matt adds, “The Rambouillet is a dual-purpose breed with excellent fleece and weight gains.”

Additionally, Matt praises their adaptability,

flock-ability and easy of handling.

“We want depth of body and uniform fine fleece. We weigh our yearling ewes’ fleeces and micron our yearling ewes every year,” he says. “Performance tests help us select our stud bucks. All of us, including my son Lance, have about 20 rams on ram tests right now.”

Jim adds, “These tests provide a lot of valuable information about specific bucks, which help sell them and tell us what we’re raising.”

Matt continues, “Improving our bloodlines keeps us moving and looking forward.”

This year, the family artificially inseminated their first bunch of ewes to introduce some new genetics.

“We recently entered the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP),” Matt mentions. “It will give us statistics on milk ability and other factors we don’t get from the ram tests.”

To continually improve their flock, the Forbes’ travel across the country to find the right genetics.

“We all go when we can, and we all voice our opinions,” Matt notes. “When we’re in agreement, we buy it.”

Meeting demands of buyers Matt notes a growing demand for polled, rather than horned, rams.

He says, “We’re starting to increase the number of polled rams we keep every year. We follow what buyers like and don’t like, but we have to stay true to the type of sheep that we keep in our own flock.”

Matt set up a website that generates “quite a bit of our breeding stock business, along with the annual ram sales. Plus our rams come off true range conditions, so they are in demand from large range operations to hobby flocks.”

Virginia Wakefield is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Family centered Lambing, calving, branding and trailing livestock to and from summer pasture bring the Forbes family together.

Rosemary (Forbes) McGivney says, “A local shearer helps Jim and Emory. Ian went to a shearing school this fall in North Dakota. He will hopefully be able to help this spring.”

Ian McGivney’s favorite part of the ranch is being around his uncles. While he would like to come back to Kaycee after college, he isn’t sure what his future will bring.

Jim Forbes says, “There aren’t many young people staying in ag. We don’t even have the neighbor kids around who used to help with calving and lambing.”

Rosemary has taught agriculture education at Kaycee High School for 13 years.

She noted, “I don’t have the number of ranch kids that I used to, so instead of focusing on production agriculture, I’ve added classes like veterinary science. There are a lot of ag-related career opportunities.”

“I tell my students, ‘Most of you leaving my class won’t go into an agriculture field, but I want every one of you to leave as an advocate for ag.’ At least they will know where their food comes from and what ranching and farming entail,” Rosemary comments. “As for our family ranch, we’re really fortunate that by working together we’re able to keep the family ranch going and to do what we all know and enjoy.”

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2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Top in crop production

33 Mile Ranch works to optimize production, profitability West of Casper on 33 Mile Road, Bryce Bressler is the fourth generation to work his family’s land at 33 Mile Ranch.

“My great-grandfather was the one who originally purchased some of the property out here. That was actually before the air base was here,” says Bressler.

His great-grandfather divided the land between his children, with Bressler’s grandfather being allotted part of the land that is currently own by 33 Mile Ranch.

Current operations Bressler explains that 33 Mile Ranch is predominantly a farming operation that is managed on approximately 1,800 irrigated acres.

“For the most part, we raise hay and small grains – barley primarily, some corn and then pinto beans,” he says. “We grow alfalfa, and we have some fields that have a little brome, orchard and fescue grasses mixed in.”

Deciding what crops to plant is a challenging choice that is influenced by proposed net profit.

“We never know what’s going to do the best each year. For the most part, we try to keep it about even between the crops,” comments Bressler. “If the price of one seems to do a little better or nets out better, then we’ll put more of that particular crop in.”

In addition to the farming operations, 33 Mile Ranch also runs a small commercial cowherd of approximately 40 head.

“We raise the calves and sell them in the fall or the beginning of the year.

Most the time anymore, we just take them to the sale barn,” he says.

New enterprises After hearing about a need for growers, 33 Mile Ranch began producing alfalfa seed in 2016.

“This was our first year doing alfalfa seed. That was a new venture we’ve gotten into. We wanted to experiment to find out something that net a better profit,” says Bressler.

He notes that the experiment “seems to be doing pretty well. I think our environment is good for alfalfa seed.”

The enterprise continues to be a learning opportunity for 33 Mile Ranch.

“There’s a lot to be learned there yet, too.

Alfalfa seed is something that we’re working into the program,” continues Bressler.

As part of alfalfa seed production, Bressler explains that his operation began raising bees.

“As part of the alfalfa seed, we started raising leaf cutter bees. We have to have those in place to pollinate the alfalfa seed, so we’re expanding the bees, also,” he says.

Irrigation “I would almost say the irrigation part is the most challenging part of running 33 Mile, and that is part of the reason we’ve expanded on the pivots is to help that area out,” says Bressler.

“Keeping things wet is one of the more challenging parts of the whole thing, and it’s one of the most important parts, too. If the crop doesn’t have water, it’s not going to do much.”

He notes that pivots are costly to build, but the benefits can make them a worthwhile investment.

“There’s always pivots to put it. It just depends if we can justify the cost of them. If we can get something under irrigation pivots, it just does better job irrigating efficiency-wise and quality-wise,” explains Bressler.

In addition to building pivots for his own operation, Bressler explains that 33 Mile Ranch is also a Zimmatic pivot dealer.

Changing “My view of what the most rewarding part is has probably changed since I’ve come back,” says Bressler. “Watching the farm continue to grow, to have new enterprises and making them work is always rewarding.”

He explains that new enterprises are not always successful, but they always have some benefit.

“Sometimes there’s failure. We try to minimize that, but there’s always good that comes out of it.

We learn from our failures and expand on the good things,” continues Bressler.

Ultimately, Bressler’s goal is to work to continually improve production and management practice.

While not all factors impacting production can be controlled, it is important to continue improving

on factors that they have influence over.

“I always strive to do better than what we did before. Sometimes that doesn’t always happen.

There’s a lot of factors there that we don’t have control of,” says Bressler.

“The main thing is, if we have control of them, we try to do the best we can and improve every year.”

“If we don’t, I don’t think we’re going to go further with whatever it is. The margins in agriculture keep getting slimmer all the time, and if we don’t improve it and make the best we can, there’s no way we’re going to stay in business,” he continues.

Looking ahead Bressler explains that future plans for 33 Mile are constantly evolving, but he hopes to continue improving the operation.

“It seems like it

changes all the time. I guess I’d like to continue doing more of what we’re doing and improve on it,” says Bressler.

Expanding the cattle side of the ranch is an option that 33 Mile is considering for the future.

“It would be nice to

get more cattle back on the ranch. We have a lot of room here for cattle in the wintertime,” he continues, noting that it would be difficult to have cattle on the operation during the summer with expanding the farming side.

“Having a place to go

with them in the summer and come back in the winter would be a good benefit for the whole operation,” concludes Bressler.

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

Grain bins – The 33 Mile Ranch is primarily a farming operation, producing hay, small grains, corn, pinto beans and alfalfa seed. Grain bins are used to allow the combine to harvest continually while waiting for tractor-trailers to return from the elevator. Emilee Gibb photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Pathfinder Ranch

Stevenson family continues running cattle south of Casper “We’ve been here for 40 years – starting on 41,� says Haney Stevenson, manager of Pathfinder Cattle Company. “It’s a long time, but it doesn’t seem like that long most years.�

He adds, “We’ve been really fortunate to do what we’ve done, especially in the last nine years.�

Coming to Pathfinder Stevenson and his family first moved to Wyoming in 1977, when he dad bought the ranch, along with the neighboring Buzzard Ranch. “Ruth and I moved in here, and I helped my dad run the place,� Stevenson says. “We also had another place on the Laramie Plains at the time.�

They owned the ranch for 10 years before losing it, but

Stevenson continued to run the place for the insurance company. “Then, in 1979, John Berra, Sr. bought it, and I ran Pathfinder Ranch for him for 19 years,� he says. “Then, nine years ago, a new outfit bought it, and we started leasing the ranch from them.

We’re still leasing it from them today.�

As they move through time, Stevenson says they are fortunate to still be on the place. “There’s been a number of times that we might have been forced to move,� he says, “but when it looked like we might have to leave, things ended up so we could stay. We’re just blessed to be here.�

Today, Stevenson runs

History of the Ranch Pathfinder Ranch has a rich history in Wyoming, starting in the 1880s when AJ Bothwell, founder of the ranch, settled in the Wyoming Territory.

After Bothwell, Steward Sanford wanted to set up a ranch in Wyoming with his four sons, so they moved to the Buzzard Ranch, which sits adjacent to Pathfinder Ranch, in the spring of 1916. Buzzard Ranch was in negotiations with another buyer at the time, and on their trip home, harsh weather meant the Sanford’s stayed at Bothwell Ranch for the night. In June 1916, the Sanfords purchased the operation, living there until 1941, when Gordon and Ethel Sanford sold their shares to brother Archie Sanford and his wife Lillian.

Archie and Lillian continued to ranch with their family until Artic Investment Group purchased the operation in 1973.

Then, in 1977, Jim Stevenson purchased the ranch from the investment group, also acquiring the Buzzard Ranch at the same time.

The ranch wasn’t called Pathfinder Ranch until the 1980s, when it came under the ownership of John Berra, Sr. of St. Louis, MO. Berra purchased Pathfinder Ranch in 1989, keeping Haney Stevenson, Jim’s son, on as ranch manager.

In 2008, Jeff Meyer and business partners purchased the operation from Berra’s family, and today, he owns the ranch solely. Haney Stevenson still oversees ranching operations today, leasing the land from Meyer.

cattle in a partnership with his son, daughter and their spouses. His son Tyler, wife Mandy and daughter Dee Burgess and her husband Keith are all involved, as is Stevenson’s wife Ruth.

Daughter Jeana Allmaras and her husband Matt are also involved. “We’ve got six hired men besides that and three different headquarters,� Stevenson says. “All total, we run 310,000 leased acres. It’s also 50 miles north to south, and it keeps us hopping.�

Cattle operation Stevenson runs cow/calf pairs on Pathfinder Ranch today. “We’re mostly Angusbased,� he says. “We also lease the Dumbell Ranch, and five years ago when we got that lease, we bought the cows on the ranch, too.

There were some Herefords in that bunch, so we have a few Hereford cows, as well.�

They begin calving the beginning of April, and

branding occurs in May and June. “We brand the old-fashioned way, roping and dragging them to the fire with a pretty small crew,� Stevenson says.

The calves are run on grass throughout the summer until weaning at the first part of October. “We sell most of the calves right off the cows,� he explains. “Sometimes we keep the smaller end and feed them, selling after the first of the year.� “Selling after the first of the year is more flexible for us,� Stevenson says.

In the winter, they are able to run cattle until early January without much feed. “We don’t feed much hay out here,� Stevenson adds. “We do supplement our cows with distiller’s grain mixed with salt as an inhibitor.�

The supplement works well, as long as they have adequate water, so they don’t get water belly. “The distiller’s grain has 25 percent protein and a lot of fat, so we get plenty of energy,� he says.

The strategy provides some flexibility for income

tax and grass purposes.

Quality cows Rather than keeping replacement heifers, they purchase all their replacements. “We’re looking for a good, heavy-boned Angus cow bred to a crossbred bull,� he describes. “We run SalersAngus cross bulls on all our cows.� “The Salers throws a little more stretch in the calves, and the bulls are active, good breeders,� Stevenson explains.

Because the ranch sits between 5,800 and 10,000 feet elevation, they also look for replacement cows and bulls that come from higher altitudes. “We can have problems with high altitude sickness if we don’t watch where we get the cows from,� he says.

The challenges of ranching With his passion in the ranching industry, Stevenson says operating a large ranch isn’t without its challenges.

To start off, they run on deeded, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and state land. “Our ranch sits in three different BLM districts,� he comments. “That can be

interesting.�

At the same time, winter can be difficult, though the wind doesn’t blow as hard on the ranch as it does in Casper. “The Buzzard Ranch gets the wind,� Stevenson says, “but here on Pathfinder Ranch, when it gets cold, it doesn’t blow, which is nice.�

Love for ranching As he continues into the future, Stevenson says ranching is in his blood, and he can’t imagine a different life. “Ranching is in my blood. I was born into it,� he says. “My dad had cattle ever since I was a little kid, and I didn’t know there was anything else. I didn’t ever want to do anything else.�

With the continued challenges of the ranch, Stevenson says he will continue to work hard and make a living in ranching. “Ranching life isn’t all roses, but we have to keep coming back,� Stevenson continued. “This is a good opportunity for my family and I, and we’re fortunate to be here.�

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

Pathfinder Ranch - The distinctive ranch gate that opens up to the headquarters of Pathfinder Ranch can be seen prominently from Highway 220 near Pathfinder Reservoir. The ranch, which has been around since the 1800s, is home to the Stevenson Family and their Black Angus cattle. Saige Albert photo

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A9

2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Bulls that produce profit

Harlan Angus focuses on producing bulls to make his buyers profit When Chuck Harlan talks about his bulls, it is with a sense of pride of all he has been able to accomplish over the years. Harlan, and his wife Heather manage their ranch, Harlan Angus, about 50 miles northwest of Casper.

Purchasing the ranch Harlan purchased the ranch more than 39 years ago with his brother Bob. The operation started out primarily with sheep and just a few cattle.

A few years ago, the brothers decided to pursue their own interests and divided the ranch. Chuck and Heather kept the cows and have expanded their operation since then.

“We run a commercial and registered herd together basically all the time, except at breeding,” he explains.

“We sell some steer and heifers calves in the fall but keep over about 40 to 50 head of bull calves.”

“The bull calves are developed and sold private treaty in April as yearling bulls,” he adds.

Registered Harlan and his father Jim explored the registered part of the cattle business during the early 90s.

“We first looked into it because we found we couldn’t afford the bulls we wanted when we would attend a bull sale,” he explains. “So, we purchased some registered cows and one good herd bull we were happy with. We started out pretty small, but we have expanded our registered herd since then.”

The registered heifers are artificially inseminated (AI’ed), along with some of the commercial heifers.

“We also AI a select few of our registered cows,” Harlan says.

“The bull calves are out of bulls we purchase or from AI product,” he notes. “The heifers are AI’ed with calving ease bulls.”

Breeding priorities Calving ease is an important part of the management at Harlan Angus.

“The customers I deal with for private treaty sales request bulls with calving ease,” Harlan explains. “For that reason, we try to breed for a moderate birth weight between 70 to 85 pounds.”

“For heifer bulls, it is closer to 70 pounds, and for bulls that will be used on experienced cows, it is closer to 85 pounds,” he explains.

Harlan breeds these cattle to be deep-ribbed with a thick body, calving ease and bone.

“We definitely want good feet and legs,” he says.

“We live at 5,500 feet in elevation, and there are lots of rocks and hills in this area.”

“The cows trail to the Big Horn Mountains for summer pasture, so they need to be able to travel well,” he adds.

Most of the cows mature at 1,275 to 1,300 pounds.

In an environment that

can be harsh at times, Harlan also selects cows that are easy-keepers.

“They have to be able to take care of themselves in this environment,” he explains.

Marketing cattle “We try to sell a group of steer calves each fall that are an even set of calves that can go on from our ownership and really gain and produce for whomever buys them,” Harlan says. “We want to see them make money, too.”

The calves have been marketed through Northern Livestock Video for several years.

“It has worked out well for us because we know our field representative, and they do a lot to promote our cattle,” Harlan explains. “We sell the calves in July and feel the video exposes us to more potential bidders.”

Depending upon the year, Harlan may also sell some heifer calves.

Some are kept for replacements and placed in a backgrounding lot in Riverton. Harlan brings them home in April to get them acclimated to the ranch and in condition for breeding.

Bulls The bull calves are selected based on sire groups, moderate birthweight, growth and good conformation. They are developed in a large lot at the home place, where Harlan uses a 50/50 ration of corn and oats and free-choice grass hay.

