2022 Fall Cattlemen's Section A

Carbon

The Wyoming Livestock Roundup is excited to high light Carbon County ranches, farms and agribusinesses in the 2022 Fall Cattlemen’s edition.

Named for its coal-min ing origins, in 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad opened the first coal mine in the county. The county contains rich nat ural resources, mountain ranges, scenic views, rivers and streams.

Today, the county holds 10 incorporated towns within its boundaries – more than any other county in Wyo ming. They include: Rawlins, the county seat; Baggs; Dixon; Elk Mountain; Encampment; Hanna; Medicine Bow; Riv erside; Sinclair; and Saratoga.

Early development

By the 1860s, emigrants were heading west through the area, often traveling by stagecoach or wagon on the Overland Trail across south ern Wyoming. Indian hostil ity gave rise to a number of attacks on the stage, and in 1862, Fort Halleck was built at the foot of Elk Mountain to serve as a base for soldiers and protecting settlers.

Towns sprang up as the tracks moved west. Among them was Carbon, Wyoming’s first coal town, named for the rich reserves. From the 1860s through the 1880s, seven nearby coal mines fed the locomotives traveling through the country.

On Dec. 16, 1868, Car bon County became one of the original five counties of Wyo ming Territory by the Eighth Dakota Territorial Legislature Assembly. Carbon County stretched north across the entire territory, from Colorado to the Montana line. In years following, Sheridan, Johnson and Natrona counties were carved out of Carbon County’s original formation.

In the 1880s, sheep and cattle ranches sprang up throughout the county. Many sheep ranchers ran herds on the ranges of the Red Desert and Great Divide Basin. Raw lins became well known for sheep production. At one time, Carbon County was home to two million sheep.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricul tural Statistics Service, the Jan. 2, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in Wyoming totaled 1.3 million head. According to the Jan. 1, 2018 USDA census, Carbon County has the sec ond largest inventory of cat tle in Wyoming with 92,000 head, producing $64.6 billion in sales.

The USDA Jan. 1, 2022 sheep and lamb inventory totaled 333,000 head in the state. Carbon County ranks 13th in the state, producing $1.23 billion in sales accord ing to Jan. 1, 2018 USDA cen sus data.

Today, Carbon County continues to inspire locals and visitors with its landscapes, tourist attractions and natu ral beauty. The county is cher ished by local ag producers, community members, hunt ers, fishermen and others who enjoy recreational activ ities including camping, hik ing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Agriculture lands, livestock and the economy Carbon County is always evolving, notes Carbon County Commissioner John Espy.

“We’re still an energybased county, along with agriculture and tourism, but tourism is becoming a big ger part of our economy,” he says. “As coal died down in eastern Carbon County, renewables including wind energy have taken up that end

of the economy.”

There has been a big shift in ag production from histori cally sheep with some cow/ calf operations to more of a cow/calf, summer yearling operation, he explains.

“Sheep numbers have gone down more due to labor issues than anything else,” Espy says.

Carbon County is a hot spot for winter tourism. Visi tors come from near and far to go snowmobiling.

“The county is getting a lot more people coming from the Midwest to enjoy the pow der in the Snowy Range and Sierra Mountains – along with that, there is a Saratoga resort renting snowmobiles and has guides to take people out,” he says. “Brush Creek Ranch has really changed the equa tion too – we’re seeing a lot of people coming to our county to see what this part of Wyo ming has to offer in terms of tourism.”

As a county commis sioner, Espy helps oversee county activities and works to ensure citizen concerns are met, federal and state require ments are fulfilled and county operations run smoothly.

“Carbon County has changed over the decades –we’ve evolved – we were a railroad town with sheep and cattle operations, to now, more of a refinery, gas field and wind energy county,” he con cludes. “Change isn’t always bad.”

Information in the article was compiled from an article by Lori Van Pelt on wyoming history.org. For more informa tion on Carbon County, visit carbonwy.com

Brittany Gunn is the edi tor of the Wyoming Livestock Round up. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Shively Hardware

Joe Glode’s grandparents Ed J. and Pearl Shively came to Saratoga in the 1920s and bought the hardware store on Dec. 14, 1925.

“It’s been in the family ever since then,” he says.

Joe’s dad John Glode was a Rhode Island native and came to Wyoming dur ing the Great Depression with the Civilian Conser vation Service and met his wife Jane at the University of Wyoming.

The family consisted of Joe’s brothers Jack and Mike and sister Mary Beth. After attending Creighton Uni versity, Joe and his brother Mike returned home to help run the store; they ran the store for 50 years. Today, the store is managed by Joe and his son Ed J.

“The implement deal ership and hardware store were all one until my son Ed J. came home in 1998, and we decided to buy another location in 1999-2000. We then left the hardware store downtown and split the loca tions,” says Joe. “The hard ware store remains down town and the dealership remains outside of town to this day.”

He continues, saying, “My brother Mike continues to run the downtown store and my son Ed J. and I con

tinue to run this place, but it’s all one entity.”

“It’s always been, par ticularly in the older days, almost exclusively servic ing either the timber industry and/or the agriculture indus try,” he explains. “Those are the two big resource areas. Now, of course, recreation has gotten bigger and sec ondary and retirement homes are a big part of it.”

The downtown store mainly serves the new gener ation of development, while the dealership continues to mainly serve the agriculture community in the area, he notes.

Innovations and challenges

Since 1925, the hard ware store has seen a variety of innovations over the years in agriculture.

“The biggest change, as far as agriculture is con cerned, is the machinery part being a lot more expensive,” says Joe. “They are a lot more productive – there’re fewer machines, bodies and families working in the field and on the ranches; and a lot

of it has to do with the trac tors and machinery being so much more productive today than it ever was before.”

Advances in machinery allow individuals to work more efficiently than before, he mentions.

“Many of the ranches have gotten considerably bigger, and there are less family ranches and more corporate ranches,” he adds.

The store has faced chal lenges through the years, particularly with water man agement, says Ed J.

“There’s always the political arena – it seems every election year is another entertaining time to study the books,” he jokes. “We definitely count on water a lot, so the droughts are typically really hard on us.”

“If the government and weather would get out of the way, we’d probably be just fine,” he jokes.

Services

Shively Hardware offers many different services to the Carbon County community.

Serving the North Platte Valley and south central Wyoming since 1925

and I started working the counter and helping out in 1986,” he shares. “I then moved to Minnesota in 1991 to study finance and moved home in 1998 – I’ve been home ever since.”

need to have our cattle and support our communities.”

