Derek & the Doggos visit Sitz Angus & Shipwheel Cattle

written, photographed and illustrated by

Derek Sample. Derek@ABPmag.com

Sitz Angus Dillon, Montana.

www.SitzAngus.com

On the way to the fall cattle tours, I had a great visit with Christensen Genetics in Idaho (see their article in our October issue). After that I made my way to Sitz Angus in Dillon, MT. About halfway there I found that I seemed to be leading a rainstorm their way so I thought I'd give Jim a call to make sure we're still good. "Bring that rain with ya" he said. So I call my soaked pups back into the truck and we trudge onward while the heavy rain makes that sorely missed clackety-clack on my truck's roof. Funny how I didn’t realize how much I missed that sound that I haven't heard for a while. Then, just as I arrived, the rain took a hard left as I took a right and met up with Jim, who had hoped for my magical rainstorm to appear.

We hopped in his truck and I got a quick tour of his Dillon ranch. His son Tyler was replacing some old fencelines with new and improved and Jim also pointed out where the McCoys had their ranch, who I know from back home where Dave McCoy founded the mountain town that I live in. Next up was a stop at the office for some Cowboy Whiskey (Pendleton, of course) and we proceeded to bend elbows and tell story about how we each got here. What I learned about Jim is that this is pure passion. His face lights up when you talk cattle and his stories are all about trading cattle and improving his genetics. Sitz genetics are legendary and come from 99 years of Angus seedstock and everywhere I go there's 1 or 2 Sitz bulls, or 20. Then, just as the liquid courage kicked in, Jim got a text and it was time to go pick up his kids. With that, he texts me a GPS location and says to show up there at his Jackson ranch 6 am tomorrow. I'm game. As I’m one to stay ahead of things, I drove the 90 minutes there that evening in order to scout the area and some golden hour photos. This alluring area is known as the Big Hole Valley and it made my inner voice sing hallelujah. It’s seductive in an old cowboy western saga sort of way. There's a magical view in every direction, if you can see past the million or so bales of timothy hay (wild guess), which, by the way, only has an 18- day growing season here. Jackson is idyllic & rough, surrounded by the Beaverhead mountains and in the middle of the state's highest valley along the Big Hole River. I was hooked.

Sitz Angus Family

sourced from their website

Sitz Angus

Derek Sample Photography

After a quick drive through town, I ended up on an abandoned mining road to find some privacy for the evening. I ran the dogs under the starry night, powered up the Starlink to catch up with emails, and then slept with my 2 warm snoring companions in the back seat. 6 am came quick though and without any coffee, I made it on time. 330 calves were to be weaned that day and the process looked much more pro than practice. Here's where I meet Tammi, Jim's wife, and other trusted people in their circle that make this smooth as butta. Tyler does the branding, Tammy the entries, Joe the numbers, everybody had a job to do. Mine was to stay out of the way but I also have a camera that likes to be nosy. Tammi occasionally jumped on her horse to herd some newbies in (Tammi's on the front cover

Tyler Sitz brands all of the calves this morning

Derek Sample Photography

Sitz Angus

Derek Sample Photography

of our October issue). This team is impressive. A family that works together like this ought to be. SITZ bulls are bred for the success of the commercial cowman! Annually they offer 450+ rugged, stout, PAP tested 2-year old bulls and 400+ bred heifers and commercial cows.

Join them this December 1st for their Fall Bull & Female Sale at their ranch in Harrison.

Shipwheel Cattle

sourced from their website

Shipwheel Cattle Company Chinook, Montana

www.ShipwheelCattle.com

The Swanson Family - Bree, Austin, Klint & Lori

Derek Sample Photography

Shipwheel Cattle is in north northern Montana and is one of the cleanest, most organized ranches I've ever been to. This is a ranch that's planned and strategic in every corner, every inch has a purpose. I've met Klint and Lori Swanson before, but this was a great time to sit down and just talk. After 45 minutes of laughs and family story, I learned that Bree has become the family photographer (she is very talented) let alone an exemplary volleyball player at school. She will be the homecoming queen this year which wasn’t a surprise. Their son Austin, a quiet young man with a very adventurous spirit, is the big rig driver who makes frequent round trips for the farm's feed and supply. He's also an aspiring bronc rider and competes in local arenas with frequent success. Of course, Lori and Klint are concerned but Austin is, after all, taking after his Dad who was a popular bronc rider himself back in the day. The whole family will be leaving soon to watch Austin ride tonight (he placed 4th). Then I got a short tour and a long tour. Side-by-sidin’ around their Chinook Ranch was the first phase. They’re building some new structures for their bull sale coming this December, mixin’ the feed, workin' the bulls and theor bulls look great. When I visit ranches as often as I do, I can see right away what’s good and bad and Klint’s bulls are stunning.

The long tour was a half-hour drive over to the Bear Paw mountains where their other ranch is nestled in a long valley surrounded by marvelous mountain peaks. This area is riveting. I want to come back here to stay at the ranch house, and I’ll work the ranch in return (I do have some skills). Waking up to these views for more than a few days, I’d work real hard. As I’m sure they were getting tired of listening to my ‘oohs and aaahs’, it was about time for the Swanson family to go and support bronc ridin’ Austin. But before I go, Lori wanted to be sure I meet her horses. Beautiful and personable, they loved attention. Each one was Lori's pride and joy, and it showed. The smile on her face when standing in the middle of this string was aglow. Then let's not forget to visit their Longhorn and a Highland who were brought to the ranch for a better (great) life. These 2 besties live on their own part of the ranch. Both ooze so much character that it showed in every shot. Klint jokes that these two aren’t Angus, so they're not part of the family…though that wink in his eye meant all cattle are family. Klint comes from quite a strong cattle background, generations of well known cattle ranchers.

Klint & Austin proud of their CAB Branding on their Sale Barn

Derek Sample Photography

His grandpa was one of the first cowmen to bring the Angus cow to Northern Montana in 1945. So for Klint, cattle is life, and he's about as cowboy as you get. There’s that signature black hat and his commitment to buck up and let his Angus speak for themselves. It's fascinating to listen to Klint talk. He knows the breed inside and out and I learned more in 20 minutes than in the last 3 years since I took over this magazine from my father. Everybody I talk to knows Shipwheel, and that Klint is an Angus leader. As a fun experiment, I wore Shipwheel’s new red, white & blue cap (yea I liked it so I wore it every day, you need one too) during the ND Angus tour that was after this

Drone Shot of their Ranch from the South

Derek Sample Photography

visit. I was easily stopped every hour or so with questions about the Swansons and Shipwheel. “How's their Angus lookin' this year?”, "I would sure like one of his bulls!" Well, the experiment worked. Shipwheel's bulls are known to regularly exceed the norm, transcend the best, and now we know they have a fan club.

So that means you need to be at their Bull Sale this December 14th at their ranch in Chinook, MT!

Austin is the driver of the rig that keeps the supplies coming to the Ranch

Derek Sample Photography

Shipwheel Cattle

Chinook, Montana