“I won’t let them gain more than three pounds a day, so they maintain their structural integrity,” he explains.

“I don’t want them to get too fat and fall apart,” he continues. “I feed them for growth, so they will breed their cows.”

The goal is for the bulls to weigh 1,000 to 1,100 pounds before they are sold

as yearlings and to be physically mature enough to breed the cows.

To guarantee they are sexually mature, the bulls must pass a semen test and breeding soundness exam before they are offered for sale.

All buyers have different needs, depending upon their operations, so Harlan tries to provide as much information about his offering as he can. Birthweight, birth date, EPDs on the sires and registration numbers for all the bull calves are available.

“I also always try and buy herd bulls with carcass data,” he notes.

Clients “Most of our buyers are neighbors, and I wouldn’t sell them any bulls I wouldn’t use myself. We want our

neighbors to be happy with the bulls they purchase from us,” he explains. “We want these bulls to produce calves with good performance that sell at the top-end of the marketplace.”

“We also want to help our buyers by producing bulls that will help them make progress in improving their own cowherds,” he adds.

Most of the bull buyers are from Natrona and part of Johnson County. Some have been with Harlan since the beginning.

“When we first started, I just mentioned to a couple neighbors that I had some bulls for sale. They came and bought a few – and then a few more. Other neighbors would see them, and it spread mostly by word-of-mouth,” he says. “Some of the neighbors border one another, so they are always looking at what the other guy can produce.”

“Most of our buyers are neighbors, and I wouldn’t sell them any bulls I wouldn’t use myself.” – Chuck Harlan “One of our buyers bought his first bulls from Dad and I in 1994,” he says.

“He still comes back every year. That gives me a lot of confidence we’re doing

something right.”

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

Cattle production The cattle at Harlan Angus graze year-round, although owner Chuck Harlan says he supplements them with some hay during the winter once the grass snows under.

“We also limit them to a 50-day breeding season. That’s pretty short,” he says.

In fact, Harlan gives the cows two years to perform, which means breeding back and raising big calves, or they are culled from the program.

The registered cows and yearling heifers calve from Feb. 15 to April 1. Most calve in the corrals or the barn, since the weather is fairly unpredictable that time of year.

“We also tag and weigh all our calves at that time,” he says.” The commercial cows calve March 1 to April 15.”

Ultimately, the goal is to produce cattle that can go from their operation and make their new owners money, whether it is bulls, cows, heifers or steers.

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A10

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Ranching in retirement Ballews fulfill lifelong dreams in seedstock operation

In 2009, Bob Ballew retired from his day job in the oil and gas service industry and started a seedstock operation.

“My friends asked me what chapter in ‘How to Retire’ I missed,” Bob says.

“Ranching was always my goal in life, and I enjoy it.”

He adds, “There’s a lot of good people in this industry, and I have a lot of respect for the ranchers in Wyoming.”

Seedstock operation Bob and his wife Kate run Black Angus cattle at XL Angus Ranch, and 70 percent of their program is embryo transfer (ET) work.

“We run about 20 donors that we flush annually for embryos,” Bob explains.

“Everything else is artificially inseminated.”

Foundation females have been acquired from other Angus producers, such as Vintage, Express, Basin,

SAV and others.

Because of the fast-moving genetic challenges that they see, Bob notes that ET helps them to maintain the highest-quality genetics.

“Seedstock is a fastmoving game,” he explains.

“We have to use ET to get the genetics we want. We are not strictly driven by EPD numbers but phenotype as well.”

They have two calving intervals, in the fall and in the spring.

Each year, they begin calving at the end of February through barns at their place on the North Platte River east of Casper.

“We rotate them through the barns, let the calf dry off and suckle, and then we put them out on pasture,” Bob says.

Depending on the growth in pastures, they move out to grass on Hat Six Road in early May.

“We get them to grass as soon as possible,” he comments. “We load them up here and take them out to Hat Six Road.”

Marketing bulls “Creating the ideal bull is an elusive target,” Bob says.

“There are a lot of good bulls out there, and we use probably 20 different bulls to artificially inseminated our cattle.”

Their bulls are marketed at 44 Farms in Cameron, Texas.

“44 Farms has a spring sale and a fall sale in Cameron and Abilene, Texas,” Bob says. “We partner with them to market our bulls.

We also sell 12 to 15 heifers annually at the Spruce Mountain Ranch sale in Larkspur, Colo., and we sell some at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo.”

They also sell heifers at Fort Worth and Kansas City

livestock shows.

Horse operation Along with their seedstock operation, Bob and Kate also raise horses as BK Farms.

“We focus on reining cow horse,” says Kate.

Their top two studs, Pony on the Boat and Shiner’s Nu Cash, have performed well at local shows, and in recent years, they have also proven to be top on the world scene.

“Last year, Pony on the Boat won the American Quarter Horse Association World Show in Open and Level Two, Junior Working Cow Horse,” Kate says.

“He was sixth this year in the Open Senior Division.”

They’ve also had several horses that performed well in snaffle bit categories, and they’ve jumped into the roping and cutting arenas.

“Justin Johnson has competed on some of our horses,” she comments.

“He’s got Shiner’s Nu Cash right now, and they’re doing well together.”

“We’ve been in and out

of the horse industry forever, and after we retired, we bought some brood mares and started breeding horses here,” Kate explains. “We foal down at Colorado State University, and they also collect our stallions down there.”

Their mares also have performed well in shows.

“Bossy was a finalist in the snaffle bit three years ago, and she won the Wyoming cutting last year,” Kate says. “We like the reining cow horse, and we’re just getting started in the cutting after working with Justin.”

Kate adds that they emphasize performance with their horses.

“We’re looking for topperforming horses,” she says.

“We’ve got a few right now that are good, and others that aren’t what we’re looking for, but we keep moving forward.”

Moving forward As they look forward, Bob and Kate note that they hope to continue to move forward at their current level and strive to hit the top in genetics and quality.

“We’re almost at our max right now with the grass

that we have,” Bob says. “We don’t want to stress our grass level, so we’re not looking for growth in numbers.

We’re going to continue to grow in quality and bring in new genetics.”

Kate adds, “We keep learning as we go, definitely.

Like everyone, we just keep looking for that really, really good horse.”

As they look at both their horses and cattle, Bob says, “When we look at horses and cows, if we look strictly at genetics, we can see where we go too far one way or the other. We’re looking to make improvements.”

While the Ballews continue to improve their cattle and horses both, Bob says they’re blessed to be in agriculture, and they enjoy the work.

“Growing up in agriculture was a good life,” he says. “There are lots of good people in this industry. I have a lot of friends in the oilfield, but agriculture is where I wanted to be.”

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

Ranching dream - Bob and Kate Ballew retired from their nine-tofive jobs and started their ranching operation, which was a dream for the couple. Growing up in agriculture, they always felt the desire to return, and today, they raise Black Angus cattle and performance horses. Courtesy photo

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A11

2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Bringing Texas tradition to Wyo Poison Spider Cattle Company expands into Wyoming In 2014, Texas cattlemen Tom Moorehouse and Johnny Ferguson partnered with Shaun Strickland, a young rancher, to lease a ranch long-term on Poison Spider Road west of Casper, and Poison Spider Cattle Company was born.

“In 2014, Tom and Johnny contacted me,” says Strickland, managing partner of the ranch. “They were looking to expand their operations, and I was currently managing a ranch for Tom in New Mexico.”

Strickland, who was a graduate of the Texas Christian University ranch management program, moved to Wyoming with the goal of starting a ranch in the state.

Jumping into the ranch In February 2015, Poison Spider Cattle Company turned out 1,100 head of mother cows on their rangeland, which is primarily private land.

“We jumped right in,” Strickland says.

In coming to Wyoming, Strickland notes that the change in climate wasn’t easy, but he’s enjoyed the challenges that come with ranching in Wyoming.

“Our first winter here was mild, but last winter, we had more snow here than anyone had seen in years on this ranch,” he says. “This winter so far has been colder than normal, so it’s been a learning experience.”

However, caring for the cattle hasn’t been as much of a challenge as working with machinery in the cold climate.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory to take care of the cattle. If it’s cold, we keep food in their bellies and keep them warm,” he says.

Cattle Poison Spider Cattle Company runs Black Angus cows with both Hereford and Black Angus bulls.

“We’ve been very successful in our first two calf crops, seeing 92 percent weaned calf crop percentage and 92 percent breedup,” Strickland says, “but we spend a lot of time in

our cattle to make sure we get there.”

Strickland explains that he is in the cattle every day to make sure they’re healthy and doing well.

“In the winter, we spend a lot of time feeding,” he says. “This ranch is 100,000 acres, and we have another place off the highway that is 40,000 acres, so we feed with an old Army truck.”

“Regardless, we’re in the cattle every day, whether that is feeding, putting out mineral or just trotting through them,” Strickland says. “In the summer, we’re up and saddled by 4:30 a.m., trotting before the sun is up. It’s a lot of fun.”

Production Poison Spider Cattle Company begins calving each year in April for about 60 days.

“We want really good cows here,” Strickland says. “We’ve allowed the cows to spread out quite a bit on a lot of acres, so they have enough grass.”

They require about 45 acres per cow in the summer country, so grass is sparse, but Strickland notes that he has taken his passion for range management to improve the operation.

“Range management and grazing have really turned this ranch into an even better operation by

just allowing the grass to continue to grow,” he says.

After calving, they begin branding.

“When we start branding, we stay out at the wagon, and the guys stay in teepees,” he says. “We still drag our calves to the fire, and we don’t come back until the job is done. It usually takes a week or so.”

Cattle stay out during the summer months, and between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1, they are weaned and sold.

“Our goal is to try to have a 525-pound calf,” Strickland explains. “So far, we’ve achieved that.”

In addition to their range management work to improve the grasses, Strickland says that they use grass and water analyses to tailor a mineral program to the needs of the ranch.

“Our mineral program is specially formulated to what will work best for our cows,” he says.

In 2015, they preconditioned part of their calves for the first time, utilizing a Vac-45 program. The remainder of the calves was sold straight off the cow.

“This year, we preconditioned everything,” he says. “We take them off the cow, and give them shots.

They spend 45 days in our feedlot, and this year, we shipped all of our calves to Texas, where we put them

on wheat at Tom’s place.”

From there, the calves are shipped in May, hopefully weighing 900 pounds.

Their program allows for flexibility in marketing to capture market highs, allowing the ranch to reach breakeven.

The focus on tradition “We take pride in having tradition on our ranch,” says Strickland. “I always said, if I ever had the opportunity to be an owner in an operation, that I would try to keep up tradition as much as I could.”

He continues, “We still pull the wagon out for branding in the spring, and

I have a crew that comes up from Texas to help us work.

We’re a Texas-based style of operation in Wyoming.”

As they move into the future, Strickland says he will keep their traditions alive, and his goal is to make the ranch cash flow.

“We’ve only been here two years, and our goal is to be able to cash-flow in five years,” he explains. “Our long-term goal is to get this ranch running smoothly and get all the kinks out in five years.”

Strickland says his passion for ranching keeps him going every day, and he appreciates the chance he’s

had to work with and learn from his partners, who have long, successful histories in Texas’ agriculture industry.

“I’ve got the two greatest partners a guy could have,” he comments. “They trust me to make decisions, and they’re there for me, too. It’s been a true blessing.”

“I like this ranch, and I’m happy here,” Strickland says. “We just want to make it cash flow and create a good product for America’s table.”

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

Embracing tradition - Shaun Strickland, managing partner of Poison Spider Cattle Company, throws a loop to catch a horse for the morning ride. The operation, based in Texas-style ranching, takes pride in doing the majority of their work on horseback, always reminiscent of tradition. Photo by Jason Whitman, Jason Whitman Photography, jasonwhitmanphoto.com

Horse program While Shaun Strickland keeps busy with the cattle at Poison Spider Cattle Company, he and his wife Amy also run a small horse business, as well.

“We take pride in our horse program,” he says. “We started the program in the last two years, and it’s been a passion of ours.”

Because of the expense of raising brood mares yearround and having studs, Strickland says they opt to buy colts as weanlings and yearlings.

“We buy all cow-bred horses from studs like High Brow Cat and Dual Rey. We also have an owned son of Metallic Cat here,” he says.

The horses are used on the ranch, and they also sell show horses.

“We show cutters and reined cow horses. My wife Amy also runs barrels in the PRCA,” Strickland explains.

“They’re not just using horses on the ranch. They can also perform.”

“Our goal at the end of the day is to have a horse that can go to the show pen or the ranch. We like the cow blood, and we’re proud of our product,” he adds.

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A12

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Optimizing the ranch Marton Ranch runs sheep, cattle for biggest benefits

Randy Marton and his family have been ranching for over 100 years, but they only moved to Natrona County just over 36 years ago.

“We bought this ranch south of Casper in December 1980, and we

moved here in the spring of 1981,” says Marton.

“We moved from Johnson County where we had a farm and ranch.”

The family sold the farm to Mobile Oil Company, allowing the five children in the family to

pursue their own dreams.

“We took the money and split up,” he says.

“Ranching in the eighties was hard, but we made it through. It was tough times for ranching.”

Marton and his brother Phil purchased the ranch

together south of Casper and operated in partnership for many years.

Ranching today Today, Marton Ranch runs both sheep and cattle.

Their ranch is situated in a great area, Marton adds.

“It’s been hard for us to adjust to the wind in Natrona County, but I love the ranch,” he explains.

“This ranch has worlds of

water, so we don’t have to worry about that.”

Marton also explains that they have summer and winter country on their contiguous property.

“We don’t leave the ranch to go to our summer country,” Marton explains.

“Our summer country has all live water,” he says. “We have all live water in the winter range too. I don’t care how much grass we have, water is really important.”

The ranch sits from 5,300 to 7,500, and they have 12 miles of the North Platte River.

Sheep operation The Martons run Targhee sheep today, but they utilize crossbreeding to harness hybrid vigor.

“Crossbreeding is so important in this business,” he says. “They always talk about crossbreeding in cows, but it’s the same in sheep. We’re going back toward Rambouillet again.”

The ranch range lambs beginning in May. “Our sheep are true range sheep,” Marton says.

“Everything is lambed out when the weather turns a little nicer.”

Continued on next page

The challenges to ranching

Proud to be a sheepman - Randy Marton and Marton Ranch takes pride in their Targhee-cross sheep, which are run on the range yearround. The range sheep operation utilizes crossbreeding with Rambouillet bucks to capture hybrid vigor. Saige Albert photo

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While they see success in the sheep business, Randy Marton of Marton Ranch also notes that they see challenges with predators.

“Predators are our biggest challenge in the sheep business, no question,” he says. “After that, it’s the availability of sheep shearers and the infrastructure of the business.”

Additionally, they see challenges in finding enough help for the ranch.

“Years ago, high school kids used to come out and work on ranch, but now we have more automation, and kids aren’t looking for work, necessarily,” he says. “That means they don’t have the skills we need them to have when we’re looking for hired hands.”

Because finding skilled employees or day laborers is such a challenge, Marton notes that the relationships they have developed with their neighbors are more important than ever.

“When we dock our lambs or ship our calves, all the neighbors get together,” he says. “None of us can find hired men, so we rely on each other for a lot of help.”

“We rely on our neighbors, and they rely on us,” Marton continues. “It works out well.”

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A13

2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page When they get back down to their low country in the winter, the lambs are sold to feeders, and the ewes are fed from November through March.

Replacement ewes are taken to Worland to Millers feedlot to be developed.

“We feed our sheep to flush them through breeding,” Marton explains.

“We feed them enough to keep them happy.”

Cattle aspect In conjunction with the sheep, the Martons also have a herd of Black Angus cattle.

“My dad bought the first cattle in the 1950s,” he says. “Those Hereford cattle were the first cows on the ranch.”

They ran a strictly Hereford herd until the late 1970s, when they began buying Black Angus bulls.