“I try not to sell some thing I cannot service,” mentions Joe. “Our radius is probably at a maximum of about 100 miles – we can sell further out than that, but our service typically resides within a 100-mile radius.”

Customers mainly reside in Baggs, Laramie, Rock River, Medicine Bow and Walden, Colo., he says.

“Surprisingly enough, the store sells a number of outdoor power products and tires,” shares Joe. “I sell a lot of pipe, irrigation and fencing stuff – it’s not usu ally glamorous, but we sell a lot of it.”

“The number one department in the downtown store is the plumbing depart ment,” he adds. “They have everything.”

Family involvement

Ed J. is the fourth gener ation of the store. He notes he is the only one of nine cousins to come home and continue the Shively Hard ware legacy.

“I started sweeping floors downtown in 1981,

Ed J. shares a favorite part of his job is the people he gets to work with and the history of the store.

“The store is nearly 97 years old, and there is a lot of neat family history and nostalgia here,” he says.

“I love being able to serve Carbon County and the agriculture community,” he shares. “I try not to eat steak three times per day, but I try to eat it at least twice – we

In addition to working with his dad Joe, Ed J. enjoys spending time with Bailey his 15-year-old daughter and 19-year-old daughter Kelly during the summer months working at the store.

“We will be doing our 100th anniversary on Dec. 15, 2025,” he concludes.

“That’s our plan, and we continue to serve this com munity for many more years to come.”

Brittany Gunn is the edi tor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

WE SUPPORT AGRICULTURE!

Workingsince1945 toconserve,enhance andprotect naturalresourcesin CentralCarbonCounty

“The store is nearly 97 years old, and there is a lot of neat family history and nostalgia here.” – Ed J. Glode

Long Live Ranchers

Ferris Mountain Ranch patriarch celebrates centennial year: Fourth generation prepares to return home

Ferris Mountain Ranch outside of Rawlins is home to Kenneth Raymond, who will turn 100 in December, and his son and daughterin-law Gary and Judy Ray mond. Kenneth bought the ranch in 1949 with his dad and brother and since then, the family has adapted their ranching practices to stay afloat through changing times.

Gary and Judy have two children; Mabel, 23, and Kenny, 20. Mabel doesn’t live on the ranch, but her mother says she is just a phone call away when help

is needed. Kenny is taking ag business classes at Sher idan College and plans on returning to the ranch when he is done with school.

Helpers and the day-to-day

Judy says God has sent many helpers over the years. With both kids away from home, they are extremely grateful for the people appearing on their door step looking to learn about ranching through hands-on work.

These helpers have reached out through mutual friends or even the internet, hoping to gain real ranch

experience from an honest ranching family. Big days on the ranch are still planned

around the availability of Mabel and Kenny being able Continued on next page

Ranch views – Views on the ranch include both Green Mountain and Ferris Mountain, for which the ranch is named. Courtesy photo

Working days – A day in the office at the Ferris Mountain Ranch includes long, hard days. Cattle are seen being driver towards Ferris Mountain. Courtesy photo

to go home to help.

“We’re a mostly com mercial Angus cow/calf operation,” says Judy. “We have private acres and also lease federal land here in northwestern Carbon County.”

Selecting genetics

With a couple hundred pairs on the ranch, as well as yearlings and flood irri gated hay meadows, it’s enough to keep the couple busy. Gary has focused on shifting the herd to thrive at high elevations and in the harsh conditions.

The use of epigenetics has been beneficial. The long-term goal is to develop no-input cattle closer to hardy native bison.

“My husband has cho sen genetics over the past couple of decades to get a

little bit smaller framed cat tle than most people run because we want our cat tle to fit our conditions a lit tle better,” explains Judy. “Something we do a little different than most is we calve at the end of May and mostly in June, the same as the antelope and elk. We don’t have to watch our first-calf heifers because the bulls Gary has chosen throw smaller calves, so we don’t have to keep an eye on them around the clock.”

Facing drought conditions

Like many producers across the state, they Ray monds are feeling the effects of drought.

“The conditions around here are pretty dry – not a whole lot of grass grew this summer, so we didn’t have a lot of feed to hold over for

the winter,” says Judy. “We even got rid of the replace ment heifers this year, which is pretty unusual for us. We have to do what the condi tions dictate.”

The drought not only affects their standing for age, it also dictates how much they can irrigate their hay meadows throughout the summer. In spite of the trying times drought brings to all producers, Judy says they never give up their faith.

“We have a strong faith, and we pray every day about what God wants us to do that day,” says Judy. “In the

big picture and in the little tasks, we just leave it up to Him.”

Rain or shine, life con tinues at the ranch. Family is very important to Gary and Judy, and they say they are blessed the ranch can encom pass the lifestyle for three generations on the ranch.

As Kenneth gets closer to his 100th birthday, the

family notes he was still horseback and in the tractor well into his 90s. With Ken neth holding things down at the ranch house now instead of in the pasture, the rest of the family has adapted their roles to follow the tran sition. Judy usually stays close to Kenneth in case he needs something, which leaves Gary to carry the

majority of the responsibil ity of ranch work.

“We’re getting along and we enjoy it,” says Judy. “It’s working out well for our family generationally.”

Tressa Lawrence is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Cowboy

Ranching Legacy

Lifelong Carbon County rancher values tradition and family

Bob and Sharon Heward operate Heward’s 25 Ranch – a cow/calf operation, pri marily Hereford based –near Medicine Bow. The Heward family has been ranching in Carbon County for many generations and have passed down their tra ditional ways of ranching to each generation.

“Our family came here from England and home steaded roughly 30 miles north of Medicine Bow where my nephew Todd Heward lives now,” Bob says. “My father John Heward bought the place I am currently on around 1949-50.”

Bob’s life has always

revolved around ranching in Carbon County.

“Other than the few years I spent in the service and going to school for six months – I’ve been on this ranch all my life,” he says.

Current operation

Bob says tasks on the ranch include maintenance work, haying and caring for the cattle. He winters cat tle at the ranch they live on and summers the cattle about 20 miles north.

Bob says they are one of four ranches in the area still putting hay up in “big loose stacks.”

“We hay approximately a half of a section,” he says. “And, we put up roughly

400 to 500 tons.”

Challenges

Like many other ranch ers, Bob has faced his fair share of hardships through out the years. Many of these hardships revolve around drought and access to water.

