Blog - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Just Bad Luck Days on the Ranch

June 25, 2023 by admin

“If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all!” There might not be a truer phrase for a rancher to admit to than that. Some days it feels like all the stars have to align for the work to get done without any hitches, hiccups, or holdups. Whether it is Mother Nature the parts man or ornery old boss cow, someone, somewhere is cooking up a disaster to derail even the best laid plans. You can always count on the fact that in the middle of the cattle work, farm work, machinery fixing, fence fixing or anything else on the never end to-do list, something, without fail, will go wrong. And while I don’t have any research data to back me up, I’m pretty sure that the probability and the size of such a disaster goes up exponentially when its a high stakes situation, and goes up even more so when there is zero time for a breakdown and a do-over.

Okay, yes that may be an overdramatization, but you have to admit that there are days when things, not only don’t go right, but seem to go especially bad. It’s those sort of days you might have to concede the victory to fate, turn in early so nothing else can go wrong and laugh at the day to keep from crying. Looking back, we have had our fair share of bad luck days, some we can laugh at now… some that we still need a little more time.

This last winter felt like one stroke of bad luck after another. I mean, to begin with, it had to be bad luck that after years of drought and praying for moisture, it all comes pouring down in one, unending winter. Of course, we never look a gift horse in the mouth, but if I could have been in charge of the timing of said moisture, it certainly wouldn’t have come in a near record breaking winter fashion.

In a season where we really needed all the things to go right, I swear everything would go wrong, especially on the days when we were far from home and help. We put one fire out after another (not literally fires, but that surely would have warmed things up while we were freezing our fingers off). If it wasn’t the tractor door shattering (on a rented tractor, no less) to keep the work from being done, it was the blown hydraulic hose on the back. If it wasn’t the flat tire on the backhoe that kept us from feeding, it was the massive sinkhole that swallowed the newly fixed tractor. Not only did the gator break down but the snowmobile wouldn’t start either. You’ve heard of the hand Midas that turns everything that it touched to gold? We had the exact opposite. We touched it and it died, quit, or broke.

Sometimes it isn’t the hand that is cursed, it’s just the machine that refuses to stay in running condition. Our problem child of a pivot is simply dubbed “the old pivot” although it might be more accurate to call it the-leaky-run-down-dilapidated-old-pivot. As soon as one hole is plugged or fixed, a new pinhole starts gushing. Aside from its leaky bits, there are computer problems and electrical problems. You might say that running an old pivot just signs you up for breakdowns, but I think this pivot runs at a higher level of breakdowns. If we have any luck this year, it’s getting that old thing replaced… hope I didn’t just jinx it!

We might just make our own bad luck for the number of times we say things like “we are all caught up with the shop work” or “all the cows are settled.” It’s like those darn cows know when we breathe a sigh of relief and work to stir things up. If I had a dollar for everytime we think the cows are settled and then get a phone call that says the cows are out, we could pay someone else to keep them in. They are masters at finding the down wires, gates left open or just barging their way through. And with the sort of luck we run, we get those cows back in but can’t find the hole they are crawling through, so they just keep getting out.

Mother Nature especially likes to throw a wrench in our carefully planned out days. Despite knowing the old adage that you bale hay while the sun shines, it always seems we get into the wrong project for the weather. We meticulously check the forecast, make plans to best fit the conditions of the day, only to find the weatherman was wrong once again. It’s spraying weeds or cutting hay because it’s sunny for days on end to only have thunderstorms suddenly come in, day after day. Or planting fields just before the predicted storms never roll through. We move cows or plan to brand, sure it’s supposed to be a nice, sunny day, only to be caught in Idaho’s blustery wind, something we should learn to count on anyway.

Oh the luck of a rancher. It seems the ball never bounces our way. But truth be told, we are far luckier than we deserve with the great industry we have to be a part of. We have the great fortune of working the land, having the satisfaction of working as a family, and doing a work we love. There may be moments, some days more than others, that it feels like we have nothing but bad luck. But I will take these bad luck days on the ranch over any other day. Who needs luck when we live a life so blessed.