“We also dabbled a little bit with Maine-Anjou and a little bit of Gelbvieh to get some stretch on the calves,” Marton says. “They weren’t big enough. We’ve added 130 pounds to our calves since then.”

However, in the short grass country that they run in, the Martons have to be careful against getting too much size.

“We don’t have the grass to support real big

cattle,” he says. “They’ve got to travel, too.”

The cowherd calves in late March, with heifers starting in February and going through calving barns and the cows out on the range.

The calves are sold through video auction, which allows more buyers to see their product.

“It’s a good way to sell our calves,” Marton says, “But today, we pay to sell our calves. It’s very different from the way it used to be.”

The calves on the operation are preconditioned.

Marton says that they usually see a premium from preconditioning, and the heifers they decide to retain are healthy and perform well in the future, so it’s worth the effort.

Their replacement heifers are send to a feedlot in Wheatland where they are developed and artificially inseminated before returning to the ranch.

Running two species “During the drought years, we cut back our sheep by about 700 head and added a few more cows,” Marton says. “We run about 2,100 ewes and about 470 cows.”

By running both sheep and cattle on the ranch, Marton says they are able

to get more animal unit months out of the ranch.

“Cattle and sheep graze differently, so we’re able to get more animal units by running both, rather than just cattle or just sheep,” he comments. “The only problem is that running both is more labor intensive.

If we’re not doing something with one, we’re doing it with the other.”

Family Marton and his son John operate the ranch with the help of a hired man. Randy’s wife Vernita works in Alcova, overseeing the rural schools in Natrona County, and John’s wife Brie is a nurse in Casper.

“It seems like today, we almost have to have a wife that works outside the ranch,” Marton says, citing insurance costs as being most challenging.

Marton also has two daughters who live off the ranch.

“I have a daughter in Buffalo who teaches nursing in Sheridan College, and my other daughter is in Salt Lake, Utah going to school,” he says.

Working towards the future Marton Ranch takes pride in being a progressive operation that captures value and growth to improve the ranch.

“We’re not reactionary,” Marton says. “We stay on top of what needs to be

done and try to be progressive with our cowherd and our sheep flock.”

As they look to the future, Marton notes that their ranch is currently for sale because his brother decided to retire.

“I can’t afford to buy my brother out. The ranch is too big, so we’ve put this place up for sale,” Marton

“Cattle and sheep graze differently, so we’re able to get more animal units by running both, rather than just cattle or just sheep.”

– Randy Marton comments. “If we sell it, John and I will buy another ranch. We’re going to continue ranching, though.

This is what I love, and I wouldn’t do anything differ-

ent.”

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

Cattle - Along with their sheep, Randy Marton and his son John raise Black Angus-based cattle. The family ranch added cattle to their sheep operation in the 1950s. Saige Albert photo

G BAR H GENETICS ANGUS BULL SALE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

Torrington Livestock Market • Torrington, Wyoming • 1 p.m. (MST)

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BILL & DANA HAAS 307-837-2925

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Continuing to learn Barry and Kristen Crago learn daily from their diversified ranching operation When Barry and Kristen Crago look out across the expanse of their Wyoming ranch, they recognize the important part history has played in developing the ranch.

Their work involves not only preserving that history for their two young daughters but also sharing it with guests who visit the cow/ calf operation and guest ranch.

Looking back Kristen’s parents, Gene and Sammye Vieh, purchased the ranch, which is located at the southern end of the Big Horn Mountains, from George and Betty Taylor in 1995.

The ranch had belonged to the Taylor family since it was homesteaded by George’s uncle, Kenneth McDonald. McDonald actually homesteaded where the Cragos make their home today.

Taylor bought and inherited the ranch and operated it for many years before selling it to Vieh.

Barry and Kristen met in law school and had planned to make full-time careers of practicing law.

“Our original plan was to help Gene and Sammye run the ranch for a few years and then return to the practice of law. We wanted to know how things worked in

case we were needed to take over running the ranch,” Crago explains. “Unfortunately, Gene passed away, so now Kristen and I do the day-to-day operations with the help of a ranch manager,” he says.

Cattle operation The cow/calf operation is commercial, mostly consisting of black and black baldy cattle, which are bred to Hereford and black bulls to take advantage of hybrid vigor.

The ranch has no hay ground, so the cattle graze year-around with some cake supplemented during the winter months.

“Our goal is to be a low-

cost operator, so we try to put as little into the cow as we can,” he explains. “But, if the grass snows under, we have to supplement hay during the winter.”

“We want these cows to have the ability to live on their own,” Crago continues. “I think nature sorts them out for us.”

“We look at the calves they produce and the cow’s body condition and select cows that do their best here.

We want the cows that take the best care of their calves.

It is important to look at the overall picture,” he says. “It is tough country here, so the cows pretty much cull themselves. By the time they are 10, they usually start falling off in condition or are open.”

Developing the cows Depending upon the year, Crago says they may develop some replacement heifers at the ranch, or if the grass is short, they take them to a friend who backgrounds them through the winter.

The cows have a smaller frame and a mature weight of 1,150 to 1,200 pounds.

This size range seems to work pretty well in their area, he says.

“The cows have to do a lot of walking and be good

converters. We live in an area with high desert terrain, with red dirt valleys to rocky slopes heading up the mountains. We also have a lot of live water, which has been a big benefit for the operation,” he explains.

The ranch has also has a variety of grasses and some sub-irrigated areas along the creeks.

Crago has made some improvements by adding water pipeline to areas where the cows don’t travel to graze as often.

“It helps keep the cows spread out and allows for better grass utilization,” he says. “It has helped us better utilize our resources and provide better habitat for deer and wildlife.”

Adjusting to the environment Since the weather can be harsh at the ranch, the Cragos choose to calve in mid-April for 45 days. They select cattle for calving ease.

“We don’t buy huge birthweight bulls. Instead, we try to buy moderate to low birthweights,” he says.

“Since we rarely see a calf born, the cows calve in a protected area with lots of deep canyons and draws, so they can find a place to get out of the weather,” he says.

Guest operations The ranch is rich in history.

Although it is operated primarily as a cow/calf operation, there is also a guest ranch where visitors can ride and take part in the day-to-day ranch activities. The most popular attraction is the Hole in the Wall, which Crago says is the biggest draw to the ranch.

“People want to come here and see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’s hideout,” he says.

The guest ranch is open from June 1 to the end of September. Guests can ride horseback to see the Hole in the Wall, as well as old cabin sites and lots of local history that is hard to find in books, Crago explains.

Guests also are welcome to take part in daily ranch activities, which may include moving cattle or even participating in branding activities.

“I think it makes us unique where we can combine two things for our guests to do while they are here,” Crago says.

They also have an outfitters license, and hunters come during the last two weeks of October to hunt deer and antelope.

Noland Feed

“We do calve the heifers out in the corral and barn.”

By using this calving method, sickness and scour issues are kept to a minimum, he notes.

Although the calves average 80 pounds at birth and are born later in the spring, Crago says they still wean 400 to 500 pound calves in the fall.

For more than 20 years, Crago says they have sold their calves through Superior Video Auction.

“I like to sell them by video because it is easy, convenient and simple. They have a good market, and we have had the same field representative for a long time.

He does an excellent job promoting our cattle. A lot of times, the same group of people purchases our calves year after year. We like that,” he says.

Love for the life Despite having law degrees and a weekly commute to the ranch on weekends, Crago says his family loves ranch life.

“Our law degrees are more of an insurance policy, but we both practice law during the week,” he explains.

“We plan to keep doing what we’re doing. Longevity is the idea, although it may be a lofty one in today’s world.

It is a lot harder to keep people in agriculture these days.”

The Cragos are doing their part to keep their two young daughters interested and educated about the importance of agriculture.

Lily, 12, and Caroline, 10, are both very involved in 4-H. They both show horses and sheep, and Lily shows cattle.

Both girls are also both heavily involved in the Johnson County Rodeo Royalty program.

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

268 Industrial Ave • Casper, WY 237-8926 • 1-800-337-8926 Open 8-5:00 M-F • 8-12 Sat. • Closed Sundays and Holidays www.smartlic.com

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2016 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Feeding and farming Furnivals build farm, custom feeding operation

Jason and Kim Furnival were married in 2000, and they’ve since purchased land and pursued their dreams farming and custom feeding cattle.

But despite their backgrounds in the ag industry, Jason and Kim had a long journey to get to where they are today.

Ag history “I was raised about 10 miles south of our current place,” says Kim. “My parents, Jim and Peggy Price, raised me on the ranch and in the feedlot. My grandfather built the feedlot when I was in junior high school.”

Kim says that she worked in the feedlot throughout high school, and came back to the ranch after she graduated in 1991.

Jason was raised north of Casper in Glenrock, Powder River and Kaycee.

“My dad worked for Van Irvine,” he explains. “I was born in Glenrock, and we lived in Powder River for a few years. When Irvine

folded up, we moved to Kaycee, and dad managed a ranch for Dick Wheeler up there.”

After Jason graduated high school, he went to the oilfield and worked for L&L Oilfield Service in Riverton.

“Kim and I met in 1997, and that’s when we started dating,” Jason says. “We got married in 2000, and I went to work for Mobile Concrete.”

Jason worked for Mobile Concrete for 13 years before the couple decided they wanted to get back into the ag business.

“I’d been around agriculture and livestock since I was born,” he says, “and we wanted to start in the ag industry and raise our family here.”

At the same time, Sherman and Jane Drake were working on selling their place.

“We made an offer on the place in the winter of 2013, and we moved here in April of 2014,” Jason says.

“We finally got back into the ag business.”

The operation today The Furnivals put up alfalfa hay in the summer while also contract to feeding calves in the winter and fall.

“We contract feed calves for our neighbor Bob Cheney and for Peter Wold from the Hole in the Wall Ranch in Kaycee,” Jason says. “We also feed some cattle for our local roping club.”

They utilize the hay produced on the ranch to feed calves throughout the winter.

“After we get through the winter, we start all over again,” Jason comments.

Farming The alfalfa produced by the Furnival family is irrigated by pivots and irrigation pipe.

“We’ve put in a couple new pivots using cost-share programs with the Natural Resources Conservation Service,” Kim says, noting that the pivots help to avoid

over-irrigating and drowning the alfalfa plants.

“The way our drainage is, we were drowning parts of another field, so it was ruining part of our crop,” Jason says. “The pivots have helped improve our efficiency and productions.

At the same time, utilizing pivots has helped the Furnivals to maintain their ditches.

“The ground here is so sandy that if we got too much water, the ditches would blow out,” Kim explains.

“Pivots have improved our efficiency.”

The Furnivals are blessed with good water rights, saying they are at the end of the creek, and they also have the second water right.

“We’ve got great water,” Jason says.

They are able to get three cuttings of alfalfa from their fields, and if the weather is still nice after their third cutting, they continue watering fields to build up soil moisture and get some alfalfa regrowth for the cattle to graze in the fall.

A year in the life Each year, the Furnivals start in March, calving the heifers on the ranch.

“We roll right into branding after that,” Jason says. “There’s a lot of helping each other around this area, so we go help the neighbors all brand. They help us, too.”

At the beginning of

“We just keep praying and working hard.”

– Jason Furnival April, they start farming by filling in wheel tracks and preparing the fields for the year.

“We hope to start irrigating by May 10, and we have our first cutting by about June 20,” he adds.

Kim notes, “We get about one cutting every 30 days, so we cut hay at the end of July and again at the end of August or beginning of September.”

In the fall, they begin shipping cattle, before starting the cycle all over again.

Aiming high As they look toward the future, the Furnivals will continue farming and feeding, and at the beginning of January 2017, they also purchased their first cows.

“Our long-term goal is to have our own cows,” Jason says. “We’re going to start with 50 head and build our herd from there.”

They hope to build the herd to 100 cows to start.

Jason comments, “We’ll ship our own cows for the first time this year. It’s pretty exciting.”

“We’re also going to keep custom feeding,” Jason adds. “We’ve got some great customers that we feed for now, and we’re hoping to continue working with them.”

The joy of ag Jason and Kim both note

that they are pleased to be back in agriculture.

“We came back because we wanted to raise our girls in agriculture,” Jason says, noting that they their daughters are Hadley, 13, and Alex, 6. “I was in the oilfield for four years and running heavy equipment at Mobile Concrete for 13.

If I’d known how much I would enjoy running my own place, I wouldn’t have made it that long. I’ve truly enjoyed the last four years.”

Kim mentions that the people in the ag industry also make their life better.

“Ag people are so grounded with where everything comes from, which is important,” Kim says. “We can’t do anything without agriculture, and we think it’s important for our girls to know that.”

The future is always uncertain, says Jason, but they keep a strong faith and keep working hard to ensure their success.

“We have to have faith, and our faith has gotten stronger in the last four years,” Jason says.

“We just keep praying and working hard.”

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

Spotlight on Genetics Wyoming Beef Cattle Improvement Association Bull Test Custom feeding - Jason and Kim Furnival currently custom feed cattle during the winter months, but in 2017, they have started to purchase their own herd of cattle, as well. Saige Albert photo

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A16

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

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Rich in agriculture Agriculture remains strong in Natrona County

Natrona County is often thought of as an energy area, but agriculture provides a big piece of the economy in the county, particularly during years when prices for oil and gas are low.

According to 2015 Wyoming Agricultural Statistics, the most recently released numbers, the county ranked 12th in the state in cattle production, fourth in sheep production and 13th for alfalfa and other hay.

Ranking 18th among counties in the state for value of agricultural products sold, Natrona County is home to 397 farms that produce cattle, sheep, alfalfa and more.

Livestock production Cattle production across Natrona County has remained around the 50,0000-head mark for the last three years, hitting 51,000 head of all cattle and calves in 2015. For the last three years, the number of reported beef cows and calves sat steady at 39,000. Beef cattle numbers in Natrona County have consistently ranged from 38,000 to 39,500 since 2008.

Sheep numbers hit 28,000 for the year, which have continued a steady decline since 2008, when numbers hit 41,000 sheep.

Hay production For farming in the area, most growers produce alfalfa or other hay.

In 2013, the county produced 38,900 tons of alfalfa hay, harvesting 13,500 acres that yielded 2.9 tons per acre.

In 2014, the county harvested 41,000 tons on only 13,000 acres, seeing higher yields of 3.15 tons per acre.

Other hay production in 2013 hit 10,000 tons produced from 9,000 acres yielding 1.1 tons per acre. In 2014, production increased, with 7,500 acres producing 2.45 tons per acre, for a total yield of 18,500 acres.

Casper’s annual precipitation in 2014 was 12.31 inches, which was a drop of 0.72 inches from normal.

Agriculture rankings Though agriculture ranks in the least common industries in the county, according to Census Bureau data, the industry vastly influences the nature of the area by preserving the open space and heritage of the community.

However, when it comes to education, the top three ranked majors for the county, representing the highest relative number of people, were majored in general agriculture management, agriculture communications and journalism, or general agriculture, showing the strength of the ag program at Casper College.

“There’s been a lot of talk about agri-business in the community recently from an economic standpoint and also from education point at University of Wyoming – Casper College,” says Gilda Lara, executive director of the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce. “It is very important for Casper and for our small businesses to keep the ag industry moving forward.”

She continues, “There are a lot of benefits for the community from agriculture.

Farmers and ranchers purchase equipment, cars and more from local businesses,

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and the market value of agricultural products is huge.”

“Agriculture makes a significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Wyoming, and we support the industry to the best of our ability,” Lara concludes.

Producer perspectives Producers across the county agree that Natrona County provides benefits for the ranching industry, and they see a strong future for the industry moving forward.

As a commonly cited concern, many Wyomingites travel through Casper and immediately notice the prevalence of wind in the area.

“We may cuss the wind,” says Tom Walters of Bummer Ranch, “but it can be helpful.”

