2012 Fall Cattlemen's Edition

2012 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition

Featuring Lincoln County ®

WYOMING LIVESTOCK

ROUNDUP

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Lincoln County ranches featured in this edition 1. Julian Land and Livestock 2. Teichert Brothers Cattle Company 3. Yellowstone Outfitters 4. Crook Dairy 5. W&M Thoman Ranches 6. Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge 7. Horseshoe Spear Cattle Company 8. Willis Ranch 9. Freedom Arms 10. Cakebread Ranch 11. Rollin Gardner 12. Clark Ranch 13. Barnes Ranch 14. Hepworth’s Angus 15. West Hills Ranch 16. Peternal Ranch 17. Nieslanik Ranch 18. CallAir Aircraft Company 19. Fred Roberts 20. Cutter and Chariot Races 21. Child Ranch 22. Robinson Family Farm and Ranch Lincoln County sits in the southwest corner of Wyoming and is rich with history. The county cel-­ ebrated it’s centennial in 2011, marking 100 years of farming, ranching and min-­ ing.

Lincoln County cov-­ ers just over 4,000 square miles, with only 18,106 people occupying the area.

Three main regions, the Kemmerer-­LaBarge area, Cokeville and Star Valley, comprise the county.

Kemmerer Kemmerer’s history

Rich histories stems back into not only agriculture, but in small business and mining. With fur trapping, ranching, rail-­ roads and coal mining all playing a role, the town has seen rich successes.

In 1911, Kemmerer was selected as county seat, after Uinta County divided, creating Lincoln County.

“Kemmerer has been a coal mining community for over 100 years,” writes Judy Julian in Images of America: Kemmerer. “Min-­ ing has played a major role in the past and present suc-­ cess of Kemmerer.”

Early ranchers, settling in the area in the 1890s, were able to obtain more than 160 acres, according to Julian, and most raised cattle.

“The earliest writ-­ ten account of sheep in the Kemmerer area came in 1852, when Kit Car-­ son drove more than 13,000 head of sheep from Fort Laramie to Califor-­ nia,” writes Julian. “The sheep industries in Wyo-­ ming began to take shape between 1875 and 1885.”

Hams Fork Cattle Company, started in 1897

by Patrick Quealy, was not marked as particularly sig-­ nificant at the time.

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“Quealy was convinced that he had found the ideal way to incorporate the cat-­ tle, coal, mercantile and land companies, all of which would complement each other,” adds Julian.

Colorful history Anna Richey, possibly the most famous area cattle rancher, was known as the Petticoat Rustler. Richey was the only woman in Wyoming to be convicted of cattle rustling.

“After they caught her, they sentenced Anna to death, but they gave her nine months to get her affairs in order,” says Kemmerer sheep and cat-­ tle rancher Truman Julian.

“She was irrigating and someone slipped a piece of Strychnine into her cof-­ fee.”

The poisoning resulted in Richey’s death, an event that remains unsolved to today.

Kemmerer was also home to a wide variety of stills for moonshine.

“Kemmerer was the Moonshine capitol,” adds Truman. “Kemmerer moon-­ shine made it all the way to Chicago and New York.

This was tough country.”

Of the moonshiners, Joe Coletti was a kingpin, and Julian mentions that he was a distributer.

“At one point, they found 3,000 barrels of moonshine in the back of a building, and they broke all their casks,” Tru-­ man recalls of a story his mother told. “People say whiskey was running in the gutters, and there were people with cups and pans scooping it up.”

He adds that in every grove of aspens where there was a spring, it was almost certain that you could find a little moon-­ shine.

Cokeville Cokeville, which sits west of Kemmerer, began when “Syl” Collett and Robert Gee brought their families to the place in 1874.

“On the 1880 census, there were 18 households in Cokeville,” says Cokev-­ ille historian Eva Clark.

By 1910, the town had grown to include five saloons, a Mormon meet-­ ing house, a bank, hotel and a restaurant, according to the Cokeville Historical Society.

“The ranches in Cokev-­ ille, like many others in Wyoming, started as cat-­ tle ranches and were grad-­ ually stocked with sheep,” writes Clark. “By the time of the second World War, they were mostly return-­ ing to the raising of cattle again.”

Agriculture’s roots began in the area before 1900, as people began to enter the area in search of places to farm and ranch.

“Julius Jacobsen, a young blacksmith of Nor-­ wegian birth, fitted up a shop in a building and spe-­ cialized in the making of sheep wagons,” Clark says.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Colorful history covers Lincoln County “He started with a dollar and a half in his pocket, but by honest workman-­ ship soon built a flourish-­ ing business.”

Sheep ranching began with Fred Roberts, who was devoted to raising high-­grade sheep, and Beckwith, Quinn and Com-­ pany also started a horse ranch south of Cokeville.

Star Valley Star Valley has deep roots in agriculture. In the book Star Valley and Its Communities, Bessie Beachler notes that many cattle were driven into Star Valley from Bear Lake, where the land was used as summer range, prior to 1886. When the Home-­ stead Act was passed, the use of the area as summer range was halted.

In the same book, Eldon Erickson says, “Star Valley has 110,000 acres of rich, fertile soil. Sixty per-­ cent of the acreage is used as hay meadows.”

He also said, “No sec-­ tion of the United States can boast more acre-­feet of water per acre than Star Valley. It has nine princi-­ pal mountain streams from which it secures its irriga-­ tion water.”

The dairy industry in Star Valley is of historical importance to the area as well.

“In the early days, it was hard to get any kind of supplies into or out of the valley, as they would have to be hauled in with teams and wagons or sleighs,” writes Bessie Merrit in Star Valley and Its Com-­ munities. “This made dairy products, light in weight for their value, a logical development in the val-­ ley.”

The first creamery in Star Valley was at Osmon between 1889 and 1895.

The county began making cheese in 1925. The Star Valley Swiss Cheese Com-­ pany made its first cheese on Aug. 26, 1926, shipping the cheese to Portland, Ore. “The dairy industry has been very instrumen-­ tal in developing the Star Valley,” writes Merritt.

“A more prosperous and beautiful valley cannot be found.”

Lincoln County today Today, Lincoln County maintains it’s agricultural roots, with a number of sheep and cattle ranches, as well as several dairies, operating throughout.

“Lincoln County is also one of the most diverse counties in the state of Wyoming,” pro-­ claims the county website, “with high mountain des-­ ert in the southern part of the county and the majes-­ tic Rocky Mountains, dot-­ ted with forests, moun-­ tain lakes and streams in the northern part of the county.”

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

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2012  Fall  Cattlemen’s  Edition

Julian Land and Livestock Kemmerer  –  “My  Grandfa-­ ther  Julian  started  this,�  says  Truman  Julian  of  the  prop-­ erty  his  family  raises  sheep  and  cattle  on.  “They  came  over  from  England  in  the  1880s  and  started  over  here.�  “He  was  about  10-­years-­ old,�  he  adds,  noting  that  his  grandfather  started  working  with  sheep  and  later  bought  a  band  of  sheep.   The  area  in  which  the  Julian’s  run,  rich  with  his-­ tory,  ghost  stories  and  tales  of  time  past,  is  intermingled  public  and  private  lands  and  allows  the  family  to  effi-­ ciently  graze  both  species.

Cattle  and  sheep  “Trudy  really  likes  the  cattle,�  says  Truman  of  his  daughter-­in-­law.  “She  likes  the  Angus,  and  I  like  the  black  baldy.�  Crossbred  cattle  allow  the  operation  to  take  advan-­ tage  of  the  good  genes  from  both  breeds,  says  Truman.  Usually,  they  wean  calves  at  about  600  pounds,  but  he  says  this  year,  drought  might  make  them  lighter.    They  also  feed  the  native  hay  that  they  raise,  which  has  high  enough  protein  content  to  keep  the  animals  healthy.   “It’s  more  natural,  too,�  he  says.  “The  animals  run  on  these  developed  plains.�  “We  raise  high-­end  sheep,�  Truman  notes.  “We  select  for  twins,  gain  and  grade  of  wool.�  Because  of  the  way  they  are  raised,  Julian’s  mar-­ ket  their  sheep  as  natural  through  Mountain  States  Lamb  Cooperative.  Sheep  provide  lots  of  opportunity  for  a  return  on  investment,  and  Truman  says,  “If  an  old  ewe  doesn’t  raise  a  lamb,  at  least  I’ll  get  some  wool  off  of  her  –  it  gives  us  two  crops.  If  the  old  cow  loses  her  calf,  you’re  out  of  luck.�

Common  grazing  All  of  their  species  are  grazed  on  private  land,  as  well  as  common  allotments.  They  trail  their  animals  between  private  sections  across  public  land.  “It  can  be  discouraging  running  on  common  allot-­ ments,â€?  he  says,  “because  we  do  a  good  job  with  managing  and  we  take  it  very  serious, Â

but  not  everyone  else  does.�  “We  have  quite  a  bit  of  private  ground,  but  it  is  so  scattered,�  Truman  explains,  noting  that  public  lands  con-­ nect  their  private  tracts.  “We  can’t  get  by  without  using  the  public  land.  It  is  so  important  to  us.�

On  the  range  “My  dad  used  to  tease  mother  that  a  jackrabbit  had  to  pack  a  lunch  to  make  it  across  here,�  says  Truman,  laughing.   He  also  says,  however,  that  sheep  and  cattle  comple-­ ment  each  other  in  the  range-­ lands  and  are  able  to  survive.   “They  complement  each  other  because  they  eat  two  different  types  of  forage.  The  sheep  like  the  forbes  and  the  shrubs,  and  I  never  worry  about  the  riparian  area  with  them,�  he  says,  adding  that  cattle  prefer  the  native  grasses.  “Years  ago,  every-­ one  had  a  bunch  a  sheep  to  go  along  with  a  bunch  of  cows,  and  it’s  too  bad  that  more  people  don’t  do  it  today.�  He  also  added  that  the  steep  canyons  and  terrain  is  better  for  sheep  grazing  and  management,  and  in  dry  years,  sheep  can  continue  to  survive  by  eating  less  palat-­ able  food  such  as  sagebrush.  “Out  here,  sheep  don’t  last  as  long  because  the  feed  isn’t  as  tender  and  it  wears  down  their  teeth,�  Truman  explains,  adding  that  they  still  have  value  for  other  pro-­ ducers  who  feed  softer  feeds.  On  top  of  grazing  prefer-­ ences,  Julian  adds  that  sheep  and  cattle  markets  used  to  be  complimentary  as  well.  “Some  years,  cat-­ tle  prices  would  be  off  and  sheep  prices  would  be  up  or  vice  versa,�  he  says.  “It  gave  a  person  the  chance  to  con-­ tinue  running  the  ranch.�

Working  with  wildlife  Truman  also  spends  time  working  with  hunters  and  the  wildlife  aspect  of  the  opera-­ tions.  “I  put  8,000  acres  in  a  hunter  walk-­in  area,â€?  he  says.  “I  thought  it  would  be  good  because  it  allows  peo-­ ple  the  opportunity  to  hunt.â€?  Accommodating  hunters  isn’t  without  its  challenges,  but  he  maintains  the  access.  Â

Sheep  and  cattle  operation  continues  long  traditions

 He  has  also  worked  with  several  groups  to  protect  fish  species.  “I  put  in  some  trout  screens,â€?  mentions  Truman.  “We  also  put  in  gated  pipe.   We  spend  a  lot  of  money  to  help  out,  I  have  more  control  of  my  water,  and  we  have  fish  now.â€?  He  adds  that  they  are  also  able  to  raise  more  hay  as  a  result  of  the  efforts  that  are  also  helping  protect  fish  spe-­ cies.  The  efforts  working  with  wildlife  groups  are  more  practical  than  working  against  them.  “What  good  is  this  coun-­ try  for  aside  from  grazing?â€?  asks  Truman.  “It  isn’t  the  good  country  that  was  home-­ steaded.â€?  “If  they  would  work  with  ranchers  instead  of  try-­ ing  to  put  us  out  of  business,  that  we  be  good,â€?  he  says  of Â

many  environmental  groups.   Truman  has  also  spent  time  in  Washington,  D.C.  advocating  for  the  industry  and  public  lands,  mention-­ ing  that  it  is  important  that  in  working  with  the  rest  of  the  country,  it  is  important  that  the  agriculture  industry  learn  about  compromise.  “We  won’t  get  100  per-­ cent,  and  we  have  to  com-­ promise,â€?  he  says.  “If  we  pick  and  choose  what  is  most  important,  and  let  them  think  they  are  winning,  we  can  get  by.â€?  Labor  issues  One  of  the  big  issues  that  Truman  sees  as  affecting  the  industry  is  labor.  In  the  sheep  industry,  herders  accompany  each  band  of  sheep  and  find-­ ing  labor  proves  to  be  a  prob-­ lem  for  Julian’s,  as  well  as  other  operations.   “Labor  is  still  a  prob-­ lem,â€?  he  says.  “Western Â

“We can’t get by without using the public land. It is so important to us.� – Truman Julian

Predators  –  With  predators  a  constant  concern,  the  Julian’s  run  guard  dogs  with  each  herd,  as  well  as  H-­2A  herders,  to  help  protect  the  sheep.  Saige  Albert  photo

Range  started  in  the  1950s  in  California  to  help  bring  in  H-­2A  workers,  but  they  keep  trying  to  get  specialty  provi-­ sions.â€?  Changing  laws  are  not  only  difficult  to  keep  up  with,  but  complying  with  impractical  provisions  is  also  challenging.  Generations  on  the  ranch  “Trudy’s  girls  are  the  sixth  generation  to  be  raised  on  Rock  Creek,â€?  says  Tru-­ man  of  his  family,   “and  I’d  like  to  see  six  more  there,  too.â€?  In  thinking  about  work-­ ing  with  the  next  generation,  he  has  worked  tirelessly  to Â

protect  the  land  and  develop  it  for  future  use  so  his  chil-­ dren  and  their  children  can  continue  the  ranch.  “I  think  rancher’s  have  an  extra  gene  or  something,�  he  comments,  noting  that  keeping  the  family  on  the  ranch  and  traditions  alive  are  particularly  important  to  members  of  ranching  com-­ munities.  “It’s  pretty  impor-­ tant  to  me,  and  I  feel  really  strongly  about  keeping  our  traditions  alive.�  Saige  Albert  is  manag-­ ing  editor  of  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup.  Send  comments  on  this  article  to  saige@wylr.net.

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Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Building and expanding Cokeville  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  While  it  seems  that  many  families  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  get  along  in  business,  Tim  and  Matt  Teichert  have  been  run-­ ning  Teichert  Brothers  Cattle  Company  since  1994.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Matt  was  here  and  had Â

some  cows.  He  asked  if  I  wanted  to  go  in  with  him  because  dad  wanted  to  sell  his  cows  and  retire,â&#x20AC;?  says  Tim,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;so  I  moved  up  here  from  southern  Utah.â&#x20AC;?  With  the  help  of  a  few Â

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Teichert  brothers  weather  tough  times  together

hired  men,  their  wives  and  children,  the  Teichert  broth-­ ers  are  able  to  successfully  run  a  cattle  operation.

Taking  over  the  ranch  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  grandpa  came  here  in  about  1928,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Tim  of  the  operationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  beginnings.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  had  a  place  in  Ameri-­ can  Falls,  Idaho,  on  the  bot-­ toms,  but  their  ground  was  condemned.  With  the  money  they  got,  they  came  here  and  started.â&#x20AC;?  The  Teichert  family  ran  a  dairy  through  the  Great  Depression,  also  buying  land.  The  brothers  grew  up  on  the  land  they  now  ranch.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dad  worked  for  the  State  Engineerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Office,  had  the  ranch  and  helped  to  raise  nine  kids,â&#x20AC;?  says  Tim.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  we  were  kids  it  was  a  Here-­ ford  operation.â&#x20AC;?  The  operation  raised  reg-­ istered  Herefords  and  had  a  bull  sale  each  year,  but  when  Matt  and  Timâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  father  took  control  of  the  operation,  they  began  to  switch  to  running  Red  Angus  bulls.

New  beginnings  Today,  the  Teichert  Brothers  run  a  commercial  herd  and  registered  herd.  Their  commercial  cows  are  primarily  Angus,  Charolais  and  Hereford,  and  the  reg-­ istered  sector  of  the  opera-­ tion  features  Red  Angus  and  Black  Angus.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  first  couple  years  we  were  leasing  dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  place,  we  ran  yearlings,â&#x20AC;?  Tim  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  was  teaching  physical  edu-­ cation,  health  and  English  at  the  time.â&#x20AC;?  They  still  each  have  a  job  in  town  on  top  of  ranching,  but  a  few  hired  men,  their Â

wives  and  children  help  out  on  the  ranch.

Cows  and  hay  With  herds  that  calve  from  February  though  May,  the  Teichert  brothers  keep  busy.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  purebred  cows  start  calving  the  end  of  February,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Matt.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  barn  the  commercial  cattle,  so  they  start  later.â&#x20AC;?  On  BLM  and  Forest  Ser-­ vice  lands,  they  are  able  to  spend  time  of  the  range  for  much  of  the  year,  beginning  in  April  until  Oct.  1  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  range  is  in  the  hills  to  the  west,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Tim,  adding  that  it  is  adjacent  to  their  deeded  land.  They  are  able  to  stay  on  spring  range  until  the  mid-­ dle  of  June  before  they  trail  the  cattle  through  the  town  of  Cokeville  to  summer  range-­ land.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  run  cows  on  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Bridger  Teton  National  For-­ est,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  Depending  on  when  snow  flies,  they  start  feeding  hay  from  the  end  of  Novem-­ ber  to  Jan.  1.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  can  handle  a  little  bit  of  snow,  but  last  year,  we Â

got  a  lot  of  snow  early,  and  it  got  really  cold,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Tim.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  had  to  start  feeding  by  the  end  of  November.â&#x20AC;?  To  accommodate  feed-­ ing  their  cows,  the  Teichertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  put  up  hay  from  meadows  they  own.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  all  grass  hay.  Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  also  had  pivots  in  barley  and  oats,  and  they  do  really  good,â&#x20AC;?  Tim  adds,  noting  that  some  years  they  have  enough  to  sell  some,  while  other  years  they  buy  hay  to  supple-­ ment  their  crops.  Continual  expansion  The  Teichertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  have  been  working  to  expand  the  land  on  the  operation  continually.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  expanded  pretty  rapidly  and  have  bought  a  place  almost  every  year,â&#x20AC;?  says  Matt.  Without  ditches  through  the  meadows,  Tim  explains  they  flood  irrigate  the  land,  noting  it  looks  like  a  lake  with  two  to  four  inches  of  water.   On  the  river,  they  have  also  been  working  to  reju-­ venate  willows  and  get  rid  of  cattails  to  improve  habi-­ tat  and  grazing  conditions.  Additionally,  they  are  plan-­ ning  to  install  a  bridge  for  easier  access  to  lands  across  the  Bear  River.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  just  trying  to Â

Family operations  As  the  Teichert  brothers  operate  in  Cokeville,  they  place  a  strong  focus  on  family.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  a  really  close  family,â&#x20AC;?  says  Matt.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;That  has  been  good.  Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  been  lucky.â&#x20AC;?  They  grew  up  in  a  family  with  nine  children.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Matt  is  the  oldest  boy,  and  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  number  seven,â&#x20AC;?  says  Tim,  noting  that  they  have  two  sisters  and  the  rest  of  the  family  are  boys.   Tim  and  his  wife  Renae  have  three  children:  Bronson,  19,  Janae,  11,  and  Tana,  9.   Timâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  oldest,  Bronson,  is  in  his  first  year  at  Utah  State  University  while  his  younger  daughters  live  at  home.   Mattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  family  includes  his  wife  and  10  children.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  had  five  kids  with  my  first  wife.  After  we  lost  her  to  can-­ cer,  I  remarried  a  lady  that  also  had  five  kids,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Six  are  married  and  two  are  in  college  now.â&#x20AC;?  Matt  adds  that  he  has  seven  grandchildren,  with  four  more  due  by  the  end  of  the  year.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  are  all  good  kids,â&#x20AC;?  say  the  brothers  of  their  fami-­ lies.

make  it  better,â&#x20AC;?  says  Matt.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  like  the  land  the  best  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  even  better  than  the  cows.  I  like  fixing  it  up  to  where  we  can  produce  more.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  the  same.  I  enjoy  fixing  it  up  to  run  cows,â&#x20AC;?  Tim  adds.  Abundant  wildlife  With  lush  hay  mead-­ ows,  coupled  with  flood  irri-­ gation,  Tim  notes  that  there  are  ducks,  geese,  cranes  and  other  birds  that  inhabit  the  hay  meadows.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  land  adjoins  the  Cokeville  Meadows  National  Wildlife  Refuge,â&#x20AC;?  Tim  adds,  mentioning  that  the  land  also  provides  habitat  for  a  variety  of  birds,  deer  and  elk.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  only  problem  we  have  with  elk  is  the  sometimes  get  into  the  stack  yards.â&#x20AC;?  Wildlife  Services  and  Partners  for  Wildlife  have  been  valuable  partners  for  the  Teichertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s,  helping  them  with  funding  and  resources  to  put  in  to  rehabilitating  the  lands.  They  have  also  partnered  with  the  Natural  Resources  Conservation  Service  to  con-­ tinue  developments  on  the  land.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  done  about  19  water  structures  total,â&#x20AC;?  says  Tim. Addressing  challenges  The  unique  nature  of  the  valley  creates  some  chal-­ lenges  for  the  Teichertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  have  longer  win-­ ters,â&#x20AC;?  says  Matt.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  also  quite  a  ways  from  any  mar-­ kets  or  auctions.â&#x20AC;?  They  sell  their  cattle  at  Riverton  or  Torrington,  feed-­ ing  them  in  Nebraska.  But  overall,  Matt  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  place  that  we  bought  is  a  dream  outfit  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  the  Bear  River  floods  it,  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  easy  to  irrigate  and  we  can  turn  cows  out  for  fall  feed.  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  really  a  pretty  place.  We  think  we  are  pretty  lucky.â&#x20AC;?  Saige  Albert  is  managing  editor  of  the  Wyoming  Live-­ stock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr.net. Â

THE WYOMING LIVESTOCK BOARD is  preparing  for  the  2013  Brand  renewal  and  wants  to  remind  producers  that  it  is  very  important  to  keep  their  mailing  address  current.  By  law,  the  Livestock  Board  must  notify  by  mail  at  the  address  shown  on  the  brand  records,  the  party  owning  the  brand  that  the  brand  must  be  rerecorded  and  if  the  brand  has  not  been  rerecorded  within  sixty  (60)  days  from  the  expiration  date  of  the  brand  will  be  declared  abandoned.  Brands  that  are  subject  to  renewal  expire  on  January  1,  of  the  renewal  year  and  the  60  day  grace  period  expires  March  1,  of  the  renewal  year.   If  you  are  not  sure  of  when  your  brand  is  scheduled  for  renewal  or  are  not  sure  if  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Board  has  your  current  address,  please  contact  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Board  via  phone,  mail,  email,  or  fax  at  following  address:

Wyoming  Livestock  Board 1934  Wyott  Drive,  Cheyenne,  WY  82002-­0051 Office  phone  307-­  777-­7515 FAX  307-­777-­6561  or  wlsb@state.wy.us  Offer  ends  October  26,  2012  128$1500  off  or  0.0%  for  36  months  on  6R/M  Utility  &  6030  Series  Tractors.  1400.0%  for  48  months.  Subject  to  approved  installment  credit  with  John  Deere  Financial.  Some  restrictions  apply;͞  other  special  rates  and  terms  may  be  DYDLODEOH VR VHH \RXU GHDOHU IRU GHWDLOV DQG RWKHU ¿QDQFLQJ RSWLRQV

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Attention Brand Owners

A5

2012 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition

Outdoor adventures Afton – Helping people expe-­ rience the best of what the West has to offer to customers and guests is a thriving busi-­ ness for the owners of Yel-­ lowstone Outfitters and its related operations Teton Vil-­ lage Trail Rides, Yellowstone Horse Rentals and Wagons West.