Christmas Wishes On the Ranch

December 13, 2022 by Allison

Top of the holiday traditions for excited girls and boys is making that all important Christmas wish list. Whether it’s mailed off to the North Pole, whispered to Santa in person or just shared with mom and dad, every excited child makes such a list. I’ve never seen a list with anything like “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!” or “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” but my ranch kids write practically the same list with just a few variations year to year, even though Santa and I do a darn good job checking things off their list each Christmas

Their Christmas lists always include tractors, cows, corral setups, trucks and other fun ranch life replicas and since you can never have enough tractors or cows, they find their way on the list again and again. All of those tractors and cows just make for more possibilities, ideas or storylines to play out. Whatever it is that they come up with that day, there is one thing for sure,…

It’s usually pretty easy to know what sort of stuff dad is doing out on the ranch because from the sand pile to the living room, the kids are recreating the same set up with their miniature versions. When it’s haying season, they have their own hay to bale and stack. When it’s branding season they gather in their little herds to put brands on all the new calves. I wish I could remember all of their different storylines over the years, but there are some that standout that I will never forget.

Throughout the summer months we have a herd of heifers we haul around to various roping and sorting events. After seeing dad take his cattle on the road, my little ranchers often do the same. They load up their toy bull wagon to their freshly erected rodeo arena for a day’s worth of roping, riding and rodeo fun. Their setup includes the littlest details like the watering trough, the various sorting pens and even seats for their spectators. To truly capture complete reproduction of such a day, they even borrowed a few Barbie kitchen snacks and toys because no day at the arena is complete without mom packing a cooler of snacks and a bag of toys.

During the fall months of weaning, preg checking and prepping to sell each year’s set of calves, we spend a lot of time at the squeeze chute. In fact, we have coined our own term such work- squeeze chuting. At the end of a long day squeeze-chuting with dad, the littles come in and squeeze chute their own cows. They aren’t even afraid to get in there and do the preg checking, just like dad does.

Now replicating some of those days at the squeeze can be a little dicey. Like when we pretend to squeeze chute the day we semen test the bulls. I vividly remember sitting at the counter as my son set up his alley and chute and then proceeded to line up the bulls. He was very specific to not include any cows or steers, just the bulls. After putting a few bulls through the chute he looked at me with his curious eyes and his wheels turning, trying to figure out just what we are doing when we bring the bulls through the chute. Let’s just say that day’s play was a great conversation starter for the birds and the bees sort of talk.

Even the simple day to day chores make for fun memories as the kids work to haul hay to the corrals to feed, whether it’s in the mud or the rain or the snow. There is always something new they add like the horses sneaking out as the tractor came in, putting mineral in the bunks or checking the water. I’ve even heard a few of their dad’s favorite phrases about those darn cows and pray they don’t repeat EVERYTHING dad says.

Make believe ranching isn’t a new ranch kid past time. Generations share some of the same stories with their own little spin on them. My mom used to talk about what a gamble it was to walk through the living room minefield of invisible cow pies. She was never sure where to step but very sure it would always land right in the poop and she would be told about it. My husband remembers not letting anyone in grandma’s family room as he was midharvest. No one was going to mess up that cutting!

It’s always exciting to see just what toys end up under the Christmas tree, but I’m pretty confident that there will be some sort of ranch life replica under there. And not long after the wrapping paper is gone, the creativity will take over and a new ranch will come to life. It will have some new fun and flare with the new toys but it will always point back to the life we live on the ranch, because truth be told, nothing is better than the real, deal every day life on the ranch.

A Strong Ranch Kid Immune System, Brought to You by Dirt

November 28, 2022 by Allison

The weather has turned colder and one of the unfortunate downsides of everyone congregating inside is that we pass our germs around much faster. We look for sorts of remedies and quick fixes because being down and out with sickness is no fun. It’s not a quick fix, but ranch life has it’s own way to help keep colds at bay.

Wanna hear about it? Simply put, we just get down and dirty.

In a lot of ways, it’s hard to believe all those folks that say that ranch raised kids have stronger and healthier immune systems than their counterparts that live in the city. Someone might argue that just the opposite should be true, that all that exposure should lead to all sorts of illnesses and infections. But years of first hand evidence, plus a lot of official scientific research can’t be disputed. Kids raised in the country with animals, pollen filled air and a little extra dirt under their nails have been found to have a lower occurrence of asthma, allergies, seasonal colds and many other illnesses.

Like any good mom, I try to keep my kids clean, wash their hands and faces and lease once in a while. But now that I think of it, letting the dirt go a little longer isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, I’m doing them a favor, right?

There’s too many ways to count how ranch kids keep boosting their immune systems so let me just give you a snapshot look at some ways ranch raised kids are working on having those strong immune systems.