“Water has always been a challenge for our livestock, and sometimes for our hay crop too,” Bob says. “Drought has always affected us quite a bit.”

He says ranching in Carbon County is unique compared to other areas

of Wyoming due to higher elevations.

“Our elevation here is 6,500 feet where I live,” he says. “This creates a much different weather situation where it’s much colder with more snow most win ters, and this creates a bit more of a challenge than being in an elevation of 5,000 feet or lower.”

“Producers in areas where elevation is lower can grow different crops

we can’t grow here – they might get more moisture,” he says.

Evolvement

Bob says his way of ranching hasn’t changed much over the years. He sticks to the traditional ranching ways passed down to him from previous generations.

“Our ranch hasn’t changed hardly at all,” he says. “From the time I was

Ranching lifestyle – Bob Heward’s grandson Corey Hill ropes a calf. Corey spends much of his time helping out on the ranch. Courtesy photo

Haying operation – Aside from the ranch’s cow/calf operation, the Hewards also put up hay. Pictured is Rhett Lowe raking hay on the Heward’s 25 Ranch. Courtesy photo

Home ranch – The Heward’s 25 Ranch is a cow/calf operation, primarily Hereford based, near Medicine Bow. The Heward fam ily has been ranching in Carbon County for many generations and have passed down traditional ways of ranching to each generation. Courtesy photo

a young boy working on the ranch, to what we do now, it’s pretty much the same.”

“The way we put up hay is still the same, and we basically run our cattle the same,” he continues.

Bob mentions his fenc ing practices have changed a bit.

“We make smaller pastures and we rotate between the pastures which we didn’t do when I was younger,” he says.

He says another nota ble change is they don’t trail the cows to summer pasture like they used to –they haul them in a trailer instead. This was due to issues with crossing neigh bors’ land a few years ago.

“Using a trailer was something we started doing recently and that’s what we are continuing to do now,” he says. “We still trail them home in the fall.”

Family tradition

Bob is passionate in his work at the ranch and feels it is always what he has wanted to do.

“I don’t know why I enjoy ranching, but I just do. I really can’t tell you why,” he says. “I’ve ranched all my life, and I really don’t have any desire to do anything else.”

Bob hopes the ranch will continue to be passed down for generations to come.

“I want to be able to turn the ranch over to fam ily members as they come up and are able to take it over,” he says. “That’s why my grandson Corey Hill is here now. He is working towards taking it over when I’m gone.”

Kaitlyn Root is an edi tor for the Wyoming Live stock Roundup. Send com ments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Branding help – Bob Heward appreciates helping hands from fam ily members while completing tasks on the ranch, especially during brandings. Left to right, Bob Heward, Corey Hill, Rhett Lowe, Chris Lowe and Reno Lowe. Courtesy photo

Bringing cattle home – The Hewards trail cattle home to fall pastures, which has been a family tradition for many years. Courtesy photo

It’s just after 8 a.m. when Heather Alexander answers a call from the Wyoming Live stock Roundup. She is horse back, pushing yearling steers with her faithful cow dog.

“You caught me at a great time,” she says. “I do have time to talk.”

A family affair Heather works on her family’s ranch, Dunmire Ranch Company, with her husband Ryon and their two children Mikayla and Lo. Her parents Les and Shelly Dunmire are still active on the ranch. It’s truly a fam ily affair, with her brothers Tim Cooper and his daughter Sayge, and Garret Dunmire and his wife Kelsie all active on the ranch.

The two hired hands on the ranch fall into the cate

gory of family, too, as they are vital to the operation, she notes.

The Dunmire fam ily relocated their ranching operation from Iron Moun tain to McFadden in 1988.

The family has their hands full, running cow/calf pairs, as well as yearlings, with big irrigated hay mead ows thrown into the mix.

“Our winter country lies in the Rock Creek Val ley, on Highway 13 from Arlington to Rock River, on the meadows. Our summer country lies on the west side of the road between Bosler and Rock River on the high plains,” explains Heather.

At 7,600 feet in eleva tion, the family has had to adapt their ranching prac tices to fit the harsh climate

they describe as unforgiving.

“The wind is treacher ous at times, with frigid cold temps through the winter,” says Heather. “Our summers and fall are beautiful, but spring is unpredictable.”

Calving adaptations

Unpredictable weather has led the family to push back their calving date to the end of May. The promise of summertime temperatures allows the cows to be turned out for calving, with minimal oversight from the family.

“We don’t do anything with our cows calvingwise,” Heather says. “We turn them out in big pastures that are six or 10 sections, and they’re just cows. We’ve seen a tremendous change in our females in terms of mothering and their instinct

taking over when we remove humans from the scenario.”

With their hands-off approach to calving, Heather says the family is extremely careful with the bulls they choose to incorporate into the herd. Carefully review ing genetics and working with producers they know and trust has been instru mental in the herd’s success.

“We are very, very care ful with what bulls we pur chase,” says Heather. “We buy low birthweight bulls from Jim and Jamie Jen sen of Lucky 7 Angus for our first-calf heifers because we trust their numbers and their bulls have done nothing but good for us. Those heif ers can have those calves by themselves out in those huge pastures – their priority is their calf.”

“We firmly believe in putting good money into our bulls because we are seeing very powerful calves grow ing into yearlings,” she adds.

“We use Where Two Trails

Meet, Largent and Sons and Reyes bulls for our running age cows. We’re finding they’re feeding out tremen dously, and we have the data to prove it .”

A May 25 calving date means the bulls are turned out Aug. 15. When the Dun mires decided to make the change to a later calving date, they knew they would have to supplement protein to the herd to help maintain healthy cattle for breeding season. They have found put ting out lick tubs two weeks ahead of turning the bulls out and continuing them through

800-442-3363

Family operation – Les and Shelly Dunmire enjoy working together at the Dunmire Ranch Company.

Courtesy photo

Frigid temperatures – Summer calving doesn’t

the family from calving in the snow. Courtesy photo

breeding season has made a huge difference in herd health and breed up.

“They do have a need for protein during those months, especially this year where we have been fighting a hor rible drought,” says Heather. “By the time the bulls go out on Aug. 15, we have abso lutely depleted the nutri tional value in those grasses found on the high plains. It is an added expense and it is pricey, but after looking at the numbers we knew it was in our best interest to supple ment the protein because we saw our fertility and breed up reflect the success, and it was worth the cost.”

