Leslie Smith found her calling at a young age

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The Lifestyle for Leslie

By Terry Ropp Leslie Smith discovered early in life that farming and ranching are her calling

Leslie Smith was raised in Mutual, Okla., on a predominantly cow/calf

High school brought membership in FFA and participation on her school’s livestock and grass hay operation. When she was just 5 years old her mother Gina, and judging team, with ag teacher Chip Laubach serving as adviser. Though Leslie never grandparents, Darrell and Jeanetta Webb, took her to a nearby ranch to showed cattle, she did show goats and sheep, and was heavily involved in ride a little paint pony named “Buns of Steel” or Bunny for short. various rodeo associations, with goat tying as her main event. After about an hour and a half of riding, Leslie she cried all When Leslie was 9, her grandfather was injured in a farming the way home , begging her family to purchase the horse. accident while chopping down a tree for firewood. That

“It was about a week later when I walked outside to incident forced the family to downsize their operation the best surprise” Leslie said. “Bunny not only be- by selling some of the land and cattle. By the time came my childhood best friend, but also set me Leslie reached high school, she was pretty much on a lifelong path of loving horses.” in charge. Her grandparents had aged and her

Young Leslie had one problem, however. mom worked as a phlebotomist at the local While she absolutely loved being outside, hospital, working variety of hours. Leslie she was terrified of their Angus cattle. stepped up and accepted responsibility Then one afternoon when sorting cat- to help the family maintain their cattle tle, her grandmother faked a heart at- operation with Gina helping out whentack. ever she could, usually on weekends.

“I was 7 years old and watching Now when cattle are worked, the the action from outside the corals,” whole family participates, along with Leslie recalled. “All of the sudden, a couple of generous friends. Leslie my grandma, who was surrounded helps run the animals through the by cattle, doubles over and starts chute and sort. She also participates screaming for me to come and help in ear tagging and branding, in adher. As soon as I got to her, she stood dition to helping with vaccinations up and said, ‘I told you cattle aren’t so and castration. She also has recently bad.’ The fear was gone.” purchased 10 first-calf heifers. While

Being the fourth generation to grow the number is few, she hopes to use up on the family farming and ranch- the heifers as a foundation for her own ing operation, she knew early on this herd. was the lifestyle she wanted to live. Going to college and pursuing an agriFrom sorting and working cattle to bal- cultural degree was a given. Leslie currently ing hay, and always having a good horse to attends Oklahoma State University in Stillride, Leslie stayed very busy. water, and is a double major in agribusiness

“Growing up on a ranch you learn that there with an option in farm and ranch management, is no possible way to ever get everything done,” and animal science with an option in production. Leslie explained. “If you aren’t do something, you’re She is also working towards a minor in agricultural probably doing something wrong.” real estate appraisal and a certification in equine enter-

While being able to drive a feed truck and tractor by age 9 prise management. Aside from academics, Leslie is an active and starting each and every day around 5 a.m. to feed isn’t the member and officer in the Tri Delta sorority, in addition to comtypical lifestyle for most young people, Leslie considers the lifestyle she Submitted photo peting on the OSU Horse Judging Team and being involved in various grew up in as a blessing, wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. other clubs and organizations, such as collegiate cattle and horse associations. Leslie joined her local county 4-H club at the age of 9 and begged Leslie also helps operate the family ranch, with her mother doing to show. Gina then purchased Leslie’s very first show goat, Choc- most of the daily care, with Leslie returning home frequently to olate Chip. Leslie won the reserve champion doe at her first coun- Claremore, Okla. help out in person. ty fair and even took home the junior showmanship title. Leslie is already using her college education by altering some of

“I was having the absolute time of my life,” Leslie said. “When the family farming and ranching management practices. One imannouncing me as the showmanship champion, the judge referred to me as the portant improvement skill Leslie has implemented since going to only girl in the entire ring who knew how to smile. I think that and a bit of luck college, is the use of synchronization protocols in their cows and is what did it for me.” especially first-calf heifers, which aides in shorting up calving pe8

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riods. Following breeding and calving season, calves are weaned at 7 to 8 months of age or around 500 to 600 pounds. Leslie’s family utilizes an abrupt weaning system where as soon as they’re separated they’re hauled to the local sale barn to be sold. Processing is done prior to weaning at around 3 to 4 months of age.

Leslie has also increased her nutritional knowledge at OSU, which she has used to begin sending off quarterly nutrient samples for testing of both their pasture and hay grounds.

“As the seasons change, so does the quality and nutrient value of your feed. It is important to know exactly what that change is, to make sure you’re meeting all of your herd’s nutrient requirements during all critical phases and accomplishing that for the least amount of money possible,” Leslie explained. The results are mainly beneficial in dictating deficiencies. While outside management practices are important, Leslie has also upgraded their record keeping system using Excel.

“You have to know the history of all parts of the operation in order to run something at its maximum potential. Whether it has to do with the land, nutrition, or overall animal health,” Leslie said. “What I do now is far more detailed and therefore helpful in making future impacting decisions.”

An internship is not required for her degree, but Leslie wanted to land one where both cattle and horses were raised, as well as used together as one entity. After visiting with her horse judging coach, Dr. Steven Cooper, he immediately recommended the A Bar Ranch in Claremore, Okla.

She turned in her application the next day and was called in for an interview later that week. After around a week of anticipation, she finally received a call offering her the position upon her acceptance. The experience has met her expectations more than she ever could have realized. She has enjoyed getting to work on and be a part of a successful cattle and horse operation like the A Bar Ranch. An unexpected bonus was arriving on the day of the ranch’s May cattle sale, where she saw firsthand how their sale program worked and was able to talk to buyers while watching the live sale and prices.

The ranch is large with properties spread over a wide area. Most of her work is completed at the Headquarters location where both a portion of the ranches cattle and horses are kept. She believes another important lesson is getting to witness various situations that involve “quick thinking and fast hands.”

“There are some things your average producer may never see or experience that is fairly typical for a larger operation. The more stock involved, the greater chance to see more things” Leslie said.

“Most of the time we start our days around 7:30 in the morning, except during branding when we would sometimes start as early as 4:30 in order to beat the heat. We work until the duties of the day are complete, which is sometimes as early as 5 p.m., and sometimes after dark.” Leslie said. Various activities Leslie was involved include: gathering and sorting cattle horseback, shipping and receiving cattle, daily care and maintenance of both cattle and horses, foaling out mares, training yearling colts, daily ranch maintenance and putting up hay.

Leslie gained multiple new experiences, such as dragging calves for the first time, tips on improving her roping skills and the proper way to gather a band of mares. While she expected to learn new ways of doing things she has done her entire life, she said she truly valued her time at the ranch and is grateful for all she learned, some of which she plans to incorporate into her family’s operation, such as their vaccination protocol, Leslie explained.

Leslie’s ultimate goal is to return back to her family’s homestead to expand and fully manage the family operation. Upon her graduation at Oklahoma State, Leslie is considering pursuing a master’s of science degree in animal nutrition with hopes to land a career as an animal nutritionist or in the field of extension.

The little girl who loved horses and was scared of cattle is developing into an agriculture advocate. She believes in keeping up to date with advances that directly apply to their ranch and especially keeping an eye on legislative changes in order to meet production expectations.

“I may not know where or what I will be in the next few years, but I know where I will end up,” Leslie asserted.

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