Ranching Generations

Running Cows on the Range for You

January 31, 2018 by Allison

Our ranch couldn’t operate without running on public lands. We would love to run our cows totally on private land but that just isn’t doable right now. Don’t get me wrong, the range land that we graze on is really, REALLY great. Our cows come home fat and healthy. But it would be nice to not have someone to dictate where and when we can run our cows.

Remember the days when we didn’t have to answer to anybody about our cows out on the range? Ya me neither… Mostly because I haven’t been around this operation very long. But also because even if I had been around here my whole life, the range has been regulated for longer than I was alive.

When the first cows were grazing out on this range, nobody owned it. It was just leftover land from when the railroad had been built. Cattlemen would take their cows to Curlew Valley to graze through the summer months and then head south to Locomotive springs to winter. It ended up being a conglomeration of all sorts of cattle and brands, which may seem crazy but it worked out well. Between all of the cowboys there was always enough help to get all of the work done- water kept up, the cattle checked, and all the ground covered. In the spring they would help brand each other’s cattle and in the fall they would all gather in and wean the calves.

Over time and from experience, they established good patterns of grazing, making sure that they wouldn’t over graze the land and have something available when it was time to come back. They let the seasons and weather dictate how and where the cattle would be, flowing with range and its needs.

These days we still run our cattle the same, just with a LOT more direction from the higher ups. We still run in an association, with most of the original brands that we began with so many years ago. We still help move cattle, brand, wean, and check water just like they did in the past. But now we are on somebody else’s schedule. They tell when to turn out, how long we can stay, and where we go next. The dates are rigid and there is no flexibility to work with what the range is giving.

I really have mixed feelings about this. I think it is smart to have organization to it. We want to ensure that the range is healthy for our cattle to feed on so it is important to make sure that we don’t have too many cattle or spend too much time in one area. But at the same time, having someone from behind a desk telling us what we can and can’t do, especially when they don’t understand cattle or the work it takes to run them, is frustrating.

The job gets even harder when there are special interest group trying to keep you from your range land. There are all sorts of reasons that they don’t want us on the public lands. They think that we are harming the land. They figure it needs to be left for the public to use for recreation. They want it preserved for wild life. Or some just don’t want it used at all for any purposes.

Right now, we aren’t in a position where we are being troubled by anyone directly, but we aren’t excused from the fight to get cattle off of public lands either.

I’m the kind of girl that is all about being efficient with what we have. I’m pretty sure that it’s in my genes. I hate to see things go to waste when there is so much value to be had. But I also don’t want to use it all up at once. That’s being wasteful too. There’s that sweet middle ground that should keep from wasting by keeping things from totally unused but also keeping it from being over used and ruined.

But how can we apply that to the range?

It’s all a balancing act, friends. Its working to keep too many cattle off too little ground with too little feed for too long. But it is also having cattle out there to disturb the ground to help new seeds to grow, to cultivate the ground, to carry seeds in their poop and fertilize them to grow. Its having cows out there to eat the grasses and keep the fuels down so fires don’t devastate the range. Using it for cows keeps it as usable, profitable range land and not the next development area for a new subdivision.

Balance. That’s how we do it.

A few years ago, I saw a book that was talking about public lands and it was obviously against ranchers using it for their cattle. In fact, there was a caption in big bold letters that said something to the point of “keep ranchers from turning your land into a feed lot!” And right next to it was a picture of an area that had been overgrazed (most likely it was right next to the water trough, right?!).

It was a little like a punch to the gut.

Is this what people really think ranchers do? Do they assume that we use public range land to feed our cattle so that we can make some money by fattening our cattle while we ruin someone else’s land? I just wanted to shake someone, anyone, EVERYONE and say, “WE DO THIS FOR YOU!”

We run and raise cattle for people to eat. It’s plain and simple. Yes it is our jobs and we are trying to make money doing it (enough to survive at least… ha… ha…). But at the heart of it all, we care about making a good, affordable product for families to put on the table using the resources available.

For years and years, nothing has changed how ranchers use the range. But what has changed, is the public’s perception of how and why use the land. Their land. The bigger picture is that we use their land to raise cattle to feed their families. And we have before it was really anyone’s land. The cattle were there long before any interest groups even existed, let alone had an agenda.