Heather says having a great relationship with their vet through this process was vital. From helping them maintain a sustainable vac cination program to lending advice on the transition of

the herd, the vet has helped the ranch ensure the cattle are performing to the best of their ability.

“When we bumped our calving season back, we were told by our vet to expect a five or six percent decrease in our breed up,” says Heather. “We were sit ting at 96 to 97 percent for breeding at the first of June, and now we’re sitting right around 90 percent, which we’re fine with because it’s still great, especially for that time of year.”

Embracing diversification

The Dunmire Ranch Company retains ownership on their calves until they are yearlings. After wean ing in November, the calves are sent to winter pasture in Nebraska. They return to the ranch the following summer, where they graze the high mountain plains before being

sold in September.

Giant wind turbines speckle the Dunmire Ranch Company. The first turbines went up on the ranch in the early 2000s.

“The wind turbines changed the landscape, but what it did for my family is it made it to where I know if my children decide to come back to the Dunmire Ranch Company, the ranch will be here,” says Heather. “When we moved here in the 80s, my grandpa said to my dad, ‘If we could ever sell wind or rock, this country would be worth millions.’”

In addition to the wind turbines, the ranch also diversifies its income with gravel pits, as well as partial ownership in a construction business with Tyler Sims while also leasing hunting and fishing out to Tyler Sims Outfitting, along with a slew of side hustles.

Les coached boy’s bas

ketball for 25 years, and Heather has been coaching high school volleyball and middle school boy’s basket ball for almost as long. Ryon is a saddle maker, Tim trains colts and there are always a few dogs or horses for sale.

“We’ve got to change with the times because if we don’t, we will fall behind and that is when we run into trou

ble. However, the old tra ditions and values are irre placeable,” says Heather. “I never want to forget the peo ple that came before me and got me to where I am.”

The Dunmire family cares deeply for their ranch and in turn, it takes care of them. The traditions of the past play an important part in the ranch while the family

continues to adapt and diver sify with the times.

“We firmly believe in being mounted on good horses and running good dogs,” says Heather.

Tressa Lawrence is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

On the move – Ryon Alexander and Tim Cooper gather spayed heifers. Courtesy photo

Deep Roots

Chant family shares strong passion for agriculture

Tom and Savanah Chant own and operate Chant Ranches in Carbon County. Tom also helps operate NL Land and Livestock, a fam ily-owned Black Angus cow/calf and yearling oper ation in Carbon, Sweetwa ter and Fremont counties in Wyoming and Moffat County in Colorado; along with Tom’s mom Mary Hay and brother Archie Chant.

Tom’s ancestors Archie and Duncan Blair came to what is now known as

Rock Springs and started their ranching operations in 1867. Tom’s grandfather ran sheep for many years on the ranch and sold what is now the Little Sandy Graz ing Association in 1967. He sold out of sheep in 1975, and Tom’s parents con verted the sheep operation to a cattle operation shortly after.

Management practices

The Chants have made slight changes to their management practices

over the years.

“We are still spring calving,” Tom says. “But, I calve a little later than my dad did. We calve around late April to the first of May.”

They are also starting to wean calves earlier.

“My goal is to keep a cow as a dry cow as much as I can, because I am ask ing for her to feed herself for 12 months of the year,” he says.

Tom says the Chants

aren’t “chasing production.” “We don’t have to

have the bragging rights at the coffee shop as far as what we wean,” he says.

“Sometimes, a lighter calf in the right management scheme can be the most able calf. As far as changes made, we are not always production focused, because now we are profit focused.”

Challenges

Tom says managing an operation during drought conditions is always a chal lenge, and feral horses are problematic, as well.

“We have an ongoing feral horse issue which has never gone away – it’s gotten better at times, but it’s always a big issue,” he says. “We develop water and we can’t even keep our cows there because the horses come in and

dominate the area.”

A small calf is an easy target for a wild horse stud, he says.

“We have maimed and crippled calves, and it seems to be as those horse numbers increase, my prob lems just get worse,” says Tom. “Trying to get the Bureau of Land Manage ment to stay within their own guidelines is a big challenge for us.”

Tom says their grazing patterns are unique due to the dry conditions and little precipitation received each year.

“We are typically on a two-year grazing scheme, so where we graze this year, we can’t go there next year,” he says. “We have to let the plants get all they can just to

Family fun Tom and Savanah Chant help their sons Gus and Kolbe hold a calf down. The Chants value family time on the ranch. Cour tesy photo

Continued on

hold the ground – it’s sandy ground to begin with.”

He says dealing with federal land management is always a challenge, and the multiple use concept will continue being challenged.

“We always make it through, but I would say my boys have more of a challenge now with what’s to come next,” he says. “If sage grouse get an endan gered species listing, and we lose those permits, we don’t have the same opera tion without those permits.”

Passion for ag Tom’s dad was a stock man, so stockmanship is something Tom has always valued.

“I value handling cattle and horses quietly,” he says. “I value quality animals,

and I value the way people handle them.”

Tom says his love for agriculture is what gets him through tough times on the ranch.

“There’re days where we play defense and things don’t work out, but I think just my love for what we get to do here and the way we march to the beat of our own drum gets me through,” he says. “We get the oppor tunity to watch a baby calf be born and follow the calf through the year, manage our plants and manage our country.”

Tom has known he wanted to be a rancher since he was nine years old.

“I’m very fortunate I was blessed to have the ability to ranch,” he says.

He acknowledges how thankful he is for the oppor tunity his family was given to ranch.

“My mom held onto the ranch when it was a challenge for her to do so because she wanted to be able to give us the oppor

tunity to take it over,” says Tom. “I would like to thank her for the opportunity she has given my family.”

“My goal is to raise two young men that have a pas sion for ag and a love for the land,” he adds. “Our roots are really deep and it takes more than a Wyoming west wind to uproot our roots.”

Kaitlyn Root is an edi tor for the Wyoming Live stock Roundup. Send com ments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Cowboy in training – Gus Chant enjoys helping out on the family ranch and learning what ranching life is all about. Courtesy photo

Team work – Kolbe assists Gus with vaccinations while Savanah keeps her rope tight. Courtesy photo

Ranch life – Kolbe Chant sits horseback while helping on the family ranch. Courtesy photo

Improving Genetics

In 1937, Kal Herring’s dad and grandfather pur chased a ranch north of Encampment. Thirty-five years later, in 1972, Kal bought land next to the original ranch and with the help of his wife Vicki, the family has continued raising cattle in Carbon County ever since.