Keith Forgey, who ranches west of Casper, adds,

“If it snows up and the wind blows, it bares off some ground. It might drive us crazy, but the wind opens up the country, so the cattle and sheep can get something to eat.”

Additionally, some ranchers in the county are able to harness value from public recreation opportunities.

Jim Price of Miles Land and Livestock explains, “Public fishing and hunting always has been a big part of our operation.”

He notes that, while land appraisals jump from the recreation, they saw benefits as they sold and acquired new land.

Randy Marton of Marton Ranch also notes that public hunting and fishing are integral to his ranching operation.

“In ag, we have to do what we can to get as much value from our land as possible,” he comments. “We’ve got 12 miles of the North

Section B

Platte River, so we lease our fishing, and we’ve got an outfitter who hunts on us. It helps out.”

“There’s a lot of challenges out here, too,” adds Haney Stevenson of Pathfinder Ranch, “but ranching is in my blood. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

All data used in the article came from the “2015 Wyoming Agricultural Statistics,” released by the Wyoming office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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

Ag lands – The Natrona County agriculture industry is strong, with cattle herds and sheep flocks spread over the county’s 5,340 square miles. Some farming, primarily in the form of alfalfa production, also occurs. Emilee Gibb photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

100 years of ranching Clear Creek Cattle Company looks to continue tradition

Ranching has been a tradition in the Hendry family for nearly a century, says fourth-generation rancher Jarrod Hendry of the Clear Creek Cattle Company near Lysite.

“We are going to put in for the 100th year of our family ranching in Wyoming this year,” says Hendry. “We’ve been in the same place for a few more years, but we’ve owned the land since 1917.”

Hendry’s great-grandfather immigrated to the United States from Scotland in the early 1900s, where he first began working as a sheepherder for a Wyoming rancher and started growing his own flock.

The family raised sheep for many years before transitioning to cattle, Hendry explains.

“We first started rais-

ing sheep, and then after World War II, we went into cows. They tried to do cows and sheep together for awhile, and it didn’t work, so they just went to straight cows,” comments Hendry.

Lifestyle For Hendry, the ability to work outdoors and with livestock is a rewarding element of the ranching lifestyle.

“I just enjoy it. I like the cows and horses. Trailing cows around is the best thing in the world,” says Hendry. “I enjoy sitting on horseback all day long. I also like to start colts.”

He notes that ranching regularly poses many challenges, but that that it is also a natural profession for him to choose.

“Everyday can be a new challenge. There’s

always something that comes up that’s challenging,” explains Hendry. “I grew up in ranching, and it’s a hard life, but it’s an easy life, too. I just enjoy it.”

Current operation Clear Creek Cattle Company runs approximately 2,500 head of Black Angus cattle in their cow/calf operation.

Hendry explains that

the Angus cows are crossbred with Charolais bulls, and the offspring are all sold.

“We’ll keep a handful of the Charolais crosses that we fatten for beef, but everything else is sold.

We don’t raise any bulls or replacement heifers,” says Hendry. “We buy our bulls and replacement heifers.”

Bred replacement heifers are purchased from Don Burtenshaw of Idaho and will begin calving around the beginning of February.

“They are bred to Black Angus bulls. There’s

“I grew up in ranching, and it’s a hard life, but it’s an easy life, too. I just enjoy it.” – Jarrod Hendry 325 heifers this year. All of our older cows are bred to start calving the first of March,” he explains.

To supplement cattle over winter, Clear Creek produces its own native grass hay and purchases ear corn, cake blocks and lick tubs to feed throughout the winter, says Hendry.

“The haying operation is my brother JW’s deal.

Markets – Clear Creek Cattle Company optimizes calf value through using electronic identification tags and marketing their cattle as all natural. In the past, beef produced by the ranch have gone to markets in Europe and Japan. Courtesy photo

He usually puts up about 2,000 tons of hay a year, but it just varies from year to year,” he continues.

Bull selection Having a strong relationship with the operation Clear Creek purchases bulls from is important, says Hendry.

“We buy our bulls from Lee Eaton of Eaton Charolais in Montana. He’s got good bulls that work well in our country. We call him up and say we need a semi load. He sorts them and sends them,” comments Hendry. “We do almost everything private treaty for our bulls. We don’t go to bull sales and buy one or two. We buy in bulk.”

When selecting bulls, one of the most important traits that Hendry looks for is low birthweight.

“The biggest thing we try to find is low birthweight. Breeding Charolais to the old cows is pretty easy, but breeding Charolais to heifers is hard,” stresses Hendry.

“The heifers we buy are bred to black bulls the first year. When we rebreed them, that’s when the white comes in.”

Marketing Clear Creek Cattle Company markets their Continued on next page

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2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page calves using the video auction through Superior Livestock Auction, explains Hendry.

“The sale that we like to use is the July sale in Steamboat Springs, Colo., but we don’t deliver the calves until October,” says Hendry.

In recent years, Clear Creek has begun using an electronic tagging system, which has helped market their calves in niche markets.

“We started using electronic identification (EID), and we sell them as all-natural,” he continues.

In the last few years, they have sold all-natural calves, and since they’re identified with EID tags, the calves have sold to both Europe and Japan in the past.

Most recently, Clear Creek’s calves have been sold to the Dragging Y Ranch in Dillon, Mont.

“They bought them last year and this year. They fatten them up, and they resell them as yearlings,” explains Hendry.

Selling their calves on the all-natural market still allows producers to vaccinate and treat sick animals if needed, Hendry says.

“We can still vaccinate, and we can still doctor,” he notes.

Involvement Clear Creek Cattle Company is able to run effi-

ciently because of the varied interests that the family has in different aspects of the operation.

“I do a lot with the cows.

My fiancé Katie Keith helps me out with their management,” says Hendry.

JW and his family are also actively involved on the ranch, with his brother having a particular interest in the farming side of the ranch.

“JW and his family are also involved on the ranch.

He helps with feeding, mov-

ing cows and also irrigating and haying,” explains Hendry.

His parents Rob and Leslie continue to help with ranch management, in addition to their active involvement in the Casper community.

“My mom does all the books for the ranch. A few years ago, my dad started a construction company, so he does that, too. He’s also a county commissioner for Natrona County,” continues Hendry.

Future While further expansion of the ranch isn’t a top priority currently,

Hendry explains that it’s important to promote longevity of the ranch in the family.

“I don’t know if we really need to get any bigger. We’re a good size now, and we run enough cows to support the family,” says Hendry.

“The biggest thing is keep it going and keeping the ranch in the family,” he concludes. “A lot of these family ranches get sold off into chunks, and I don’t want that. I want to see it continue on to future generations.”

Emilee Gibb is editor of the Wyoming Live-

stock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net.

Working – Jarrod Hendry (right) and fiancé Katie Keith (left) work together to manage the care of the 2,500 head of cattle on Clear Creek Cattle Company. Courtesy photo

s s o

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Trailing – For Jarrod Hendry of Clear Creek Cattle Company, nothing is more enjoyable than trailing cows at the family’s ranch. Courtesy photo

4648 W. Yellowstone Hwy. • Casper, WY 82604 307-472-1872 Jerry Wyatt and Susan Moss-Wyatt

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Working toward a dream Hard work, good breaks made ranching possible

Steve Garland of the Ring Tail R Cattle Company reflects that he had always to ranch, even as a young child.

“Ranching was a dream of mine since childhood.

I don’t know what it was

exactly that drew me to it, but it’s something I always wanted to do,” says Garland.

Getting started Garland explains that his family began ranching in Wyoming approximately 30

years ago.

“We started ranching in the early 1980s. I’m just the second generation,” says Garland.

When his father retired from his position as a miner

Friends – Will and Jennie Whitlock (far left and center) assist Steve Garland (right) in running the Ring Tail R Ranch. Garland has known Will since the young man was in high school, and the families have become very close friends. Courtesy photo

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in Green River, he purchased a farm in Pavillion to retire on.

“He’d been raised on a farm and wanted to get back to that,” he explains.

After Garland graduated from college in 1984, he began working hard to build the ranch he and his family currently operate in Western Natrona County.

“It’s always been my dream to ranch, and we ultimately made it a reality,” says Garland.

Operation Garland owns a cow/calf operation that runs approximately 1,500 head of Black Angus cattle.

He notes that the ranch utilizes both artificial insemination (AI) and natural service.

“We AI our first calf heifers and pasture breed the rest,” he explains.

The cattle are bred to begin calving around the end of March and the beginning of April.

The calves then go through a preconditioning program and are weaned prior to shipping.

“We wean our calves for 60 days before we ship them.

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Ring Tail R Cattle Company annually markets their calves through Northern Video out of Billings, Mont.

In addition to the cattle, Ring Tail R Ranch produces hay to use for feed through the winter.

“We raise all of our own hay. It is all straight grass hay. We winter on grass hay and cake,” he continues.

Sage grouse management is an important part of range management for Ring Tail R Cattle Company, and Garland notes that the outcome of the sage grouse dramatically impacts the future of ranching.

“I felt that it was important to get involved with the Sage Grouse Initiative and hopefully keep the bird from being listed, which would severely limit our ability to ranch,” explains Garland.

Rewards and challenges According to Garland, freedom and connection to family are some of the greatest rewards of the ranching lifestyle.

“Working for myself and working with our family is the most rewarding part about ranching for me,” he says.

As his ranch operates on a combination of deeded, state and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, public land management regulations dramatically impact Ring Tail R Cattle Company.

“Probably dealing with the government is the most challenging part we have.

We have a lot of public land that we operate on,” continues Garland.

Involvement Smooth operation of the ranch is possible because of the many family members, friends and neighbors who contribute to Ring Tail R Cattle Company, says Garland.

“My parents are in their early 80s. They’re still involved in the ranch and help me out. My mother does all of the books for me, and my dad helps me work cattle and, of course, advises,” he explains.

Garland’s daughters also help with ranching operations to varying degrees.

“My daughter Amanda Jackson and her husband live on the ranch and work full time on the ranch,” Garland says. “My other daughter, Jessica Ortiz, is in her last semester of nursing school in Riverton

right now.”

Moving forward As Garland looks toward the future, he notes that the operation is continually seeking to grow and expand.

“We’re always looking to expand. If we’re not going forward, we’re backing up, is my motto. We’re hoping to grow in numbers and grow in land in the future,” says Garland.

He hopes that the hard work put into developing the ranch will continue in the next generations of Garland’s family, both blood and close friends.

“The goal always is to keep the ranch going and keep our legacy alive,” comments Garland. “I have six grandchildren right now. I also have a young man and his wife who are working for me that I consider to be family. I hope they’ll all be part of it in the future.”

Advice Garland tells young producers getting started in the industry that owning their own operation is an achievable goal with hard work, dedication and knowledgeable resources.

“I would tell young people who are looking to get started in ranching that it’s very possible to do. We have to work hard like any business and have some good breaks. We have to have some good mentors,” says Garland.

Garland notes that he started his ranch from the ground up and did not inherit land or livestock to begin his operation.

“I didn’t inherit anything. We paid for everything with a cow and became quite successful at it,” he continues.

A well-rounded education that includes business knowledge is critical for success, he says.

“It takes a lot of education other than just knowing about a cow. Ranchers have to be businessmen to succeed in this day and age,” notes Garland.

Ultimately, young producers need to be willing to takes risks in order to build up their operation.

“We also have to be willing to take some risks and take some chances. Nothing is guaranteed,” he concludes.

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

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B5

2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Ranching and rodeo Jarrards live full live on ranch north of Casper

Casper rancher Roy Jarrard has one mantra – behind every successful rancher is a good woman.

“There’s always a woman in the background who often doesn’t get the credit she deserves,” Roy explains. “The truth is – and what people may forget – is she has helped put that ranch together and has been there cooking for a crew for those 2 a.m. breakfasts, whether for a docking crew or branding crew. Often, nobody realizes there is a woman in the background taking care of the details.”

Certainly, Kathleen Burke, whose family owned the Burke Sheep Company, knows all about ranching and feeding crews.

She grew up on that ranch, which was founded in 1906 by her Irish grandfather Mickey Burke. They ran 8,500 sheep and 500 mother cows. It was Roy Jarrard who realized the gem he found when he finally courted Kathleen.

“I worked there for about two years, and Kathleen and I were married on July 16, 1966. Kathleen’s father let us run a few cows, and that’s how we got started in the cow business,” notes Roy. Building their dream In 1990, Kathleen’s family was going to sell the ranch, and the couple wanted to keep on with the family tradition and continue to raise their five children, four boys and one girl, on the ranch.

Rodney and Russ Forgey allowed that dream to happen.

“We never could have bought the ranch when it came up for sale. Russ and Rodney Forgey loaned me the money to buy the ranch, and I paid them back in full,” Roy says. “I am proud that someone would trust me

with that much money.”

Indeed, Roy and Kathleen did the Forgeys proud, expanding the ranch from 70,000 acres to the current 120,000, consisting of deeded, BLM and state lands.

Expanding and continuing Once the couple bought the ranch, they continued to run 8,500 sheep. The work never ended, including trailing the animals into the Big Horn Mountains every year.

“We’d take the sheep 90 miles into the mountains in the spring and trail back down in the fall. We did that for 40 years,” Roy remembers. “We’d trail the sheep first, then the cattle. The sheep took about 13 days, and the cows took six. There were six herds of sheep with a herder and camp tender for each herd.”

“Once the sheep were in their pastures, we would return home to trail the cows, mostly with the family,” he continues. “We’d leave around June 18. When we got into the Big Horn Mountains, the green grass would just be getting high enough for the sheep to eat.

We would bring them back down the first week of September. Generally speaking, the weather was pretty nice in June and September.”

Making changes Although the family enjoyed running sheep, Jarrard suffered a heart attack in 2003.

“I had eight bypasses, which necessitated making serious changes on the ranch,” Roy explains.

“I couldn’t go up into the mountains anymore because the air was too thin, so we sold the sheep and started raising more Black Angus cattle.”

He adds, “We calve around the first week of March and will trail some of the cows to leased land, but

Working together - After two years of working for Kathleen’s father at Burke Sheep Company, Roy and Kathleen Jarrard were married.

Kathleen’s father allowed they to run a few cows, and the couple got their start in the business. Courtesy photo

that’s only a half-day trail.

We sell through the Northern Video Sale in the fall.”

The family has developed wells and pipelines, especially since selling the sheep. Roy points out that sheep survive well on snow, but cows don’t, so having the ranch well-watered was essential.

The next generation Roy and Kathleen has sold the farming part of the ranch to his son, and the 73-year-old rancher admits he needs to start transitioning the ranching business to his kids.

“My kids will probably get to take over the operation soon. I haven’t really backed out yet, but I have to because I’m getting too damn old,” he chuckles.

The one aspect of “slowing down” on ranch work Roy doesn’t mind is having more time to rodeo, a favorite sport he admits to taking a

break from for 30 years.

Rodeo on the side Roy was on the championship team at Casper College in 1964 and was the West Coast All Around Champion in 1966 while attending Cal-Poly/San Luis Obispo.

“I did everything from saddle bronc riding to team roping. I’ve won about 30 or 40 saddles,” he says proudly.

“When I got out of college, I quit rodeoing for 30 years while I put this ranch together. Now, I’ve got an indoor arena where we can practice roping.”

“I have some really good horses, and I’ve sold some for quite a bit of money,” Jarrard adds. “We use our rodeo horses for ranch work, since the ranch work comes first.”

He admits government overregulation and finding employees makes ranching challenging, not to mention being dependent on Mother Nature and livestock markets. However, the Jarrards, like many ranchers, have endured because of the lifestyle.

“We’re in this because we love it.” – Roy Jarrard Kathleen notes, “We are people of faith, and this is a blessed and unique way of life that keeps us connected to the Creator in every part of our existence.”

“We’re in this because we love it,” Roy says.

“There’s not a lot of money,

and we starve a little more every year. If one doesn’t like doing it, they won’t last.