We are going to keep running cattle out on the rangeland for as long as we are able. We are going to keep using that land to keep our cows healthy and we are going to keep using our cows to keep the land healthy. And in the end, you, that eat our beef, will stay healthy too.

The Curlew Cattle Association: A History of Belonging

June 3, 2017 by Allison

A few months ago I was asked to write a story for the Line Rider, a magazine published by the Idaho Cattle Association. The story they asked me to write was a little closer to home than most of my other stories. They asked me to write about our history with the association we run our cattle in. Since it wasn’t my family that I was writing about but rather my husband’s, I had to do a little research. It was interesting and exciting and inspiring. It ended up becoming somewhat special to me that I could write about my husband’s family and share their story. And I wasn’t the only one that felt this way.

Over the last few months, I have had several of the cowboys and ranchers that we work with mention the story. I’m not sure why, but I was really surprised with how much they all loved it! Maybe I’m still a little surprised when people (besides my momma and my husband… they are obligated to cheer for me) think that what I write is something worth reading.

Because of all their applause, I thought I would share it with you!

Ranching can be a tough and demanding lifestyle but with people working around us facing the same challenges and striving for the same goals, we find a collective strength. In fact, it is through the practice of leaning on each other that several ranches in the Curlew Valley have found success amidst the struggles of ranching on the range. Their association of working together began as their ranches were founded. It was long ago that August Eliason learned that the demands of range were easier to manage has he harnessed his efforts with those around him and still to this day, his descendents continue to follow his practices of working together.

August Eliason came to America from Sweden with his family as a young boy at the age of 9. At the age of 14, he decided to go out on his and found a job working for the Bar M Ranch, hiring on as the ranch foreman.

The Bar M Ranch began after the construction of the trans-continental railroad through Utah. A wealthy railroad baron from San Francisco had seen the boom of cattle empires in the west and he wanted part of it. He saw an opportunity to buy up the available land left from building the railroad and purchased the land from Connor Springs to Kelton, Utah, approximately 365,000 acres. Soon after, they bought their first 2,500 cows and they were in the cattle business. They continued to acquire land and cattle as they bought out other operations, bringing their numbers up to a herd of 45,000 cows running throughout northern Utah and southern Idaho. Unfortunately, the owner of the ranch and his managers had no experience managing a cattle herd. Their lack of knowledge ultimately set the ranch for failure.

As the foreman of the ranch, August was responsible for grazing the cattle throughout the Curlew Valley. Through managing so many cattle over so many miles, August developed a great talent for overseeing the cattle and land. The cattle grazed the range for feed year round, often overgrazing it. The operation never purchased or put up any additional hay, and the cattle were left to forage on what little feed was available during the winter months. This mismanagement proved detrimental for the ranch.

In 1888, the blizzard of a lifetime came through. Heavy snowfall and extreme winds caused the cattle to stray as they followed their instincts and walked with the wind in attempts to stay warm. With nothing to stop the wandering Bar M cattle, they walked for miles and miles. With such terrible storms, August and the other cow hands knew there was nothing they could do. They knew they would never survive searching for the cattle in the storm over the snow covered range. All they could do was wait and see what the outcome of the storm would bring.

Eventually they found that from the combination of exhaustion from the walking and the lack of feed because it was buried beneath the snow, the majority of the cattle had died. Accounts recall that there were so many dead cattle across the land that you could walk for miles stepping only from one cow to the next. When spring came, they found 35,000 dead cattle wearing the Bar M brand. The numbers of surviving cattle are somewhat unknown, anywhere from 10,000 to only 800.

The Bar M Ranch never recouped from the devastating winter and was disbanded shortly after. The cowboys were left to fend for themselves. But what was the end of the Bar M Ranch was the beginning of several grazing organizations in the area, such as the Curlew Valley Horse and Cattle Association and the Black Pine grazing group.

It was rumored that August and his two brothers-in-law, Andrew Anderson and Ed Showell, gathered up any unclaimed and unbranded cattle to start up their own herds. They continued to winter the cattle in Locomotive and graze north through the Curlew Valley, similar to how the Bar M Ranch managed their cattle. It was hard work but with their experience on the range, their desire to succeed and their strength by working together, they facilitated their own beginning.