Started more than sixty years ago as Petersons Hunt-­ ing and Fishing Camps, Yel-­ lowstone Outfitters is now a full-­service guide busi-­ ness, owned and operated by Lynn and Marcene Madsen and their son Chad Madsen.

The Afton based family also runs several related business, offering services like horse rentals, wagon rides and trail rides in Lincoln and Teton counties.

Hunting adventures The focus during fall for Yellowstone Outfitters is, of course, hunting. Occasion-­ ally, a hunter will fill a moose, sheep or deer tag, but the main focus of Yellowstone Outfit-­ ters is elk. Camp is located in the Teton Wilderness north-­ east of Jackson. It sits off the southeast corner of Yellow-­ stone National Park, between the Yellowstone and Thoro-­ fare rivers. The hunting is so good and the scenery so spec-­ tacular, guests usually have to book two years in advance to reserve a spot.

“The Hawks Rest camp is one of the most remote camps in the lower 48 states.

It’s a one day, 28-­mile pack in from the Turpin Meadows base camp,” says Yellow-­ stone Outfitters office man-­ ager Marilyn Dahle.

Marilyn is also the busi-­ ness’s public contact when everyone else is up hunting, which is most of the fall.

“It’s a comfortable, fully equipped camp, complete with showers, tents and great food,” she says.

Mother Nature’s challenge Like other outdoor rec-­ reation businesses, Yellow-­ stone Outfitters has faced several challenges from Mother Nature, including wildfires. This summer’s fire in the Teton Wilder-­ ness hasn’t harmed the Yel-­ lowstone Outfitters camp or the hunting grounds, but it has affected how guides and guests are able to access the hunting camp. Several extra hours have been added onto the pack-­in trip to bypass the active fire areas.

Large predators like wolves and bears have also affected how Yellowstone Outfitters does business in the

backcountry.

“Grizzly bears are a con-­ cern for our guides and hunt-­ ers,” says Marilyn. “There are a lot of bears up there. We haven’t had any mishaps, but we take all the precautions.”

Guides are trained on how to keep guests safe and employ a number of bear-­ wise strategies, including keeping dogs in camp as a bear deterrent, using electric fence around the perimeter of the camp and proper food storage.

Summer trips As busy as fall is for Yel-­ lowstone Outfitters, summer is even more involved. The Madsen’s offer guided trout fishing trips to the Yellow-­ stone and Thorofare rivers, where the Yellowstone cut-­ throat trout is an angler’s pri-­ mary quarry.

They are an Orvis-­ endorsed fly-­fishing guide service, but guests can also choose to fish with spinning tackle. Anglers can choose a six-­day trip on horseback, or anglers can customize a trip of a different length.

Guests can also choose to leave the fishing gear at home and take a weeklong pack trip or a half-­day trail ride. All trips offer trustworthy horses and spectacular scenery.

The Madsen’s have also diversified their business to increase their viability and stability. Teton Village Trail Rides began offering guided horseback rides in May 2008.

Based out of the Snake River Ranch in Teton Village, the business offers one, two and four hour rides along the ranch’s property. Sleigh rides are also offered in the winter.

Marilyn says the trail ride business has seen ongoing success, even in a tough econ-­ omy.

“True, people are cutting back on expenses, but families still want to take vacations, enjoy themselves and escape from their everyday lives,” she explains. “A family might not be able to justify the cost of an overnight, extended pack trip, but they can come up with the funds for smaller, fun events, like a one-­day trail ride. Teton Village Trail Rides helps peo-­ ple enjoy their western vaca-­ tion on a budget.”

Horses and more Horses for Yellowstone Outfitters and Teton Village Trail Rides are supplied by yet another Madsen family business, Yellowstone Horse Rentals.

Yellowstone Horse Rent-­ als rents horses to other hunt-­ ing outfitters, guide services

Wagons West – A particularly unique facet to the Madsen’s busi-­ ness endeavors is the opportunity for guests to take a trip in a cov-­ ered wagon, eat meals from a chuckwagon and sleep under the stars. Courtesy photo

Madsen’s serve outdoor needs in Lincoln County

and even individual hunt-­ ers and anglers. Marilyn says they have a herd of more than 1,000 horses, with customers from Glacier National Park in Montana to the Grand Can-­ yon in Arizona. Yellowstone Horse Rentals also provides riding tack, packing gear and transportation for the horses if needed.

“There are two ways to get into the wilderness, on foot or on a horse. We can supply the horses,” says Mar-­ ilyn. “All the horses available for rent are in good shape, well-­mannered and guest-­ worthy. Many of the horses rented in the fall spend their summers packing kids or other novices around, so they can be trusted with people of all skill levels.”

Wagons West For those seeking a more authentic trip across Wyo-­ ming, there’s also Yellow-­ stone Outfitter’s Wagons West, a covered wagon excur-­ sion service.

Guests ride in authentic covered wagons through the Bridger-­Teton National For-­ est and Mount Leidy High-­ lands, taking in Wyoming’s scenery and wildlife. Once camp is reached, the wagons circle and chuckwagon meals are served. Guests can sleep in their wagons, in a tent or under the stars.

Though Wagons West didn’t operate in 2012, Mari-­ lyn says they will soon begin booking trips for 2013.

“It can be a great fam-­ ily trip with all the west-­

“The Madsen’s have also done an excellent job of rolling with the punches the economy throws at them by recognizing the changing needs of their customers.” – Marilyn Dahle, Yellowstone Outfitters

Trail rides – With thousands of acres of backcountry in Lincoln County and the surrounding areas, Yellowstone Outfitters also offers trail rides that range from one day trips to extended excur-­ sions. Courtesy photo

ern flair— horseback riding, wagons and meals cooked in Dutch ovens,” she says, add-­ ing, it’s like going on safari in the West.

Between all the busi-­ nesses, Yellowstone Outfit-­ ters employs around 25 peo-­ ple in its peak season, includ-­ ing members of the Madsen family. Marilyn says that’s what sets Yellowstone Out-­ fitters apart from other outfit-­ ters.

“At its core, Yellow-­ stone Outfitters is a family owned and operated busi-­ ness. We offer three gener-­ ations of experience in the

outfitting and guiding busi-­ ness,” she explains. “The Madsen’s have also done an excellent job of rolling with the punches the economy throws at them by recogniz-­ ing the changing needs of their customers. That’s what makes Yellowstone Outfitters a thriving business today and down the road.”

For more information on services or trips, visit yel-­ lowstoneoutfitters.com or call 800-­447-­4741. Teresa Mil-­ ner is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

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

A6

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Tradition continues Thayne  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Shane  Crook,  fifth  generation  dairy  farmer,  carries  on  his  fam-­ ilyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  tradition  in  beautiful  Star  Valley.   Surrounded  by  the  Salt  River  Mountains,  strad-­ dling  the  Wyoming  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Idaho Â

state  line,  the  area  was  often  called  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  Star  of  All  Val-­ leysâ&#x20AC;?  by  early  pioneers.  Long  history  Shane  Crookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  great  grandmother,  pioneer  Annie  Crook,  moved  to  the  Wyoming  side  of  Star Â

Crook  family  dairy  extends  to  fifth  generation

Valley  in  1910.  William  and  Annie  Crookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  sons,  Lyman  and  Newell,  pur-­ chased  the  dairy  in  about  1950.  Lymanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  son,  Ronald  Crook,  purchased  the  dairy  from  his  father  and  uncle  in  1993,  and  Shane  pur-­ chased  the  dairy  from  his  parents,  Ronald  and  Bar-­ bara  Crook,  in  2011.   Shane  enjoys  life  in  Star  Valley,  and  the  intrica-­ cies  of  the  dairy.   In  1998,  he  earned  a  degree  in  agriculture  and  soil  science  from  Ricks  College  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  now  Brigham  Young  University-­Idaho.  He  then  studied  aero-­ space  engineering  at  Utah  State  University,  and  earned  degrees  in  finance  and  economics.  His  wife,  Michelle,  earned  a  mas-­ terâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  degree  in  economics.  The  young  couple  decided  to  settle  in  Star  Valley,  agreeing  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  great  place  to  raise  a  family.  Much  has  changed  in  the  dairy  industry  in  Star  Valley  over  the  past  100  years.  Changing  times  Ronald  explains,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Twenty  years  ago,  there  were  150  dairies  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  the  larg-­ est  with  30  to  40  cows  -­ Â

and  about  10  cheese  fac-­ tories  in  this  valley.  There  used  to  be  eight  small  dair-­ ies  on  just  the  land  we  farm  now.  Then,  they  all  took  their  milk  to  the  cheese  factory  in  Thayne.  Now,  all  the  milk  is  trucked  to  Idaho.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  cheaper  to  pro-­ duce  milk  in  other  places  because  of  warmer  cli-­ mates  and  better  access  to  feed,â&#x20AC;?  he  continues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many  farmers  here  have  sold  out.  Now  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  down  to  about  10  dairies  in  the  valley.â&#x20AC;?    Shane  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  are  over  three  times  bigger  than  the  next  largest  dairy,  milking  about  175  head  of  cows  and  running  about  400  total  animals.  Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  started  expanding,  because  we  have  to  make  it  worth-­ while  for  the  truck  driver  to  haul  the  milk.  This  spring,  we  added  36  cows  from  another  dairy  in  the  valley,  and  we  plan  to  buy  more.â&#x20AC;?

Selling  milk  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  the  dairy  cows  are  milked,  the  milk  is  pumped  into  large  tanks.  The  milk  temperature  has  to  go  down  to  40  degrees,  and  then  stay  below  45  degrees,â&#x20AC;?  Shane  explains. Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  can  legally  hold  the  milk  three  days,  but  the  truck  comes  every  other  day  to  haul  the  milk  to  Idaho.â&#x20AC;?  He  continues,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  sell  raw  milk  to  Sartori  Com-­ pany  in  Blackfoot,  Idaho.  They  produce  world-­ famous,  award-­winning  cheese.â&#x20AC;?  Sartori  is  an  artisan  cheese  company,  focus-­ ing  on  hand-­making  great  cheese.  Sartoriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  SarVec-­ chio  Parmesan  earned  Best  of  Show  honors  at  the  2009  U.S.  Championship  Cheese  Contest,  then  First  Runner  Up  in  2011.  The  companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Limited  Edi-­ tion  Cognac  BellaVitano  recently  took  third  overall  in  the  2001  World  Cheese  Awards.     Every  other  day,  a  truck  arrives  from  Sartori  to  pick  up  and  transport  milk  from  Star  Valley.  Back  at  Sar-­ tori,  the  truck  driver  tests  milk  samples  for  antibi-­ otics  before  unloading  at  silos.  If  there  are  traces  of  antibiotic  in  the  milk,  the  entire  truckload  is  dis-­ carded  before  entering  the  silos,  and  the  dairy  sub-­

mitting  the  milk  has  to  pay  for  the  entire  truckload  of  milk.    â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  use  rBST  hormones,â&#x20AC;?  says  Ronald  Crook.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  sign  papers  to  that  effect.â&#x20AC;?   Shane  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  consumer  driven.  Pediat-­ ric  groups  say  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  fine,  and  that  adding  the  hormone  does  not  cause  problems  for  anyone  drinking  the  milk.  Cows  produce  it  nat-­ urally,  but  certain  groups  have  made  it  seem  like  a  bad  thing.â&#x20AC;?

High  quality  Crook  Dairy  is  a  Grade  A  facility,  meaning  the  milk  is  of  highest  quality,  and  can  be  used  for  fluid  milk,  cheese  or  any  other  dairy  product.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  drink  the  raw  milk  here  ourselves,â&#x20AC;?  says  Shane,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;so  we  keep  every-­ thing  very  clean,  and  we  keep  our  cows  very  healthy.â&#x20AC;?   He  believes,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;A  healthy,  happy,  comfort-­ able  cow  is  a  productive  cow.â&#x20AC;?   Cows  at  Crook  Dairy  produce  about  60  pounds  of  milk  per  cow  each  day.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We drink the raw milk here ourselves, so we keep everything very clean, and we keep our cows very healthy.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Shane Crook, Crook Dairy

Happy  and  healthy  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Shane  Crook  emphasizes  that,  at  Crook  Dairy,  cows  are  kept  healthy  and  comfortable  to  ensure  the  highest  possible  levels  of  production.  Echo  Renner  photo

Wyoming Livestock Roundup :\RPLQJ /LYHVWRFN 5RXQGXS 8636 LV SXEOLVKHG ZHHNO\ E\ 0DYHULFN 3UHVV ,QF 3 2 %R[ Â&#x2021; &DVSHU :< 3HULRGLFDOV SRVWDJH SDLG LQ &DVSHU :< )D[ Â&#x2021; HPDLO URXQGXS#Z\OU QHW

3KRQH 800-967-1647 ZZZ Z\OU QHW DENNIS SUN, Publisher Â&#x2021; &HOO HPDLO GHQQLV#Z\OU QHW SAIGE ALBERT, Managing Editor Â&#x2021; VDLJH#Z\OU QHW TRACY ALGER, 3URGXFWLRQ &RRUGLQDWRU Â&#x2021; 307-738-2399 Â&#x2021; WUDF\#Z\OU QHW JODY MICHELENA, $GYHUWLVLQJ 'LUHFWRU Â&#x2021; MRG\P#Z\OU QHW CURT COX, /LYHVWRFN )LHOG 6HUYLFHV Â&#x2021; 307-630-4604 Â&#x2021; FXUW#Z\OU QHW ANDREA SUN, Circulation/Accounting Â&#x2021; DQGUHD#Z\OU QHW DENISE OLSON, &ODVVLĂ&#x20AC;HG 6DOHV 0DQDJHU Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021; GHQLVH#Z\OU QHW APRIL JONES, $FFRXQW ([HFXWLYH Â&#x2021; 307-632-5118 Subscription Rates \HDU \HDUV \HDUV 3RVWPDVWHU 6HQG DGGUHVV FKDQJHV WR DQGUHD#Z\OU QHW :\RPLQJ /LYHVWRFN 5RXQGXS Â&#x2021; 3 2 %R[ Â&#x2021; &DVSHU :< Member :\RPLQJ 6WRFN *URZHUV $VVRFLDWLRQ Â&#x2021; :\RPLQJ :RRO *URZHUV $VVRFLDWLRQ Â&#x2021; :\RPLQJ )DUP %XUHDX )HGHUDWLRQ Â&#x2021; &DVSHU $UHD &KDPEHU RI &RPPHUFH Â&#x2021; :\RPLQJ &DWWOH:RPHQ Â&#x2021; :\RPLQJ +RUVH &RXQFLO Â&#x2021; /LYHVWRFN 3XEOLFDWLRQV &RXQFLO Â&#x2021; *XDUGLDQV RI WKH 5DQJH Wyoming  Renewable  Energy  Association  United  States  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Association

This  publication  is  Š  2012  by  Maverick  Press,  Inc.

Scott Vetter Cell: (970) 381-­2616 40014  Business  Loop  I-­80 Mountain  View,  Wyoming Phone  (307)  786-­2800 Toll Free 1-­800-­276-­3481

A7

2012 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition

If a cow is sick, she is years, dairies are inspected milked separately. Her milk according to federal regu-­ does not enter the tanks, but lations for cleanliness and is used to feed the calves. high standards in the facil-­ She may be treated with ity, water, machinery and antibiotics, but that milk the milk. never comes into contact “The guidelines are very with the milk headed for strict,” Shane describes.

Sartori.

“They check everything “It has to be withheld and want to know if the for a certain time,” Shane cows are stressed or sick. explains, “Milk is withheld They make sure the cows continuously once antibi-­ are clean. They ensure we otic treatments have been have a good, safe food sup-­ administered, and for 96 ply.” hours after the last of three In addition to the fed-­ treatments.”

eral inspection, Wyoming Sixty days before calv-­ dairies are inspected every ing, the cows are pulled six months. from the milk string and Family ties rested. Twenty-­one days Crook Dairy is a fam-­ prior to calving, they are ily business. Shane Crook moved into the barn and watched more closely. After calving, cows and calves are given medicines and drenches, and sep-­ arated after a few hours.

Increasing efficiency and safety Traditionally, cows are milked from the side.

Crook Dairy cows are milked twice a day from behind to increase the num-­ ber cows milked at a time.

“It takes less space to milk cows from behind than Family operation – Crook Dairy is a fam-­ s i d e -­ b y -­ s i d e , ” ily operation that began in 1910, when Shane explains.

Shane’s great grandmother moved to Every two Star Valley. Echo Renner photo

owns the company and keeps records of each cow at the dairy. His wife, Michelle, takes care of the financial records. Prior to their purchasing the dairy, Ronald kept the dairy records, and his wife, Bar-­

bara, tracked the financial records. Barbara has bottle-­ fed the calves for 20 years.

She considers herself their surrogate mother.

Shane is glad to call Star Valley home and says, “It is a good place to raise a

family. In fact, Donnie and Marie Osmond’s uncles had a dairy just across the road.

You go away to school, and in the summer time you come back because you just can’t get the valley out of your system.”

For more informa-­ tion, contact Shane Crook at 307-­883-­6444. Echo Renner is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup may be reached at 307-­250-­9723 or echo@ wylr.net.

Pays for Itself in Preventing Wasted Salt and Mineral!

A8

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Thoman Ranch LaBarge  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  With  a  love  of  the  land  and  her  animals,  Mary  Thoman,  known  as  Mickey  to  most,  manages  the  fam-­ ily  ranching  operation,  W&M  Thoman  Ranches,  LLC.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  lived  on  the  river  since  1953,â&#x20AC;?  says  Mickey  of  their  ranch.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  was  born  and  raised  out  of  Kemmerer,  and  we  ran  sheep  on  the  desert.â&#x20AC;?  Mickeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  parents,  who  emigrated  from  Austria  about  1900,  homesteaded  on  land  north  of  Kemmerer  on  the  Hams  Fork  River.  The  family  still  summers  some  animals  on  the  property.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  had  a  few  short-­ horns,  and  they  had  sheep  to  start  with,â&#x20AC;?  she  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  always  had  some  sheep.â&#x20AC;?  When  the  property  where  their  ranch  currently  sits,  which  lies  in  both  Lincoln  and  Sweetwater  Counties,  came  up  for  sale,  Mickey  notes  that  they  bought  the  place  because Â

it  was  handy  and  a  good  loca-­ tion.  Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  been  there  ever  since,  running  both  sheep  and  cattle.

Big  families  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  raised  all  of  our  family  out  here,â&#x20AC;?  says  Mickey.  Mickeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  family  reaches  across  the  state.  She  was  mar-­ ried  to  William  J.  in  1948,  and  they  raised  a  family  on  the  ranch.  She  has  three  daugh-­ ters,  Mary  A.,  Laurie  and  Kristy  Wardell,  all  who  live  on  and  help  with  the  ranch.  Her  two  sons,  Bob  and  Dick,  have  moved  away,  with  Bob  ranching  in  Riverton  and  Dick  working  in  the  oilfield.  Mickey  also  lost  two  children.  Daughter  Cathe-­ rine  drowned  in  a  riding  acci-­ dent  when  she  was  22,  and  five  years  later,  Bill  Jr.  died  in  a  cube  hauling  accident  on  South  Pass  at  the  age  of  25.  The  first  three  of  their  children  were  raised  in  sheep Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always run sheep, and we have more cows now than we used to.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mary â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mickeyâ&#x20AC;? Thoman

Ranching  family  runs  sheep,  cattle  together

camps.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  also  have  21  grandkids  and  12  great-­grandkids,â&#x20AC;?  says  Mickey.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  are  expecting  two  more  this  year.â&#x20AC;?   For  the  grandkids  on  the  ranch,  Thoman  School,  which  was  established  in  1957,  pro-­ vides  their  education,  since  Green  River  and  Kemmerer  are  both  over  40  miles  away  and  travel  gets  rough  in  the  winters.  The  school  is  the  last  of  the  one-­room  schools  in  Wyoming.  Mickeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  grandson  Rex,  12,  currently  attends  Thoman  School.