Strong seedstock operation Kal explains Her

ring Angus Ranch is cur rently a seedstock opera tion – growing and sell ing both Angus and Black Simmental bulls for their annual sale. The Her ring family got into rais ing Angus cattle when Kal was young and his father took an interest in the breed.

“We continued raising Angus,” says Kal. “Then,

about 25 years ago, we started breeding some Simmental lines into the herd and have stuck with it.”

“We run cows, and we are in the bull business. For the most part, we sell seedstock,” Kal contin ues, noting the operation also sells bred heifers as well.

“Our sale is the fourth

Herring Angus Ranch provides top-tier seedstock to perform at high elevations

Saturday in April every year,” states Kal. “We have it right here on the ranch in Encampment.”

Focus on low PAP scores

When it comes to standing out in a crowd of seedstock producers, Kal believes the intense ded ication to raising cattle with low pulmonary arte rial pressure (PAP) test scores at Herring Angus

Ranch is what makes the operation unique.

“We live at a very high elevation, and we know producers who run cattle at high elevations don’t want to buy a bull that isn’t PAP tested,” explains Kal.

Although Kal acknowledges many pro ducers are PAP testing in today’s day and age, he points out Herring Angus Ranch has been using the test since it first came out. Additionally, the opera tion also PAP tests their entire cowherd.

“We don’t want to have cows in our herd with a high PAP score contrib uting to our genetics and for us to not know it,” Kal states. “Getting all of our females tested has really helped our whole scheme of things.”

Accomplishments, goals and advice

In addition to build ing a successful seedstock operation, Kal notes his family has found some success in the show barn in the past.

“We have shown a lot of cattle at the National Western Stock Show over the years and have done quite well with it,” says Kal. “However, we haven’t done it for about

15 years. It takes a lot of work, and we just haven’t had the time.”

Today, Kal says the overarching goal at Her ring Angus Ranch is pass ing the operation down to his children and grand children.

“Our goal is really to keep the place in the fam ily,” he states.

When it comes to advice for younger gener ations and to young pro ducers in general, Kal says, “When things get tough, it’s important to keep everything together and to take the good years with the bad. They usually balance out. Producers in the seedstock business need to know cattle well.”

“There are all kinds of records out there these days, but it’s important to be able to simply recog nize a good cow or bull, whether or not they have every record in the world backing them up,” he shares.

For more information on Herring Angus Ranch, visit Herring Angus Ranch on Facebook.

Hannah Bugas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Live stock Roundup. Send com ments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Early Settlers

The Alvy Dixon Ranch was homesteaded in 1888 after a two-year search for land by the Marshall and Margaret C. Dixon fam ily. The ranch found its resting place on the upper Rock Creek Valley in Car bon County. Marshall filed on 160 areas which became the Brokaw Ranch, and sons Alvy and Joe filed an adjoining 160-acre tract in the north half of Sec tion 10-19-78, roughly two miles southwest of presentday McFadden.

Today, these properties are owned by the LeBeau Family Limited Partnership.

Early day ancestors

On April 19, 1896, Alvy, Gerald’s grandfa ther, married Minnie Ann Etling and had five chil dren; Edith Brokaw, Lloyd Dixon, Charlotte Rosenlieb, Margaret LeBeau and Alpha May.

In 1897, Alvy bought neighboring land from John Cullom and in 1889, Alvy’s brother Joe sold his land to Alvy. Through the years, other homesteads were purchased.

Larger tracts were pur chased by Alvy and his chil dren from the Harrison and Cooper estate until they owned much of the land in the township when he died on Nov. 27, 1944.

Gerald’s parents Mar garet Dixon and Arch H. LeBeau married on March 28, 1926 and had Lawrence Alvin and Gerald Richard.

Gerald notes his fam ily has resided on the ranch ever since its establishment.

Prior to Gerald’s involvement, his grand father Alvy worked on the Currier and Diamond ranches and on tie drives on

the Medicine Bow River. Shortly after homesteading, he joined the government survey party in the Snowy Range and later delivered mail from Rockdale (now Arlington) to Lookout.

Ranch operations

The ranch’s brand was a 2X brand for the left rib of cattle and left thigh for horses. Square metal ear tags were used in each ear.

Alvy’s V2 brand for the right hip of both cattle and horses came with the pur chase of the Hixson home stead in 1929. No ear tags or ear marks were registered to this brand.

Gerald notes Alvy tagged each calf with a square metal tag measur ing an inch on each side fas tened to the top of the ear with a hog ring. Metal from tin cans was cut into oneinch strips, then into one and one-quarter inch pieces.

The extra one-quarter inch was folded back to give the tag a reinforced edge. To finish the tag, a hole was punched through the folded edge with a punch or nail.

The 2X brand used by Alvy on the home ranch was passed down to Mar garet and was used by A.H. LeBeau and Sons in their Wyoming operations. The Colorado brand was quarter circle 2X.

The ear mark for both states was a notch in the bottom of the right ear. Efforts to purchase the Col orado 2X were unsuccess ful, and the V2 brand passed to Charlotte Rosenlieb, then to Howard Brokaw and is presently owned by Albert and Marilyn Rosenlieb. Holly Beumee now owns the 2X brand.

The ranch was a cow/

Alvy Dixon Ranch evolves into LeBeau Family Limited Partnership

calf operation for many years until Gerald got out of the service in 1956 and went into business with his brother and father run ning the ranch. For many years, the LeBeau brothers ran the ranch together, and they eventually acquired a finishing operation in Colo rado in 1994, he notes.

“Right now, we have the ranch under lease to our neighbors,” he says.

Innovations

In 1917, oil was dis covered below the hill of what came to be called the McFadden campsite. In November of 1919, the first Alvy Dixon well was com pleted on the former Cullom homestead. Ten more wells have been drilled since, two of which continue to run.

Nearby, a gasoline plant was constructed in 1920. The finding of oil was prof itable to Alvy, but ranch ing and raising a family and livestock remained an interest.

Alvy believed he had the choicest part of Rock Creek Valley. There was plenty of water for spring irrigation. He built a herd of Hereford cattle by putting out hay in the winter until green grass came in the spring.

The ranching opera tion tried running sheep for a few years, but a bad win ter storm in 1907 scattered them all over the coun try. The ranch then strictly remained a cattle business.