At the time, ranches from all over northern Utah and southern Idaho would turn their cattle out on the public rangeland. There were no boundaries, no regulations and no expectations grazing on the open range. All the animals roamed free, fending for themselves where ever it may be. Because of the water and good feed, most cattle would migrate south to Locomotive Springs. At the end of the grazing season, everyone would work together to gather in the cattle to sort and take to their home ranches.

In addition to running on the public lands, August and the others also homesteaded land in Idaho. They were successful on their homestead land in Stone, Idaho on what was called the North String. There he set up headquarters for his ranch and his family. August had 6 children, including his two sons, Bert and Chester, who took over the ranch at his untimely death when they were teenage boys.

Even though they were young, the boys were able to successfully run the operation for their mother with the help of their uncles, Andrew and Ed, keeping both the ranch and the family alive. The time came that they decided to buy the ranch and their partnership began. It took time, but they were able to add cattle to their herd and land to their operation.

The Curlew ranchers recognized what an asset Locomotive was for cattle, although most of the area was deeded up to homesteads. But over time, the flies and sickness of the wetlands caused most homesteaders to sell out, an opportunity Bert, Chester, Andrew, and Ed jumped on. In addition to wintering the cattle in Locomotive, they decided to hay the land as well. Once a year, they worked together to carry out the very labor intensive job of mowing, raking, pitching and stacking the hay.

Over the next several years, many things would happen that would bring more organization and need for the association. In 1934, the Taylor Grazing Act was set in place to regulate the use of public lands. Throughout the country, drought and poor management of the land had caused severe losses that devastated the farming and ranching industry. In Idaho and Utah, cattle and sheep ranchers would graze an unrestricted number of animals that overwhelmed the rangeland. With the Grazing Act, those ranches already running animals had to apply for permits. With the homestead land in Stone and Locomotive, the men were granted permits to continue running their cattle on the public lands of Black Pine of Idaho and Wild Cat/Cedar Hill of Utah.

Every season had its challenges, but Bert and Chester managed to find success. A large part of their success was working hard, but an even larger part was working smart. With their operation being divided over so much land, it required a lot of time and labor to manage it all. The men would spend days on the range haying and moving or tending cattle. By working together, it made it easier to ensure that everything was be done and looked after, without having to hire additional men.

Shortly after the depression Chester had the chance of a lifetime. Dave Dilly was ready to sell the piece of land that Chester had wanted all of his life- the Rockhouse Ranch, famously named for the house made of rocks that provided protection from the Indians in the 1860s and later used as northern headquarters of the old Bar M Ranch. Living just a few miles away in Stone had given him plenty of opportunities to see its potential.

Dave Dilly, Chester’s uncle, first offered the Rockhouse Ranch to Bert but with Bert declining the piece, it was Chester’s for the taking. He sold his home, land, and half of the company property to Bert and moved his family and his half of the cattle 14 miles north to their new ranch in Holbrook, Idaho. Starting his own operation had been a longtime dream and he was excited for the opportunity. He continued to run things alongside the others in Stone and to run his cattle on his portion of the rangeland permits.

Running separate, but parallel operations was very profitable for the two brothers. They were both able to grow their operations and later pass them on to their own families. Bert had two sons, De and Bert Jr., which in the end inherited his cattle and land. De stayed on the homestead in Stone while Bert Jr. began a new operation in Snowville, Utah. With his portion of the permits he continued to work alongside his brother, until De sold his operation. Bert Jr. ‘s operation, known now as the Eliason Ranch, was owned by his son Dave Eliason, who just recently turned things over to the next generation- his son, Shane.

Dave enjoys the same benefits of running cattle in the association that his grandpa did. Dave says, “The greatest benefit is that we can share the labor without having to hire extra men. We all have large enough herds that we couldn’t do it alone.”

The Rockhouse Ranch, now known as Eliason Livestock, is managed by Ken Eliason, the third generation to run cattle in Holbrook. His father, Don, was just a boy when Chester began ranching in Holbrook. In his time, he watched the ranch develop from a small operation to a thriving family business. With the goal in mind of keeping it a thriving family business, Ken’s oldest son, Brayden has returned to eventually take over the ranch someday.

While time and innovation has changed how things are run from day to day, Ken and Dave still employ the same operational practices that the original Curlew cowboys did. They still winter the cattle in Locomotive with the Anderson and Showell operations. They work together to wean, brand, move cattle, preg check cows, and check water.