Diversity   Ranching  has  been  a  big  part  of  the  Thomanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  family  life.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  always  run  sheep,â&#x20AC;?  comments  Mickey,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;and  we  have  more  cows  now  than  we  used  to.â&#x20AC;?  Their  herd  of  Rambouillet  sheep  runs  on  rangeland  year  around,  summering  on  the  Bridger  Teton  National  Forest  north  of  Pinedale  and  winter-­ ing  on  the  Rock  Springs  Graz-­

ing  Association  ranges.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  lamb  our  sheep  on  the  Big  Sandy  and  haul  them  to  range.  Usually  we  sum-­ mer  from  July  1  until  Oct.  1,â&#x20AC;?  she  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  pastures  are  mainly  BLM  allotments,  and  we  have  shares  in  Rock  Springs  Grazing  Association.â&#x20AC;?  Lambing  occurs  on  the  range  at  the  beginning  of  May,  and  Mickey  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;People  who  shed  lamb  can  lamb  ear-­ lier,  but  we  land  on  the  range.â&#x20AC;?  Her  daughters  also  have  a  bunch  of  registered  sheep  they  lamb  in  March.  The  cattle  side  of  the  operation  runs  Herefords,  and  Mickey  says  they  are  adapted  to  the  land  and  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  have  Herefords,  and  we  have  been  straight  Here-­ ford  for  forever,â&#x20AC;?  she  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  think  they  are  thriftier  cows.â&#x20AC;?  The  cattle  winter  on  the  desert  with  the  sheep,  spend-­ ing  their  summers  on  both  sides  of  the  Green  River.   With  expansion  of  the Â

Right NowÂŽ Mineral

1 2: , 6 7 + ( 5,*+7 7,0( ) 2 5 6 $9 , 1 * 6

Seedskadee  National  Wild-­ life  Refuge,  Mickey  says  that  they  no  longer  have  hay  ground,  instead  just  pasturing  their  cattle  on  the  river.  They  also  raise  a  herd  of  Thoroughbred-­Quarter  horses  on  the  property.

Predator  problems  The  location  of  their  summer  range  comes  with  its  own  set  of  challenges.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  are  so  many  grizzly  bears  it  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  even  funny,â&#x20AC;?  says  Mickey.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  got  those  allotments  in  1978,  and  before  that  we  were  on  the  Wyoming  range.â&#x20AC;?

Ranch  Woman  of  the  Year  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;   She  explains  that  in  Because  of  her  involvement,  as  well  1997,  some  grizzly  bears  as  he  dedication  and  passion  for  agri-­ were  let  out  on  the  river  culture,  Mickey  Thoman  was  selected  the  2012  Ranch  Woman  of  the  where  they  release  the  as  Year  in  Sublette  County.  Saige  Albert  sheep  each  summer. photo  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  let  them  out  when  we  were  shipping   Her  involvement  spans  a  sheep,â&#x20AC;?  she  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;and  since  number  of  group  and  organi-­ then,  it  has  been  a  nightmare.â&#x20AC;? zations,  locally,  statewide  and   They  utilize  Peruvian  nationally. sheepherders  and  guard  dogs,   Because  of  her  involve-­ protecting  both  the  herders  ment,  dedication  and  passion  and  their  sheep  with  electric  for  ranching,  Mickey  was  fences  each  night. named  2012  Ranch  Woman   â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  has  helped  the  sheep  a  of  the  Year  in  Sublette  County. lot,  because  the  bears  used  to  Making  it  through get  into  our  herds  at  night  and   Aside  from  predators,  scatter  them  all  over,â&#x20AC;?  Mickey  the  Thomanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  have  also  faced  says  of  the  electric  fences.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  flood,  fire  and  condemned  would  be  a  couple  of  days  lands. before  we  could  gather  them   â&#x20AC;&#x153;In  the  early  1960s,  the  all  up.â&#x20AC;? ranch  was  flooded  when  Fon-­  Mickeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  daughter  Mary  tenelle  Dam  broke,â&#x20AC;?  say  her  has  an  airplane  that  she  flies  daughters.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;In  the  1970s,  to  keep  track  of  the  cattle  and  a  careless  camper  started  a  sheep  as  well.  wildfire  that  burned  several  Continuing  to  ranch hundred  acres  of  trees  and   Despite  the  difficulty  nearly  destroyed  ranch  build-­ that  accompanies  the  ranch,  ings.â&#x20AC;? and  most  ranches  in  Wyo-­  They  continue  that  the  ming,  Mickey  continues  to  U.S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Ser-­ be  involved  and  continues  to  vice  also  condemned  part  of  ranch. the  family  ranch  in  1980.   Mickey  is  one  of  the  33   â&#x20AC;&#x153;No  matter  what,  God  founding  members  of  the  can  be  found  in  the  beauty  of  Green  River  Valley  Cow-­ the  outdoors  and  agriculture,â&#x20AC;?  belles.  She  has  also  been  a  says  Mickey.  member  of  the  Wyoming   Saige  Albert  is  managing  Stockgrowerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Associa-­ editor  of  the  Wyoming  Live-­ tion  Board  of  Directors  and  stock  Roundup  and  can  be  Guardians  of  the  Grasslands. reached  at  saige@wylr.net.

Protecting  against  predators  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  When  their  sheep  are  in  summer  ranges,  the  Thomanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  utilize  electric  net  fencing  to  keep  grizzly  bears  and  wolves  at  bay.  Mary  also  flies  the  herds  to  keep  an  eye  on  predators.  Saige  Albert  photo

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A9

2012  Fall  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Edition

Cokeville Meadows Cokeville  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Beginning  in  1992,  the  U.S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  (FWS)  established  the  Cokeville  Meadows  National  Wildlife  Refuge.   Centered  on  a  20-­mile  stretch  of  the  Bear  River,  the  refuge  is  associated  with  wetlands  and  uplands  and  is  managed  as  a  satellite  of  the  Seedskadee  National  Wild-­ life  Refuge,  which  sits  75  miles  to  the  east  in  Sweet-­ water  County.

Importance  of  the  refuge  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cokeville  Meadows  National  Wildlife  Refuge  was  established  to  protect  wetland  and  riparian  habi-­ tat  associated  with  the  Bear  River  that  is  important  to  a  diversity  of  migratory  birds,â&#x20AC;?  says  the  FWS  on  their  website.  With  less  than  five  per-­ cent  of  Wyomingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  land  area  functioning  as  wetland,  FWS  marks  making  wet-­ land  communities  within  the  state  as  important  to  wildlife.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  heart  of  the  refuge  is  the  mosaic  of  wet  mead-­ ows  and  cattail  and  bul-­ rush  sloughs,â&#x20AC;?  adds  FWS.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many  of  these  wetlands  were  originally  created  and  maintained  by  agricultural  practices.â&#x20AC;?  The  area  was  also  nom-­ inated  as  an  important  bird  area  by  Audubon  Wyoming.

 The  wetlands  associ-­ ated  with  Bear  River  are  both  natural  and  human  made,  according  to  FWS,  with  natural  wetlands  flood-­ ing  as  a  result  of  high  water  events  following  spring  snowmelts.   Irrigation  systems  cre-­ ating  runoff  in  the  1930s  and  40s  have  also  resulted  in  persistent  wetlands,  and  diversion  dams  in  the  Bear  River  create  irrigation  opportunities  that  support  hay  production  from  the  native  meadows.  New  and  expanding  Cokeville  Meadows  is  a  relatively  new  wildlife  ref-­ uge,  but  the  FWS  marks  it  as  a  growing  endeavor.  The  area  was  identified  as  the  number  one  priority  in  the  Bear  River  Focus  Area  Plan  for  the  Inter-­Mountain  West  Joint  Venture.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;While  the  approved  acquisition  boundary  for  the  Refuge  totalling  26,657  acres,  only  9,259  acres  have  been  purchased  or  protected  through  conservation  ease-­ ments  to  date,â&#x20AC;?  says  the  Refugeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  website.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Newly  acquired  lands  are  posted  with  boundary  signs  and  evaluated  for  a  variety  of  factors.â&#x20AC;?  According  to  the  FWS,  land  acquisition  is  ongoing  from  willing  sellers  only.  Because  it  is  newly Â

Diverse  habitat  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Cokeville  Meadows  National  Wildlife  Refuge  pro-­ vides  havitat  for  more  than  32  water  bird  species,  as  well  as  numer-­ ous  other  game  birds  and  wildlife  species  in  Wyoming.  Saige  Albert  photo

Wildlife  refuge  strives  to  provide  habitat

established,  the  Cokeville  Meadows  National  Wildlife  Refuge  is  currently  not  open  to  public  use.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;However,  over  the  next  several  years,  Ref-­ uge  staff  will  begin  pub-­ lic  planning  processes  that  may  open  Refuge  lands  to  a  variety  of  public  uses,  such  as  wildlife  viewing,  inter-­ pretation,  fishing,  hunting,  environment  education  and  photography,â&#x20AC;?  adds  FWS.  While  much  of  the  ref-­ uge  is  closed,  the  Neth-­ erly  Slough  Wildlife  View-­ ing  Area  provides  informa-­ tional  displays  and  wildlife  viewing  from  a  roadside  area  off  of  Highway  30.

Cooperative  efforts  With  local  ranchers  and  Refuge  managers  work-­

ing  together,  a  number  of  efforts  are  being  pursued  to  increase  the  productivity  and  viability  of  the  land.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Under  Special  Use  Permits,  local  ranchers  and  Refuge  managers  mutually  benefit  by  working  coop-­ eratively  to  reach  Refuge  habitat  goal  and  projects  goals,â&#x20AC;?  says  the  Refuge  website.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ranchers  assist  Refuge  staff  with  irriga-­ tion  of  wet  meadows  and  other  wetlands,  mainte-­ nance  of  ditches  and  other  irrigation  facilities,  provid-­ ing  food  plots  for  wildlife  and  maintenance  of  vigor  of  wet  meadow  vegetation  through  selective  haying.â&#x20AC;?  Efforts  for  weed  con-­ trol,  conversion  of  mar-­ ginal  cropland  to  perma-­

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The heart of the refuge is the mosaic of wet meadows and cattail and bulrush sloughs. Many of these wetlands were originally created and maintained by agricultural practices.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

nent  native  vegetation  and  other  projects,  includ-­ ing  refuge  cleanups,  fence  maintenance  and  construc-­ tion  are  ongoing  as  well.  The  website  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;In  exchange,  ranchers  receive  hay,  crop  and  grazing  shares.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  management  regime  maintains  the  vigor  of  wet  meadows  and  other  vegetation  that  critical  for  wildlife,â&#x20AC;?  continues  the  FWS.   Close  efforts  with  the  Wyoming  Game  and  Fish  Department  have  also  pro-­ vided  Cokeville  Mead-­ ows  National  Wildlife  Ref-­ uge  to  identify  and  achieve  management  goals  and  objectives,  as  well  as  to  conduct  annual  wildlife  inventories.  Refuge  species  FWS  says  the  Refuge  supports  one  of  the  highest  densities  of  nesting  water-­ fowl  in  Wyoming,  with  at  least  32  water  bird  species  affected.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  has  excellent  poten-­ tial  for  the  reintroduction  of  trumpeter  swans  and Â

provides  habitat  for  res-­ ident  species,  including  greater  sage  grouse,  mule  deer,  elk  and  pronghorn,â&#x20AC;?  the  organization  adds.   Other  species  on  the  refuge  include  White-­faced  Ibis,  Black  Tern,  sand-­ hill  cranes,  black-­necked  stilts,  American  bitterns  and  a  variety  of  waterfowl,  marsh  and  shorebirds.  Educational  opportunities  Despite  the  fact  that  the  facility  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  yet  available  for  public  access,  Refuge  staff  is  available  to  conduct  both  off-­site  education  and  off-­site  interpretive  pro-­ grams  for  students  or  other  groups  on  request.   The  Refuge  office  is  located  at  the  Seedska-­ dee  national  Wildlife  Ref-­ uge  and  is  open  from  7:30  a.m.  to  4:30  p.m.  Monday  through  Friday.  For  more  information,  visit  seedskadee.fws.gov/ cokevillemeados.htm  or  call  307-­279-­2800.  Saige  Albert  is  managing  edi-­ tor  of  the  Wyoming  Live-­ stock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr.net.

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A10

Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Bringing it back Opal – In the 1870s, Bill Sears’ grandfather, James W. Chrisman, moved to the land north of Opal where the original home-­ stead still stands near the house.

“Bill’s grandfather put together 13 ranches over two counties,” says Bill’s wife Alice. “He was in the legislature, he was a banker, he was a sheep-­ man and he was a cattle-­ man.”

The original family brand – the flying W – is still held by one of Bill’s cousins.

“We ran as a family operation into 1998, when we began exchanging our family shares that we ranch today,” Alice con-­ tinues, referencing three separate ranches. “Bill is the third generation, and he’s always believed he is a caretaker for the

ranches. He’s got a lot of history here.”

Ranching beginnings Bill was born and raised in Kemmerer and Opal, ranching through his youth and childhood.

In his early days, Bill worked in the mines and drove semi trucks, but when his uncle needed his help, he returned to the ranch in the late 70s.

“He’s grown up on the ranch,” Alice explains.

“When his uncle died in an accident in 1984, Bill took over then.”

Horseshoe Spear Another old fam-­ ily brand was that of the horseshoe spear, which is the brand Bill now holds on the Horseshoe Spear Cattle Company.

Horseshoe Spear Cat-­ tle Company was formed in 1998. They run a herd of Angus cross cattle.

“This is Wyoming – we do what we can to stay in business.” – Alice Sears

Sears family continue to operate, improve ranches

“It’s a good English-­ based cross, mainly black-­ hided,” notes Alice.

“The idea is to buy high and sell low, and I’m in the midst of buy-­ ing another 100 head of cows,” he explains. “I’ve done all kinds of things to make the operation work.”

Each year, they begin calving at the end of March, in an attempt to avoid cold weather and blizzards. They then brand in early May. New experiences Alice notes that there are a number of things that they have changed over the years in order to continue operating and improve the ranch. Last winter, for example, they wintered another rancher’s cattle for the first time.

“It was something we had never done,” says Alice. “We had some excess hay, and we had a man contact us to winter his animals.”

For the future, she adds that it is something they may do again.

“We’ll either buy more cows or winter someone else’s,” says Alice of the future of the business.

“This is Wyoming – we do what we can to stay in business.”

They have also had to seek new places to sum-­ mer their cattle. In most years, they turn out on upper BLM range or For-­ est Service allotments, but they decided to take voluntary non-­use of the allotments for controlled burns. In search of new summer range, Bill stum-­ bled on Anadarko’s Com-­ pany Ranch.

“We’ve worked with Anadarko for many years, and they like the way Bill treats the land,” Alice explains.

The Company Ranch “Bill and one of our neighbors, George Col-­ lins, are in a partner-­

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ship, and they are running the Company Ranch for Anadarko,” say Alice. “It is a very, very old histor-­ ical ranch, and it needed some work.”

With the Company Ranch in need of some significant rehabilitation, they have begun working to restore it to its glory.

“We’ve been working with the Game and Fish Department, the BLM, Anadarko and NRCS,” she comments. “We are trying to bring it back to full pro-­ duction and bring all the old water sources back.”

In the work that has been done, Alice notes that there are signs of sage grouse showing up more frequently, and the wild-­ life corridors are being opened again.

Work on the ranch includes removing fences and working with NRCS on a comprehensive ranch plan.

“We are looking at every water source, spring and old pond to see what can be reworked,” says Alice. “They are also try-­ ing to bring the irrigation systems back.”

They are also work-­ ing to reestablish hay fields and rehabilitate land where the Ruby Pipeline went through.

“We inter-­seeded, fer-­ tilized and fixed a lot of irrigation. Last year, we were able to get some hay off the land,” she contin-­ ues. “This year, we didn’t get any hay off of it, but we’ve raised some good pasture.”

“When it benefits, everyone is going to ben-­ efit,” adds Alice. “It really has been a good project.”

Uncertainty In light of the chang-­ ing political climate, changes in the industry and changes in society,

Alice notes that the future of agriculture is very uncertain.

“We are uncertain whether the climate is going to be conducive to passing on the ranch,” Alice says. “It’s the chal-­ lenges.”

Bill marks labor uncertainty as being par-­ ticularly difficult.

“Trying to get kids or young people to come and help is hard,” he notes.

“They don’t want to do chores or feed horses.”

With difficulty finding help and no children inter-­ ested in taking over, he worries about the future of the operation.

Alice also adds that rules and regulations also make it very difficult to continue operating.

“Every time we turn around, there is a new rule,” she says. “We have to stay on top of things, and they have changed so fast.”

Holistic management In order to maintain healthy rangelands and systems, Bill focuses on the ranch as a whole, con-­ sidering the cattle, range-­ lands and wildlife.

“I’m a holistic man-­ ager,” says Bill. “I really like being able to leave some grass out there to graze.”

“Bill isn’t a cow-­ boy, he’s a rancher,” says Alice. “He loves the land, he loves the animals and he’s got a lot of natural knowledge.”

“It’s not how much money you have,” Bill comments. “It’s the time you are here – that is what is of value. I try to make the best of my time here.”

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

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A11

2012 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition

Beef, barley and hay, grown in the USA Cokeville – Roland Willis’ family started out in Cokeville in the early 1950s, when his father decided to move from Laketown, Utah and purchase land south of Cokeville.

“There wasn’t enough land to expand over in Lake-­ town, so when a parcel of the B. Q. Ranch came up for sale, we purchased it,” comments Roland. “Today, we raise cows, alfalfa hay, grass hay and barley.”

In 1969, Roland and his wife Linda got their start pur-­ chasing the original ranch from Roland’s father, along with 120 Hereford cows.

“Over the years, we started changing to black,” he says, referencing the Angus they now raise.

Linda adds, “I think the Angus work better in this country, and they are more adapted to it.”

Roland, Linda and their family run the extensive oper-­ ation.

Currently, they have three boys on the ranch, and two daughters, Teresa and Trudy, who live away from the area.

Jordan, Jed and James and their families play an integral role in the functioning of Wil-­ lis Ranch. Teresa, Trudy and their families play an active part in the ranch providing additional help when needed.

Black Angus operation At first glance, the opera-­ tion resembles many of those in Lincoln County, but the focus on integrating technol-­ ogy and efficiency to raise cat-­ tle sets them apart.

“We start calving in March,” says Jordan of the commercial ranching opera-­ tion.

They begin pasture calv-­ ing in areas closer to their headquarters. Following calv-­ ing, the Willis family moves cattle to pastures.

“We summer on BLM and private lands. The cows enter BLM grazing May 11,” says Linda. “We come off Sept. 25, and we start feeding about Thanksgiving.”

The operation, like others in Lincoln County, spends a large number of days feeding.

Jordan notes that they usually plan to feed between 150 and 160 days.

“We have put a lot into the cattle since we started,” says Linda. “It has always been a goal of our to always strive to make them better and use bet-­ ter genetics.”

In attempting to contin-­ ually improve the herd, she adds that they are searching for better, higher quality cattle that produce and thrive in the their environment.

“We are looking for cat-­ tle that sustain themselves and that will wean a big calf,” Linda continues. “That is why we like the black cattle – they work for us.”

Growing crops “We have also produced alfalfa and barley since the beginning, but not to the extent that we do now,” Linda

says.

Roland adds, “We were the first really to produce alfalfa.”

“We pioneered alfalfa here,” Linda says. “We plowed up the sagebrush to start producing. Older gener-­ ations didn’t think you could produce alfalfa in this climate, but it does well.”

James, who is most pas-­ sionate about the barley seg-­ ment of the operation, says, “This is good barley coun-­ try, because we usually have cooler weather. It makes a good yield.”

Though raising barley is challenging, James adds that the cool weather results in a heavy, plump kernel with a lot of meat.

“In other parts of the country and state, most peo-­ ple’s barley is lighter, so this makes for better feed barley,” he explains. “It’s also a good rotation for alfalfa.”

“I get more enjoyment out of watching the crops grow than working with the cattle,” comments James.

The Willis Ranch’s bar-­ ley is sold to dairies for a feed product.

Successful ranch encounters challenges Like many other ranches, short growing seasons and harsh weather are difficult for the Willis family to deal with, but they enjoy the challenge and have worked out how to handle the challenges.

Jed says, “The window of opportunity to grow crops and be productive is narrow in this county, due to climate and limited natural resources” “The biggest challenge we have here is weather,” Roland notes, “but here, we have our pastures close, and we can keep tabs on the cows.”

“We are prepared for a blizzard, if it comes,” Jed adds. “We get at least one bliz-­ zard a year during calving sea-­ son.”

“It’s also fun to see if what we plan comes out,” Jordan mentions.

“We try to do better, and we always have the odds stacked against us, it seems,” James continues. “We can learn something every year to try next year. It’s a challenge, and it’s fun.”

Being the best “In our crops and our live-­ stock, we try to be the most efficient as we can be,” Jordan explains. “We strive to have what we think is a good look-­ ing cow and what we think are good crops.”

While they strive for the best cows and bulls across the board, Jordan adds that they have developed length in their cattle, as well as good disposi-­ tion and carcass merit.

“We have seen some big improvements over what we thought was good years ago,” Roland mentions, specifically referencing weaning weight.

“We used to think it was good to wean a 450-­pound calf.

Now we get calves between

625 and 650 pounds at wean-­ ing.”

The reason they have been able to continually improve is because they have changed how they operate, as well as in the equipment and technology they utilize.

Technological developments “We have become more efficient, and a lot of that is the machinery and technol-­ ogy that has changed,” Linda explains.

As part of their increasing technological developments, the family utilizes GPS tech-­ nology in their field equip-­ ment, and they utilize elec-­ tronic identification tags in their cattle.

“We can keep better files

Willis family strives for excellence in diversification and better records,” comments Jed’s wife Stephanie.

Jordan explains, “I’ve got a handheld program that I use, and it keeps track of every-­ thing – all the cow informa-­ tion, the sire information, dates of birth, health com-­ ments and any other data we have.”

“I don’t ever think that we can get too much informa-­ tion,” Linda adds.

“We try to take advantage of new technology,” Jordan mentions. “We want to be the most productive and efficient we can be.”

While the Willis fam-­ ily doesn’t see themselves as being in competition with their neighbors, but rather as com-­

“We can learn something every year to try next year. It’s a challenge, and it’s fun.” – James Willis

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ily on the ranch for forever,” he continues. “Hopefully the boys will keep it going.”

“The future of Willis Ranch,” says Linda, “is keep-­ ing our family tradition intact and passing the legacy on to our children and grandchil-­ dren.”

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

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peting against themselves.

“It is our goal to keep doing better and to keep improving,” Roland says of the operation.

Ranching for family Roland mentions that, while they enjoy raising cat-­ tle and watching the crops grow, “The biggest thing is that we try to keep our family together.”

