I love to travel and experience new places. I also enjoy visiting with ranchers, hearing their stories and learning how the same task (raising cattle) can become drastically different depending upon your location. Then again, I find that many things stay the same. So, it should come as no surprise that I feel very blessed … Continue reading Visiting with Cattlemen in British Columbia
"It is important to acquire all of the knowledge that you can and to continue to learn," says Montana rancher and businessman, Dean Wang, who recently shared the following advice on mentoring employees on farm and ranch operations. My banking, rodeo, and ranching mentors were instrumental in my development and here are a few items I have … Continue reading 3 Keys to Mentoring Farm and Ranch Employees
During the summer of 2015, weather in the Northwest U.S. has been dominated by fire season. While the eastern half of the country experienced a wet and cold winter this year, we were well above average on temperatures and dry during a season when most of our annual moisture arrives in the form of snow … Continue reading Wildfires Devastating Western States Ranchers
It's calving season! And lambing season! Has anyone seen the foals? Calving season is absolutely my most missed activity now that I'm not able to be on the ranch full time. I've always enjoyed taking care of the young calves and even made an agnerd out of myself studying livestock reproduction in both undergraduate and … Continue reading Eeny, meeny, miny, moe – Farmers find newborns in sets of 3, 4 and even 5
It's hard to believe it's been one year since the historic and devastating Atlas Blizzard struck the region surrounding western South Dakota. The unexpected, early season storm left in its wake more than $1.7 billion in damage, feet of snow and howling winds wiped out tens of thousands of livestock, and ranchers were left with … Continue reading One Year After Atlas Blizzard Kills Thousands of Livestock
It's Fall in Montana! Which means that the ranchers I work with are increasingly more difficult to get ahold of. Cattle are coming down from summer grazing, calves are being weaned and sold, and Fall working for cows is taking place. At the risk of sounding stupid to other ranchers in the region, I learned … Continue reading Preconditioning and Vaccines for Calves on the Ranch | Never Stop Learning
Everyone has a different calving season. Some have none at all. Some folks begin Spring calving in January, others wait until March or even May. Then you have Fall calving season that can begin in September or October. With so much difference, what's the right answer for everyone? There isn't one! And if someone tells … Continue reading Calving Season – What works for your operation?
Despite all the cold during the past few weeks, farmers and ranchers across the country have been out and about, taking care of their livestock, and getting things done on the farm and ranch. I wrote an article that looked at several of these cold weather tasks that was published on CNN Eatocracy yesterday. It … Continue reading CNN Eatocracy: ‘Frostbite on their teats’ and other cold weather farming issues
Earlier this week, I was busy in the barn at one of our farms despite the humidity and rain. We were working cattle and pulling bulls from the cow herds. The calves were receiving their first round of vaccinations (2 shots - one to protect against 7 different Clostridiums and Pinkeye, another for Respiratory diseases), … Continue reading Breeding Season coming to a close
It's Take Your Child to Work Day! Not everyone has the opportunity to take their kids to work on a daily basis. As a kid who worked daily with both parents, I didn't realize that for a long time. My dad managed a ranch with over 1,200 mother cows, and we usually had over 2,000 … Continue reading Take your Child to Work Day – Every day in ranch life