For almost 10 years fol lowing the death of Alvy and the settling of the estate, few cattle were on the LeB eau lands. Hay was cut, baled and sold.

All of this changed at the end of 1953 when Lawrence quit his job and returned to

ranch with his father. Ger ald joined in 1958 after his college graduation, military service and job on the J.W. Ringsby Ranch. With this collaboration, more expan sion in cattle numbers and land occurred, and A.H. LeBeau and Sons began.

“We don’t run a pictur esque outfit by any means,” Gerald once said in an inter view. “We operate every where. We don’t fit the pic ture book like most peo ple think about good, solid ranchers. Most of our ranch is leased. Cattle run on our deeded lands, plus adjoining ranches and the Maddock Ranch near Herrick Lane.”

Two-day cattle drives happen each fall and spring to move cattle between the home ranch and leased pastures.

Gerald notes there is no farming in the area where they reside because of very little moisture. Due to the rangeland and uphill graz ing, their conditions were best suitable for cattle and sheep.

“Early on, of course, there were central markets across the country, and as time progressed, we began selling cattle to the pack ers,” he mentions. “Things changed on that end, but basically the operation, on the plateau we live on

at this elevation, has to be grazing.”

Initially, A.H. LeBeau and Sons marketed only calves in the fall of each year, but changes in the marketplace necessitated a different approach. This, coupled with geographic and weather conditions, prompted the corporation to purchase land near Greeley, Colo. in 1980 where feed lots were built. The feedlots and farm were sold in 1994 after Gerald’s retirement.

Dennis Page, former local ranch manager, joined A.H. LeBeau and Sons and became the manager of the 300-acre farm. His wife Leslie and children T.C., Travis and Tracy calved heifers, raised the ranch’s Limousin/Angus bulls, backgrounded all returning grass cattle and finished cat tle for the packer.

Gerald and Maxine

Both Maxine and Ger ald spent many of their younger years skiing on mountains throughout the U.S. The story of how the two met depends on who’s telling the story, Max ine jokes, but they found a passion for skiing and the ranching industry.

“I’ve skied all my life, since I was about 12 or 13 years old, and Gerald skied in college but was too busy

being a rancher to ski during those 40 years or so when we operated the ranch,” shares Maxine. “He had taken up skiing when he was in the army after col lege graduation in 1954, and I was teaching skiing up on Snoqualmie Pass outside of Seattle. He was skiing on the slope and we literally crashed into each other.”

Maxine says they’ve told the story so many times.

“Sixty-five years of marriage and we haven’t traded each other off,” she adds.

“Being able to ranch in Carbon County has been a blessing to this family,” con cludes Gerald. “Right now, we’re not having all of the interference the rest of the country has on many issues, so I think we’ve been very fortunate to live here.”

Partnership

On May 16, 1997, Ger ald and Lawrence estab lished the LeBeau Fam ily Limited Partnership for the sole purpose of passing the lands onto future gen erations carrying the LeB eau bloodline. The lands are presently leased to the Sims Cattle Company, LLC. Brittany Gunn is the editor of the Wyoming Live stock Roundup. Send com ments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

brand owner, by mail, at the address shown on the brand records. There are over 6,000 brands up for renewal. If the brand has not been rere corded within sixty (60) days from the expiration date of the brand, the brand will be declared delinquent. Brands that are subject to renewal expire on January 1, 2023 and the 60 day grace period expires March 1, 2023.

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:

Livestock Board

Wyott Drive, Cheyenne, WY 82002-0051

phone 307-777-7515 Fax 307-777-6561 or brands@wyo.gov

Family Tradition

Savery – Located between the Red Desert to the west and the Sierra Madre Moun tains to the east, the Cobb Cattle Co. family traditions have continued since its establishment in the 1980s. Today, the operation raises Black Angus/Simmental cow/calf pairs.

The Cobb Cattle Co. family ranch includes Jack Cobb, his wife Diana, son Tyson and daughters Ash ley Dishman (Cobb) and Jacquelyn Harvey (Cobb).

Jack’s father Tom Cobb, at age 86 years old, contin ues to help on the ranch and can be seen checking cattle

on his motorcycle, helping cut hay and other various jobs. Ranching has been his passion and purpose for over 70 years.

“We have a very close family,” mentions Jack. “I also have several nephews and nieces, and pretty much all of them live within three to four miles of the ranch and are still involved with the outfitting of the ranch and the lands we operate on – it’s a family dynasty – the whole family is involved and wants to be a part of it.”

Early days

The ranch has changed a lot over the years, notes Jack.

“My dad talked about doing loose hay and having to pitch fork hay onto a sled and pitch fork it off in the winter time,” he explains. “He says when they got the first small square baler, it was just incredible to have that and not have to pitch it on. After they got the first stack wagon, he thought, man, it can’t get any better than this.”

Roughly 35 years ago, the ranch switched over to round bales, and it really changed the operation of the ranch and lightened the workload, Jack mentions.

“It still takes us a while to hay because we’ve been fortunate enough through the years to increase the size of our ranch to be able to sustain it,” he says. “My dad did a good job in the 80s of purchasing land and being able to expand the ranch through the years since then.”

Jack mentions it’s important for them to keep the ranch sustainable and to be able to pass on the ranch for future generations in years to come.

The ranch has always been a cow/calf operation and for 40 years has also

finished cattle out in feed lots in eastern Colorado. It first started out with a Hereford cattle herd, then switched to Angus-based herd with some Red Sim mental influence in the 80s, but now, the ranch consists of mostly Angus-based bred cattle with some Black Simmental influence, Jack notes.

“We’ve built some diversity into our cattle,” he adds.

For the last four gener ations, the ranch has been called the Cobb Cattle Co. but before then, it came from Jack’s great-grand mother’s side with the Mor gan and Kilgore families.

“We still have the old homestead here on the ranch,” says Jack. “We’ve been fortunate because we’ve been able to increase the size of our ranch with our neighbors – we’re pretty tied together with what we do.”

Year-to-year process

The ranch will start calving in the spring, typ ically in March and then start branding later in April or beginning of May, men tions Tyson.

“We start irrigating around the first part of May and start the haying season in July through August,” he shares. “In mid-September, we start pulling calves off

the mountain to wean and in November, depending on the weather, we’re bring ing cattle off of the moun tain back into the valley and start feeding in Decem ber through the winter. The process starts over the beginning of March.”