“We want to have a fam-­

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A12

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Unique weaponry Freedom  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  In  an  area  where  settlers  and  explorers  alike  depended  on  guns  for  their  very  survival  is  the  mod-­ ern  day  Freedom  Arms  fire-­ arm  factory.  Inside  this  Free-­ dom  business,  workers  craft  precision  firearms  for  a  new  generation  of  adventurers,  from  handgun  enthusiasts  to  big  game  hunters.  Founded  in  1978  by  Wayne  Baker  and  Dick  Casull,  Freedom  Arms  is  a  Wyoming  based  firearm  manufacturing  company,  known  across  the  country  for  powerful,  precision  revolv-­ ers.  The  company  is  just  one  of  a  few  manufacturers  in  the  world  to  offer  hand  crafted  revolvers.   Freedom  Arms  Presi-­ dent  Bob  Baker  is  a  second-­ generation  manager  of  the  business.  His  father,  Wayne, Â

started  Freedom  Arms  more  than  30  years  ago,  in  part  to  give  Star  Valley  youth  employment  options  beyond  traditional  production  agri-­ culture.   Today,  the  Freedom  Arms  factory  has  15  employ-­ ees  and  sells  handguns  around  the  world.

Quality  products  Baker  says  what  sets  his  company  apart  from  other  manufacturers  is  their  dedi-­ cation  to  a  quality  product.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  focus  on  quality,  not  quantity.  Freedom  Arms  revolvers  are  very  refined  versions  of  what  you  can  get  from  a  large  manufac-­ turer.  We  emphasize  accu-­ racy,  power  and  durability,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Baker.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  a  customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  abilities  develop  beyond  what  other  guns  can  handle,  thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  when  they Â

When a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abilities develop beyond what other guns can handle, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when they come to us.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bob Baker, Freedom Arms President

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Freedom  Arms  crafts  customized  firearms

come  to  us.â&#x20AC;?  Freedom  Arms  special-­ izes  in  single-­action  revolv-­ ers.  The  hammer  on  each  revolver  must  be  cocked  before  it  can  be  shot.  Free-­ dom  Arms  makes  revolvers  for  small  rimfire  rounds  suit-­ able  for  target  shooting  up  to  the  larger  cartridges  designed  for  killing  big  game.

Making  revolvers  A  Freedom  Arms  revolver  begins  as  a  block  of  stainless  steel,  machined  at  the  factory.  Baker  says  parts  are  machined  in  batches,  with  more  complicated  parts  being  made  in  smaller  batches.  Once  all  the  batches  come  together  and  the  all  the  parts  for  a  model  are  ready,  the  revolvers  are  put  together  by  hand  by  Free-­ dom  Arms  employees.  Then,  the  revolver  is  assembled  and  tested  for  accuracy  and  finally  sent  to  the  finishing  room  to  be  hand  finished.   The  finished  product  has  virtually  invisible  joints  and  incredible  precision.  For  example,  per  the  companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  standards,  grips  are  fitted  so  that  a  feeler  gauge  less  than  the  thickness  of  a  manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  hair  canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  be  forced  between  the  grips  and  the  metal  frame.   Customers  can  find  a  few  dozen  guns  available  for  immediate  purchase  on  the  Freedom  Arms  web-­ site.  But  most  opt  to  have  a  revolver  custom  crafted  to  their  exact  wants,  specifying Â

The Willwood Herd Angus Cattle

727$/ 3$&.$*( 352*5$0 3URGXFLQJ EUHHGLQJ VWRFN WKDW H[FHO LQ DOO SKDVHV RI EHHI SURGXFWLRQ We have emphasized higher marbling to develop cattle that will reach the choice quality grade at a younger age and with less feed. These cattle will JM UWZM XZWĂ&#x2026;\IJTM NWZ aW] IVL aW]Z customers.

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caliber,  grip  material  or  bar-­ rel  shape  and  length.  Preci-­ sion  and  customization  take  time,  however.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  takes  us  anywhere  from  six  to  seven  months  to  produce  a  revolver,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Baker.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;But  our  customers  are  willing  to  wait  to  get  just  what  they  want.â&#x20AC;?

Handgun  options  Freedom  Arms  also  sells  a  full  line  of  accessories,  including  scope  mounts,  holsters,  gun  totes,  bullets  and  reloading  supplies.  The  Bear  Track  case  is  a  protec-­ tive  case  designed  for  Free-­ dom  Arms  firearms.  Like  the  revolvers,  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  handcrafted  directly  at  the  Wyoming  facility.  Revolvers  start  at  around  $2,000,  depending  on  the  model  and  customization  options  selected.  Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  almost  three  times  the  cost  of  one  from  a  big  firearm  manufacturer.  But  if  youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  after  big  game  and  your  life  is  on  the  line,  the  accuracy  and  power  are  well  worth  the  price.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  enjoy  the  challenge  of  hunting  with  a  handgun,  but  youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  also  taking  a  risk,â&#x20AC;?  says  big  game  hunter  Todd  Grady,  an  owner  of  two  Freedom  Arms  pieces.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  accuracy  and  ballistics  of  the  Freedom  Arms  product  is  unmatched  by  anything  else  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  ever  shot.â&#x20AC;?  The  Freedom  Arms  web-­ site  displays  photos  and  tes-­

timonials  from  other  big  game  hunters.  Baker  him-­ self  has  killed  a  grizzly  bear  with  his  companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  revolver.  Moose,  mountain  lions,  wil-­ debeest,  water  buffalo  and  even  a  hippo  have  all  been  harvested  with  the  Wyoming  product.

Marketing  Freedom  Arms  Freedom  Arms  markets  revolvers  to  hunters,  compet-­ itive  shooters  and  even  col-­ lectors.  Baker  says  he  attends  numerous  trade  shows  across  the  country,  but  most  of  their  marketing  and  advertising  is  done  through  word  of  mouth.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Competitive  shooters  look  to  see  what  the  shoot-­ ers  winning  the  competi-­ tions  are  shooting,  then  look  to  buy  the  same  gun.  Many  times,  thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  Freedom  Arms  revolver,â&#x20AC;?  says  Baker.  In  fact,  about  80  percent  of  competitors  in  the  Inter-­ national  Handgun  Metallic  Silhouette  Association  shoot  Freedom  Arms  revolvers,  according  to  Baker.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  customers  are  our  best  salespeople,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Positive  comments  and  rec-­ ommendations  from  a  fel-­ low  competitor  or  hunter  sell  more  guns  than  a  brochure  could.â&#x20AC;?

Unexpected  fame  Advertising  for  the  com-­ pany  has  also  come  from  an  unexpected  source,  Wyo-­ ming  author  C.J.  Box.  Box  writes  a  series  of  fictional  novels  about  a  Wyoming  game  warden.  One  of  the  main  characters  in  the  book,  Nate  Romanowski,  carries  a Â

.454  Casull,  a  Freedom  Arms  revolver.  The  .454  Casull  is  named  for  Freedom  Arms  co-­founder  Dick  Casull.  It  was  designed  as  a  more  pow-­ erful  version  of  the  .45  Colt  and  .44  Remington  Mag-­ num,  to  be  used  for  big  game  hunting.  It,  along  with  the  Model  83,  is  the  most  pop-­ ular  revolver  in  the  Freedom  Arms  line.  Baker  says  he  was  sur-­ prised  when  customers  started  commenting  about  the  revolverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  role  in  the  books.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  I  first  had  some-­ one  come  up  to  me  and  ask  about  the  .454  Casull  and  the  book,  I  hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  read  them  yet,  so  I  wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  sure  what  he  was  talking  about.  We  get  com-­ ments  about  that  revolver  from  customers,  even  in  Europe,â&#x20AC;?  he  notes.  Even  former  Wyoming  Governor  Dave  Freudenthal  has  his  own  Freedom  Arms  gun.  Make  that  two  famous  Wyoming  characters  that  carry  the  .454  revolver.  For  more  information,  customers  can  visit  the  com-­ panyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Web  site  at  freedo-­ marms.com  or  call  them  at  307-­883-­2468.  The  fac-­ tory  does  not  offer  tours,  but  Baker  says  experienced  sales  staff  is  always  ready  to  help  customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  custom  build  a  revolver  to  fit  any  need.  Teresa  Milner  is  a  cor-­ respondent  for  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup.  Send  comments  on  this  article  to  roundup@wylr.net.

A13

2012  Fall  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Edition

Wyoming Angus Association ~ â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Best in the Westâ&#x20AC;?

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+\WUHN &DWWOH &RPSDQ\ 7RE\ +\WUHN 0LFKHOOH -R\ +WV &KH\HQQH :<

thytrek@gmail.com ,QJDOOV $QJXV 4XDUWHU +RUVHV Dan  Ingalls 32 %R[ 5LYHUWRQ :<

dan@ingalls.us /XFN\ $QJXV Jim  &  Jamie  Jensen 32 %R[ 5LYHUWRQ :<

cowboybulls@hotmail.com www.lucky7angus.com Jensen  Angus Justin  &  Renee  Jensen 32 %R[ %RXOGHU :< K

rjj@wyoming.com Bill  &  Chris  Johnson 5G 9HWHUDQ :<

bcjohnson@bbcwb.net ;+ /DQG DQG &DWWOH &R ;+ $QJXV Chad  Jones +& %R[ 6DUDWRJD :<

xhranch@union-­tel.com www.xhangus.com Deer  Creek  Angus  Ranch Bill  &  Jo  Ann  Keith =HUR 5RDG &DVSHU :<

jokeithkv@rtconnect.net 1DUURZ *DWH $QJXV )DUP Jay  &  Kimi  Keys 1030  Mountain  View  Dr. 5LYHUWRQ :<

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'RXEOH /D]\ $ Daniel  Greet $ +Z\ 7HQ 6OHHS :<

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Kilts  Angus Russell  &  Sheila  Kilts 32 %R[ (GJHUWRQ :<

shekilts@rtconnect.net

*XHVW $QJXV 4XDUWHU +RUVH Ranch J.T.  &  Beth  Guest 32 %R[ +DZN 6SULQJV :<

Klein  Angus Bill  Klein %URRNVLGH 5G :KHDWODQG :<

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B  &  D  Cattle  Co. %LOO +DDV 5G 9HWHUDQ :<

Rafter  T  Angus Kale  &  Kim  Kretschman 0LGGOH 3URQJ 5G *LOOHWWH :<

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whiser@wyoheart.com velvethiser@yahoo.com

Malm  Ranch  Co. Andy  &  Gordon  Malm 32 %R[ $OELQ :< *RUGRQ $QG\ mrc3mt@aol.com www.malmranch.com

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&RZFDSLWDO #JPDLO FRP www.cowcapital.com 3DLQW 5RFN $QJXV 5DQFK ,QF Martin  &  Kelli  Mercer +Z\ +\DWWYLOOH :<

km@tctwest.net www.paintrockangus.com Tom  &  Garcia  Michelena 993  Airport  Rd. 6KHULGDQ :<

twmich@optimum.net Micheli  Ranch Dale  or  Ron  Micheli 32 %R[ )W %ULGJHU :<

dmicheli@bvea.net Mitchem  Ranch Stan  &  Karen  Mitchem 32 %R[ *OHQURFN :<

stan@stanmitchem.com 7X  Ranches Wayne  &  Kevie  Morrison 0RQD 5G $OYD :<

Neiman  77  Ranch Ryan  Neiman 32 %R[ +XOHWW :<

Nickel  Cattle  Co. Kevin  &  Jackie  Nickel 6W +Z\ 9HWHUDQ :<

Nolke  Angus Calvin  Nolke,  Jr. )RXU &RUQHUV 5G /D*UDQJH :<

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MR  Angus  Ranch Juan  Reyes  or  Jen  Reyes-­Burr 2OVRQ 5G :KHDWODQG :<

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joreyes@wyoming.com www.mrangusranch.com $QJXV Colton  &  Tanna  Rodeman 32 %R[ 'RXJODV :<

tannarodeman@yahoo.com Double  JR  Ranch John  &  Judy  Rueb +LJKZD\ 6KHULGDQ :<

doublejrranch@gmail.com 3RSR $JLH $QJXV Ted  Seely 32 %R[ /DQGHU :<

3RZGHU 5LYHU $QJXV Neal  &  Amanda  Sorenson 86 +Z\ $UYDGD :<

nasorenson@rangeweb.net www.powderriverangus.com

Wagler  Angus Kim  &  Elsie  Wagler 6RXWKIRUN 5G &RG\ :<

Walker  Angus  Ranch Ramon  &  Verla  Walker %XVLQHVV /RRS /\PDQ :<

Weaver  Ranch Susan,  Maurine  and  Maxine  Weaver  or  Sheldon  Emerson 3000  West  Co.  Rd.  70 )RUW &ROOLQV &2

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Wayne  Smith (VWHUEURRN 5G Â&#x2021; 'RXJODV :<

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Brad  Boner 3 2 %R[ Â&#x2021; *OHQURFN :< Â&#x2021; PGLDPRQG#KXJKHV QHW

Redland  Red  Bank  Angus Deb  &  Adam  Redland % 5G 7HQ 6OHHS :< 'HE $GDP

Dan  Ingalls %R[ Â&#x2021; 3RZGHU 5LYHU :< Â&#x2021; GDQ#LQJDOOV XV

Kale  Kretschman 0LGGOH 3URQJ 5RDG Â&#x2021; *LOOHWWH :< Â&#x2021; UDIWHUW#UDQJHZHE QHW Teasa  Nauta (VWHUEURRN 5G Â&#x2021; 'RXJODV :< Â&#x2021; WHDV #KRWPDLO FRP

A14

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

The Cakebread Ranch Thayne  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  In  2006,  Steve  and  Jill  Cakebread  purchased  land  along  the  Salt  River  just  north  of  Thayne.  The  prop-­ erty  had  been  part  of  a  fam-­ ily  farm  for  nearly  100  years  but  was  scheduled  for  devel-­ opment  before  they  pur-­ chased  it.   Since  then,  theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  con-­ tinued  to  add  adjacent  par-­ cels  to  the  property.  Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  restored  native  grass  pas-­ tures  and  fields,  encouraged  healthy  habitat  for  Brown  and  Cutthroat  Trout  and  other  wildlife,  developed  an  organic  vegetable  gar-­ den  and  greenhouses  brim-­ ming  with  vegetables  and  herbs  and  planted  hundreds  of  vibrant  young  trees.   In  2011,  they  went  into  the  cattle  business,  raising  full-­blood  Wagyu  cattle.  Â

 The  Cakebread  Ranch  now  includes  a  cattle  busi-­ ness,  farm,  fly-­fishing  oper-­ ation,  greenhouses  and  gar-­ den  facilities.  In  the  near  future,  they  plan  to  build  a  lodge  and  restaurant,  and  eventually  add  guest  cabins.   The  place  consists  of  230  acres  of  irrigated  and  dry  alfalfa,  river  meadow  and  grass  pasture,  with  an  early  water  right.   The  Cakebread  family  also  owns  Cakebread  Cel-­ lars,  producing  high-­end  red  and  white  wines.  Steve  and  Jillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  vision  for  Cakebread  Ranch  is  to  produce  high-­ end  beef,  fruits  and  vegeta-­ bles  using  sustainable  prac-­ tices  on  the  ranch,  which  is  located  just  45  miles  south  of  Jackson  Hole.   Ranch  staff  includes Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing a lot of genetic research, and we feed the cattle well to find that perfect balance of milk, marbling and size.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jim Pigg, Cakebread Ranch Manager

General  Manager  Chase  Averill  and  six  other  employ-­ ees.  Ranching  focus  The  ranch  focuses  on  breeding  and  raising  100  percent  full-­blood  Wagyu  cattle  from  Japan  and  Aus-­ tralia,  descended  from  his-­ toric  and  preeminent  Japa-­ nese  bloodlines.  Their  goal  is  to  produce  Kobe-­style  beef  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  often  called  â&#x20AC;&#x153;butter  beefâ&#x20AC;?  for  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  flavor  and  mar-­ bling  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  available  for  dining  in  the  ranch  lodge,  as  well  as  in  prestigious  restaurants  in  Jackson.   The  word  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wagyuâ&#x20AC;?  refers  to  all  Japanese  beef  cattle  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Waâ&#x20AC;?  meaning  Jap-­ anese  or  Japanese-­style  and  â&#x20AC;&#x153;gyuâ&#x20AC;?  meaning  cattle.  Kobe-­ style  beef  often  grades  Prime  Plus  Plus,  or  off  the  USDA  Meat  Grading  scale.    Ranch  Manager  Jim  Pigg  says  most  of  the  Cakebreadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Wagyu  cattle  descend  from  the  Tottori  strain  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  one  of  the  dominant  black  Wagyu  strains  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  used  in  Japan  as Â

Operation  features  unique  array  of  aspects pack  animals  for  the  rice  and  grain  industry  in  the  Tottori  region.  In  Japan,  these  cattle  were  selected  for  their  size  and  strength  of  topline.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  doing  a  lot  of  genetic  research,  and  we  feed  the  cattle  well  to  find  that  perfect  balance  of  milk,  marbling  and  size,â&#x20AC;?  Jim  comments.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;A  lot  of  folks  like  the  idea  of  grass-­fed  beef,  but  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  care  for  the  flavor  or  texture.  These  cat-­ tle  are  pasture-­fed  a  magic  ration.â&#x20AC;?   Pasture-­fed  refers  to  a  process  of  livestock  graz-­ ing  and  feeding  organic  grain  products  in  the  pasture  to  improve  beef  flavor  and  marbling.    While  developing  de-­ sired  genetics,  the  ranch  now  runs  21  head  of  cattle.  Soon,  theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll  work  their  way  up  to  40  head,  and  eventually  up  to  160  head,  according  to  Jim.   Farmlands  Situated  on  five  acres,  the  farm  includes  a  wide  variety  of  herbs,  flowers, Â

*4; ;ITM ;KPML]TM October  4  October  11  October  18 Â

Thursday  Thursday  Thursday Â

October  25  October  27/28  November  1  November  5  November  8  November  15 Â

Thursday  Saturday/Sunday  Thursday  Monday  Thursday  Thursday Â

November  19 Â

Monday Â

November  22  Thursday  November  24/25  Saturday/Sunday  November  29  Thursday  December  1  December  3  December  6  December  13 Â

Saturday  Monday  Thursday  Thursday Â

December  15  December  20  January  10  January  14 Â

Saturday  Thursday  Thursday  Monday Â

All  Class  Cattle  Sale Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale  and  Northern  Internet  Auction Annual  Anniversary  Cattle  Special  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  All  Classes  Sell October  Horse  Sale Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale Stock  Cow  &  Weigh-­Up  Special Stock  Cow  &  Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale  and  Northern  Internet  Auction Thanksgiving  Week  Stock  Cow  Special  and  All  Class  Cattle  Sale NO  SALE  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  HAPPY  THANKSGIVING! November  Horse  Sale Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale  Featuring  Weaned  Calves Montana  Simmental  Influence  Female  Sale Brusett  Angus  Complete  Dispersal Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale Feeder  Special  w/All  Class  Cattle  Sale  Featuring  Weaned  Calves Annual  Northland  Stock  Cow  &  Bred  Heifer  Sale 2012  Year  End  Cattle  Special  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  All  Classes  Sell 2013  Kick-­Off  Cattle  Sale  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  All  Classes  Sell Northern  Livestock  Video  Auction  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diamond  Ring  Saleâ&#x20AC;?

4 4M\ Âź-U )T T *QL ¸ *ZQ V O Âź-U <W *4; 4 We are proud to be Montanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pioneer Market. Our market is active and our sales are well attended. Your cattle go into big clean pens with bunks full of feed and fresh clean water.

Please call ahead to consign to any of these sales or to talk about the market. Be a part of our extensive national advertising and internet promotion of your cattle!

Bill 406-670-0689

Ty 406-698-4783

Dan 406-671-7715

Visit  the  Billings  Livestock  Exchange  Building.  Easy  access  off  the  interstate  to  the Hitts  The  Spot  Cafe  (one  of  the  best  in  Billings)  Open  Mon.  -­  Fri. Northern  Livestock  Video  Auction  Main  Office  Open  Mon.  -­  Fri.  The  Ranch  Mart  Real  Estate  Open  Mon.  -­  Fri.