There is no one more defenseless and appealing for a dog to steal a lick from than that ranch kid that just isn’t eating his ice cream fast enough. The family pup is only trying to help and keep it from melting too fast or making such a big mess. On top of that, man’s best friend will share a few germs to help him have a good, strong immune system. Just don’t think what that cow dog was last licking on before he went for the sticky cheeks.

Along with the weekly water check, the range salt has to be checked and the kids are always willing to be on that. Not only do they check to see if there are salt blocks out but they check to make sure that they are indeed, still salty. There is only one way to check that and that is by taking a big ol’ lick. Of course there is no thought as to what last licked the salt block or anything else that might have come across it. Nope, just a big, salty lick and a good dose of germs to keep that immune system running at peak performance.

Moms are always concerned that they give their kids enough vitamins, but ranch moms never have to worry so long as the kids keep tasting the mineral supplements they put out for the herd. A lick here and there is a double wamy- vitamin boosts and immunity support.

If there is one thing a ranch kid will never run short of, it is dirt. Ranch kids are some sort of magnet for dirt. The instant they see it, they are all over it, or rather, it is all over them. It’s in their hair, on their cheeks, in their boots, all over their hands… it’s everywhere. And it’s a pretty safe bet that ranch dirt isn’t straight dirt but probably has its fair share of other run things… like poop in it. Nothings better than poopy dirt all over a ranch kid to boost her immune system.

A smart ranch mom will always make sure that there are plenty of snacks packed for any outing. The fun part of having snacks with a ranch kid is that they will usually come with a side of dirt. With so much dirt around, what’s the big deal of having a little with the fruit snacks or crackers. Just brush it off, it will be fine, or helpful for the ol’ immune system if nothing else.

There comes a point in a ranch kid’s life that they can’t help but lick EVERYTHING. IN. SIGHT. It’s like some terrible right of passage. They put their mouths on the gate, on the 4 wheeler, on all the tools… and if they survive it all, they will never get anything more than a sniffle during the cold season for the rest of their lives.

At home they might wash their hands before dinnertime, but out on the range, there isn’t a kitchen sink to get the job done. So dirty hands and peanut butter and jelly sandwich just happen. Dirt, grease, mud, poop and a whole host of other things will be all over their hands but it’s all good. Dad is right, a little dirt builds character or at least builds strong immune systems.

When a kid gets thirsty, there is no stopping him from drinking out of the nearest water hole. If it’s clean enough for the animals, it has to be clean enough for the kids, right? Who cares if it’s an old wheel line pipe or rusty trough? I’m sure the giardia is only temporary and that his immune system will come back stronger than ever.

If kids are a magnet for dirt, it is only multiplied when there is a little water added and that dirt turns to mud. Whether it is a muddy puddle from the night’s rainstorm, the muddy ditch bank or a little mud from the sprinkler, you know it is calling their name and they can’t resist. Sure it’s a big mess, but it’s also some good immune system therapy.

Every ranch has its handfuls of fun critters little ranch boys and girls can’t help but pet. From the dog to the chickens to the horses to the barn cats to the bottle calves, those little ranch hands are all over those many legged friends. Washing hands after such fun is low on the priority list for busy kids that are already onto the next thing. No worries, they are just multitasking- growing strong immune systems as they play all day.

It can be a real laugh when you think all the germs ranch kids come across, day in and day out as they play. We might cringe to think about it all, but those dirty hands and faces are keeping them healthy in the long run. And there’s a lot to be said about a dirty faced, happy and healthy ranch kid.

A Heartfelt Thanks to a Rancher

November 21, 2022 by admin

Thanksgiving week is often the pinnacle point of heartfelt gratitude. The holiday helps us to slow down and take time to see all of the goodness in our lives. We give thanks for the families around us, the homes and careers we have, the opportunities for growing and learning and the many luxuries we have that we surely take for granted.

High on that list of thanks should be the farmers and ranchers that help feed families around the world. This may seem like an obvious choice but I wonder how many people actually realize that without the backbreaking work of the agriculture industry, their thanksgiving would look very different.

From the turkey at the center of the thanksgiving table to the stuffing and corn and mashed potatoes and even the sweet potato souffle, it all began in someone’s field. Those tasty rolls began as a small wheat seed that was cultivated, harvested, milled and prepared into the flour you used to make great-grandma’s best ever roll recipe. That sweet whipped cream started at the dairy and made its way to the shelves for you to whip up for a tasty pie garnish. That beautiful garden salad is brought to you by the row crop farmers tending their lettuce, carrot and onion fields, just to start.