We’ve got to love the life.”

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

Rodeo history - Roy Jarrard was once a champion saddle bronc rider in the 1960s, and he’s enjoyed the opportunity in his past few years to practice roping. Courtesy photo

B6

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Deep roots in sheep and cattle

Nicolaysen continues family ranching traditions east of Casper “I don’t spend nearly enough time on horseback,” says Kem Nicolaysen of Casper, “but it’s hard to imagine my greatgrandfather P.C. Nicolaysen building this cattle and sheep ranch around 1900

with nothing but horse power.”

P.C. emigrated from Denmark around 1880. He ran sheep and cattle outside of Casper as early as 1889. He also owned a lumber company and was

involved with other businesses in Casper.

His sheep ranged on Cole Creek northeast of Casper, and he consolidated his smaller livestock enterprises into Cole Creek Sheep Company in 1909.

Raising cattle - The Nicolaysen family got their start in ranching raising sheep and cattle in the Casper area as early as 1889. They run Black Angus cattle and some black baldies. Courtesy photo

Cattle, sheep and farming “My ancestors recognized this as good sheep country. I have heard that P.C. ran as many as 10,000 sheep, but I can’t confirm it,” Nicolaysen comments. “Most of the ranch, Cole Creek, is northeast of Casper, on the NatronaConverse county line.”

The Nicolaysen side of the family has run cattle since the early 1900s. Partially because of the predators, including coyotes and golden eagles, the family moved more to cattle in the 1990s, but they still have around 1,000 sheep today.

“A farm west of Glenrock has enabled us to build a hay base. We have a steadily progressive farming operation,” Nicolaysen explains. “The Eight Mile Ranch on Hat Six Road has been crucial since the 1880s. Now, we keep our heifers and bulls there.

We don’t have a mountain lease, so these pastures help us rotate livestock with the seasons.”

Depending on the time of the year and the rotation, the cattle and sheep can be in the same pasture, following right after each other.

He says, “We winter them together for easier management. In the summer, we move the cows farther out north, as they handle the predators better than sheep do.”

Starting a family Nicolaysen worked on the ranch during the summers while he was growing up.

He says, “Our parents were supportive of my brother, sister and me going out in the world and finding our own talents, while knowing that we could come back to the ranch.”

Nicolaysen and his wife Shelly earned Masters of Arts degrees, then, “At a certain point it made sense for us to move back

and live and work on the ranch,” he says.

Not long after that, Shelly started her Cole Creek Wool business. She sold her Rambouillet and Rambouillet/Merino cross wool as yarn, roving and raw fleeces.

She says, “I’ve changed my focus from the wool for now, as we have two daughters, Gwen, who’s five-anda-half, and Jane, 3, and a son, Soren, 20 months. We are happy to be able to raise our family here.”

Running the ranch Nicolaysen has been running the ranch for several years. His dad, Jon Nicolaysen, is retired from ranching, but he still advises and contributes.

Brother Peter is an attorney in Casper. He spends as much time as he can helping the ranch busiContinued on next page

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The next generation - Kem Nicolaysen says that he and his wife Shelly have focused on raising their daughters Gwen and Jane and son Soren, the next generation of the ranch. Courtesy photo

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B7

2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page ness.

Sister Kirsten is a college professor, teaching geology in Washington State. She credits Wyoming’s open skies with her love for science and the out-of-doors.

The ranch relies on several employees for their experience, knowledge and dependability. They use four-wheelers to cover a lot of ground but still work their livestock on horseback. The cows and sheep, accustomed to horses, are quieter and easier to handle.

Inside the ranch The ranch primarily runs Angus, with some black baldies.

Nicolaysen says, “The Angus are a good fit for this country. With about 40 percent sandhills and 60 percent more clay-based soils, it’s an interesting mix of grasses and soils to work with.”

He continues, “One of my interests and challenges is to learn about the soil and good pasture management. We have a lot of wind erosion and sensitive soils, so it’s a long-term project

that’s important for our sustainability.”

They work with several agencies, such as the Natrona and Converse County Weed and Pest District and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to improve their grazing and farming lands.

“I’ve really enjoyed improving the quality of our cows with good bulls and retaining our own heifers,” Nicolaysen says. “We don’t do a terminal cross because I’m more interested in having good, replacement-quality cows.”

Sheep flock The sheep are mostly Rambouillet-based. Nicolaysen cites their traditional qualities – longevity, flock-ability and their dualpurpose nature, balancing between meat and wool – as the reason for the breed.

He says, “We get goodsized lambs and 18 to 20 micron wools. We’ve always enjoyed a good fine wool. With my dad’s help, we began improving the fleece by bringing in small amounts of Merino with their finer wool. That cer-

Rich history Cole Creek Sheep Company is a designated Wyoming Centennial ranch. Many of the oldest buildings were rebuilt in the 1940s and 50s. The shearing barn from the 1920s and 30s has a lot of interesting inscriptions written by shearers over the years.

Several of the houses are pre-1900s. Kem Nicolaysen and his wife Shelly first lived in one built in the early 1900s and “remodeled” in the 1950s.

Nicolaysen recalls, “It was historic and unique, but modern conveniences can be really nice.”

Nicolaysen’s roots are deep in Natrona County and Wyoming. Great-great-grandfather B.B. Brooks ran cattle and some sheep in the early 1900s and served as Wyoming governor from 1905-11.

Evansville is named for Nicolaysen’s great-great-grandfather W.T. Evans.

“My ancestors got here early and worked hard,” he says.

tainly helps us.”

“We buy half of our rams and raise half. We make really good range rams but mostly for our own use,” Nicolaysen explains.

“Selling a few replacement rams helps me bring in some Merino genetics and helps us pay attention to what we’re raising ourselves.”

Diversified business Cole Creek Outfitters adds another layer of diversity to the business. The land that is so good for cattle and sheep also supports healthy numbers of antelope, mule deer and elk, popular with both archery and rifle hunters.

Nicolaysen is active in the Natrona County Historical Society. He belongs to the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, Wyoming Wool Growers Association and the Society for Range Management. He is also an alumnus of class 11 of the Wyoming L.E.A.D. program.

Nicolaysen is the cur-

rent chair of the Natrona/ Converse County Committee for the USDA Farm Service Agency. There, he deals with different issues for livestock producers, such as drought assistance and livestock indemnity protection.

He says, “We need to know what’s going on, so when we review applications we can help people get help when they need it.”

Family ranch “I like being on the family place,” Nicolaysen says.

“Every time I go out, I think of the stories I grew up with and will try to pass on.”

He continues, “My grandfather and great-grandfather named the pastures and hills as they rode and worked here.

I envision my grandmother growing her garden and planting all the trees around the ranch house.”

“I hope I have some of her foresight to make a difference for coming generations,” Nicolaysen comments.

“Every day on the ranch, I have a real sense of connection from the past and to the

“Every day on the ranch, I have a real sense of connection from the past and to the future.”

– Kem Nicolaysen future.”

Virginia Wakefield is a correspondent for Wyoming

Livestock Roundup and can be reached at roundup@wylr. net.

Family focus - Since the beginning, Kem Nicolaysen says he enjoys being on the family ranch, where he feels the roots of his family. He is raising his family with the same appreciation for the family and his history. Courtesy photo

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B8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Sheep and cattle

Forgeys maintain sheep, cattle herds to utilize the range “We’re one of the few ranches in the state left with both sheep and cattle,” says Keith Forgey, who is the third generation on his family operation.

Keith and his wife Brandi run Black Angus cattle and Rambouillet sheep west of Casper, and they strive for continued improvement.

“My granddad Russell came to Wyoming in 1946,” he explains. “He had a small place in South Dakota when he moved to Wyoming.”

Start in construction Russell started in ranching and construction when he moved to Casper, purchasing their first Caterpillar in 1946 and starting a construction business with his brother Joe. “They leveled the fairgrounds and paid for the Cat with just two guys,” Keith says. “Then they started buying some land west and north of Casper

through the early 50s.”

In the mid-1960s, Joe and Russell split the operation, with Joe taking the west ranch and Russell taking the north side.

“We’ve always been in the construction industry, too,” he says, noting that they sold the construction business to focus on the ranch. “We’ve always had the ranch north of town. That’s where our main base was.”

They also bought land and started farming.

“When we sold the construction outfit, my dad, brother and I bought the ranch west of Casper in 1991,” Keith comments.

In 2011, the family split their operation again, and Keith ended up with the ranch west of town, with his brother taking the land north of town and sister acquiring the farm.

Livestock Keith and Brandi’s sheep

flock numbers around 2,200 ewes, and they pair the sheep with 500 Angus cows.

“We’ve got a pretty full plate,” Keith mentions.

“We run Black Angus cattle because they bring the most money, and they’re the best.”

Rambouillet is the breed of choice for the sheep operation because they are good herd sheep that can withstand the range conditions.

“They stay together well on the range, and we can get a little money for the wool,” he continues.

The ranch first started with sheep, and in the 1970s, they purchased the first cattle.

“We used to trail sheep up to the Big Horns, where we had a couple camps,” Keith says. “That was tough, so we run the sheep out year-round west of Casper now.”

Benefits and challenges For the sheep side of the ranch, Keith also notes that

predators are a challenge to deal with.

“Predators are a big reason that people quit the sheep business,” he explains. “It’s going to be tough with funding for predator control decreasing.”

Despite the challenge of running sheep, Keith sees benefits for the operation with multi-species grazing.

“We run the sheep behind the cows,” he says. “There are grasses that the cows like but the sheep won’t eat and vice versa. They work well together.”

“We get more out of our country running both cattle and sheep,” Keith continues, “but it’s definitely a challenge to run sheep.”

In the winter During the winter months, Forgeys feed their two- and three-year-old heifers close to home, just outside of Casper.

The sheep are also fed shell corn on the range every other day.

Keith says, “The bucks go out in December, and they’re taken out toward the end of

“We get more out of our country running both cattle and sheep.” – Keith Forgey January. That’s one of probably only about four times that we work them a year.”

Back at the ranch, they calve starting in the middle of February close to home through barns.

After calving is finished, the cows are hauled out to rangelands with the sheep in mid-April. Those cows that haven’t calved yet do so out on their own on the range.

Summer work When summer comes, the Forgeys rotate their livestock through a series of pastures, checking them regularly to ensure they are adequately watered and fences are fixed.

With the livestock on the range during the summer, Brandi says that they work to improve their land.

“Keith does weed control work with bugs, rather than herbicides,” she says. “He also works with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to put in water projects and drill wells. We also do quite a bit of work with sage grouse, as well.”

“Anything we can do to help, like putting in a few improvements, makes the

ranch better,” Brandi continues. “We try to work on corrals, reservoirs or other things, and when we do that work, we’re not only helping our livestock, we’re also helping the wildlife.”

Ranching together Keith and Brandi run the ranch largely on their own, though Keith says his father Rod still helps on the ranch, even though he’s 79 years old.

Their son Scotty is involved in the ranch, and they occasionally hire high school students to help with work around the operation.

“We try to continually improve out here,” Brandi says. “We buy bulls from really reputable places, and we’re trying to improve our genetics and the quality of our livestock.”

Brandi adds that they continue to focus on meat quality, as well as wool quality.

She comments, “We think about producing to meet the needs of the people we sell to.”

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

Utilizing technology The Forgeys do the majority of their ranch work on motorcycles, with the help of Border collies.

“We can just hop on a motorcycle with a dog and a pair of binoculars and do a lot of damage, as far as getting work done,” Keith Forgey comments.

His wife Brandi adds, “The dogs always want to work, and they’re always excited to be out.”

She continues, “Every ranch does something different.”

“Whatever works on each operation is great,” Keith says, “and this is what works for us. It works well, and we’ll keep on plugging along, just working to get better all the time.”

They have also utilized improvements in technology to streamline the operation.

“We have cameras in our calving barns, and we’ve worked to set up our facilities, so it works well for the two of us, since it’s pretty much just us on the ranch,” Brandi says.

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B9

2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack Store provides wide selection for horsemen, keeps small town atmosphere With the slogan “The Little Store with More,” Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack provides goods varying from horse tack to jewelry, while maintaining a personal feel when working with their customers.

The store is owned

by Jerry and Susan MossWyatt and is operated with the assistance of a few parttime employees.

“We’re pretty content with the size of our store and the personal connection that we have with our customers,” says Susan. “It has the little country store setting, and that’s what we like.”

Family affair Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack was started by Susan’s parents in 1964 in Riverton, says Susan.

“They started it as a secondhand store. They did that because my dad had started a used car lot, and he needed a notary,” she explains. “My mom was a notary, and she started the store, so she would be available to notarize the titles for the vehicles.”

The store eventually began selling new tack and then boots to keep business strong through the winter months.

“They eventually made the car lot a horse trailer and trailer part sales area,” continues Susan.

As a small child through adulthood, Susan was active in helping her parents operate the store.

Beginnings “I just always liked growing up in this type of business and in this store,” says Susan.

After attending college and earning a degree in business education, her parents encouraged Susan to take over ownership of the store.

“My folks had people come from all over the United States to look at it, and finally my dad said, ‘What are you going to do?’ I said, ‘I guess I’ll go manage one for somebody,’ and he said, ‘Then you should manage your

own store instead of working for someone,’” recalls Susan.

Susan moved the store to Casper in 2001 after she began dating Jerry.

“We dated for three years, and we were wearing out two pickups. So, we got married, and she moved the store down here,” says Jerry.

Before retiring and working alongside Susan in the store, Jerry worked as a firefighter in the city of Casper for 26 years.

Products Traditionally, Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack’s inventory has consisted predominantly of the items in their name. As the years have gone on, the store has begun offering other items such as jewelry, clothing and accessories.

“We sell about 30 percent each of saddles, boots and tack. We also sell about 10 percent now of jewelry,

socks, gloves, belts, purses, some horse care products and some outerwear, like coats and concealed carry vests,” says Jerry.

Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack carries Martin, McCall, Circle Y and Circle G, Billy Cook, Rico, Courts, Cactus and Reinsman saddles, as well as used saddles.

Boot companies the store works with include Twisted X, Hondo, Boulet, Justin, Kenetrek and Bogs.

They carry products from hatmakers including Resistol and American.

The store has expanded to carry jewelry and other accessories such as Montana Silversmith, Wyohorse, American West and Bandana.

Satisfaction With years of experience roping and riding under their belts, being a resource for their customers and fulfilling their

Experience – Aside from providing quality goods, storeowners Jerry and Susan Moss-Wyatt serve as resources for their customers, having many years of experience roping and riding. Courtesy photo

Private Pesticide Applicators The Natrona County Weed and Pest, in partnership with the University of Wyoming Ag Extension, will be offering

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February 6, 2017

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needs as best as possible is a top priority for Moss Saddles Boot and Tack.

“Our main goal with our business is to try to satisfy the needs of the customer,” say Jerry.

In the event that the store doesn’t have the items a customer is looking for, they are able to special order many items, and the couple works with several saddle and boot companies on custom orders.

“If we don’t have it, we’ll try to get it in. A couple of our saddle companies allows us to do custom orders, and we can do some custom orders with one of our boot companies,” Susan comments.

Customers The most rewarding part of their business is the customers Jerry and Susan work with at Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack, says Jerry.

In this business, we deal with a lot of good, country people. We usually have really good customers that are good folks,” he continues.

As the store continues to grow in popularity throughout Casper, Susan explains that the couple enjoys expanding out to a larger customer base.

“We have a lot of good customers, and we get new customers all the time.

They’re starting to figure out that we’re more than a horse stuff store. It’s kind

of cool. This past Christmas, we had a lot of the Mills people who hadn’t been in come and do their Christmas shopping, and then they were telling other Mills people,” Susan says.

Ultimately, Jerry and Susan are thankful for their long-term customers that continually support their

business.

“We really do have the best customers. They’re really dedicated customers that we really appreciate,” concludes Susan.