For  Market  Reports  and  Information,  Visit  our  website  at www.billingslivestock.com or  Call  1-­800-­635-­7364 Â

.ORTH &RONTAGE 2OAD s "ILLINGS -4 s 0H s &AX 4Y 4HOMPSON #ATTLE 3ALE -ANAGER !UCTIONEER (406) 698-4783 "ILL #OOK !UCTIONEER &IELD 2EP 0ROMOTIONS (406) 670-0689

$AN #ATLIN 9ARD &OREMAN &IELD 2EP (406) 671-7715, (406) 245-4151 "ILL *ANN 0ARKER (ORSE 3ALE -ANAGERS (406) 670-0773, (406) 855-1947

Able  hands  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Jim  Pigg,  ranch  manager,  and  Chase  Averill,  gen-­ eral  manager,  are  passionate  about  increasing  the  quality  of  the  resources  available  on  The  Cakebread  Ranch.  Echo  Renner  photo

vegetables  and  a  fruit  tree  orchard  cared  for  with  sus-­ tainable  organic  farming  methods.     Produce  from  the  gar-­ den  and  hoop  greenhouses  includes  a  diverse  array,  ranging  from  lettuce  mix,  heirloom  tomatoes  and  assorted  hot  peppers  to  kale,  rutabagas  and  baby  fennel.  Todd  Baron,  head  gar-­ dener,  thoroughly  enjoys  his  job.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  goal  for  the  organic  farm  is  to  be  self-­sufficient,  growing  produce  for  the  lodge  when  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  built,  as  well  as  restaurants  in  Jackson,â&#x20AC;?  says  Todd.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  also  have  produce  to  sell  locally,  and  plan  to  have  a  show  garden.â&#x20AC;?  Todd  and  one  employee  care  for  the  farm  on  a  daily  basis.  He  and  three  employ-­ ees  work  together  on  Thurs-­ days  to  prepare  produce  for  the  Star  Valley  Farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Market  in  Alpine.  Some  of  the  produce  available  from  the  Cakebread  Ranch  at  the  farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  market  in  late  September  included  Swiss  chard,  lemon  cucumber,  pea  shoots,  micro  greens,  sun-­ chokes,  purple  plum  radish  and  watermelon,  as  well  as  thyme,  rosemary,  sage  and  caraway  seed.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  is  the  third  sum-­ mer  for  the  test  orchard.  We  grow  semi-­dwarf  apples,  cherries  and  plums.  Semi-­ dwarf  seems  to  work  best  here  because  of  our  very  short  growing  season,â&#x20AC;?  Todd  explains.  He  also  tends  a  lavender  test  field.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  grow  English  lav-­ ender  that  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll  harvest  and  sell  to  spas  and  wellness  cen-­ ters.  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  great  cash  crop,  selling  for  about  $10.50  a  bundle  or  $38  a  pound,â&#x20AC;?  he  explains.  Todd  says  the  farm  may  eventually  offer  classes  and  workshops  focused  on  the  farm-­to-­table  concept  and  production  at  Cakebread  Ranch.  Fly-­fishing  The  Salt  River  and  addi-­ tional  feeder  creeks  meander  through  the  willows  and  hay-­ fields,  offering  about  four  miles  of  private  fishing  for  Brown  and  Cutthroat  Trout.  Ranch  staff  has  worked  to  restore  the  river  and  creek  banks  to  increase  fish  hab-­ itat.  A  professional  fishing  guide  offers  guided  fishing  trips  on  the  ranch.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  Salt  River  here  is  mostly  land-­locked,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Jim,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;with  few  Wyoming  Game  and  Fish  access  points,  so  the  river  is  not  over-­utilized.â&#x20AC;?  Fishing  at  the  Cakebread  Ranch  is  set  up  on  a  â&#x20AC;&#x153;beatâ&#x20AC;? Â

system.  To  ensure  produc-­ tive  fishing  for  each  fisher-­ man,  each  beat  is  rested  on  a  regular  basis.  A  historic  cabin  built  with  square-­cut  logs  serves  as  a  riverside  fly  shop  on  the  ranch  to  increase  the  fishing  experience.  Lodge  and  cabins  With  the  fly-­fishing  aspect  of  the  operation  flour-­ ishing,  the  Cakebread  Ranch  has  broken  ground  for  the  lodge,  which  will  seat  about  40  people.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;In  the  restaurant  theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll  cook  mostly  with  wood,  using  oak,  hickory,  apple  and  mesquite.  Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll  use  a  large  wood-­fired  pizza  oven  with  an  Argentine  influence,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Jim.   The  beef  raised  on  the  ranch  will  be  served  in  the  restaurant.    The  Cakebreads  are  planning  to  build  six  to  eight  cabins  on  the  north  end  of  the  ranch  in  a  secluded  area  for  guests.  Challenges  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  are  working  toward  an  organic  status,  which  presents  challenges,â&#x20AC;?  com-­ ments  Jim,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;like  not  being  able  to  chemically  amend  soil,  or  chemically  treat-­ ing  weeds.  Right  now,  we  are  using  about  28  goats  to  help  reduce  weeds  in  small  areas.â&#x20AC;?  He  says  one  of  their  largest  challenges  includes  building  the  place  from  scratch.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  purchased  pastures  or  parts  of  several  differ-­ ent  ranches  and  started  with  basically  no  infrastructure.  Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  accomplished  quite  a  lot  in  a  short  time,â&#x20AC;?  Jim  adds.   Ranch  staff  has  amended  pastures  with  native  grass  mix,  planted  800  trees  and  built  fence.   Jim  estimates  they  will  have  beef  available  for  the  lodge  restaurant  by  2014.  Chase  says  the  farm  should  be  in  full  operation  within  three  years,  and  the  restau-­ rant  operating  within  about  one  year.  Jim  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  Cake-­ breadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  are  the  most  gracious  and  polite  owners.  They  desire  to  have  a  strong  lead-­ ership  role  in  the  commu-­ nity  and  to  be  strong  local  employers.â&#x20AC;?   Steve  and  Jill  Cake-­ bread,  and  their  knowledge-­ able  staff,  are  well  on  their  way  to  creating  a  first  class  ranch  representing  quality  and  excellence.   For  more  information,  visit  thecakebreadranch. com.  Echo  Renner  is  a  cor-­ respondent  for  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup  may  be  reached  at  307.250.9723  or  echo@wylr.net.

A15

2012  Fall  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Edition

Raising kids and cows Afton  -­  Rollin  and  Tami  Gardner  operate  a  family  beef  cattle  and  hay  opera-­ tion  south  of  Afton.  Rol-­ linâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  great  grandparents  moved  to  Star  Valley  over  100  years  ago  and  operated  a  dairy  farm.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  was  just  sagebrush  then.  They  cleared  10  acres  a  year  in  their  spare  time,â&#x20AC;?  Rollin  recalls.   The  ranch  was  later  pur-­ chased  by  Rollinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  grandfa-­ ther,  who  suffered  a  stroke  as  a  young  man.  When  Rol-­ linâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  father  Reed  was  14,  his  Dad  passed  away,  and  he  was  raised  by  his  grandpar-­ ents.  After  earning  a  mas-­ terâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  degree  in  dairy  science  from  UW  and  a  stint  in  the  army,  Reed  returned  and  took  over  the  dairy  in  the  mid-­1950s.   Rollin  is  the  oldest  boy  out  of  nine  children.  Buying  the  farm  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  operation  then  wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  mechanized.  When  Dad  ran  out  of  kid  labor,  he  had  to  do  something  differ-­ ent.  Tami  and  I  purchased  the  farm  from  my  parents  on  January  1,  1990,â&#x20AC;?  Rollin  says.   The  young  couple  ran  the  dairy  for  16  years  before  going  out  of  the  dairy  busi-­ ness  and  going  into  the  beef  cow  and  hay  business  in  2006.  Before  purchasing  the  farm,  Rollin  attended  UW,  where  he  earned  a  bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  degree  in  animal  science.  In  Laramie,  he  milked  cows  at  the  UW  Experiment  Sta-­ tion  for  over  a  year,  and  was  the  assistant  superintendent  or  herdsman  there  for  three  years.  After  college,  he  was  transferred  to  the  UW  Exper-­ iment  Station  at  Afton.   Tami  grew  up  on  a  nearby  ranch  and  farm.  At  a  young  age,  her  father  taught  her  to  ride  horses  and  drive  a  team.  She  is  a  valuable  part  of  their  current  operation.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  run  the  swather,  baler,  rakes,  and  I  help  rope  when  we  brand.  We  rope  and  drag  our  calves  to  the  fire,â&#x20AC;?  she  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  enjoy  it.  I  could  take  my  kids  with  me  on  the  tractor.  I  took  a  car  seat  in  the  tractor,  and  they  would  sit  there  while  I  was  haying.  I  liked  having  the  kids  with  me.  We  made  a  decision  I  would  stay  at  home  instead  of  going  to  town  to  work.â&#x20AC;?  Hay  and  cattle  Rollin  explains,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  raise  mostly  hay  now,  with Â

a  little  barley  and  50  head  of  mother  cows.  We  are  slowly  building  a  cow  herd.â&#x20AC;?   The  Gardnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  mar-­ ket  about  1,200  ton  of  hay  annually,  mostly  for  horses.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  neighbor  across  road  has  1,300  head  of  horses,  so  we  sell  our  hay  to  him,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  also  feed  about  80  head  of  horses  here  through  winter,  with  a  team.â&#x20AC;?   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  broke  the  team,  and  they  are  mine,â&#x20AC;?  Tami  comments,  proudly.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dad  always  had  a  team  and  horses,  and  he  taught  me.  We  have  a  couple  of  wag-­ ons  and  a  sleigh.â&#x20AC;?  Rollin  adds  jokingly,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  20  below,  she  wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  come  out.  I  have  to  feed  with  a  tractor.  One  of  our  daughters  and  a  son  also  drives.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  bought  a  big  square  baler  10  years  ago  to  do  some  custom  haying.  Our  operation  is  similar  to  a  lot  of  those  in  the  area.  This  valley  was  mostly  dairies,  and  then  over  time  the  dair-­ ies  have  dropped  out.  In  that  last  two  or  three  years  alone,  10  dairies  in  the  val-­ ley  have  gone  out  of  busi-­ ness.  Several  of  the  guys  who  have  stayed  in  agricul-­ ture  have  switched  to  beef,â&#x20AC;?  Rollin  explains.

Irrigating  in  Star  Valley  â&#x20AC;&#x153;All  our  grass  is  irri-­ gated  pasture.  Our  irrigation  system  is  gravity  flow,  so  we  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  have  a  big  power  bill.  Dry  Creek  comes  out  of  the  canyon,  and  in  the  pioneer  days,  they  built  ditches  and  used  it  for  irri-­ gation,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Rollin.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;In  1969,  the  Dry  Creek  Irriga-­ tion  District  put  an  intake  structure  in  the  creek.  It  fills  a  32-­inch  pipe,  comes  down  canyon  and  forks  into  three  laterals  that  come  down  to  West.â&#x20AC;?  Rollin  says  that  the  water  drops  1,500  feet,  cre-­ ating  80  pounds  of  pressure,  which  is  enough  to  power  a  sprinkler.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  community-­wide  system,â&#x20AC;?  he  adds.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  have  to  pump  water.â&#x20AC;?   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before  1969,  they  had  water  for  the  first  crop  of  hay,  but  the  second  crop  was  iffy.  They  usually  had  water  for  grain.  But,  in  a  dry  year  like  this,  there  is  no  way  we  could  make  it  without  the  sprinkler  sys-­ tems.  All  this  ground  here  would  be  dried  up,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  never  had  to  pump Â

water,  and  this  system  costs  us  $10  an  acre.â&#x20AC;?   The  Gardnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  use  one  pivot  they  put  in  five  years  ago,  side  rolls  and  some  hand  lines  to  irrigate.  He  continues,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  the  creek  gets  low,  we  have  to  go  on  rations.  When  water  gets  low  we  take  turns  shutting  off.  The  lower  the  creek  gets  the  more  we  shut  off.  There  is  no  storage;Íž  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  all  directly  off  of  snowmelt.â&#x20AC;?

Community  involvement  The  Gardnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  under-­ stand  the  importance  of  being  involved  in  the  com-­ munity.   Rollin  served  as  secre-­ tary  of  the  Western  Region  Resource  Conservation  and  Development  (RC&D)  Association,  director  of  the  Dry  Creek  Irrigation  Dis-­

Afton  couple  focuses  on  family trict,  as  a  member  of  the  local  conservation  district  board  and  the  local  RC&D  board.   He  also  served  on  the  Select  Sires  Cache  Val-­ ley  Board  for  a  time.  Rol-­ linâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  father  was  instrumen-­ tal  in  starting  Cache  Val-­ ley  breeding  out  of  Cache  Valley,  Utah,  which  later  joined  up  with  Select  Sires.  Tami  was  involved  with  the  Lincoln  County  Rodeo  Queen  Royalty  in  2012.  She  also  served  five  years  as  president  of  the  young  womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  group  in  their  church,  was  a  PTO  member  and  4-­H  leader.   Tami  comments,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Too  many  people  think,  â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  too  busy  to  get  involved.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;  If  we  just  sit  back,  then  our  views  are  not  being  repre-­ sented.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;All our grass is irrigated pasture. Our irrigation system is gravity flow, so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a big power bill.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Rollin Gardner

Cows  and  kids  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  The  Gardner  family  has  always  placed  and  emphasis  on  raising  good  children.  Pictured  above  are  grandson  Hayes,  Rollin,  Tami  and  daughter  Jesika.  Echo  Renner  photo

Raising  a  family  Rollin  and  Tami  have  two  sons  and  two  daugh-­ ters:  Jesika,  Tyler,  Justin  and  Saydi.  They  also  have  two  grandchildren.    Rollin  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Star  Val-­ ley  is  a  great  place  to  raise  kids.  We  could  have  gone  somewhere  else,  made  more  money  and  had  more  time  off.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every  one  of  our  kids  knows  how  to  work.  When  our  kids  apply  for  a  job  and  say  theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  been  raised  on  a  ranch  or  a  farm,  they  are Â

moved  to  the  top  of  the  list,â&#x20AC;?  Tami  adds.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  have  succeeded  in  raising  kids  who  know  how  to  work.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  kids  used  to  take  about  20  Holsteins  to  county  fair,  and  peo-­ ple  would  ask  me  why  we  took  so  many  cows,â&#x20AC;?  she  continues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  reply,  â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We  are  raising  kids,  not  just  cows.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?  Echo  Renner  is  a  corre-­ spondent  for  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup.  Send  comments  on  this  article  to  roundup@wylr.net.

Micheli Ranch Selling 40 Herefords & 40 Angus Bulls at the ranch in Ft. Bridger

:HGQHVGD\ 2FW Â&#x2021; S P Featuring Sons of These Leading Sires:

About Time

CL 1 Domino 955W

BW:  +2.3   WW:  +55   YW:  +80  M:  +22 M&G:  49   FAT:  -­0.076   REA:  0.63   MARB:  0.21 Â

BW:  +2.8   WW:  +59   YW:  +103  M:  +27 M&G:  56   FAT:  -­0.001   REA:  0.41   MARB  :0.20 Â

Retail Product

War Party

BW:  +2.4   WW:  +46   YW:  +91  M:  +26 FAT:  -­0.019   REA:  0.60   MARB:  0.46 Â

BW: Â +1.4 Â Â WW: Â +53 Â Â YW: Â 116 Â M: Â +31 FAT: Â +0.013 Â Â REA: Â 0.75 Â Â MARB: Â 0.38 Â

For  More  Information  or  a  Catalog,  Call: Dale (307) 782-3469 or (307) 780-8232 Winter  feed  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Raising  hay  constitutes  a  large  part  of  the  Gardnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  operation.  They  also  feed  nearly  80  head  of  horses  during  the  winter  using  a  team  and  wagon  or  sleigh.  Courtesy  photo

Ron (307) 782-3897

A16

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Starting from scratch Clark  family  builds  cattle  operation  from  ground Cokeville  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  thing  about  us  that  is  a  little  dif-­ ferent  is  we  started  from  scratch,â&#x20AC;?  says  Cokeville  rancher  Kim  Clark.   The  journey  for  Kim  and  his  family  hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  been  easy,  but  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  been  one  that  has  resulted  in  the  creation  of  a  successful  operation  in  the  southern  end  of  Lincoln  County.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  grew  up  on  a  small  ranch,  and  right  out  of  high  school,  I  started  working  on  ranches,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  ended  up  working  on  a  big  ranch  for  an  attor-­ ney  that  was  running  about  12,000  cattle,  and  it  was  a  tremendous  education.â&#x20AC;?  In  the  position,  Kim  spent  summers  in  Idaho  and  Wyoming,  traveling  to  California  for  the  win-­ ter.  However,  after  he  mar-­ ried  and  started  a  family,  his  children  were  grow-­ ing  older,  and  he  felt  it  was  time  for  a  change.

New  beginnings  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  was  always  gone,  and  my  wife  Jill  was  trying  to  take  care  of  the  kids,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  decided  to  find  a  regular  job,  so  we  could  run  a  bunch  of  our  own  cows.â&#x20AC;?  In  1991,  Kim  attended  and  completed  training  at  the  Law  Enforcement  Academy  with  the  goal  of  working  for  the  Wyo-­ ming  Livestock  Board  in  enforcement.  On  his  first  attempts  to  secure  the  posi-­ tion  in  1992,  he  was  turned Â

away  for  lack  of  experi-­ ence  and  instead  continued  working  for  the  Lincoln  County  Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Office.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;At  the  same  time,  we  started  putting  together  a  little  bunch  of  cows,  even  though  we  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  own  any  ground,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  leased  some  ground  instead.â&#x20AC;?   After  being  named  Wyomingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Peace  Officer  of  the  Year  in  1998,  Kim  was  hired  by  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Board  and  has  been  working  for  the  orga-­ nization  ever  since.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  also  continued  to  build  our  ranch,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Essentially  we  just  keep  building  up,  growing  and  adding  cows,  and  it  works.â&#x20AC;?

Red  and  black  Kimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  operation  runs  both  pairs  and  yearlings,  and  he  notes  that  both  him-­ self  and  his  wife  hold  down  regular  jobs  at  the  same  time.   His  daughter  Stepha-­ nie  works  full  time  on  the  ranch.  Stephanieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  husband  Dru  Haderlie  also  helps  on  the  ranch,  but  he  also  works  for  the  Wyoming  Depart-­ ment  of  Agriculture.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  ranch  going  100  miles  an  hour,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  says  smiling.  Both  Red  and  Black  Angus  are  run  on  the  oper-­ ation,  and  Kim  notes  that  because  Angus  are  market-­ able  cattle,  it  works  well.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  are  slowly  moving  to  Red  Angus,â&#x20AC;?  he  men-­

tions.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  are  super  cat-­ tle,  and  we  really  like  the  Red  Angus.â&#x20AC;?  In  breeding  their  cattle,  Kim  says  they  work  to  raise  their  own  bulls  and  have  developed  an  A.I.  program.  They  also  run  a  purebred  herd  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  both  Red  and  Black  Angus  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  that  they  utilize.  They  family  runs  on  leased  BLM  and  Forest  Service  land  that  extends  from  Cokeville  through  Star  Valley  to  Jackson.  To  support  and  feed  their  cattle,  they  also  put  up  the  native  hay  on  their  lands.  This  year,  the  Clarks  also  decided  to  purchase  some  additional  hay  to  feed,  mixed  with  some  straw.  Marketing  calves  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  sell  our  steer  calves  in  the  fall  and  retain  our  heifers,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  explains  of  their  ranchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  marketing Â

strategy.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  heifers  are  sent  to  a  feed  yard,  then  put  on  grass  and  bred.â&#x20AC;?  They  sell  the  open,  spayed  and  some  bred  heif-­ ers,  and  return  the  remain-­ ing  bred  heifers  to  the  herd.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bred  heifers  are  worth  a  lot  of  money,â&#x20AC;?  he  contin-­ ues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  wanted  to  delve  into  that  market,  and  we  have  some  good  places  to  go  with  the  opportunity  for  tremendous  weight  gain.  It  has  worked  pretty  great.â&#x20AC;?

Making  it  work  With  the  weather  and  economic  issues  that  are  affecting  agriculture  every  day,  Kim  sees  some  ben-­ efits  to  living  in  Cokev-­ ille  and  starting  a  ranching  operation.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  never  been  entirely  droughted-­out,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  been  awfully  dry,  but  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  always  been  able  to  raise  a Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are slowing moving to Red Angus.

They are super cattle, and we really like the Red Angus.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kim Clark

crop.â&#x20AC;?  This  year,  he  says  that  frost  has  been  more  of  a  problem.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  got  frost  clear  into  July,â&#x20AC;?  he  comments,  his  resulting  alfalfa  crop  has  suffered.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  wild  hay  that  we  got  water  on  had  a  really  good  crop,â&#x20AC;?  he  continues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  range  is  extremely  dry  right  now,  but  we  are  right  on  the  edge  of  the  mountain,  and  we  seem  to  get  enough  moisture  to  make  it  work.â&#x20AC;?

Working  together  to  develop  And  to  make  the  oper-­ ation  work,  Kim  says  the  help  of  his  family  is  inte-­ gral.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  have  a  super  crew,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  says,  mentioning  that  Stephanie,  Dru  and  their  children  Keegan,  Kalob  and  Kelli  all  help  on  the  operation.   His  wife  Jill  has  also  been  important  to  the  oper-­ ation.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;When  we  first  started  putting  this  thing  together,  Jill  got  a  job  and  paid  for Â

the  BLM  permit  that  we  bought,â&#x20AC;?  he  explains.  As  a  family  operation,  they  work  together  to  make  sure  hay  is  harvested,  cows  are  taken  care  of  and  the  operation  runs  smoothly.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  enjoy  ranching,â&#x20AC;?  comments  Dru,  who  notes  he  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  come  from  a  ranching  family.   Rather,  in  seeing  his  children  raised  on  the  ranch,  he  has  noticed  a  work  ethic  and  level  of  responsibility  that  doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  develop  in  children  raised  in  other  environments.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  always  wanted  to  be  a  cowboy,â&#x20AC;?  he  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;and  now  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  about  our  kids  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  they  are  the  future  of  the  ranch.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  tough  in  this  day  and  age,  especially  with  this  economy,  to  make  ends  meet,â&#x20AC;?  Kim  comments,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;but  every  year,  we  seem  to  get  our  bills  paid  and  make  it  work.â&#x20AC;?  Saige  Albert  is  manag-­ ing  editor  of  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr. net.

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Ties to the land LaBarge – Eric Barnes has lived on the family ranch outside of LaBarge near Fontenelle Reservoir his entire life on land that his father acquired early in life.

“Dad was working for the owner of this ranch, a man named Arnold Larson, When Arnold had to leave to take care of his place in Opal,” explains Eric. “He started leasing the ranch, but he wasn’t making enough money, so Arnold offered to sell it to him.”

At the young age of only 21, Calvin Barnes, Eric’s father, began the

legacy that he left to his family of eight.

“We’ve been in a part-­ nership on the ranch since dad passed away, and I’m one of the general part-­ ners,” says Eric. “I’ve stayed with dad through it all.”

Called back to ranching As the youngest of eight siblings, Eric felt strong ties to the land and his family.

After his mother passed away when he was only 12, Eric was raised by his father on the ranch.

“My sisters went to town to live with our older

“I am very excited about the eagerness of the younger generations in the family being involved in the fall and spring work and learning the ropes.” – Eric Barnes

Section B Barnes family develops land for cattle production

sister,” says Eric, “but I stayed out here with dad as his right-­hand man.”

“My dreams are dad’s dreams, and dad’s dreams are something I’m hoping to fulfill,” he adds.

He left the family operation for a short time on a bull riding schol-­ arship to attend Eastern Wyoming College in Tor-­ rington.

“Dad needed help, and I decided to put bull rid-­ ing on the back burner and come home to help on the ranch.”

Today, Eric contin-­ ues the legacy his father began, raising cows and putting up hay with his wife April, three-­year-­old son Timber and dedicated hand Kevin Megayhey.

Making the land work “We put up alfalfa and

the native grass,” says Eric. “On average, we get two to three ton per acre, and usually we can get two cuttings. This year, our second cutting has been short because it’s been cold.”