There isn’t a single bit of Thanksgiving dinner you could have without the management and stewardship of farmers and ranchers. No, I take that back. In this day and age there are plenty of synthetic food alternatives and imitations that you could choose from. But synthetic foods only imitating the real flavor of a savory plate of meat and potatoes could never compare to the real thing.

Besides thanking farmers and ranchers for the foods you get to enjoy, not only on Thanksgiving day, but every day, we owe them a thanks because without them, there is so much of life we wouldn’t enjoy. Imagine if you can, a world without large operations growing masses of food products to sell around the world. Imagine what life would be like if you were responsible to grow and provide all of the food that you and your family would eat.

Tending to animals and crops, harvesting the meats and vegetables, processing the farm products into kitchen ready goods would be all consuming. Think back to our pioneer ancestors and the time they gave to butcher their own animals, church their butter and grind their wheat. If we were completely dependent on providing all our own foods we would either have very little or spend all our time growing it.

With advancements in technology came great improvements in agriculture that allowed farmers and ranchers the capacity to take on more crops and more acreage to feed more families than just their own. As people could purchase foods, it in turn allowed them to use their time and energy in other ways. People could follow their dreams and new ideas, whether it was an exciting career, traveling adventures or enjoying the arts.

Today we have celebrities, stars and popular figures that do very little to provide for themselves, but rather spend all their time entertaining us. Around the world are presidents, leaders and dignitaries that work to make our countries safer to raise our families. Our children have chances to learn more things in more ways than our forefathers could have ever dreamed of. And all of these opportunities and more are afforded to us because we have an agriculture industry that takes on the responsibility to feed the world.

This week as you count your blessings and all the good you have, remember that so much of it comes from the good men and women that labor in fields across the world. They deserve your thanks in so many ways.

The Rancher’s Wife Bloopers

February 25, 2021 by Allison

If there was a reel for this ranch wife’s time spent on the ranch, there would 100%, hands down, for sure be a bloopers cut at the end. One that was dedicated to all of the blonde moments, huh-ohs and flops that add a little excitement to our ranch life. Now don’t worry, the ranch is still standing, our marriage is still solid and nothing that had to be undone, couldn’t be done. Truth be told, once I moved passed the shame of my failures, some of them were actually pretty humorand added a little humor that we can use a bit more of.

Not a Chicken-Herder

I’ve said it before and will likely say it again and again, but I don’t like chickens. Like, really don’t like chickens. I don’t do chickens. And even less so with the herd (flock?) of chickens that we have now. These chickens apparently don’t have a personal bubble and aren’t afraid of anything because they like to get all up in my business. Anymore I don’t gather eggs or check chickens without someone to protect me, like my kids.

Super impressed with my mothering, right?

I feel like I have been plenty patient with these hens wanting to peck my hands and toes and try to fly up in my face but when they had me cornered in the coop I decided this was no longer a one mom job. Someone walking past might have thought the scared screeches and squawks were coming from the chickens, not the other way around. These days I brave the chickens with my courageous four year old taking the lead, boldly shooing away the chickens as we walk across the coop to the nesting boxes. Then I hoist him up to gather the eggs as fast as he can while I keep watch. Every time I wonder if this is the day I will have to call retreat and leave the eggs in order get out of there in one piece.

I know. Its ridiculous. They are just chickens and it only takes a few minutes to gather those eggs. I should totally be up to the task but when it comes to the chickens I have a faint heart and fall short.

Backing up is Just Like Going Forward, Just in Reverse.

The science of backing up a horse trailer is beyond brain surgery and rocket science. Ok, not really, but when it comes to this rancher’s wife there is a lot of room for improvement. The Rancher just laughs at my deficiency and reminds me over and over the backing up is just like going forward, but in reverse.

Genius.

I understand the principles of it but applying it can be a little challenging. If I’m lined up with a straight shot and all tires are straight and I’m praying really hard I can usually pull it off. Or if someone is there to tell me which way to go and shake their head when I turned the wheel the wrong way I can manage to get backed in where we need. (Why someone would let me back up instead of kicking me out of the driver’s seat kinda blows my mind…) But if I’m on my own it can be somewhat problematic.