Working together with so many different operations can be challenging but these men have made it work. While they have seen similar groups fall apart by disagreements, they have found a way to keep things beneficial to all. Ken says that the best thing about the association, and how they have continued working together for so long is because of the trust. “You know that you can trust that they will be there to get the work done and that they will do a good job. You can trust that they have your back.”

Running together in the association has proved to be a successful practice for everyone in the Curlew Valley. They enjoy the same benefits that the old cowboys did- the autonomy to run their operations but still have the man power to get the work done. But the benefits go beyond the obvious. Each man in the association a niche- his strengths that the whole group can rely on. It may be the equipment and skills that he has or the “in” for a good deal on salt block. Some have their finger on the pulse of what is happening in the cattle industry across the country and some have the relationships and contacts for more support and information.

Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” The ranchers of the Curlew Valley have been the embodiment of that phrase for so many years. Alone, one ranch could never have accomplished what has been done. They would have succumbed to the hard reality of homesteading and the fatigue of the rough range. But together they have advanced the industry, produced cattle, improved the land, raised families and strengthened communities. With the help and support of one another they will continue to do so much.

Weekends at Locomotive

March 17, 2017 by Allison

One of my weekend highlights is always heading down to Locomotive. There is something about the wide open and empty range that soothes my soul. And maybe its just because I love getting away from the house work and cleaning, but I’m pretty sure its more than that.

Working down to Locomotive isn’t anything crazy exciting. We all pile in the gator and drive around checking the water and cows. We tag a few calves here and there and we make sure every baby has a mama. Until the snow melted, we took some time to dump a little hay around. Every once in a while we find a baby that has been abandoned, usually they were a twin, and we bring them home to the ranch with us. After we give everything a good once over, we load up and head home.

See? Nothing crazy. But I love it!

I love it when my kids get to spend time with their dad. What better way to learn how to be a rancher than to see their hero do it. They ak question, jump in to help, and soak it all in. Its a chance that they have to disconnect from the world that is happening around them. Even as little as they are, they can still get sucked into the tv and computer and what not. But when they are out on the range, they are in a whole different world of their own making. In seconds they can find adventure.

I love it that we can go somewhere and its almost like time stops. The rush and hustle of life just disappears. That is something precious when you are a mom that lives by a never ending to-do list that keeps you hopping from job to the next. Somehow, the list doesn’t matter out there.

I love it because we can just be ourselves. There is no judging that I didn’t put makeup on that day. In fact, if I did, it would only get covered with the layers of dust so no one would see it anyway! The cows don’t care what clothes you wear. They don’t care how rambunctious and rowdy the kids are. We can just rock it how we like to!

Everyone needs a place like Locomotive. Somewhere that they feel safe and at peace and totally confident. Somewhere that provides a little perspective when we get so consumed with what keeps us going from day to day. Somewhere that when we go home, we feel a little stronger and ready to take life on again.

In this crazy world, that can be hard to find.

Where is your “Locomotive”?

The Family That Brands Together, Stays Together

May 16, 2016 by Allison

I’ve been feeling somewhat emotional about family this week. It could be leftover mushy feelings from Mother’s Day extra stirred up from all those post-partum hormones flowing through my veins and totally exaggerated from looking at all these photos of my favorite people.. but I dunno. Regardless of the why, I have a mega-sized dose of love for family and all I keep thinking is, “I love my life!”

Seriously, how often do families get days like these? How many times do you have a chance to take your kids to work? It happens pretty much daily around here. How often do you see three generations of men working together? Yep, every day. We are pretty lucky that even the brothers come around the ranch often. And when I say often I mean, like, weekly! I know guys that would give anything to be able to work with their dad and brothers like these boys get to. Of course, the fun doesn’t stop there- we have sisters-in-law that love this life too and that, my friends, is no easy feat. Honestly, its hard enough for brothers to marry wives that like each other, but then to find wives that love ranching and cowboying too?! Good work boys… Good work!

We all have varying jobs at what we do to help or entertain, but no one is sitting around. Some come packing the camera and some bring the cinnamon rolls (thanks to The Cattlewoman, for sure!). The kids are always elbow deep in the work (sometimes making more work for the rest of us, but at least they are out there wanting and willing to work!) Some live the dream life on the back of the horse and some do the dirty grunt work. Even if you think that you are just going to spectate, crazy things happen to get you moving.