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

Custom – Customers can special order many items from Moss Saddles, Boots and Tack, with the option to purchase custom saddles from several saddle makers. Emilee Gibb photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Adapting to the times 7L Livestock looks toward future, reflects on past

The Cooper family came to Wyoming from Scotland in 1867, and they got their start working in coalmines and on railroads in Rock Springs.

They later moved to Converse County, working for a gentleman who started a coalmine outside of Glenrock. When the man was unable to pay the Coopers in cash for their work, they received cattle instead, which started the family’s ranching tradition.

“They had a pretty small outfit, and it was tough to make it work, but they kept going along until 1899 when they sold the cattle and my grandfather went into the sheep business,” says Doug Cooper, who runs the family ranch today.

Sheep and cattle In 1899 Doug’s

grandfather Tom Cooper and Percy Schallenberger went into partnership, purchasing a herd of sheep that had been trailed from Oregon. They both took homesteads in Natrona County, and Tom’s wife Sue was a schoolteacher and lived at their home in Casper.

Ten years later, Tom and Percy divided their partnership.

“They did not run cattle again until about 1943, when Percy Cooper, Doug’s father, bought Angus cattle from the Milne family,” Cooper says, noting that his mother Trula also contributed a great deal to the ranch. “Up until I was in college, if the cattle were black, they belonged to our family, and if they were red and white, they belonged to our neigh-

bors.”

As time passed, the family continued raising both cattle and sheep, until 2003 when drought hit Wyoming.

“We had the choice to sell sheep and know that the cattle would make it, or we could sell cattle and hope the predators didn’t eat our sheep,” Cooper says. “We were losing a lot of sheep to coyotes.”

Predators drove the family out of the sheep business, but Cooper has stayed in the ranching business today, operating as 7L Livestock Company.

“I’m the youngest of six kids,” he explains.

“My brother and my oldest sister have stock on the ranch, but everyone else is no longer involved.”

Their cow/calf operation is run by Cooper and his son Stuart.

Changes through time “It’s interesting how things have evolved and changed,” Cooper comments. “We used to do things on a large scale.

Now, we do a lot of things piece-meal. We see what the two of us can get done every day.”

Cooper also notes that every ranch has its own assets, but he feels fortunate that their ranch is contiguous.

“Basically, we spend the spring and summer in Converse County and the fall and winter in Natrona County, but we don’t have to trail at all,” he says.

“We only have to cross one neighbor for about a mile for the rotation to work.”

He also has a balanced amount of summer and winter country, which works well for their operation.

“We don’t have any farming,” Cooper says, “so we buy all of our hay.

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out here because we don’t have the water, and we don’t have enough help.”

In April, they begin calving on the range, and Cooper says, “We concentrate on low birthweight bulls since we calve in an area the size of a township. In the sandhill country, we just can’t find the cows. They have to be able to calve on their

own.”

After the calves are up and moving, Cooper says they begin moving cattle to bigger pastures.

“We brand a bunch at a time and move them,” he comments. “We have a set of corrals that we built where three pastures join together. We can process and sort the cows through Continued on next page

Colorful history “My great-great-grandmother Margaret Cooper Hunter was the first to come to Wyoming,” says Doug Cooper, who owns the family ranch today.

Cooper notes that Margaret’s husband died before she made the journey to Wyoming, and she later re-married a man named Alexander Hunter.

“Hunter had joined the Mormon Church, so they were on the way to Utah. A lot of Mormons worked on the Transcontinental Railroad at that time,” he says.

They were helping to build the railroad when gold was discovered at 1867.

“They ended up running the stage station on the Overland Trail at Black Butte, near Rock Springs,” Cooper says. “After Hunter died, she brought over my great-grandparents and great-uncle.”

In 1874, they moved back to Rock Springs, living there until the Chinese Massacre occurred.

“After the Chinese Massacre, all the miners who worked there were black-balled, so they left the area and ended up on Laramie Peak cutting ties for the railroad coming up the Platte River,” Cooper explains. “They ran into a guy, by chance, who was going to open a coalmine at Glenrock and Inez, so they went to work for him and moved to this area.”

Later, the man began to have financial troubles, so he paid the Cooper family in cattle, which started the ranching traditions for the family.

“My great-grandfather Alexander Cooper took a homestead in 1887 on the North Platte River, right across from what is now the Dave Johnson Power Plant,” Cooper says. “The story is, they didn’t have a bull, so they went out and found one of the VR’s bulls and put it with their cows.

They ran them on the north side of the Platte River.”

He continues, “The cows eventually drifted into the country that we’re in today. My grandfather got to know the country, and he liked it. That’s where we’ve been ever since.”

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2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page there, and it works for us.”

For many years, the Coopers have marketed their cattle from the ranch, and recently they’ve begun using video auctions.

Ranching challenges Cooper marvels at the numerous land transactions that have occurred to put together the ranch, saying, “The place we run on now is probably 50 or 60 homesteads. It’s interesting to see how it all comes together.”

“It took us over 80 years just to buy all the inholdings that we have leased,” Cooper says. “After they were homesteaded, we leased

these scattered parcels within the ranch. We finally bought the last one, which had been leased since World War I a few years ago.”

He continues, “The most fascinating thing about ranches, for me, are the stories behind the land deals. There are so many ins and outs and things that happened” He also notes that, through the years, mineral development has been a challenge, between dealing with people on the ranch and navigating the legal issues around pipelines and development.

“In a lot of ways,

though, there’s been benefits to the mineral development,” he comments. “They’ve done a lot to help us out.”

For example, Cooper says that in the Blizzard of 1949, an oil company volunteered to hauled hay to the ranch .

“We encourage the oil operators to work with us and tell us if there’s a problem, if they do we cut them some slack,” he comments. “It’s nice to work with those folks.”

The future of the ranch As he looks into the future, Cooper says, “Neither my son or daughter have married, and there are so many changes in the industry

Early days - The early days of 7L Livestock meant shipping their sheep to Omaha, Neb. Their range operation fed about 30,000 sheep. Courtesy photo

that it’s hard to anticipate what’s going to happen.”

He continues, “I see a lot of technological improvements in the future, and I’m pretty concerned about the value and pricing situation for livestock.”

As Cooper looks at the future of agriculture, he also notes that the

“There are so many changes in the industry that it’s hard to anticipate what’s going to happen.” – Doug Cooper structure of the industry is changing all the time, citing sustainability as an example.

“All of this sustainability talk seems to be creating unsustainability

in itself,” he comments.

“We never know what’s coming next.”

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

Sheep origins - The Cooper family started raising cattle, then added sheep to the operation until 2003, when they eliminated the sheep from the ranch. This early sheep camp sits on Bobcat Creek in the early years of the ranch. Courtesy photo

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B12

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Ranching and serving Wyoming

Walters sees ag as good counterpart to legislature

Since his childhood, agriculture has been a part of Tom Walters’ life, and though he wasn’t raised on a ranch, he spent a good part of his life helping his uncle in Arvada.

“My parents are both from Wyoming,” Walters says. “My mother is from Arvada, and her brother ranches up there. When I was six or seven, I started living up there in the summer, helping out on the ranch.”

Walters says his passion for agriculture continued to grow as he was engaged on their ranch.

Bummer Ranch Bruce Bummer moved to Casper in 1967 from Crosby, N.D. and began working as an engineer for Amoco.

“Bruce was raised on a wheat farm in Crosby,” says Walters. “He moved to Casper in 1967, working as an engineer for Amoco.

He always enjoyed agriculture, and since there’s not much wheat farming in Casper, he began ranching.”

“Here in Casper, my father and Bruce Bummer are partners in other businesses,” he explains.

“When Bruce bought this ranch in 1986, he needed help in the summer. I could stay in Casper, play soccer and be involved in other activities but still enjoy the ranch.”

Later, after graduating from the University of Wyoming with a degree in animal science and ag business, Walters returned to Bummer Ranch as ranch manager.

“This is what I’ve done ever since,” Walters says.

“I enjoy this life.”

Bummer is actively engaged in the ranch today, and while Walters makes many of the day-to-day decisions, the pair works closely together regarding the activities of the ranch.

“I’m in constant contact with Bruce regarding what’s going on around the ranch,” Walters says.

Ranching operation In the 1980s, the ranch started putting up small square bales of alfalfa to sell to the horse industry.

They began selling more hay to cattle producers and then decided to start raising some cattle on the operation.

“In 1992, we bought our first summer pastures on Muddy Mountain,” Walters says. “Then we bought more summer pasture in 1998 and again in 1999.”

They also began purchasing cows in 1992, purchasing a few more each year until 1998.

“1998 was the last year we bought any cows,” he says. “Since then, we have

raised our own cattle to build the herd.”

They raise commercial Black Angus cattle, using registered Angus bulls to breed their cows.

“The heifer calves we retain are run in Wheatland in a feedlot over the winter,” Walters says. “We wean them down there and artificially inseminate the heifers. They stay down there until the first of June, until they come back and spend the summer here.”

Each year, the ranch begins calving heifers in the middle of February, and the cows begin calving in mid-March.

Farming operation “We also start doing a little bit of farming around the first of April,” Walters explains. “We raise alfalfa hay, and we’ll also plant about 50 acres of barley hay.”

Walters explains that every 10 years, they take the alfalfa out and plant barley hay for two years before replanting the land in alfalfa.

“We rotate the alfalfa out of those fields for two years because they just don’t produce enough after about 10 years,” he comments. “We used to raise oat hay, but then we discovered, for the same seed cost, we can plant barley hay and get a higher protein content. The cows also like it a heck of a lot better than the oat hay.”

The first year, they raise straight barley and the second year, the barley is used as a cover crop for the new crop of alfalfa.

They irrigate their fields with pivots from mid-May until October.

In the spring, they also begin branding, later moving cows to summer pasture in late May. “The cows are on their own for the summer,” Walters says. “We ride through them and keep an eye on them, but they stay on summer pastures until about the first of October.”

Marketing calves Calves are weaned in October and then sold through Superior Livestock Auction.

Bummer Ranch has utilized a variety of marketing programs to capture additional value in their calves.

“We used to age and source verify the cattle when it was a big marketing tool, until it lost its advantage,” Walters says.

“This year, we marketed our cattle on a Vac-45 program, so they are fully vaccinated twice, weaned in the feedlot and then sold from Wheatland.”

“We hope to continue to be as progressive as we can with our cattle marketing,” Walters says.

“Instead of continuing to do things because it’s what we’ve always done, we try to stay proactive and ahead of the curve with what’s going on.”

Outside the ranch While Walters’ fulltime job is on the ranch, he also serves as a legislator in the Wyoming House of Representatives, where he believes in being involved to improve the community.

“Growing up, it was instilled in me that there’s a whole lot more than just the individual. It takes a whole community to make things work, so being involved has always been a part of my life since I was a kid,” Walters comments.

“We can’t complain about what’s going on unless we get involved and try to do something about it.”

He first got involved through local boards, including the conservation district board and non-profit organization boards, but Walters’ interest in politics led to him to

run against incumbent Sen. Charlie Scott.

“I ran for State Senate twice against my neighbor Charlie Scott unsuccessfully,” Walters says. “That got me involved in the county Republican party, and a couple years later, the sitting member for House District 38 was going to retire. I threw my name in the hat and was fortunate enough to be elected.”

That was five years ago, and in 2017, Walters began his third term in the Wyoming Legislature.

“It’s an honor and a

Section C

privilege to serve,” he says. “Starting this new term, I’ll be on the Appropriations Committee.”

With the ranch back home to run, as well, Walters says the Wyoming Legislature’s schedule works well with the agriculture industry.

“We can also tell that, from the very beginning, Wyoming is an agricultural state,” Walters comments.

“Our session is in January and February, which is the slowest time of year for agriculture. That’s when the ranchers can get away and spend two months away

from their operations. It’s obvious that ag is a big part of our state.”

For Walters personally, the juxtaposition of agriculture and politics provides a nice balance.

“I think the physical aspect of the ranch and the mental aspect of the Legislature provide a good balance,” he explains. “It allows two different challenges for me.”

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

Bummer Ranch - Tom Walters (right) manages Bummer Ranch. The operation raises Black Angus cattle and farms alfalfa and barley hay south of Casper. Saige Albert photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

M&D Livestock

Opportunity to ranch on their own granted at the right time for Parks Through hard work, dedication and their faith in God, longtime ranchers Mark and Dena Park left security of the known behind and began their own ranching outfit at M&D Livestock, located west of Casper on Highway 220.

After attending college and gaining experience at other ranches, Mark and Dena returned to Casper to work at the Dumbell Ranch, where Mark grew up.

“We went to the Dumbell where I was raised. We were there for 27 years before we moved here,”

says Mark.

In 2006, the couple moved to the Grey Reef Ranch where Mark worked as the ranch manager for 10 years until the ranch owner elected to reduce ranching activities.

“They pretty well backed away from all active ranching, although they kept me on the salary in a diminished capacity to coordinate and keep the place up,” he explains.

Throughout their time at Grey Reef, Mark and Dena began building their own cowherd.

“We have been running some cattle of our own all

the way along on leased ground up by Leo for summer range and then bringing them here and running them with other cattle as clients of Grey Reef Ranch until this past January,” says Mark.

After Grey Reef elected to reduce its activity, the Parks leased the feedlot and winter grazing meadows.

Right timing As the couple reflects on the many changes in their life with leaving the Dumbell Ranch and later taking out loans to run their own operation, Mark comments, “One thing I’ve

been asked is, ‘Why would we start a venture like this at 60 years old?’”

Both Mark and Dena explain that they didn’t make the choice alone and that the opportunity came at the right time.

“That’s when God gave us the opportunity.

Dena’s thing is, it’s better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all,” says Mark.

“After being in the same place for almost 30 years of our life, there was a great deal of fear there to make such a big change.

There’s a higher power that we turn to, and He

“One thing I’ve been asked is, ‘Why would you start a venture like this at 60 years old?’”

– Mark Park, M&D Livestock says, ‘Don’t be afraid. I’m with you if you succeed or fail,’” continues Dena.

Current operation “Our operation entails the summer range at Leo, and we have the winter grazing on these leased meadows and the feedlot. We background some calves and winter the neighbors’ range bulls and also some bucking bulls,” explains Mark.

While the Parks own 80 head of Hereford and

Angus cows, along with 25 replacement heifers, M&D Livestock grazes and backgrounds a large number of animals for their clients.

“We typically background about 550 and 600 calves. The bulls range from 20 head up to 115 or 120,” he says. “The maximum we have on the meadows for both summer and winter grazing would be about 450 head.”

First calf heifers are Continued on next page

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Backgrounding – As part of M&D Livestock, Mark and Dena Park background close to 600 calves and also keep bulls for clients on the range and in their feedlot. Emilee Gibb photo

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C3

2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page typically weaned in midOctober and are the first group of calves brought in to be backgrounded, followed by clients’ calves and M&D Livestock’s calves.

Long term The bucking bulls are kept year-round, while range bulls start coming in at the beginning of October, with animals coming in and leaving from that point until mid-August.

“We have different clients who have different breeding programs or run out of pasture, whatever the case may be,” explains Mark.

Mark and Dena prioritize building strong working relationships with their clients.

“Most of our clients are local and long-term.

Bill and Dona Vold Larsen with Triple V Rodeo Company have been our longest term clients. They were clients of this ranch before Grey Reef bought it, and they’ve been clients ever since,” Mark continues.

Community Mark and Dena explain that there is a sense of community in agriculture, both locally and across the country, that shapes their lives and their operation’s success, particularly when tough times come around.

“People are a huge part of our lives. From employees to friends, neighbors, family, ag vendors, the list goes on and on. We call for help and it’s, ‘How soon do we need to be there?’ It goes the other way, too,” says Mark.

“We’re blessed with many of those people. One of them is Dawn Hill, who works for us. She’ll do anything. It doesn’t matter what the hours are, she’s there,” he continues.

