The Ranch Life

Never before have I gone into real detail about the ranch I live on or how we operate.  I think, this being the fifth year of blogging, it's high time!  Hopefully, you will leave knowing how our ranch works. 

How it Began.

 



It all started in a 14 or 15 year old boy's head.  My dad had gone on a class picnic to a ranch on the Beaver River and it was during that day that he said to himself, "When I grow up, I'm going to buy a ranch on the river."

He worked hard, saved what he made, and prayed for a future ranch.

25 +/- years later and about 75 miles from where he grew up, he bought this ranch on the Beaver River.  Without a long history of traditional ranching, he didn't have a lot of traditions or paradigms to break.  Therefore, he was more open to try things.
 

Present Time

Dad's point of view

We try to do grazing management that supports the cows/ranch, and at the same time improve the grass and land.

1.  We calve in sync with nature, meaning, the calves are born when the weather is pretty and the grass is green.  This just seems to be "common sense", to calve when the wild game have their babies.  Other pluses for this method are:  there's less feed cost, less labor, and it's all together more fun.

2.  We have/use smaller, more adapted livestock which take less feed and equals more profit.

3.  We're very aware of our marketing.  We try to sell livestock at their highest value, and keep the class of cattle that are appreciating.  Still learning...

We're in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and anyone familiar with our area knows that our weather varies...to say the least.... we are drought prone, have blizzards, wind, no wind etc.
While ranching in the OK Panhandle, we are managing chaos. 

We make plans, then what we actually do depends on a lot of things.  Our finances change.  Weather varies.  Cattle prices fluctuate.  Cattle have minds of their own.  Drought.  All that's happening in life...in the world.  We try to pay attention, and make right decisions at that time.

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More Info!

Back to my point of view



The cattle we run are based on Angus, though we have some Corrientes, longhorns, and a couple of other breeds, including a Jersey heifer (soon-to-be cow) and a Mashona bull.
Along with cattle, we've had goats, pigs (both wild and domestic), horses, mules, a deer, a raccoon, turtles, rabbits, mice, chickens, ducks, doves, pigeons, and the common pets like dogs, cats, parakeets, fish, and hamsters. 

Each late summer, usually August or September, we have our own branding.  If you've been reading my blog, you have an idea about what a branding is.  (To read a little more about brandings, please look into the "Blog Archives" on the right side of my blog.  April 2013's post, "Branding" gives some info, to name one post.)  Our branding is one highlight of the whole year, for not only us, but our friends and family.

The rest of the time, Dad checks the cattle's condition, water, grass, and fences.  He also says "yea or nay" when and where to move them.  And if we need to move some, we three kids and Mom are here to help.  Usually, we use our horses, but occasionally we walk the cattle on foot or just call them through the gate.

Because Dad checks the cattle nearly everyday, they are overall very gentle and kind.  Some of the cows will even eat out of our hands.  

In short, this ranch life has some unexpected turns, but it is still great.  We--the whole family--are glad we can make a living by doing this.