Check this out. Quick story time- The Buckarette… This girl was 39 weeks pregnant on this fine day of branding (which is why there isn’t a SINGLE picture of her… hmmm…) She came out planning to just sit on the back of the truck and, ya know, just take it easy. Then she starts holding the calves back and helping sort out the already branded calves. Then she starts helping with shots (which is admirable in itself because that meant bending over and if you know pregnant ladies, that gets a little difficult when you are growing a human being in your middle!). And then she suddenly swings her way up on the horse to get out and rope! We teased her that she had better be careful where she dallied because her belly was a little close to the horn. She got up there, turned her horse to the calves and before you knew it, she was back dragging one in. She gets extra kuddos in my book because it had been a good long while since she had roped and she was as smooth as ever. Honestly, we should have had her out roping lots earlier because she caught every calf she swung at! She told us that she as only going to rope one, but once she got started, we couldn’t stop her. Ok, not really… but she did have her good handful of them.

Anyone can tell you, working as families can be rough. One person wants something done one way and someone another, and some crazy fight ensues. One person feels like they are doing all the work while the others get the benefits. One suddenly thinks they are the boss and the others stop working dead in their tracks. It can really happen… But I don’t think feelings like these have ever come up around here (I’m crossing my fingers that even though I am saying it out loud, nothing changes…). Sure we have our moments of frustration or disagreement but I have never seen an operation run so smoothly. Family comes first and with that, everyone works together towards a common goal that brings us together. At the end of the day, we are all apart of making Eliason Livestock successful and sustainable. More importantly we are apart of a family legacy, building from our heritage something for the future that we can all be proud of.

The Newest Cowboy Around

April 24, 2016 by Allison

You might be thinking that I forgot to tell you I had a baby. Or you might just be thinking that I am still pregnant (Please don’t be thinking that… I have nightmares of that!) . And that’s my fault…

I didn’t forget to tell you. If we are Facebook pals its old news, but if we aren’t… We had our baby! Yahoo!

For as badly as it could have been, things went pretty darn smooth. I was terrified that I would go into labor while The Rancher would be in the middle of roping a cow to pull her calf down in Locomotive and not answering his phone all while he was the only cowboy around to get the ranch work done and it would be hours before I could tell him it was time to take the hour and a half drive to the hospital and I would end up having a baby on the side of the road (and he would say “lets pull out the chains!”. You see, that whole week before baby was born, Rancher Sr. was on the other side of the world (Bulgaria!) picking Cowboy Pete up from his church mission. It was kind of a big deal. But it left The Rancher to keep everything running. So you can see how I had a little bit of anxiety…

But I didn’t go into labor!

There were a few close calls but being the obedient son that he was, our baby listened to his papa and waited until there was help around to take care of the cows. Because of a previous c-section (yes, The Rancher calls me a zipper cow…), my doctor chooses to induce me to monitor my entire labor in case something crazy happens like I rupture and bleed out and die. We would like to prevent that… So we got to be to the hospital at 5 am, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Actually, since we went to bed about midnight at woke up at 3:30 I was less than. All I can say is thank goodness for epidurals that makes it so a tired momma can actually sleep while in labor so she can actually have some energy to push out the tiny human being inside of her.

In fact after a good nap, it was time for baby to come. And it all happened so fast that The Rancher almost missed it. Not really, but while the doctors and nurses were prepping everything for delivery, I didn’t really have a chance to wake him up to say it was show time. Good thing everyone was noisy and he realized something was going on. It wasn’t long before our beautiful, tiny cowboy was born. When I say tiny, I really mean tiny. He was all of 5 pounds, 13 ounces, and 19 inches long! The Rancher is priding himself in being a low birth weight bull.

On a sunny morning, I got brave and decided to try out a few newborn photos of our baby. For my limited experience (and by limited I mean NONE) I was pleased with what we ended up with. But I must admit that western/cowboy/ranchy photos are much more my wheelhouse than newborn portraits!

Now I need a little help! Everyone on the blog has a nickname, because that’s cool. Its time to come up with a new one for the newest member of the herd. Any ideas? Leave your favorites in the comments below or comment on Facebook or Instagram!