“Dad was one of the first ones to try growing alfalfa in this country,” Eric mentions, explaining that his father removed the sagebrush from the land and worked with the Nat-­ ural Resources Conserva-­ tion Service to improve the soil. “Some of the land had ditches and water rights, but he put sprinkler systems in as well.”

He adds that when they started, it was warmer and a second cutting was guar-­ anteed, but it seems their growing season is getting shorter.

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Family – Eric, his wife April and three-­year-­old son Timber enjoy life on the ranch outside LaBarge. Saige Albert photo

“I try to keep the land productive,” Eric empha-­ sizes, mentioning that he is trying some new strat-­ egies to produce a better crop. “We’ve been trying some different grass mixes with our alfalfa.”

Experimenting with alfalfa Following the lead of his father, Eric saw some varieties growing in some of the fields on their land that Calvin planted before he passed away and decided to increase the amount of grass in the mixture.

To encourage the growth of the crop, they also irrigate with piv-­ ots and wheel lines, flood irrigating their native hay land in the river bottom.

Running cows The couple also runs a herd of Angus cows that calves beginning in Feb-­ ruary. The ranch is a 350 cow/calf operation.

“Our heifer calves develop a lot better if we start them in February,” remarks April, adding that they keep their replace-­ ments to sell as bred heif-­ ers. “We feel like with the direction the nation is going, as far as low cow numbers, there is opportu-­ nity in bred heifers.”

They also run on BLM range, which has proven difficult in the drought year because grass is short.

“Depending on the weather, we don’t have to

start feeding our hay until January,” he adds. “But if we get colder weather or run out of grass, we have to start earlier.”

Into the future With uncertainty about public lands issues, they say, “If we can survive the public lands changes, that is a big stay-­or-­go issues for a lot of small ranches like this. We need the pub-­ lic lands grazing to work.”

As long as the range is available and productive, however, the couple will continue to grow, develop and improve their opera-­ tion.

Eric adds that he is trying to continue the leg-­ acy his dad set forth and accomplish the long-­term goals the ranch has had since it’s beginnings.

“We have all been raised to be good stewards of the land,” he says, “and we are trying our best to help the environment.”

“I also like the chal-­ lenge of surviving out here with the skills and the tools that Dad taught me,” Eric comments. “That’s why I stay here.”

Eric says, “I am very excited about the eager-­ ness of the younger gener-­ ations in the family being involved in the fall and spring work and learning the ropes.”

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

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Gathering cows -­ Eric Barnes works cattle on their LaBarge ranch.

Courtesy photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup

Building and improving Auburn – Tyson Hepworth and his wife Stephanie are raising three children while operating a registered Angus operation.

“We’ve been play-­ ing around with it in the last couple of years,” comments Tyson of their operation. “We actually started out as a dairy.”

When his great-­grandfa-­ ther started the operation fol-­

lowing the Depression, he chose to start a dairy, which ran until 1992.

His grandfather began to turn over the operation in 1992, and Tyson notes that his father switched to a beef cattle operation to make it feasible to continue to work in town, as well as operate a farm.

In dispersing the dairy, Hepworth notes they started

“If they don’t have feet and leg structure to carry themselves, it doesn’t matter what their genetics look like.”

– Tyson Hepworth

Hepworths set high goals, work for the future

a small herd on commer-­ cial beef – an endeavor that transformed into a registered Angus ranch in the last 10 years.

Running Angus “About seven years ago, I came back to the ranch after college and thought we could get a better value out of run-­ ning registered livestock,” Tyson explains. “I like taking data, putting it together and seeing how we’re running.”

“We start feeding hay about the first of November, because there is usually snow on the ground,” he notes. “We

Feeding hay – In the winter, the Hepworth family feeds the cows with a team and sleigh. As the snow begins to melt, they utilize a team and wagon to feed. Courtesy photo

feed from then until the first of June, when we kick out on pasture.”

To facilitate the long feeding season, he adds that the majority of their land goes into producing hay.

“We do quite a lot as far as feeding hay is concerned,” Tyson explains, “because we have too much winter. We feed longer than we are out on grass.”

Unlike many operations in Lincoln County, Tyson notes that they don’t have any rangeland to run their cat-­ tle on, and rather, the Hep-­ worths operate on pastures in the foothills and in the floor of the valley.

Beginning in September, they round up the cattle and begin to sort the bull calves.

Those that don’t make the cut are castrated and weaned.

“When we are select-­ ing animals, we start out with the feet and legs,” explains Tyson. “If they don’t have feet and leg structure to carry themselves, it doesn’t matter

BULL SALE FRIDAY

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SELLING

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Family – The Hepworth family focuses on the operation together.

Pictured from left to right are Cashlee, Oaklee, Stephanie, Tyson and Porter. Courtesy photo

what their genetics look like – they can’t get where they need to and get the job done.”

After considering phe-­ notype – feet, legs, size and growth – he adds that they look at the genetic data, including birth weights, weaning weight and yearling weight.

“After we wean, we start getting ready to sell our females in the fall, and we start to get the bulls ready,” he continues. “We send our bulls to a feedlot in Mannan, Idaho, and that works well for us.”

He adds that they will continue to send bulls to be developed in the feedlot, prior to their bull sales.

Making changes Since beginning the oper-­ ation, Tyson hasn’t been afraid to make changes to meet their needs.

“When we started out, we were calving in March and April, and we just weren’t meeting the marketing times for our bulls,” comments Tyson. “We didn’t have the size we wanted, so we moved our dates up.”

Today, they calve begin-­ ning the first of February to achieve the ideal animal for the operation.

While currently they don’t have a commercial sec-­ tor of the operation, Tyson says it’s something they are working to develop.

“We did start in with a few Herefords last year,” he says. “We lease a small herd of Hereford calves, and we have moved into the breed for the extra marketing abil-­ ity and for the good cross that Herefords make.”

With some of the cattle they cull from the operation

for genetic reasons, he says they have started a small com-­ mercial herd.

Future plans As a young operator, Tyson notes that they have big plans for the future.

“We are hoping to even-­ tually have our own produc-­ tion sale,” he says. “We’d like to market our bulls and keep growing.”

He also adds they would like to look into an embryo program and to continue moving forward with their commercial herd.

With plans to continue improving the operation, Tyson mentions he enjoys ranching and hopes to con-­ tinue working with his family for as long as they can.

Family focus “I’ve always wanted to be at home and to work with my family,” says Tyson of why he returned to the ranch, adding he also enjoys meeting people through the seedstock end of their operation.

But at the heart, Hep-­ worth’s Angus, LLC is a fam-­ ily operation, with his parents, Hal and Dixie, and his three children, Cashlee, Oaklee and Porter, helping.

“Dad and Mom do a lot to help out, because I am gone a lot,” notes Tyson.

Aside from running the cattle herd, he also drives a semi truck.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and my dad grew up in the house I live in now,” he says. “I like to be at home, around my family and work-­ ing as a family.”

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

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Family – The Hepworth fam-­ ily focuses on the operation together. Tyson's parents Hal and Dixie, as well as his sister Heidi, all help out on the operation. Cour-­ tesy photo.

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B3

2012  Fall  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Edition

New beginnings Fairview  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  West  Hills  Ranch  sits  in  the  east  side  of  Star  Valley  and  is  home  to  a  herd  of  Salers  cattle  that  Ryan  Jarratt  manages  for  the  Hruska  family  out  of  Rock  Springs.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Randy  a lways  w anted  to  ranch,  so  he  bought  this  place  and  some  com-­ mercials  cows,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Ryan.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jim  Wilson  got  us  some  cattle  and  helped  us  get  started  in  Thermop-­ olis,â&#x20AC;?  comments  ranch  owner  Randy  Hruska.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  was  a  childhood  dream.â&#x20AC;?  Randy  and  his  wife  Pam  have  five  chil-­ dren.  He  is  in  the  retail  hardware  business  and  has  been  since  he  was  10-­years-­old  in  Minne-­ sota.  Today,  he  continues  in  retail  hardware,  trust-­ ing  the  day-­to-­day  opera-­ tions  of  West  Hills  Ranch  to  ranch  manager  Ryan  Jarratt.  Ryan,  who  has  been  at  West  Hills  Ranch  for  just  over  two  years,  says  he  was  hired  after  he  had  graduated  from  North  Dakota  State  University.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  grew  up  around  Sal-­ ers  cattle,  and  I  love  it,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  love  cattle,  and  I  like  the  genetics  side  of  it.â&#x20AC;?

West  Hills  operation  Ryan  says  his  year  begins  when  they  calve Â

heifers  at  the  end  of  March,  with  cows  starting  the  end  of  April.  By  the  middle  of  May,  calving  is  complete  and  they  brand  and  turn  out  to  pastures.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  bring  our  cows  in  and  synchronize  and  AI  everything,â&#x20AC;?  Ryan  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then  we  turn  the  cleanup  bulls  in.â&#x20AC;?  Each  day,  the  cows  are  rotated  to  new  pastures  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  a  system  called  rotational-­ cell  grazing.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  plan  to  carry  on  our  pasture  development  and  continue  implement-­ ing  a  more  intense  system  by  running  cows  and  herd  bulls  in  one  complete  herd  over  t he  b reeding  s eason,â&#x20AC;?  says  the  West  Hills  Ranch  website.  The  cows  remain  on  the  range  until  October,  when  they  bring  in  the  cattle  to  sort  and  take  data  on  the  calves.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  will  sell  some  steer  calves  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  the  bottom  end  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  and  we  keep  about  the  top  40  bulls  to  sell  as  registered  seedstock,â&#x20AC;?  he  continues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right  now  we  are  building  a  reputation.  It  takes  a  while  to  build  a  consumer  base.â&#x20AC;?

A  different  breed  After  starting  the  operation  with  Black  Angus  commercial  cattle,  they  made  the  decision  to  switch  directions,  sell-­

West  Hills  Ranch  fulfills  dreams

ing  out  in  2006  and  buy-­ ing  registered  Salers  heif-­ ers  in  the  spring  of  2008.  After  starting  in  the  business  with  Black  Angus  cattle,  with  advice  from  Jim  and  Willard  Wil-­ son,  the  Hruskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  started  utilizing  Angus-­Salers  cross  bulls.   Today,  West  Hills  Ranch  runs  registered  Salers  cattle,  which  they  started  in  2008.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Randy  had  some  con-­ tacts  that  ran  Salers,  so  he  decided  to  run  Salers  steers  and  Salers  cross  cattle,â&#x20AC;?  says  Ryan.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  cover  more  range  and  get  places  better.  He  was  also  impressed  by  the  maternal  side  of  the  cattle,  and  that  is  how  he  got  started.â&#x20AC;?   â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  are  a  lot  more  docile,â&#x20AC;?  adds  Randy,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;and  they  are  a  good  cross  with  Angus  cattle.â&#x20AC;?  Randy  also  mentions Â

that  they  gain  well,  and  they  have  had  very  good  luck  with  the  cattle.  In  building  a  strong  herd  of  cattle,  Ryan  notes  they  focus  on  three  main  traits:  structure,  docility  and  birth  weight.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  cull  really  hard  for  docility,  as  well  as  low  birth  weight  Salers,â&#x20AC;?  he  explains.   The  West  Hills  Ranch  specializes  in  offer-­ ing  sound  bulls  that  have  not  been  pushed  on  feed,  according  to  their  website.  They  also  offer  their  bulls  a  free  choice  diet  of  grass  and  alfalfa  hay  and  a  cus-­ tom  mineral  supplement  to  build  sound  seedstock.  Cattle  challenges  Feeding  is  a  chal-­ lenge,  marks  Ryan,  add-­ ing  that  they  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  put  up  hay,  preferring  to  buy  alfalfa,  because  the  chal-­ lenges  of  a  short  growing Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now we are building a reputation. It takes a while to build a consumer base.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ryan Jarratt, Ranch Manager

Ranching  in  Fairview  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Ranch  manager  Ryan  Jarratt  and  Randy  Hruska  note  that  there  are  challenges  based  on  the  climate  in  Fair-­ view,  but  both  enjoy  running  the  operation.  Courtesy  photo

season.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  feed  about  seven  months  out  of  the  year,â&#x20AC;?  he  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;depending  on  when  we  get  snow  and  how  the  grass  is,  but  in  the  past,  I  have  started  feed-­ ing  as  early  as  the  first  part  of  November.â&#x20AC;?  He  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  coun-­ try  is  really  good  for  run-­ ning  yearlings  because  we  can  put  on  a  lot  of  gain  in  the  summertime,  but  in  the  winter,  it  gets  a  little  tough.  That  is  our  biggest  challenge  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  bar  none.â&#x20AC;?  The  challenge  of  get-­ ting  an  operation  off  the  ground,  adds  Ryan,  are  also  present.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Getting  the  work  out Â

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to  let  people  know  we  are  here  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  easy,â&#x20AC;?  says  Ryan.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;But  we  will  be  here  to  take  care  of  them  in  the  future.â&#x20AC;?  Ryan  comments,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right  now  we  are  try-­ ing  to  build  a  reputation,  based  on  standing  behind  the  cattle  that  we  sell.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  just  learning,â&#x20AC;?  Randy  mentions.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  never  done  this  before,  but  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  straightforward  and  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  honest  people.â&#x20AC;?  For  more  information,  visit  thewesthillsranch. com.  Saige  Albert  is  man-­ aging  editor  of  the  Wyo-­ ming  Livestock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr.net Choose  from  gas  engines  up  to  60  HP,  a  30  HP  AC  electric  motor  or  a  IXHO HIÂżFLHQW KLJK WRUTXH GLHVHO &KRRVH IURP DQG SDVVHQJHU PLG VL]H PRGHOV RU DQG SDVVHQJHU IXOO VL]H PRGHOV $OO PRGHOV IHDWXUH 2Q 'HPDQG 7UXH $OO :KHHO 'ULYH $:' WR PD[LPL]H WUDFWLRQ 'HWDLOHG FXVWRPL]DWLRQ ZLWK KXQGUHGV RI UXJJHG DQG UHOLDEOH 3RODULV DFFHVVRULHV

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1021  English  Avenue   Casper,  WY   82601 Â&#x2021; drivenpowersports.com Childhood  dream  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Randy  and  Pam  Hruska  started  West  Hills  Ranch  in  the  early  2000s  to  fulfill  a  childhood  dream.  Courtesy  photo

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B4

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Diverse operation

Kemmerer  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Bob  Peternal  has  lived  in  Kemmerer  all  his  life,  and  now  operates  a  small  ranch  west  of  town  with  his  wife  Shirley  and  son  Steven.    Bobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  grandfather  started  the  family  ranch  that  he  now  runs  in  1934.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;A  long  time  ago,  when  my  grandfather  first  bought  the  ranch,  he  opened  the  Union  Meat  Market  in  Kem-­ merer,â&#x20AC;?  Bob  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  raised  and  slaughtered  beef  and  pork  to  sell  in  the  shop.â&#x20AC;?  After  Bobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  grandfather  died,  his  father  and  two  uncles  took  over  the  ranch,  and  they  acquired  two  additional  ranches.  Diverse  ranch  Peternal  Brothers  Inc. Â

also  ran  pigs  and  sheep,  but  Bob  notes  that  his  father  sold  the  sheep  in  1957.  The  Union  Meat  Market  remained  open  until  1985.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;My  grandma  died  in  1979,  and  the  brothers  decided  that  they  would  dissolve  the  corporation,â&#x20AC;?  Bob  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Each  one  of  the  brothers  got  a  ranch.â&#x20AC;?  On  the  property  they  now  occupy,  Bobâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  father  ranched  for  a  number  of  years.  Bob  took  over  the  operation  of  the  ranch  in  1990  after  the  death  of  his  father.   Bob  hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  always  been  strictly  a  rancher,  rather  work-­ ing  for  Utah  Power  and  Light  for  27  years.  When  he  retired  early,  he  came  back  to  the Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our cows arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rushed through the chute, and we make sure things are done exactly right.â&#x20AC;? - Shirley Peternal

Peternal  family  extends  beyond  cattle

ranch  to  have  a  few  cows  and  put  up  some  hay.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  son  has  an  ag  engi-­ neering  degree,  but  he  decided  that  he  wanted  to  be  involved  in  the  family  ranch,â&#x20AC;?  says  Bob.  Hams  Fork  operation  Today,  Bob,  his  wife  Shir-­ ley  and  son  Steven  run  300  Black  Angus  cows  in  the  val-­ ley  of  the  Hams  Fork  River  west  of  Kemmerer.  Stevenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  wife  Laurie,  who  also  helps  on  the  ranch,  is  a  teacher.  They  have  two  sons  Wyatt  and  Tucker.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;About  one-­third  of  the  cows  are  our  sons,â&#x20AC;?  says  Bob.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  also  put  up  around  600  or  700  tons  of  hay.  It  is  all  wild  hay,  so  there  is  no  second  crop.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  used  to  have  some  Red  Angus,  but  black  cows  bring  a  better  price,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  notes.   Because  of  the  high  alti-­ tude,  Bob  notes  that  feed-­ ing  usually  starts  around  Dec.  15  and  continues  through  the  middle  of  May  before  they  turn  out  on  BLM  or  private  rangelands.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  feed  hay  half  the  year,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  cows  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  care  if  it  is  Christmas  or  not;Íž  they  still  want  to  eat.â&#x20AC;?  Each  cow  eats  about  two  tons  of  hay  each  year,  explains Â

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Bob,  who  notes  that  because  of  their  crop  they  occasionally  have  to  buy  hay.  An  average  year  â&#x20AC;&#x153;An  average  year  starts  when  we  calve  in  the  spring,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  start  calving  until  mid-­ March.â&#x20AC;?  Heifers  calve  two  weeks  before  the  main  herd  and  calv-­ ing  continues  through  the  early  parts  of  May.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;After  May  15,  we  turn  out  to  various  allotments,â&#x20AC;?  she  says,  noting  that  they  have  higher  land  in  the  moun-­ tains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;After  we  turn  out,  we  start  irrigating  the  fields,  fol-­ lowed  by  haying  which  begins  around  the  first  of  August.â&#x20AC;?  In  order  to  maintain  a  healthy  calf  herd,  Shir-­ ley  notes  that  they  vaccinate  calves  twice  each  year.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  gets  too  cold  at  night  and  too  hot  during  the  day,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Shirley.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  give  them  a  viral  shot  and  8-­way  combined  with  pneumonia  in  the  spring,  and  then  repeat  the  process  in  the  fall.â&#x20AC;?  At  the  end  of  October,  they  sell  calves  by  private  treaty.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  begin  feeding  when  the  snow  comes,  and  the  year  starts  over  again  with  spring  calving,â&#x20AC;?  she  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  make  some  adjust-­ ments,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  adds,  saying  that,  for  example,  last  year  they  fed  liquid  supplements.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;That  was  really  costly,  so  this  year,  we  are  going  to  buy  alfalfa  to  supplement  our  hay  crop  instead.â&#x20AC;?

Specific  care   Because  their  cows  are  important  and  the  lifeline  of  the  business,  Shirley  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  are  very  particular  about  how  our  animals  are  handled.â&#x20AC;?  By  providing  particular  care  for  the  animals,  Shirley  says  their  treatments  are  more  effective,  noting  that  shots,  for  example,  are  most  effective  when  given  correctly  to  ani-­ mals  that  are  calm.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  cows  arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  rushed  through  the  chute,  and  we  make  sure  things  are  done  exactly  right,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  contin-­ ues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  also  keep  intensive  records.â&#x20AC;?  In  their  records,  the  Peter-­

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Family  ties  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  With  a  long  history  on  the  ranch,  Bob  and  Shirley  Peternal  are  working  to  pass  the  legacy  of  the  land  on  to  their  son  Steven.  Saige  Albert  photo

nalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  note  all  details,  from  the  demeanor  of  the  cow  to  data  about  her  calves.  They  also  age  and  source  verify  their  cattle  through  the  Wyoming  Business  Council.  Beyond  cattle  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  had  emus  for  a  long  time,â&#x20AC;?  Bob  mentions.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  were  supposed  to  sup-­ plement  the  cattle  market.â&#x20AC;?  With  emu  marked  as  the  next  potential  lean,  red  meat,  the  Peternalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  invested  in  the  market  and  intended  to  sell  the  emus  for  profit,  until  the  mar-­ ket  fell  out.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  had  50  emus  at  one  time,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  only  have  two  remaining  pairs.â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  used  to  decorate  and  sell  emu  eggs  as  well,  but  today  she  keeps  the  emus  as  pets  to  live  out  their  lives.   They  also  have  llamas  on  the  property.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;More  than  half  of  our  llamas  are  rescue  animals,â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  patrol  the  area  around  the  chicken  and  emu  pens  keeping  predators  away.â&#x20AC;?     In  addition  to  helping  run  the  ranch,  Bob  also  partici-­ pates  on  a  number  of  local  board  and  organizations,  par-­ ticularly  those  related  to  con-­

servation  efforts.  As  a  mem-­ ber  of  the  Lincoln  County  Conservation  District  Board,  the  Wyoming  Association  of  Conservation  Districts  Area  V  Board,  the  Coalition  of  Local  Governments  and  the  Senior  Citizens  Board,  as  well  as  a  Farm  Bureau  member,  Bob  stays  busy.

Leaving  a  legacy  The  Peternalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  son,  Ste-­ ven,  and  his  family  currently  live  on  the  ranch  property.  He  manages  the  operation.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Steven  will  take  over  the  ranch,â&#x20AC;?  says  Shirley,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;adding  a  fourth  generation  of  Peternal  ownership  to  the  property.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  reason  we  have  stayed  on  the  ranch  is  so  we  have  the  legacy  of  the  land  to  pass  on  to  our  son  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  that  is  the  main  object,â&#x20AC;?  she  continues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some  springs  after  a  rough  calving  season,  we  wonder  why  we  keep  ranching,  but  we  do  it  for  the  future  genera-­ tions.â&#x20AC;?  Shirley  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  land  is  a  legacy  that  must  be  pre-­ served  because  once  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  gone,  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  gone  forever.â&#x20AC;?   Saige  Albert  is  managing  editor  of  the  Wyoming  Live-­ stock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr.net.