Next generation Mark and Dena are close to their niece and nephew, as well as to their grandnephews, and find it important to teach the next generation about the importance of agriculture.

“We’ve given some heifer calves to each of our grandnephews. They get one each year,” comments Mark.

Dena adds that the boys help with the care of the animals throughout their life. The sale of the calves goes toward each boy’s college fund.

“We want to continue that interest in agriculture and help our grandnephews prepare for the future,” Mark comments.

Looking ahead As M&D Livestock looks toward the future, the Parks note that they have plans to continue

Responsibility For Mark and Dena Park of M&D Livestock, ranching is a profession that combines practicality with a spiritual connection to the land and livestock.

“It is a lifestyle, but the philosophical and spiritual are incredibly intertwined, as well,” Mark explains.

Dena continues, “To me, the spiritual and philosophical are a big part of agriculture because we are responsible for the life and death of a creature. They either live or die because of what we do, what we give them or how we respond to ailments.”

Ranchers are given a responsibility to care for the resources placed in their charge, says Dena.

“It’s the most precious responsibility that God could give us to have authority over a cow’s life or death,” Dena asserts.

Mark adds, “We can’t save all of them, but we do our best to save all of them with God’s help.”

Learning – Mark (right) and Dena Park give each of their grandnephews a calf each year to put toward their college fund. In return, the boys learn about and help out with the care of the calves, including assisting at branding time. Courtesy photo

expanding their operation.

“It started with six head of heifer calves in 2007, and we’ve grown to where we are now. We’d like to keep

expanding,” says Mark.

He notes that it will be important for the ranch to continue looking for opportunities and being open to

change.

“We want to stay flexible and look for opportunities. If we’re not willing to change in this industry, we’re in a world

of hurt,” comments Mark.

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

Feeding – When requested by their clients, M&D Livestock has the facilities to supplement concentrates to animals in their drylot. Emilee Gibb photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Increasing the value

Bates Creek Cattle Company and Two Bar Ranch secure worth in niche market “The lifestyle of ranching has always been appealing to me. For me, my favorite part is working cows. That’s what I like,” says second generation rancher Pete Scott.

Scott’s father, a doctor by trade, first began ranching in Casper in the early 1950s.

“My dad was a pediatrician in town and grew up on a farm in Massachusetts. He wanted to get back into farming and ranching,” he explains.

Purchased by the family in 1971, the Two Bar Ranch is operated by Scott, his children and brother Charlie. The ranch is home to Bates Creek Cattle Company.

Cattle Bates Creek Cattle Company is a cow/calf operation that runs 1,200 head of Black Angus cattle.

“We winter down here in Bates Hole, and then we summer just north of Shirley Basin on the headwaters of Bates Creek,” explains Scott.

The ranch range breeds their cattle and calves out their cows in mid-March, with heifers beginning a month prior.

Scott explains that the calves are preconditioned prior to sale in November at the Torrington Livestock Exchange to improve their performance and to add value.

“We vaccinate three different times through the summer,” says Scott. “We’ve also taken to doing fence line weaning. That’s been working pretty well. We do that in midSeptember.”

Niche marketing In addition to regular markets, Bates Creek Cattle Company also markets some grassfed beef locally and to the Thousand Hills Cattle Company in Minnesota.

“We started it as a way to add value to our red baldy steers,” explains Scott. “They didn’t sell at the same price in the market even though they’re the same genetics.”

He notes that the grassfed beef market is a very small component of their operation and is a niche market, but it has proven successful for their operation.

Irrigation Bates Creek Cattle Company currently has approximately 3,000 acres of water rights.

The ranch typically puts up alfalfa and grass hay on 700-1,000 of the irrigated acres.

“We irrigate and graze the rest,” says Scott’s son-in-law Andy Anderson. “All of the hay we produce is for feed.”

The ranch typically hays alfalfa and grass on 700-900 of the irrigated acres.

Anderson notes that the irrigated acres on Bates Creek are considerably different than some that may be in an irrigation district, which makes farming more difficult.

“It can be August, and we’ll be down to just a few

cubic feet per second of water,” Anderson comments.

Sustainability Maintaining the land in a sustainable manner is “one of the biggest things we do,” says Scott.

Scott continues, “We do an awful lot to make sure that we’re not damaging the land.”

The ranch utilizes a moderately intensive grazing system to optimize range health, which, in turn, helps the ranch remain productive in the event of droughts.

“We try to pay attention to make sure we’re doing things in a way that are beneficial.

It’s helped us out through the droughts, too,” comments Scott.

While concerns about sage grouse management is currently an important issue for the Two Bar Ranch, Scott notes that it is more sustainable to manage the landscape more broadly.

“I think, in general, rather than working to protect sage grouse, if we work to maintain a healthy landscape, the rest will fall into place,” says Scott.

On the farming side of the operation, Andy explains that building healthy topsoil is critical not only for environmental longevity but for efficient production.

“We try to really build the top soils,” continues Anderson.

Family “One of the important things, too, is that it’s a family outfit and hopefully will keep on being so for the next 100 years,” says Scott.

He explains that he and his three brothers have all been involved with the ranch to varying degrees.

“There’s me, and my brother Charlie, who manages the farming with Andy, is in the legislature. Stacey is on teh place where we grew up, the Eagle Ridge Ranch, and then my brother Cliff and who lives out near the Shirley Rim maintenance camp and also works on the ranch,” explains Scott.

Scott’s son Chris, daughter-in-law Anna and their two children live on the ranch and are actively involved in the cattle side of the business.

“My son Chris and his wife Anna are on the ranch.

He primarily helps me with the cattle and does quite a bit of mechanic and manufacturing work,” comments Scott.

“Anna runs a leather shop.”

His daughter Jessica, sonin-law Andy and their three

children also work on the family ranch.

“Andy is really involved on the farming side. Jessie helps out a lot over the summer with bum calves and whatever else comes up. She also helps market of the grassfed beef locally, too,” he continues.

Looking ahead As Bates Creek Cattle Company moves forward, Anderson notes that he would like to continue improving hay production efficiency.

“I’d love to continue improving on the irrigation system, getting our tons per acre up and the number of acres we actually farm down to be a little more efficient,” he says. “We can put more tons up for less cost. Then we could irrigate the rest and graze or windrow it.”

Anderson notes that reducing the acres needed to produce hay from 700-1,000 acres to 500-600 acres would free up a considerable amount of time to work on other projects at the ranch.

“We could spend a lot less time haying and more time doing other things. I think we could get there because we’ve already made some improvements in tonnage and quality,” Anderson concludes.

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

Family – The Bates Creek Cattle Company is a family affair for the Scott family, including (back row, left to right) Andy Anderson, Jessie Anderson, Will Anderson, Milcey Scott, Pete Scott, Chris Scott, Anna Scott, Jillian Scott, (front row, left to right) Emma Anderson, Mike Anderson and Levi Scott, along with the family’s loyal border collies. Not pictured are Charlie Scott and Cliff Scott. Courtesy photo

-

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2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Supplying the ag industry Feed store focuses services on meeting local needs of producers

Tucked into the old downtown area of Casper on the corner of Ash Street and Industrial Avenue, Noland Feed offers Natrona County producers a wide variety of livestock and pet products while keeping a local touch.

“Our main focus is to supply a good product at a reasonable price and to be set up to meet the needs for this area,” says Noland Feed Owner Tim Schlager.

Family tradition Noland Feed has been in the Schlager family for the last 45 years, says Tim. “I’ve been involved at the feed store off and on since 1972. That’s when my folks bought it,” explains Tim. Tim returned to the family business in 1982 where he worked alongside his parents.

In 1995, Tim and his wife Kerre purchased the family feed store and have been managing the store ever since with the help of their daughter Karen, as well as several employees.

“My wife and I are both here all the time and our daughter Karen works here.

Usually, between the three of us, one is always here,” he explains.

Appeal Prior to returning to the family business, Tim tried his hand in several other trades but realized that he preferred being involved in the agricultural industry.

“I decided to continue with the store because I like agriculture, for one thing. It’s not repetitious, and I like the industry,” says Tim.

Working – Operating Noland Feed is a family affair and includes (left to right) Kerre, Tim and their daughter Karen Schlager. Emilee Gibb photo

One of the most rewarding parts of running the feed store for the Schlager family is helping local youth become engaged in agriculture.

“We’ve had a lot of 4-H and FFA kids who have come through. Seeing them succeed with their projects and learn a lot about animals is rewarding,” explains Tim. “That’s the biggest reward for me, is helping a lot of younger people get into the industry.”

Challenges Numerous factors influence the business of running the feed store, including lower oil and gas prices and the cattle markets, says Tim. However, Kerre explains that one of the greatest challenges for the store is maintaining full product inventory.

“Right now, our greatest challenge is keeping product in the store,” says Kerre.

She notes that the weather not only increases demands at the store but makes travel

more hazardous for delivery trucks.

Regardless, the family works tirelessly to meet their customers’ needs in a timely manner.

Products Noland Feed carries a wide assortment of products varying from pet products to fencing supplies, says Tim. “We carry all types of feed, grass seed, fertilizers, animal health products, pet food, tack and clothing, electric fencing, panels and gates,” he explains.

In the spring, the store also carries poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys.

He notes that they sell garden seeds and fertilizers in bulk quantities, particularly in the country.

In the event that the store doesn’t have the product a customer needs, Tim says they do custom ordering.

“If we are able to get the product, we’ll do custom orders,” he says. “We do custom rope orders for people who are passionate about roping. We also do special

orders on vaccines and certain things in the tack department, like bits, spurs and bridles.”

Local Meeting the nutritional needs of animals that are specific to the Casper area, especially with regard to mineral concentrations in native range, is a top priority for Noland Feed.

“We try to furnish the products for this area that will do the most good nutritionally for animals,” says Tim. He reflects on work that he did with a feed company to correct a problem with mineral interactions that a customer was having.

“A few years ago, we did some work with one of the feed companies. We had high iron problems, which was tying up zinc and copper, and we ended up customizing a mineral that corrected the problem,” explains Tim. Noland Feed offers other specialty feeds for livestock that producers may be interested in to improve performance characteristics of their livestock such as meat quality

and nutrition.

“Right now we’re working on a feed that contains flax, which increases the omega-three fatty acids in the meat,” Tim says. “We have results back from Kansas State University that have shown the feed does actually work.”

Growing The Schlager family explains that Noland Feed is quickly approaching a century of supplying feed to Casper residents.

“Noland Feed started in 1921, so it will be 100 years before too long,” comments Tim. Throughout its 96 years of business, the feed store has actively expanded, which is a pattern that the Schlager family hopes will continue.

“We’ve been actively growing for quite some time. We would like to continue to do that in coming years,” concludes Tim. Emilee Gibb is editor of Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at emilee@wylr.net.

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Starting young Johnsons hop into ranching on Poison Spider

Bess Johnson’s parents bought land at the end of Poison Spider Road when

she was in junior. high school, and throughout high school she helped-

with the family ranch.

Bess and husband Trenton moved back to help her

Working together - Trenton and Bess Johnson (left to right) enjoy working together on their ranch, Star Shadow Land and Cattle Company. Courtesy photo

folks run the place, after her mother passed away, and Bess and Trenton got the chance to start their own operation.

“Bess and I met at the Worland Sale Barn,” says Trenton. “We lived in Thermopolis for just over a year before we moved back.”

The couple has been married for 18 years, and they run the ranch with the help of three-year-old Ian and three-month-old Raine.

“We’ve been here 17 years,” says Trenton, who was raised in British Columbia, Canada and Thermopolis. “We’re just a cattle ranching operation.”

The Johnsons raise Black Angus-CharolaisLonghorn cross cattle at Star Shadow Land and Livestock, beginning their calving season in midApril.

“We calve later out here because of the weather,” says Bess.

Trenton adds, “We

“No matter which direction we go, we have 25 miles of dirt road before we hit any pavement.”

– Trenton Johnson calve everything out on the range, except for the heifers. We have a barn that we can calve them in.”

In the summer, their cattle move to higher mountain ground, but the property is contiguous, so they’re able to move from pasture to pasture easily.

“We don’t have to trail,” he comments. “We wean in mid-October and sell about the first of November.”

They sell cattle at Riverton Livestock Auction.

The couple feeds cake or hay cubes in the winter, if it’s necessary.

“We try not to feed too much hay,” Bess says.

“We may say that we don’t like the wind, but there are times that it comes up and open up the country, which saves us from having to feed.”

Trenton adds, “Without the wind, we’d start having to feed in midDecember.”

Because of their elevation, the Johnsons note they get more snow than Continued on next page

Raising a family - Teaching their children the skills required for ranching is a priority for Bess (right) and Trenton (left). Their son Ian (front left) is three years old, and daughter Raine (front right) is three months old. Courtesy photo

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2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

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Continued from previous page Casper would.

“Usually our precipitation is about equivalent to what Casper Mountain gets,” Trenton explains.

“We sit at around 6,600 feet.”

The operation is also fortunate to see primarily live water, with only one stock well that they utilize in the winter to ensure the cattle have enough unthawed water on cold days.

They run on both BLM and deeded land, with the majority of their operation deeded.

“Our BLM range cons are plumb easy to deal with,” Trenton says. “We don’t have any problems working with BLM.” Continuing to grow As they move forward, Trenton and Bess say, “We’re just going to teach ranching and teach the kids the ropes.”

The couple also hopes to continue to expand their operation, eventually creating a cattle herd that is entirely one-brand.

“When we started out, we bought land and have slowly been buying cattle to build our herd,” Bess comments. “We’d like to continue to increase our herd and keep more of our own replacement heifers so it’s a one-brand herd.”

They keep back their heifers as replacements along with purchasing additional cattle to increase the herd.

Challenges of the area Star Shadow Land and Livestock sits halfway between Riverton and Casper.

“No matter which direction we go, we have 25 miles of dirt road before we hit any pavement,” Trenton says. “It forces us to have to plan a little more, and we don’t have any close neighbors.”

While the lack of other ranchers in the area can be a challenge, Trenton adds, “It’s nice not to have to see anyone at times.”

Both immediate neighbors to the operation have their headquarters in Casper and in Lysite, meaning that they don’t see much traffic, except in hunting season.

“It doesn’t bother us,” Bess says.

Trenton also notes that the operation is set up very well, and he credits it to the homesteaders that originally started the ranch.

“The Jameson family must have been pretty tough,” he says. “They spent quite a bit of time figuring out how this land worked before they ever filed claims, I’d bet. They spent time to figure out where the best place to be was.”

Off the ranch While they’re isolated between Riverton and Casper, Bess and Trenton both spend time off the ranch, as well.

“About 15 years ago, we were sitting around with a couple of friends talking,” Bess says. “They were look-

ing for somewhere to buck their bulls and horses,” Bess says. “Shoshoni has an affordable arena, so we thought we’d put on a rodeo there.”

They started a Labor Day Rodeo in Shoshoni that year, and 2017 marks the 15th year of the event.

“We also put on a night rodeo in Dubois every Friday for 12 years,” Trenton adds. “We don’t do that anymore, though.”

“As Ian grows up, I don’t know how we’d have time to do as much rodeo as we did in the past,” Bess says. “Trent and I still pick up a few rodeos a year, though. We have picked up at Lander on the Fourth of July, and the last two or three years, we’ve picked up at Ten Sleep.”

They also started the ranch rodeo in Shoshoni.

“Having two kids has changed things quite a bit,” Trent laughs. “We stay on the ranch a lot more.”

Made for ranching Both Bess and Trenton say they couldn’t imagine life outside of ranching.

“I could never have a nine-to-five job in town,” says Bess. “Ranching is the only thing I have ever known or ever wanted to do.”

Trenton adds, “I knew I didn’t want to go to college. I just wanted to be a rancher.”