When Cobb Cattle Co. buys bulls, they focus on purchasing bulls with good numbers and make sure they are pulmonary arterial pressure tested for brisket disease.

“We want to make sure they can handle our high elevations,” says Tyson. “They go from 7,000 to 9,000 feet – we really pay

Cobb Cattle Co. has seen changes through the years

Ranch work – The Cobb family stays busy year-round taking care of their Black Angus/Simmental cow/ calf pairs. The ranch calves in the spring and brands in late April, early May. In mid-September, they trail calves off the mountain. Courtesy photo

Home place – In addition to raising cattle on their ranch, the Cobb family also puts up their own hay. They start irrigating around the first part of May and will put up hay in July through August. Courtesy

photo

attention to good numbers in our bulls to make sure our calves can handle those higher elevations.”

Expansion and challenges

The ranch expanded in 2021, and Tyson notes their goal is to keep growing as much as they can.

“It’s hard because land is expensive and the cat tle prices aren’t going up like everything else is in the world right now,” he shares. “The drought has been another challenge –we’ve been in a drought for quite some time – any moisture we get, we’re thankful for.”

“COVID-19 enhanced the want of moving more to the rural areas,” Jack says. “The struggle, for not only us but the whole commu nity, is this is a very fam ily, ranching community and we’re blessed to have the family ranches here. This has been a big topic within the community –the sustainability of some of these family ranches and what we can do to help ensure ranches stay within families.”

He adds, “We’re right in the middle of it as a family because we believe in it so much – to keep our neigh bors in business because that’s what makes ranching fun – to have the neighbors that we have and the fami lies – it just makes it a spe cial place to continue to do what we’ve done for gen erations, but it’s more of a struggle because there’s more and more people wanting to move to the Lit tle Snake River Valley.”

“No one wants to sell land and that’s one of the biggest complaints,” he says. “It’s because the fam ily ranches have so far been able to sustain what they have and stay in business – it is a struggle for us and our family.”

For sixth-generation rancher Tyson, growing up on the family ranch meant a lot to him.

“I started working on the ranch at a very young age and it has become my passion to take over the ranch someday,” Tyson says. “I moved away for a bit and worked with one of my cousins doing construc tion work and it opened my eyes to my ranching roots, and I soon realized it was what I really wanted to do.”

Tyson’s wife Hailey and son Stratton look forward to continuing the ranching traditions on the ranch, he notes.

“It’s my dream to let my family grow up on the ranch and be able to experience the everyday life of a ranch – they can be around cattle and see all of the wildlife – it’s just a pretty peaceful life,” says Tyson.

Innovations

The ranch hasn’t changed a whole lot over Tyson’s lifetime, he says.

“We do use motorcycles and dirt bikes in the spring pastures to check cattle –it’s quick and faster than a

horse, but anytime we are really moving any of our cattle, it’s on horseback,” he explains.

“We have changed in the last 10 years in some of our marketing with what we do with the size of our calves and the success we’ve had with different types of age of cattle and more diversity,” says Jack. “I’ve learned diversity is a big benefit to staying in business and not just relying on one source of income.”

“We’ve been able to diversify the ranch in timely sales, and I think this has helped protect us at times,” shares Jack. “In the past, we had a two-week window to market our fed cattle, but now we can sell cattle two to three times a year, and it has been a big

benefit to us.”

Keeping traditions alive

“It’s an honor to be able to ranch – ranchers are kind of going out because it’s getting harder and harder to keep their head above water,” Tyson concludes. “We’ve been pretty for tunate to be able to keep growing the ranch into what it is today, and I hope in the future we can continue to build it bigger and keep passing the ranch and our way of life from gener ation to generation.”

In Jack’s spare time, he coaches football. He has been the head football coach for the Little Snake River Valley High School for the last six years and 14 overall.

He shares, “I love the game and I love the kids. We have a great bunch of players, parents and sup

port from the community.”

He notes as long as the kids care, he will continue to coach football, but his

forever passion will be his family ranch and continu ing its legacy.

Brittany Gunn is the

editor of the Wyoming Live stock Roundup. Send com ments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Family involvement – The Cobb Cattle Co. consists of a multi-generation dynasty. Everyone pitches in to help on the ranch. Jack Cobb and son Tyson’s goal is to be able to pass on the ranch from generation to generation. Courtesy photo

Livestock Photographer

Saratoga native Kaylee Kerbs is a third-generation rancher who found a passion for livestock photography and documenting the ranching industry. In her spare time, she helps her family run a com mercial cow/calf operation.

After graduating high school, she studied animal science at Casper College and Oklahoma State University where she was a key mem ber of two national cham pion judging teams. She then

got her master’s degree in ani mal science from Sam Hous ton State University in Texas.

Photography

Kaylee says she started her photography career by helping a friend take livestock photos while she was living in Texas. Now, as a photog rapher for nearly a decade, she has captured thousands of photos and videos at livestock sales, shows, family portraits and sporting events.

Kaylee returned home to

her family’s ranch four years ago and has since incorpo rated show photography at jackpot shows and fairs, including the Carbon County Fair and the Wyoming State Fair (WSF). This year marks her second year offering full WSF photography coverage.

Many of the projects Kay lee works on are diverse, she notes, but some of the larger shows, like the WSF, are huge accomplishments.

“It takes an entire team,”

Altitude Advantage captures livestock and industry memories

says Kaylee. “I have several people helping me with some of our larger projects.”

“Most state fairs or national shows have a pro fessional livestock photogra pher taking backdrop and ring shots,” she explains. “To be able to cover an event of this magnitude, be there for every show and get photos of every exhibitor and every animal, it’s such a new thing in Wyo ming.”

Growing up, she was

very involved with showing in 4-H. Coming from a cattle and sheep ranch, she always had a few of each animal, as well as pigs, for projects at the fair. Being able to capture a moment in time for the exhib itors and families in the indus try that shaped her life is what makes her job special, she explains.

“Just being able to be there and having the oppor tunity to provide high-quality images and memories to those families for years to come, whether they win or not, is very rewarding,” she adds. “Our photos come from inside the ring – we can have a better perspective and really capture the emotion of a moment.”

Preparation and giving back Kaylee and her team use natural lighting in many live stock sale and video sessions and artificial lighting for fair backdrops.

“Extra lighting really helps brighten everything up,” she shares. “It’s impor tant to be set up and ready to go because anything can hap pen – you can’t go back and ask someone to pose again or redo a handshake – you have to be ready to go in the moment.”