B5

2012  Fall  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Edition

Specialty markets Cokeville  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  When  Scott  and  Diane  Nieslanik  moved  to  Cokeville  15  years  ago,  both  had  a  background  in  raising  cattle,  and  they  were  looking  to  continue  ranch-­ ing.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  ranched  and  farmed  in  Carbondale,  Colo.,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Scott,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;but  we  needed  to  expand.  With  urban  development  down  there,  we  decided  to  get  out.â&#x20AC;?  Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  family  farms,  ranches  and  runs  a  dairy  in  the  Colorado  town,  which  sits  just  south  of  Aspen.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  was  hard  for  us  to  leave  because  our  family  is  down  there,â&#x20AC;?  Diane  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;But  if  we  were  going  to  ranch,  we  wanted  to  move  to  a  ranching  community.â&#x20AC;?

Cattle  beginnings  On  moving  to  Cokev-­ ille,  the  family  ran  a  large  herd  of  cows  and  was  rais-­ ing  three  children  under  the  age  of  five.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cattle  prices  were  low,  and  bank  payments  were  high,â&#x20AC;?  comments  Scott  of  their  first  few  years.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  looked  at  it  and  decided  to  put  the  ranch  up  for  sale.â&#x20AC;?  A  neighbor  wanted  to  buy  the  cows  and  range-­ land,  but  had  no  interest  in  the  hay  meadows,  so  the  family  took  the  deal,  keep-­ ing  the  hay  ground.  Scott  also  worked  to  run  another  ranch  in  Border,  while  Diane  irrigated  their  hay  meadows.  The  Nieslan-­ iks  sold  their  hay  on  the  stump.   When  Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  employ-­ ers  decided  to  sell,  he  returned  to  their  property  in  Cokeville,  and  the  cou-­ ple  decided  to  build  a  house  and  develop  their  hay  oper-­ ation.

Making  a  change  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  biggest  change  that  got  us  to  where  we  are  today  was  getting  away  from  the  cow  operation,â&#x20AC;?  comments  Diane.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  was  huge,  because  Scott  grew  up  with  cows  his  whole  life.  It  was  a  hard  decision  to  make.â&#x20AC;?  In  order  to  stabilize  their  financial  situation  and  develop  a  feasible  opera-­ tion,  they  began  to  focus  on  growing  and  putting  up  hay,  a  process  they  were  famil-­ iar  with,  but  on  a  different  scale.  Diane  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  big-­ gest  change  for  us  was  get-­ ting  into  the  small  bales.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  always  sold  hay,â&#x20AC;?  comments  Scott,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;but  when  I  left  Colo-­ rado,  I  swore  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  never  put  up  small  bales  again.  We  ended  up  buying  small  bal-­ ers  because  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  niche  mar-­

ket.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  stumbled  into  a  specialty  market,  instead  of  just  raising  hay,â&#x20AC;?  Diane  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;A  local  trucker  started  hauling  hay,  and  he  hooked  us  up  with  a  buyer  in  Florida  that  raises  race  horses.  We  started  tweak-­ ing  our  hay  specifically  for  these  horse  producers.â&#x20AC;?  Because  the  horse  industry  is  more  particular  about  the  hay  they  buy  and  feed,  Scott  notes  that  they  work  to  provide  consistent,  quality  hay  and  to  target  each  customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  needs.

Meeting  consumer  needs  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone  wants  some-­ thing  different,  so  we  have  different  mixes  for  the  dif-­ ferent  people,â&#x20AC;?  Diane  says.   They  have  transported  hay  across  the  country,  from  Florida  to  New  York,  and  today,  they  load  containers,  which  are  shipped  by  train  to  customers.   With  their  specialty  hay  being  delivered  across  the  country,  Diane  says  it  is  important  to  get  the  hay  quality  exactly  right.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;One  thing  people  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  understand  it  that  there  is  a  lot  of  difference  between  good  hay,  decent  hay  and  poor  hay,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Scott.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  is  how  you  put  it  up  and  how  you  raise  it.â&#x20AC;?  In  order  to  achieve  â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfect  hay,â&#x20AC;?  they  have  baled  whenever  conditions  were  right,  whether  that  meant  baling  hay  at  eight  in  the  morning  or  11  oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock  at  night.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  is  a  short  win-­ dow  of  time  to  get  it  right,â&#x20AC;?  Scott  says.  Diane  also  adds  that  the  quality  of  their  hay  is  important,  and  to  empha-­ size  their  commitment  to  quality,  they  guarantee  their  hay.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;If  someone  gets  a  bad  bale,  we  take  it  back  or  give  them  their  money  back,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Diane.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  lot  of  expense  for  trucking  hay,  and  we  stand  behind  our  bales.â&#x20AC;?  Additionally,  when  sending  hay  to  customers,  Scott  pays  careful  attention  to  watch  the  quality  of  the  hay  that  is  loaded  on  trucks  or  in  containers.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  know  where  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  stacked  some  hay  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  unsure  about,  and  we  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  send  the  bottom  bales,â&#x20AC;?  he  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  go  off  to  the  side,  and  we  sell  them  locally  to  cattle  producers.â&#x20AC;?

Trial  and  error  In  developing  the  oper-­ ation,  the  Nieslaniks  note  they  have  tried  lots  of  tech-­ niques  to  find  what  is  right.

Nieslanik  family  targets  hay  markets  in  production

 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  tried  a  lot  of  funky  stuff  over  the  years,â&#x20AC;?  comments  Diane,  laughing.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  sure  our  neighbors  think  we  are  crazy.â&#x20AC;?  For  example,  when  they  were  having  problems  with  pests  and  not  seeing  results  from  pesticides,  Scott  and  Diane  invested  in  lady-­ bugs.  They  also  handpicked  weeds  from  some  of  their  fields  with  the  help  of  local  youth  when  herbicides  were  ineffective.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  trial  and  error,â&#x20AC;?  says  Scott.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  soil  on  each  piece  of  ground  is  dif-­ ferent,  and  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  been  hard,  but  Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  figured  things  out.â&#x20AC;?  He  adds  that  production  has  increased  on  the  prop-­ erty  from  barely  1.5  tons  of  hay  per  acre  to  over  four  tons  per  acre  in  some  fields.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  experiment  a  bit,  here Â

and  there,â&#x20AC;?  Scott  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  are  always  trying  to  keep  on  top  of  what  people  want.â&#x20AC;?

Family  and  community  Beyond  producing  high  quality  hay,  Scott  and  Diane  have  stayed  in  the  agri-­ culture  industry  because  of  the  family  and  commu-­ nity  aspects  of  the  industry.  They  have  raised  three  chil-­ dren  on  their  operation.  Currently,  Luke,  19,  is  attending  the  University  of  Wyoming  studying  agri-­ culture.  He  works  on  the  farm  at  home  during  the  summer.  Daughter  Jessica,  20,  is  married  and  seeking  her  engineering  degree  in  Boise,  Idaho.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  only  have  Hannah  left  at  home,â&#x20AC;?  says  Diane.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;She  helps  out  in  the  balers  and  moving  pipe.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our  biggest  thing  was Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I left Colorado, I swore Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never put up small bales again. We ended up buying small balers because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a niche market.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Scott Nieslanik YLGH DYDLO RV DE RQOLQ OH H

Raising  a  family  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Diane  Nieslanik  says  they  wanted  to  raise  a  fam-­ ily  in  a  ranching  community  in  an  agricultural  lifestyle.  Their  children,  Luke,  Jessica  and  Hannah,  have  all  been  an  important  part  of  the  operation.  Courtesy  photo

we  wanted  to  raise  our  kids  on  a  ranch  and  in  this  life-­ style,  because  it  raises  good  children  who  grow  up  to  be  good  adults,â&#x20AC;?  she  continues.  Scott  adds,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  teaches  them  responsibility  and  work  ethic.â&#x20AC;?  By  involving  their  chil-­ dren  in  every  aspect  of  the  operation,  teaching  them  about  safety  and  even  the  finances,  the  Nieslaniks  have  worked  hard  to  instill  a  love  of  agriculture  in  their  children.

 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Making  the  crossover  to  a  hay  operation,  going  into  a  specialty  market,  find-­ ing  clientele  and  taking  care  of  them  is  the  best  thing  we  ever  did,â&#x20AC;?  Diane  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  live  a  life  that  most  people  would  give  anything  to  live.  This  is  the  life  we  want  to  live,  and  we  are  living  the  dream.â&#x20AC;?  Saige  Albert  is  manag-­ ing  editor  of  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr. net.

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Small  bales  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Because  their  consumers  are  looking  for  small  bales,  primarily,  the  Nieslaniks  have  begun  putting  up  only  small  bales,  despite  the  extra  labor  involved.  Saige  Albert  photo

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B6

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Aircraft  Company  Cow Country Plane Call  fills  unmet  needs Afton  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Call  Aircraft  Company  was  created  when  Reuel  Call  of  Afton  resolved  to  build  an  air-­ plane  suited  for  private  or  fam-­ ily  flying  in  rugged  mountain  country.  Call  was  an  early  avi-­ ation  pioneer.  Seeing  an  unmet  need,  he  decided  to  fill  it.  In  1942,  when  Reuel  Call,  his  uncle  Ivan  Call  and  his  brother  Spencer  Call  sat  down  to  design  an  airplane  that  would  perform  well  in  high  mountain  country,  they Â

could  hardly  have  known  his-­ tory  was  in  the  making.   At  that  time,  World  War  II  was  raging  in  the  South  Pacific  and  Europe.  The  trio  barely  had  enough  materials  to  build  the  first  prototype  airplane.  After  the  war,  sustained  pro-­ duction  went  into  full  swing  at  CallAir  when  steel,  surplus  engines  and  parts  were  avail-­ able.  Passenger  planes   The  CallAir  A-­3  passen-­

â&#x20AC;&#x153;For fast economical winter travel, buy a SnowCar.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1950s advertisement for CallAir SnowCar

ger  plane  was  born  from  these  modest  beginnings.  CallAir  built  about  50  A-­3s,  which  became  the  mountain  plane  built  for  farmers  and  ranch-­ ers,  coyote  hunters  and  anyone  needing  to  fly  over  the  rugged  Rocky  Mountains.  The  A-­3  operated  with  an  extra  wide  gear,  186  square  feet  of  wing  area  and  a  125-­horse-­ power  engine.  It  was  adver-­ tised  to  take  off  in  500  feet  or  less,  climb  1,000  feet  the  first  minute  and  cruise  at  105  miles  per  hour,  with  a  service  ceiling  at  17,500  feet.  The  plane  could  seat  three  average-­size  people.

 WWII  test  pilot  and  Reuel  Callâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  cousin,  Barlow  Call,  joined  CallAir  after  the  war.  His  flying  skills  showed  the  world  what  the  CallAir  could  do.  He  used  the  plane  for  hunt-­ ing,  herding  wild  horses,  ferry-­ ing  and  measuring  snow.  He  took  off  from  remote  mountain  slopes  and  pastures  and  landed  his  plane  on  a  dime.  Like  the  CallAir  he  flew,  Barlow  Call  is  a  legend.  In  1947,  Kenneth  Arnold  from  Boise,  Idaho  purchased  a  new  CallAir.  While  flying  his  A-­3  searching  for  a  downed  aircraft  near  Mt.  Rain-­ ier  in  Washington,  he  sighted  a  series  of  bright  lights  skipping  through  the  sky.  Arnold  was  the  first  to  use  the  words  â&#x20AC;&#x153;fly-­ ing  saucersâ&#x20AC;?  when  he  reported  his  sightings.  Arnold  and  his  CallAir  would  become  house-­ hold  words  among  UFO  enthusiasts.

Snowmobile  beginnings  The  SnowCar  was  the  pre-­ decessor  to  the  snowmobile.  It  was  a  tri-­ski,  with  two  skis  on  the  back  and  one  in  front,  a  steering  wheel  and  mecha-­ nism.  The  cabin  was  enclosed  and,  in  some  cases,  heated  by  the  engine,  much  like  an  air-­ plane.  SnowCars  used  air-­ plane  engines,  but  the  pro-­ peller,  mounted  on  the  back,  pushed  rather  than  pulled.   Up  to  this  point,  anyone  who  wished  to  put  skis  on  an  airplane  had  to  remove  the  wheels  and  attach  skis  to  the  axles.  Reuel  Call  designed  and Â

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built  a  cradle  that  fit  around  the  tire.  The  airplane  was  dropped  into  the  cradle  and  secured  by  snap-­over  straps  and  bungee  cords  to  stabilize  the  ski  in  flight.  This  sim-­ Mountain  planes  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  The  Call  Aircraft  Company,  ple  invention  formed  by  Reuel  Call,  aimed  to  provide  a  plane  that  was  suited  for  travel  in  the  rugged  mountain  served  as  a  country  of  Wyoming.  Echo  Renner  photo great  improve-­ ment  for  people  utilizing  air-­ Doyle  Child  and  Ted  Frome  craft  during  the  winter. replaced  the  A-­5s  and  A-­6s    A  1950s  ad  for  a  CallAir  with  the  CallAir  A-­9,  a  larger  SnowCar  read,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;For  fast  eco-­ version  of  the  previous  crop-­ nomical  winter  travel,  buy  a  duster,  and  sold  about  850  of  SnowCar.â&#x20AC;?  these  planes.  Later,  they  built   At  the  time,  a  four-­pas-­ a  bigger  spray  plane,  the  B-­1,  senger  125-­horse  power  and  sold  about  35  of  these  model  started  at  $1,985,  while  high-­performance  planes. two-­passenger  models  started    CallAir  employed  hun-­ at  $1,550.  The  SnowCar  dreds  of  residents  in  Star  Val-­ weighed  450  to  550  pounds. ley  starting  in  the  1940s.   Utilized  by  park  rangers  Workers  achieved  high  skill  and  the  Wyoming  Game  and  levels  working  with  metals,  Fish  Department,  the  Snow-­ wood,  fabric,  fiberglass  and  Car  was  also  used  by  ranchers,  paints.  sportsmen  and  others.  The  factory  is  still  in    A  rebuilt  SnowCar  operation  today,  owned  by  is  on  display  in  the  Cal-­ Aviat  Aircraft,  Inc.  Aviat  is  lAir  Museum  in  Afton. engaged  in  the  development,  Ag  uses manufacture  and  servicing  of   In  the  1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s,  CallAir  sport  and  utility  aircraft  sold  converted  it  cabin  plane  into  under  the  Aviat  trade  names  a  crop-­duster,  or  agriculture  of  Husky,  Pitts  Special  and  spray  plane.  The  first  of  these,  the  Eagle  II. the  A-­5,  rolled  out  of  produc-­  For  more  information  log  tion  in  1954.  Over  the  next  onto  aftonwyoming.net/index. decade,  about  170  A-­5s  and  cfm?ID=25.  Echo  Renner  is  its  big  brother,  the  A-­6s,  were  a  correspondent  for  the  Wyo-­ built. ming  Livestock  Roundup  and    Reuel  Call  sold  CallAir  in  may  be  reached  at  307-­250-­ the  early  1960s.  New  owners  9723  or  echo@wylr.net.

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2012  Fall  Cattlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  Edition

Improving an operation Progressive  management  keeps  Roberts  on  top Cokeville  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Despite  the  struggles  livestock  produc-­ ers  face  year  in  and  year  out  to  stay  viable  in  ranch-­ ing,  Fred  Roberts  is  one  of  those  producers  who  con-­ quers  those  challenges  head  on  by  carefully  managing  his  commercial  sheep  and  cattle  businesses.

Where  it  all  started  Roberts  is  the  third  generation  of  his  family  to  call  Cokeville  home.  His  grandfather,  Fred  Roberts,  migrated  to  the  area  from  England  in  the  late  1880s.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Back  then,  Cokev-­ ille  was  categorized  as  the  sheep  capitol  of  anywhere  west  of  the  Mississippi,â&#x20AC;?  Fred  says  of  his  hometown.   Once  the  elder  Rob-­ erts  settled  in  the  area,  he  started  in  the  sheep  busi-­ ness,  later  passing  the  tra-­ dition  on  to  his  son,  Lou.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;My  dad  was  really  involved  in  the  business  and  continued  to  take  an  active  role  until  he  was  88-­years-­old,â&#x20AC;?  he  adds.  His  father  passed  away  at  age  90.  Fred  is  now  the  owner  and  manager  of  the  operation  and  may  be  the  last  in  his  family  to  do  so.  His  two  children,  Kyle  and  Lacey,  both  have  interests  outside  the  ranch.

Managing  a  migratory  sheep  operation   Over  the  years,  the  Roberts  family  has  built  up  successful  commercial  cat-­ tle  and  range  ewe  opera-­ tions.   While  the  cattle  are  based  at  the  home  place,  the  commercial  range  sheep  operation  is  migra-­ tory,  according  to  Roberts.  The  ewes  are  at  the  home  place  from  the  end  of  April  until  the  first  of  July.  Dur-­ ing  the  remainder  of  the  year,  the  ewes  graze  pri-­ vate,  state  and  BLM  lands.   Although  most  of  the  areas  the  ewes  graze  receive  considerable  snow  during  the  winter,  Roberts  said  he  is  typically  able  to  graze  the  ewes  with  little  supplementation.  The  wind  blows  hard  enough  that  it  usually  blows  the  snow  off  the  grass  so  the  ewes  can  reach  the  plants  beneath.   However,  this  year  is  different.  Roberts  is  already  planning  a  feed  program  to  accommodate  the  sheep  through  the  winter  months,  since  the  drought  has  pre-­ vented  new  forage  growth,  and  there  is  little  to  graze.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  year,  we  will  be  supplementing  because  there  isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  any  feed  out Â

there  for  them,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  Carefully  selecting  the  ewes  Roberts  has  nearly  7,000  head  of  Rambouillet  Columbia  crossbred  ewes  on  his  operation.  He  raises  his  own  replacements,  and  those  he  doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  keep  go  to  the  same  ewe  lamb  cus-­ tomer  he  has  had  for  over  30  years.  He  purchases  purebred  bucks  from  rep-­ utable  breeders  in  the  sur-­ rounding  area  that  perform  well  in  the  harsh  environ-­ ment  they  live  in.   The  ewes  in  the  oper-­ ation  have  been  carefully  selected  not  only  for  their  size  and  bone  structure,  but  also  for  their  wool.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  have  big  sheep,  and  I  want  a  lot  of  frame  and  bone  to  them  because  that  translates  to  lambs  that  feed  well,  and  thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  what  pays  the  bills,â&#x20AC;?  he  explains.   The  wool,  which  is  considered  the  second  pay-­ check  in  the  sheep  opera-­ tion,  runs  in  the  low  62s,  which  Roberts  says  is  desirable  for  his  operation.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  pay  you  more  for  a  certain  micron,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  Having  a  say  in  the  market  As  a  progressive  pro-­ ducer,  Roberts  purchased  shares  in  the  Mountain  States  Lamb  Cooperative  many  years  ago  because  he  wanted  to  have  more  control  over  how  much  he  earned  for  his  lambs.  It  is  an  investment  he  feels  has  paid  off  in  a  big  way.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  has  been  one  of  the  biggest  positive  influences  on  the  lamb  industry,â&#x20AC;?  he  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  was  a  stabi-­ lizing  factor  in  the  market  and  has  helped  the  mar-­ ket  improve.  The  way  the  lamb  market  has  been  the  last  two  years,  I  think  our  members  are  benefiting  a  lot  from  their  membership.  They  are  able  to  get  their  lambs  killed  and  have  a  place  to  go  with  them.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Looking  at  the  overall  picture,  I  think  our  mem-­ bers  are  much  better  off  being  members  of  the  co-­op  than  not,â&#x20AC;?  he  explained.  By  being  a  member,  Roberts  has  to  sell  his  lambs  as  a  finished  prod-­ uct.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  own  them  from  birth  until  they  are  processed,â&#x20AC;?  he  explained.   After  weaning,  some  of  the  lambs  are  grazed  on  alfalfa  fields  until  they  placed  in  a  feedlot.  The  lambs  are  finished  in  feed-­

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lots  in  California  and  near  Riverton  and  slaughtered  when  they  reach  165  to  170  pounds.  Most  of  the  lambs  grade  predominantly  twos  in  yield,  a  fact  Roberts  is  quite  proud  of.  Challenges  While  he  continually  works  to  improve  upon  the  genetics  of  the  flock  to  keep  a  desirable  product  in  front  of  the  consumer,  Rob-­ erts  also  fights  predators  and  finding  labor,  which  are  the  two  biggest  obsta-­ cles  standing  in  the  way.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coyotes  are  a  contin-­ ual  problem,  and  except  for  the  summer  we  can  semi-­ control  them,â&#x20AC;?  he  said.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now  we  have  wolves  and  bears  where  we  summer  the  sheep.  At  one  point,  we  had  20  wolves.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;This  past  summer Â

was  the  biggest  loss  I  ever  remember  having.  The  wolf  situation  affects  not  only  sheep  and  cattle,  but  wildlife  too,â&#x20AC;?  he  said.   It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  having  a  hunting  season  for  the  predator  can  be  used  as  an  adequate  con-­ trol  method.  The  cattle  operation  In  addition  to  sheep,  Roberts  also  maintains  a  herd  of  commercial  Black  Angus  cattle.  The  cattle  run  at  the  home  place  where  they  graze  until  Thanks-­ giving  before  being  supple-­ mented  through  the  winter  months  with  hay.   Roberts  says  the  cows  average  1,150  to  1,200  pounds  and  calve  at  the  end  of  March.  When  the  steer  calves  are  shipped  to  west-­

â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the biggest things I have worked on is feed conversion, which is extremely important during years like this when corn is high.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fred Roberts

ern  Nebraska  around  mid-­ October,  they  weigh  550  to  560  pounds.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  have  done  a  lot  of  work  on  genetics  over  the  years,â&#x20AC;?  Roberts  said.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  used  to  be  a  Hereford  oper-­ ation  and  just  sell  calves,  but  through  the  years  I  have  converted  to  an  Angus  operation.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;With  the  help  of  Gary  Darnall  of  Darnall  Feed-­ lot  in  Harrisburg,  Neb.,  I  have  been  able  to  improve  the  genetics  in  the  herd.  Gary  is  sharp  on  genetics  and  very  proactive  and  for-­ ward-­thinking,â&#x20AC;?  he  said.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;With  his  help,  I  have  been  able  to  build  a  herd  of  cat-­ tle  that  produce  calves  that  will  feed  and  finish  well  and  have  eatability.  One  of  the  biggest  things  I  have  worked  on  is  feed  conver-­ sion,  which  is  extremely  important  during  years  like  this  when  corn  is  high.â&#x20AC;?  Carcass  data  is  col-­ lected  on  the  calves,  and  Roberts  spends  a  consid-­ erable  amount  of  time  ana-­ lyzing  individual  data  to  see  how  the  calves  per-­ formed  and  what  improve-­

ments  need  to  be  made.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  has  been  a  major  conversion  for  me  mov-­ ing  from  being  a  cow/calf  operator  and  selling  calves  to  being  a  feeder,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most  years,  we  also  feed  out  cull  cows  with  Gary  to  add  value  before  we  sell  them,â&#x20AC;?  he  adds.  As  Roberts  contin-­ ues  to  stay  on  top  of  the  game  by  being  a  progres-­ sive  manager,  his  goal  is  to  remain  a  viable  operation.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  are  a  lot  of  challenges  on  the  sheep  side  with  predators  and  labor  and  on  the  cattle  side  with  corn  and  fuel.  We  have  exports  driving  the  price  in  the  cattle  market,  and  you  never  know  when  something  could  happen,  like  another  BSE  cow,  that  could  drive  that  price  down,â&#x20AC;?  he  says.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  hard-­ est  part  of  being  a  rancher  is  trying  to  deal  with  the  things  that  we  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  have  control  over.â&#x20AC;?  Gayle  Smith  is  a  corre-­ spondent  for  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup.  Send  comments  on  this  article  to  roundup@wylr.net.