“I like the lifestyle and the things that ranching teaches us, like work ethic,” Bess continues. “It’s also about the small rewards, like baby calves in the spring and seeing that same calves as they leave in the fall. The whole atmosphere of ranching is enjoyable.”

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

Rodeo activities - During the summer months when cattle are grazing the rangelands between Casper and Shoshoni, Bess and Trenton Johnson enjoy picking up rodeos around the state. They have been involved at a number of rodeos, including the Lander Fourth of July Rodeo and the Ten Sleep “Beauty and the Beast” Rodeo on Memorial Day. The couple is also involved in planning the Shoshoni Labor Day Rodeo. Courtesy photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Owens Land and Livestock Family focuses on high-quality meat, sustainability With the ranching tradition dating back to the 1800s, ranching was a natural choice for Mary Owens of Owens Land and Livestock.

“Ranching is all I’ve known in my life,” she says. “My great-greatgrandfather came here and was involved in the Johnson County War.” Now, Owens ranches on an operation next to the ranch she grew up on with her husband Bill, sons Jim and Mike and daughter-in-

law Sara.

“Our boys are fifth generation sheep people,” comments Owens.

Beginning The Owens family began ranching their current operation located north of Casper in 1992.

Owens explained that Metropolitan Life acquired five different ranches in the area that had been lost and sold them as one parcel.

“My dad was able put together a plan to purchase the parcel. They sold one

of the ranches, and then each one of family members – my cousins have been involved, too – ended up dividing the other four ranches up,” she continues. “We now have our own ranches and make payments to Metro.”

Bill and Mary worked for Leachman Cattle Company for five years, where the family got started in Red Angus.

Owens reminisced about how the family started their cowherd

through a crippled cow that Leachman gave to Owens after she grew attached to the animal.

“We did embryo transfer with her. Out of 12 embryos, we got nine live bull calves. It was just a cool way to start out,” says Owens.

Cattle business The Owens family runs a diversified operation that has both cattle and sheep.

Currently, the family runs approximately 400 head of Red and Black Angus cattle, as well as yearlings.

“Depending on the year and grass availability, we hold our calves over and

sell them as yearlings,” she explains. “We have a percentage of the calves that we keep over and send to the feedlot. We’re selling swinging meat to some extent.”

Quality meat is a top priority for the Owens family, she continues, noting that they have worked with meat quality genetic traits to select bloodlines with more tender meat.

“We’ve worked really hard to have Choice and Prime grade cattle. Those cattle have done very well for us,” says Owens.

To increase feeding efficiency in their cowherd, the Owens now begin calving in mid-April.

“It’s been nice because

those cows can go out on grass, and we don’t have to feed them much hay,” comments Owens.

Sheep work The ranch also runs approximately 2,500 Targhee-Rambouillet crosses, taking advantage of both wool and meat markets.

“The years that wool is good, it really pays off. In the years that it’s not, it still pays off,” says Owens.

As the ranch belongs to Mountain States Lamb Cooperative, lambs leave the ranch in the fall and directly enter the feedlot until they’re processed in the spring.

Although labor intensive, Owens explains that Continued on next page

Ag Expo

Carcass traits – The Owens family prioritizes improving carcass traits through selective breeding in their Red and Black Angus cattle.

Emilee Gibb photo

The Casper Ag Expo celebrated its 25th year of educating third graders in Natrona County, says Casper rancher Mary Owens.

Owens manages the event, which consistently reaches approximately 900 students over three days, with fellow ranch wife Leslie Hendry.

“We started with the expo being 20-30 minutes long, and presentations were done by community members. Now, we’ve got figured out where we can see 900 kids in three days,” comments Hendry.

Students rotate through 15 stations with presentations from 4-H and FFA members, Fish and Wildlife Services employees, Natrona County Cow-Belles and Natrona County Weed and Pest, as well as from agencies such as Farm Service Agency.

Student groups are kept to 10-12 children to allow handson capabilities, and groups are led by Wyoming 4-H, FFA and ROTC members.

“A lot of the time, it’s kids teaching kids,” she explains.

“As an educator, that’s very exciting because we want students to learn how to be effective in sharing their knowledge.”

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2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page the benefits of running both sheep and cattle allows the ranch to be profitable.

“Usually both the cattle and sheep markets are not low at the same time. With a combination, we don’t have all of our eggs in one basket,” notes Owens.

Improvements The Owens have worked extensively on upgrading the ranch, working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service on water management.

“We’ve done a lot of putting in electric fences and solar wells for rotational grazing,” says Owens, noting that the ranch was originally not well watered. “They had one huge pasture, and now we have about five out of

it.”

While not convinced that emphasis should be place on one species over another, the ranch is actively involved with sage grouse conservation programs.

“We’re working primarily because we don’t want the sage grouse listed. Anytime we’re helping one species, we’re helping many species,” she explains.

Looking ahead As markets and weather permit, Owens hopes that the ranch will be able to retain ownership on more cattle through slaughter.

“I hope at one time, we’re able to take more cattle clear through to the very end because the Red Angus we’re producing has such a high-grade quality,” Owens

says.

Bill and Mary have turned the ownership of the ranch over to their sons but currently maintain ownership of the livestock.

“Bill still has power through the livestock to manage as long as he wants until the boys can buy the livestock,” she explains.

Ultimately, Owens explains that the family’s goal is to produce highquality meat in a sustainable manner.

“We try really hard to produce high-quality meat that the consumer wants using the best applications we can to keep the land in the best quality possible,” concludes Owens.

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

Family – Ranching is a family tradition for the Owens family. Owens Land and Livestock is owned and operated by (left to right) Jim, Sara, Mike, Mary and Bill Owens. Courtesy photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Managing systems Eagle Ridge Ranch optimizes range health

“We’re trying to change and do more with how we manage the range and cows as we read and go to classes.

We like to try small experiments, but sometimes it can’t be a small experiment,” says second generation Casper rancher Hustace “Stacey” Scott.

Scott and his wife Janice operate the family-owned Eagle Ridge Ranch, located west of Casper, with scenic views of Casper Mountain and Muddy Mountain.

“The mission of Eagle Ridge is to continue to build a sustainable ranch through better land management for future generations. By continuing to learn about newer holistic approaches the ranch will continue to grow, continue to add humus and continue to be a haven for all plants and wildlife,” says Scott.

Operation Scott explains that his family is comparatively new to the ranching community

Managing – Ranchers (left to right) Janice and Hustace “Stacey” Scott manage Eagle Ridge Ranch, where they raise Black Angus cattle and hay. Courtesy photo

in Casper.

“We’re newcomers. We started ranching at Eagle Ridge in 1956,” he says.

The Scott family runs 400 Black Angus cattle in their cow/calf operation.

They also raise yearlings, which gives the ranch flexibility in years of drought.

“One of the reasons we have yearlings, is that if we need to sell in a drought, we can take 40 percent of our animal units off here in a hurry,” says Scott. “That’s our first line of defense for drought.”

To improve handling ease and reduce stress on their calves, the ranch recently changed their calving period to the end of May. The ranch has also started calving first-calf heifers on open range without assistance, which has been “quite a leap of faith.”

“We figured if we lose one, we ought to lose it and not have her in the herd. For the whole herd, we increased our calving percentage by four percentage points the

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first year, which means we lost a lot more calves to weather than we thought,” he says.

Hay market Eagle Ridge Ranch produces all of its own hay to feed their herd on approximately 400 irrigated acres.

Through expansion with lease agreements, Scott notes that the ranch will begin converting extra hay that is produced into cash next year.

With current hay prices and depending on how producers value the nutrients in the soil, Scott notes that it is difficult to make a profit and takes a creative approach.

“If we sell hay for $120 per ton, every ton we sell takes off so many pounds of phosphate, so many pounds of potassium and other nutrients. We’re selling $60 to $80 of nutrients, which only leaves $60 to cover costs of putting it up,” he says.

Improving production When the family purchased Eagle Ridge Ranch, Scott notes that the range was extremely overgrazed due to old management practices.

“It was so overgrazed.

We didn’t graze cows for three years after we bought it,” he explains.

Improving range health and productivity continues to be a high priority for Scott.

Approximately 10 years ago, Scott began a small experiment field to see if he could increase the humus levels of the soil.

“I started playing with some stuff that stimulates the organisms in the soil,” he explains.

The experiment was so successful at increasing the production in the field that he began using the bio-stimulant on his other fields.

“It costs me $15 per acre, and it’s worth two tons per acre of production or better,” says Scott. “This year,

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“A good ranching operation benefits the bacteria in the soil.” – Stacey Scott we got between 6.5 and seven tons per acre on our best field.”

Environmentalist Scott explains that ranchers are practicing environmentalists, and livestock organizations like the Wyoming Stock Growers Organization are what he considers to be true environmentalist groups.

“They go out and promote good stewardship through programs like the Environmental Stewardship Award,” he says.

Good ranching operations benefit the environment by utilizing carbon and methane, as well as improving water quality and other environmental factors, says Scott.

“A good ranching operation benefits the bacteria in the soil,” he continues. “That creates a methane and carbon sink. We’re recycling all of the minerals. Plus we’re filtering water.”

“I do it because it’s profitable. When we start treating the soil as a biological system and managing soil nutrients, we also reduce fertilizer costs,” explains Scott.

Flexibility “We’ve got to change what we’re doing as times

change. I’ve taken that to heart,” says Scott.

Scott explains that it is important to be able to change management practices to improve efficiency while benefiting the environment, as well as adapting to specific challenges on their ranches such as after fires and droughts.

In the coming year, Scott plans to continue experiments with projects such as promoting good fungi growth in the soil and fencing with fold-over poles to prevent elk from damaging fence lines.

“I don’t think we’re so much unique as that we aren’t set in our ways, and we’re a little more open to change,” says Scott, referencing the fact that his family has been ranching only 65 years.

“Granted, when we get something that works, it’s harder to keep wanting to change things. We just haven’t been there yet. I bet in 10 years, our experiments will be smaller,” Scott concludes.

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

Challenges In 1980, Eagle Ridge Ranch owner Hustace “Stacey” Scott’s father placed all of the deeded land of the ranch at that time into a conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

“The 8,400-acre easement was the largest conservation easement in Wyoming for many years,” explains Scott.

“The easement restricts use of the land to ranching activities, does not allow selling small pieces of the ranch and restricts the building of structures.”

While wording of the easement has posed challenges for the ranch, such as being unable to build a cell phone tower on the ranch as it was deemed to not be critical to ranch operations, Scott explains that the working relationship with TNC does have benefits.

“It’s nice to have access to folks who will fight for us. If I have problems with anything, I can ask TNC about it,” says Scott.

Weighing the cost and benefit of conservation easements is a personal decision for ranchers to make, adds Scott.

“Easements aren’t for everybody. It’s something that people want to walk into with eyes open,” he comments.

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2017 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Diversifying in sheep Harlan sees success in sheep production

With land stretching from Kaycee to northwest of Casper, the Harlan family has been ranching sheep for over 110 years, says Bob Harlan of the Harlan Ranch.

“My family has been ranching off and on since 1903,” says Harlan. “Around 1978 is when I really got into it, which was right after college.”

Harlan and his wife Lynn began ranching on their own in 2010 and are now joined by their daughter Kate in operating the ranch.

“I’ve always wanted to ranch and still do. I enjoy working sheep with a couple of good dogs,” he comments.

Sheep operation Between Bob, Lynn and Kate, the family owns approximately 3,000 head of sheep on the range.

“We run Rambouillet-Targhee crosses. We crossbreed them with Suffolk bucks,” explains Harlan.

The ranch aims for their lambing season to be slightly later than normal to optimize price.

“We May lamb and try to hit the May and June market the following year with those lambs, which is kind of out of season,” continues Harlan. “Most of those lambs go through Mountain States Lamb Co-op.”

In addition to the range lambs, Harlan also purchases feeder lambs.

“I’ve got a few lambs in Powell, Worland and Colorado,” he says. “We operate as Schoolbell Feeders on the lamb feeding side. I’ve bought quite a few lambs. It’s a family deal.”

Cattle business Originally, when Harlan began ranching, his brother took over the family’s cattle,

while Harlan took the sheep.

“When we split out, my brother took the cows, and I took the sheep. Now I’m back in cows,” says Harlan.

Harlan Ranch runs approximately 200 head of Black Angus in a cow/calf operation.

With his marketing strategy, Harlan works to match the calves to fit loads for video markets.

“We sell our calves on the video. I actually am trying to design the herd around fitting the video, so we have the right number to just fill loads,” explains Harlan.

To limit losses for both lambs and calves, Harlan Ranch staggers its lambing and calving seasons, says Harlan.

“We’re range lambers and range calvers, and it lets us lamb and calve in more seasons. Even that diversification is good because Wyoming weather can be devastating,” he comments. “We calve earlier and lamb later so not everything happens during the same snowstorm.”

Partners After attending college at the University of Wyoming, the couple’s daughter Kate returned to the family ranch to begin ranching alongside her parents.

“For the first time, Kate and I are really going to be partners for one year,” says Harlan.

As part of her partnership, Harlan explains that Kate will now help with all aspects of the ranch, including budgeting and finances.

“If she’s really going to be a partner, she’s going to need to be a part of the books.

It’ll be a great learning experience,” continues Harlan.

“She’s learned a lot since she’s

gotten out of college, and she has a lot more to learn. People don’t realize the knowledge base necessary for ranching.

It’ll be good for me, too.”

In addition to the family operation, Kate has purchased her own land to run livestock on and is continually making improvements.

Relationships For Harlan, one of the most rewarding parts of ranching is the relationships that he has built with fellow producers.

“The business relationships with all of those guys are one of the best things about working together,” he comments.

Harlan attributes the success of the ranch to the business partners that he works with.

“The trick to my ranch is I have lots of friends. I have two farmers in Powell who are taking care of me, a farmer

in Sussex and one in Barnum who all help me out. These guys all take a lot of livestock out,” says Harlan. “I also have a couple ladies who work for me. They’re what makes my ranch work, not me.”

He also has partners in Riverton, Arvada and Kaycee.

“I’m kind of scattered out.

The guys in Arvada and Powell run my yearlings,” he continues.

Longevity is an important part of the business relationships Harlan works to build.

“I’ve done business with these guys in Powell for over 30 years, and I send sheep over there in the winter.

They’ve designed their ranch around mine, also,” explains Harlan.

Diversify “To keep diversifying, I’d do anything as long as it was diversifying one way or another, whether it was to a different area or a different part of production,” says Harlan. “If I don’t diversify, the ranch won’t continue to be successful.”

As the ranch recently

“The business relationships with all of those guys is one of the best things.” – Bob Harlan acquired new land, Harlan is not currently interesting in purchasing more land, but he is always open to new partnership enterprises.

“We just bought land, so there’s not any plan for land expansion, but I’m always open to a new partner,” continues Harlan.

He illustrates that partnering can increase overall security for the ranch’s profitability as it can balance when one aspect performs poorly.

“One of the reasons I have these partners, even in feeding lambs, is because if we just have this much capital and we just buy a pen of lambs that does bad, we’re out of luck,” says Harlan. “But, if we have partners and each of us buy a different pen of lambs and one does well and the other does poorly, at least we can average the returns.”

Looking ahead Both Harlan’s son and

daughter will have first pick of the ranch when it is time to transfer the ranch to a new owner, but he notes that the ranch is too large for just one person to operate on their own.

“We’ll have to see which part of the ranch my daughter wants or if my son decides he would like to come back,” Harlan says.

Regardless of where the ranch goes in the future, Harlan hopes that it goes to a young producer that is passionate about ranching.

“I want the ranch to go to some young person, however that works. If I was to have to sell it, I’d have to try to sell it to somebody who cares, even if it doesn’t amount to more money, but we get it put together,” concludes Harlan.

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

Docking – The summer docking crew for the Harlan Ranch processes the year’s lamb crop by castrating, paint branding, vaccinating for sore mouth and removing tails. Courtesy photo

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