Kaylee is very grateful for the individuals who have helped her along the way and never hesitates to help some one else who has questions about photography.

“Sometimes, others within an industry hesitate to teach others, but I love teaching people,” shares Kaylee. “Whether it’s about show photography or help ing them with their sale pic tures and videos, I’m an open book when it comes to teach ing people, because someone once helped me and gave me a chance when I didn’t know

anything about cameras.”

She mentions she didn’t originally study photogra phy or design, so she is grate ful for the people who have helped her along the way.

“A lot of what I’ve learned is self-taught and developed from being around others who wanted to help me grow and be successful, so I try to provide that to anyone who comes up to me,” she adds.

Passion for photography

An important aspect of her job is managing and edit ing photos.

“Having the ability to edit photos afterwards is one thing that makes someone a better photographer,” she explains. “But planning and scheduling is another impor tant aspect of the job – winter and spring are typically bull sale catalog seasons. Some times, the weather can be unpredictable, so it’s impor tant to plan accordingly.”

Although Kaylee helps on her family’s ranch when she can, her true passion is photography. Through her business, Altitude Advan tage, Kaylee has been able to meet people and make lasting impacts. She looks forward to capturing many more mem ories down the photography road.

“Photography consumes pretty much all of my time,” mentions Kaylee. “I’m con stantly on the road and every where between here and Texas. I love being able to revisit people – my customers become part of my family.”

For more information, visit altitudeadvantage.shoot proof.com

Brittany Gunn is the edi tor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

WSF team – Altitude Advantage owner Kaylee Kerbs, pictured sec ond from right, is the official Wyoming State Fair (WSF) photog rapher. She works with a variety of individuals to cover state fair.

Courtesy photo

Ranching roots – Kaylee grew up on her family’s ranch near Sara toga. In her spare time, she helps her family run a commercial cow/ calf operation.

Courtesy photo

focuses on providing for future generationsSustainable Ranching

Located in the northeast corner of Carbon County, Todd and his wife Malea Heward’s roots run deep. Todd is a fifth-generation cat tle and sheep rancher, while Malea grew up on a dairy farm.

The Heward’s 7E Ranch, LLC was homesteaded in 1909 by Todd’s great-greatgrandmother and her four grown children who took out five homesteads in the area to start a sheep ranch. In 1949, Todd’s grandfather added to the ranch. This is where his uncle Bob Heward resides today, he notes.

Todd has five siblings –Kelly, Kimberly, Chad, Lind say and Robin, but he notes he is the only one of his gen eration heavily involved with the ranch.

Todd and Malea met while in college. Together, the couple raised seven chil dren: Timothy, Logan, Caro line, Sarah, Bethany, Hyrum and Samuel.

Livestock and location

The Heward’s 7E Ranch, LLC started as a sheep opera tion, but cattle were added in 1949, Todd shares.

“On the north end that I run, we have Black Angus and Rambouillet sheep,” says Todd. “We’re a cow/calf and yearling operation.”

Todd recalls growing up on the ranch consisted of long, hard days and challenges, but he wouldn’t have wanted to grow up any other way.

“Our days consisted of moving livestock, building fences, irrigating and putting up hay,” he mentions.

Todd jokes the ranch is far from everywhere –roughly 40 miles from Med icine Bow and 70 miles from Casper.

“One of the challenges that has always been a part of this northern Carbon County area is it’s very remote,” he says. “It took long days to get to school, even for our chil dren today.”

There are many aspects of ranching Todd enjoys.

“I’ve always enjoyed irri gating,” he says. “I’m also fond of understanding the

rangeland, grasses, vegetation and soil. I’ve always been fas cinated with it, as well as my dad and grandfather.”

Being a good steward of the land is what makes healthy livestock, he adds.

“We try to be good stew ards of the land – it has always been a passion of ours and it’s really important to our fam ily,” Todd says.

Innovations

Over the years, the ranch has evolved into a more inten sive grazing management style, shares Todd.

“As a historic sheep ranch, there wasn’t really any pastures, so we’ve kind of transitioned away from large pastures and herders to more of an intensive grazing man agement style,” he mentions. “Most everything else is pretty simple. We don’t use a lot of high-tech equipment or things of that nature. It’s rela tively simple.”

The Hewards harvest loose hay in large 25- to 30-ton stacks.

“Putting up hay in large, loose stacks is kind of a rare practice, but we’ve maintained this fast, inexpensive way to put up hay and are able to maintain better hay quality compared to baled hay,” says Todd.

They typically use a sickle bar mower and a dump rake, then a sweep and stacker –there are outdoor loads or stacks in large wooden cribs. In the winter, they use a hydraulic fork to feed the live stock, explains Todd.

“We are pretty moderate in everything we do,” men tions Todd. “We tend to stock pile half a year’s forage every year so if we have drought conditions, we still have for age. Drought hasn’t really affected us – it most definitely has been dry, but as far as grazing management, it really hasn’t affected us in that way.”

The ranch also utilizes land leased by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It’s a large component of the operation, he adds.

“Our relationship with the BLM and the use of public lands is an impor tant thing we deal with on a

daily basis,” he shares.

Seasonal operations

Calving typically starts in April and May, sheep shear ing begins in early May and lambing takes place in late May. After spring work is done, livestock go out to summer range, Todd shares. The ranch work is constant with both a sheep and cattle operation.

“We dock lambs in early July, precondition calves in mid-September, sell lambs in early October, sell calves midOctober and sell yearlings in late October,” he shares. “We try to graze as long as we can in the fall, but normally we start feeding livestock in midJanuary.”

Management and continuing traditions

According to Todd, the Heward’s 7E Ranch, LLC has a rich history – the 7E comes from an original brand used by the ranch.

Raising a family on the ranch has been important to Todd.

“My father always said his most important crop were his children, and I echo that –we raise hay, sheep and cattle, but really our focus is family and our children,” says Todd. “A lot of what we do on the ranch is for them.”

“There’re some things we could do different, but we rec ognize doing it the way we do has helped teach the next gen eration how to work, and it’s a good way of life to raise a family,” he says. “We have held on to traditional practices that have been beneficial to raising kids.”

Many of Todd’s children help with the current opera tions. His son Timothy and wife Kendra are becoming more involved and helping

Heward's

take over the ranch.

Todd looks forward to passing the ranch down to

future generations. Brittany Gunn is the edi tor of the Wyoming Live

stock Roundup. Send com ments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Gillette