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B8

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Starting traditions Thayne  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  In  the  1920s,  Thayne  was  the  first  place  to  hold  cutter  and  chariot  races  right  on  Main  Street  of  the  Lincoln  County  town.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chariot  racing  involves  running  two  horses  abreast  with  a  chariot,  that  weighs  about  65  pounds,â&#x20AC;?  explains  former  racer  Bill  Johnson.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  run  for  440  yards  or  one-­quarter  of  a  mile  from Â

the  gates.  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  quite  a  rigorous  activity.â&#x20AC;?  The  races  have  intrigued  spectators  for  many  years,  with  deep  roots  in  history.

In  the  beginning  Cutter  racing  is  one  of  the  oldest  equine  sports,  believed  to  have  its  begin-­ nings  with  the  first  Olympic  games  in  ancient  times.  The  1959  epic  film  Ben-­Hur  gave Â

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A cutter has runners on it, and they used to run on snow-covered tracks.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bill Johnson, former cutter and chariot racer

Cutter  racing  beings  in  Thayne

the  sport  its  modern  fame.  When  it  began,  cut-­ ter  racing  was  simply  a  way  to  pass  time  during  the  cold  winters  of  the  1920s.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;Farmers  used  to  come  to  town  with  their  milk,  and  theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  sit  around  drink-­ ing  coffee  and  start  to  chal-­ lenge  each  other,â&#x20AC;?  explains  All-­American  Cutter  Racing  Association  Secretary  Con-­ nie  Wright.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d  race  their  wagons  with  their  work  horses,  and  cutter  racing  originated.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  started  bring-­ ing  their  saddle  horses  and Â

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lighter  wagons  so  they  could  go  faster,â&#x20AC;?  she  continues.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  is  quite  a  history.â&#x20AC;?

First  association  In  1948,  the  All-­Ameri-­ can  Cutter  Racing  Associa-­ tion  was  formed  in  Thayne.  The  association  was  the  first  in  the  world  dedicated  to  cut-­ ter  and  chariot  racing.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  have  a  world  championship  in  Ogden,  Utah  every  year  in  March,â&#x20AC;?  says  Johnson.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;There  were  as  many  as  38  associations  at  one  time,  coming  from  California,  Colorado,  Idaho,  Montana,  Nevada,  Oregon,  Utah  and  Wyoming.â&#x20AC;?  The  competition  only  continued  to  grow,  as  ranch-­ ers  hooked  their  fastest  horses  to  sleds,  racing  through  the  snow  at  speeds  that  reached  up  to  50  miles  an  hour.   Over  time,  lightweight  cutters,  or  chariots  on  skis,  replaced  old,  heavy  sleds. Â

In  some  cases,  snow  was  trucked  in  for  special  events.  As  times  changed,  so  did  the  equipment  used.  Rather  than  running  with  a  traditional  cutter,  Johnson  notes  that  they  use  chariots  more  fre-­ quently  today.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;A  cutter  has  runners  on  it,  and  they  used  to  run  on  snow-­covered  tracks,â&#x20AC;?  explains  Johnson  of  the  change.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  started  run-­ ning  on  a  dirt  track  in  the  early  80s  with  chariots,  which  have  wheels  like  small  bicycle  wheels.â&#x20AC;?  Because  chariot  are  faster  due  to  less  friction  and  the  track  is  easier  to  maintain,  chariot  racing  has  taken  over.  Modern  racing  Cutter  and  chariot  racing  today  has  grown  into  a  fast  and  furious  sport.   In  each  heat  two  to  three  teams  run  the  straight,  quar-­ ter  mile  race  in  only  22  sec-­ onds.  The  racing  begins  from  gates,  as  are  used  in  most Â

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Chariot  races  -­  Every  Saturday  from  December  until  February,  teams  of  chariot  racers  can  be  found  on  the  track  outside  of  Afton,  keeping  the  traditions  of  the  sport  alive.  Courtesy  photo

horse  race  events.  The  Afton  track  has  a  three-­team  gate,  but  usually  runs  only  two  teams  abreast.   Johnson  says,  â&#x20AC;&#x153;My  dad  helped  to  organize  the  events.  I  stopped  racing  about  five  years  ago,  but  raced  for  21  years.  When  I  quit  running,  it  was  the  first  time  since  1948  that  our  family  hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  run.â&#x20AC;?  Though  its  beginnings  are  in  Thayne,  the  races  moved  from  Main  Street  there  to  the  town  of  Afton,  and  events  are  held  in  com-­ munities  across  Star  Valley,  as  well  as  in  Jackson  and  Saratoga.  In  Afton,  rather  than  racing  on  Main  Street,  the  events  are  held  on  a  track  at  the  fairgrounds.  Racing  is  held  every  Saturday  after-­ noon  from  Dec.  1  to  the  end  of  February.   Today  only  about  16  organizations  are  left  in  the  world,  with  between  10  and  12  teams  competing  at  the  weekly  events  in  Star  Valley.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;It  is  not  only  a  fun  hobby,  but  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  tradition  in  Star  Valley,â&#x20AC;?  Johnson  adds.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;People  do  it  to  keep  the  tra-­ dition  going  to  this  day.â&#x20AC;?  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  guys  that  are  still  racing  are  really  trying  to  promote  it,â&#x20AC;?  comments  John-­ son.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  really  hard  to  get  younger  people  involved.  The  older  generations  still  run,  but  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  dying  sport.â&#x20AC;?  Saige  Albert  is  manag-­ ing  editor  of  the  Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup  and  can  be  reached  at  saige@wylr. net.

B9

2012 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition

Sheep ranching

Cokeville – With lots of experience sheep ranching and a love for the animals they raise, Jon and Vickie Child hold strong as one of two remaining sheep oper-­ ations in Cokeville.

“At first, we looked at getting into the cattle busi-­ ness, but it took so much more to get started,” Jon comments. “We thought, all we need to get started in sheep is to rent us a range, get a sheep camp, a couple horses and a pick up, and we’re set, so that’s what we did.”

Humble beginnings Before they were mar-­ ried, Jon notes that he and his wife Vickie learned from a Basque sheep rancher in Utah.

Vickie mentions that the two spent over 10 years herding sheep.

“Back then, we didn’t know about getting con-­ tract labor,” she says. “I would herd one herd, Jon would herd another, and one year, we had the kids herd a third group.”

“We started in Nevada,” says Jon of their sheep ranching opera-­ tion, which he ran in con-­ junction with his brother.

“Thirty-­three years ago, we ran sheep together, and it was tough.”

He adds that as young ranchers in the indus-­ try, many of the les-­ sons they learned weren’t easy. When Deseret Land and Livestock in north-­ ern Utah and Wyoming sold the sheep aspect of the operation, they rap-­ idly expanded and were on their way to extending the operation.

Continual development “We were running about 3,000 apiece then,”

Jon mentions, noting that they split the operation for a period, coming together to buy another parcel of land when Thompson Land and Livestock in Cokeville sold.

Eventually, the broth-­ ers split the operation again, and while his brother returned to Utah, Jon stayed in Cokeville, running sheep on the range and raising his family.

“We run a Rambouil-­ let type sheep, and we buy some Targhee bucks as well,” explains Jon. “They are hardier for this Wyo-­ ming climate – especially the desert.”

He also mentions that the finer clip of wool makes them more desir-­ able and offers another sector of profit.

Lambs and the range The Child family runs their operation as a range sheep business, lambing in the middle of May on their spring range.

“We come in on our spring range by May 1, and we get them sheared,” he notes. “Most of the time, the weather is pretty decent by then.”

“It’s an all-­range oper-­ ation,” Jon adds, also not-­ ing that they work their lambs and have sheds to accommodate ewes that won’t accept their lambs or to pair lambs with ewes.

“We try to get a lamb on every ewe.”

While running their sheep, they keep herders with each band, as well as guard dogs, to keep pred-­ ators at bay. Especially at the end of the grazing sea-­ son, Jon notes it can be difficult to keep predators away.

“Now, the sheep

Child family remains in sheep operation

are really restless,” he explains. “The feed is dry and they are ready to come down, so they scatter. As they scatter, we have coy-­ otes, bears and wolves that hit and scatter them more.”

However, with the help of the state predator boards and government trappers, Jon says they see some relief. They also fly their ranges in the win-­ ter to alleviate predator strains.

Challenging business Jon adds that Mother Nature and labor issues are also of constant concern.

“Mother Nature is our biggest challenge right now,” Jon says. “Two springs ago, we had one of the toughest springs and winters in a long time.”

He also notes that this year has been incredibly dry, adding another ele-­ ment of difficulty.

“There isn’t really any-­ thing we can do about that, though,” he says. “We just have to get through it.”

However, the Depart-­ ment of Labor and dealing with the H-­2A program is also challenging, espe-­ cially with recent changes that have been made to the program, making it more difficult to bring in con-­ tract labor.

“We rely on the labor so much,” says Jon of the H-­2A program workers.

“If we don’t have these men, we’re done.”

Though they attempted to hire sheepherders off the street when they started, both Jon and Vickie noted that it created more prob-­ lems.

Other challenges, such as bighorn sheep and pub-­ lic lands problems, have made it hard for sheep

ranchers to subsist in Wyo-­ ming, or even the U.S. in general, comments Vickie.

“I hate seeing these challenges take the agri-­ culture out of Wyoming,” she says. “The sheep busi-­ ness is a dying industry.

There are very few outfits left around here.”

Joys of operating While it isn’t an easy

business to be in, Jon notes that they enjoy run-­ ning sheep and operating in the Cokeville area is a pleasure.

“We have everything we need here,” he explains.

“We have our best summer ranges that have a natural flow into our spring and fall ranges. We have win-­ ter desert, and everything is together.”

He adds that the ranch-­ ing lifestyle is a good way

“Mother Nature is our biggest challenge right now. There isn’t really anything we can do about that, though.” – Jon Child

to raise a family, and all six of their children were brought up helping on the ranch.

Jon and Vickie’s chil-­ dren Dustin, Shanna, Clint, Shawnee, Shaylyn and Jon Kelly still help on the operation, and he has two sons interested in con-­ tinuing the family busi-­ ness.

“We like the sheep,” he continues, “and sooner or later, it’ll rain. We’ll get through the tough times.”

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

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B10

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

Community supported ag Bedford  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  Over  the  last  century,  Americans  have  become  increasingly  re-­ moved  from  the  produc-­ tion  of  their  food.  But  one  Lincoln  County  producer  is  working  to  change  that  through  community  sup-­ ported  agriculture,  offer-­ ing  local,  seasonal  pro-­ duce  directly  from  their  farm  to  the  consumer.  Marion  and  DeeAnne  Robinson  run  Robinson  Family  Farm  and  Ranch  in  Bedford.  The  fourth  gen-­ eration  agriculture  oper-­

ation  is  housed  on  110  acres.   The  Robinsons  work  with  their  members  to  produce  like  kale,  collard  greens,  cauliflower,  spin-­ ach,  tomatoes,  peppers,  onions,  summer  squash  and  herbs,  among  other  products.  They  also  offer  meat  and  egg  shares.   This  concept  of  mar-­ keting  directly  from  the  farm  to  customers  is  known  as  community  supported  agriculture,  or  CSA.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really like how community supported agriculture puts the farm back in the community and puts the community back in the farm.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Marion Robinson, Robinson Family Farm and Ranch

Robinson  family  offers  local  produce,  ag  education

 The  Robinsons  are  among  a  growing  num-­ ber  of  agriculture  produc-­ ers  foregoing  traditional  markets  in  favor  of  partic-­ ipating  in  community  sup-­ ported  agriculture.   Essentially,  CSA  is  a  partnership  between  farm-­ ers  and  customers.  Cus-­ tomers  buy  shares  in  a  seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  produce,  shar-­ ing  the  risk  and  rewards  of  harvest  with  the  farmer.  Offerings  can  include  everything  from  vege-­ tables  and  fruit  to  eggs,  milk,  beef  or  pork.

Beginnings  Marion  Robinson  started  the  operation  after  participating  in  the  Wyo-­ ming  agricultural  leader-­ ship  program,  L.E.A.D.  (Leadership,  Education Â

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and  Development).  He  had  returned  to  Star  Valley  after  working  i n  t he  c orpo-­ rate  sector  out  of  state  and  was  searching  for  a  way  to  establish  sustainability  on  a  small  acreage.   â&#x20AC;&#x153;I  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  think  I  could  earn  a  living  in  agricul-­ ture.  There  arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  many  truly  large  corporate  busi-­ nesses  in  Star  Valley  that  needed  my  business  skills.  I  believed  in  the  tradi-­ tional  model  of  get  big  or  get  out  and  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  know  how  I  could  make  a  go  of  it  as  a  small  farmer,â&#x20AC;?  says  Marion.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;The  L.E.A.D.  program  helped  open  my  eyes  to  the  many  different  opportunities  there  are  in  agriculture  if  youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  will-­ ing  to  work  hard  and  be  creative.â&#x20AC;?  The  Robinsons  started  their  C SA  p rogram  i n  2 006  with  help  from  another  producer  with  three  acres  of  vegetables.  That  year,  the  farm  provided  pro-­ duce  for  14  members,  with  some  excess  vegetables  sold  at  the  Jackson  farm-­

erâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  market.   Today,  Robinson  Fam-­ ily  Farm  and  Ranch  has  40  members,  about  half  of  which  are  work  share.  Work  share  members  pay  for  their  shares  by  put-­ ting  in  three  to  five  hours  of  work  on  the  farm  each  week.  Marion  says  the  work  share  option  is  win-­win  for  the  farm  and  his  cus-­ tomers.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m  as  motivated  by  affordability  as  by  sus-­ tainability.  The  work  share  option  provides  the  member  with  healthy  fresh  produce  and  our  farm  with  some  much-­needed  labor.  Other  folks  choose  a  work  share  just  to  learn  more  about  gardening  and  veg-­ etable  production.â&#x20AC;?

Extreme  gardening  Gardening  at  6,000  feet  in  elevation  provides  some  challenges,  but  Mar-­ ion  says  that  fact  alone  hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  deterred  him.  He  uses  greenhouses  and  a  little  ingenuity  to  operate  almost  year-­round.   Marion  starts  some  seeds  indoors  shortly  after  the  first  of  the  year,  and Â

then  transfers  the  seed-­ lings  outdoors  in  the  later  months.  He  says  he  over-­ laps  his  younger,  hot  crops  with  larger,  more  estab-­ lished  cold  crops  to  get  a  jumpstart  on  growth  and  to  maximize  space.   As  a  result,  Robinson  Family  Farm  and  Ranch  is  able  to  offer  its  cus-­ tomers  five  months  worth  of  vegetables  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  from  June  through  October.   The  final  offering  is  a  bulk  pickup  of  crops  that  store  well,  such  as  pota-­ toes,  carrots  and  cabbage.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  often  refer  t o  what  we  do  as  â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;extreme  garden-­ ing,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?  Marion  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve  come  to  embrace  the  harsh  climate.  We  donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  have  as  many  pest  issues,  and  our  season  is  never  too  hot  for  cold  crops  like  peas  or  lettuce  like  it  can  be  in  Utah  or  Idaho.  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  certainly  labor  intensive  in  summer,  but  we  enjoy  our  slower  months.â&#x20AC;?

Wider  markets  In  addition  to  distrib-­ uting  products  directly  to  members,  Marion  sells  produce  at  both  the  Star  Valley  and  Jackson  farm-­

CSAs in Wyoming  Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  a  simple  enough  idea,  but  its  impact  has  been  profound  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  know  where  your  food  comes  from.  Tens  of  thousands  of  families  have  joined  com-­ munity  supported  agriculture  opera-­ tions  (CSA),  and  in  some  areas  of  the  country  there  is  more  demand  than  there  are  CSA  farms  to  fill  it.  The  gov-­ ernment  does  not  track  CSA  opera-­ tions,  so  there  is  no  official  counts  of  how  many  CSAs  exist  in  the  country.   Kim  Porter  of  the  Wyoming  Busi-­ ness  Council  says  the  CSA  concept  is  going  strong  across  Wyoming.  In  addi-­ tion  to  the  Robinson  Family  Farm  and  Ranch  in  Bedford,  Porter  estimates  there  are  probably  another  dozen  CSA  operations  in  the  Cowboy  State,  includ-­ ing  other  farms  in  Star  Valley  and  oper-­ ations  in  Pinedale,  Sheridan  and  Yoder.  Kim  attributes  the  growing  popular-­ ity  in  CSAs  to  people  wanting  to  know  where  their  food  is  grown  and  how  itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  cared  for.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;People  want  to  eat  healthier,  and  usually  a  CSA  operation  provides  rec-­ ipe  ideas,  and  they  can  build  a  rela-­ tionship  with  a  producer,â&#x20AC;?  she  explains.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;They  know  they  can  ask  questions  and  get  ideas  on  how  to  prepare  their  food.  They  also  have  an  idea  of  what  they  are  getting  or  are  going  to  get  through-­ out  the  summer.â&#x20AC;?  The  advantages  of  CSA  for  agri-­ culture  producers  include  the  ability  to  directly  market  their  product  allow-­

ing  the  producer  to  keep  a  great  deal  of  their  profit  and  improved  planning  the  opportunities  because  most  CSA  oper-­ ations  take  orders  in  the  spring  and  provide  the  product  throughout  sum-­ mer.  Kim  says  this  helps  cover  up  front  costs.  The  producer  also  gets  to  know  the  customer,  or  member,  on  a  more  personal  level.  Kim  expects  the  CSA  concept  to  continue  to  grow  because  of  the  unique  producer-­consumer  relationship.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;CSA  business  will  continue  to  grow  and  thrive  as  our  producers  become  aware  of  the  opportunities  and  get  bet-­ ter  with  season  extension  methods,  such  as  high  tunnels.  Demand  is  crazy  right  now,  and  CSAs  are  not  the  only  opportunities  for  people  with  gardens  â&#x20AC;&#x201C;  there  are  farmers  markets,  farm  to  school,  and  more  and  more  local  res-­ taurants  and  grocery  stores  are  inter-­ ested  in  purchasing,â&#x20AC;?  says  Kim.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;CSAs  offer  a  unique  opportunity  for  a  pro-­ ducer  and  a  consumer  to  do  a  little  more  planning,  but  they  do  also  share  the  bounty,  as  well  as  the  risks  of  the  garden.â&#x20AC;?   LocalHarvest  has  the  most  com-­ prehensive  directory  of  CSA  farms,  with  over  4,000  listed  in  their  grass-­ roots  database.  Research  CSA  oper-­ ations,  farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  markets,  family  farms  and  other  sources  of  sustainable  grown  food  in  Wyoming  at  their  website  at  loc-­ alharvest.org. Â

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B11

2012 Fall Cattlemen’s Edition

ers’ markets. When the harvest allows, he also sells to Jackson grocery stores and area restau-­ rants. Robinson Family Farm and Ranch has also worked with area schools to provide healthy snacks to school kids.

Robinson Family Farm and Ranch sells chemi-­ cal-­free produce, grass-­ fed beef and eggs from pastured poultry. Mar-­ ion can’t market his prod-­ ucts as organic, because he hasn’t completed all the steps to be certified organic officially, which is a lengthy and intensive process. Instead, he offers what he calls customer certification.

“My niche market is a health motivated mar-­ ket. The next best thing to growing the produce your-­ self is a community sup-­ ported agriculture opera-­ tion,” Marion says. “We are customer certified.

We open our doors to our customers to examine our processes, equipment and methods. The best guaran-­ tee we can give to some-­ one is to let them partic-­ ipate in the growing pro-­ cess side-­by-­side with us.”

Community oriented Marion says he really enjoys the community aspect of community sup-­ ported agriculture.

“It’s been rewarding to meet and get to know our members and teach farm-­ ing to our work shares.

We get to rub shoulders with some really neat peo-­ ple through our business.

We’ve gotten to know people in our area, and even people from Poland, Israel and Germany,” he explains.

“I really l ike h ow c om-­ munity supported agricul-­ ture puts the farm back in the community and puts the community back in the farm,” Marion continues.

What started as a dream more than six years ago is now a thriving, sus-­ tainable business for Mar-­ ion.

“My whole value sys-­ tem has changed through

agriculture. I feel more secure financially than I ever have, even work-­ ing in corporate Amer-­ ica,” he says. “Our farm-­ ing model lets us control the inputs to our farm and

A Good Neighbor When it comes to values, you can hang your hat on any number of words, but it always boils down to just one – integrity. It’s at the core of everything we do at Devon.

Our employees are proud to live and work in Wyoming.

The only energy company to be listed among the FORTUNE 500,® the FORTUNE World’s Most Admired Companies® and FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For.®

Commitment Runs Deep

helps make us self-­reliant and sustainable, and gives me a sense of security and pride I hadn’t known before.”

For more information on the Robinson Family

Farm and Ranch, contact them at 307-­880-­7337.

Teresa Milner is a corre-­ spondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net

B12

Wyoming  Livestock  Roundup

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