Like the day we decided to move a group of heifers on our way home. The Rancher hopped on his horse and asked us to drive the truck and trailer around to open the gate. Sure. Easy. I am a professional gate opener. So we get there, open the gate and wait. Unfortunately the heifers weren’t having anything to do with the truck and trailer there by the gate and wouldn’t go through. That meant I had to roll up my sleeves and back ‘er up. I was doing so good, backing up with the trailer heading where I wanted it and then I turned too much this way and that and before I knew and I was taking up the whole road. Traffic isn’t all the busy down our road so I wasn’t too worried but one glance up and down the road proved me wrong and I couldn’t just wait for The Rancher to bail me out as he has done more times than I would like to admit.

Don’t worry. Common sense prevailed and I just pulled ahead enough to be out of the way of traffic and the heifers and all ended well. Something I probably should have done to start with. But my rancher’s wife ego took a serious blow. I mean what kind of ranch raised cattlewomen has such a handicap?

From Hero to Zero

Its not very often that The Rancher calls me to save the day to help him out of a pickle and I relish the chance to be the hero. More often than I would like, there are those days that my triumphant moment turns to a flop.

One of these days stands out in my mind so distinctly because I quickly turned from rescuer to rescuee in a hurry. It was a cold January morning, The Rancher was out feeding cows and was pushing to get done quickly. The ground was covered in snow and the intense wind had blown drifts in some places and bare ground in others. The Rancher had thought he would be safe to drive through some snow but realized too late that he had just sunk the truck into a well disguised drift. He gave a good effort to get out to find that he was too stuck to get out alone.

With no one else around to help, The Rancher called me to bring our truck down to see we could get him moving again. I come charging in to save the day, beaming with pride that he would call me to help (pretending that it was do more to my skill than to his desperation). I pulled up to him to get my set of directions- pull around in front so we can yank the truck out. I put the truck in gear and start to go around where I was so sure The Rancher had told me to go. Seconds later I realized that was NOT the way I should have gone and sunk my truck up to its axels in snow.

What a rescue…

I’m sure The Rancher was kind and patient and understanding at my less than helpful efforts. Maybe not, but we can’t help but be sympathetic to his situation of having not one, but two trucks to pull out when we were already running behind…

With true stick-to-it determination, The Rancher managed to first dig his own truck out, and then pull mine out. He has been brave enough to call for help again, but jumps in the drivers seat before things go from bad to worse.

Helping in the Wrong Direction

While I love every opportunity to jump in and help, I realize that there is some amount of time that I am going to need to get caught up to whatever the guys are working on. Sometimes it takes just a second and I’m ready to roll. Then there are those days that I am rolling in the opposite direction.

Literally.

On the hot summer evenings, I think that moving wheel lines is a great way to end the day. We load the kids up, enjoy riding across the field and cooling off in the sprinklers. Its refreshing, even fun! Having my own pipe-moving-experience I have no problem jumping in to help. I consider it one of the perks of marrying me, that The Rancher got a wife willing to do a little irrigation.

On occasion, he just might think otherwise.

After a few irrigating oopses, there are always two things The Rancher is sure to tell me before I head off to move any lines on my own. First which direction the wheel line is moving and second, how many turns I need to go. Even as I’m writing this I’m second guessing how many we should do. To be fair to me, it can be hard to notice which direction you are moving across the field. Sure you may go the same direction year after year and it isn’t that difficult to see what is wet versus dry. But when the alfalfa is tall, the kids are distracting and you are just trying to get the work done, you just start moving and its entirely possible you are rolling in the wrong direction.

Maybe this sort of sub par help is why we have gotten rid of most of our wheel lines for pivots. Hhmmm…

I hate to admit that some of my out on the ranch skills have gotten a little rusty. Don’t get me wrong, I am helpful, more often than not. But in all honesty, I have my days that I just can’t win. Part of my charm has to be helping the rest of the crew look good. I’m sure that if all of my time and energy was dedicated to just the ranch, I would sail along, no problem, day after day. But its not and so I will take the ranch wife flops and laughs along the way. They always say, “laughter is the best medicine.”

Photos by the great Kendra Bird at kendrabirdphotography.com

A Rancher’s Part in Fighting Wildfires

September 23, 2020 by Allison

The Rancher is on our local fire department and a casualty of his love for fire is that I too have learned a lot about fire. This time of year we talk A LOT about fires, where the hot spots are, how fast they are moving, destruction they cause, and all sorts of enlightening insights about firefighting that I never knew. There is always one thing that we come to-

Fire is really complicated and really simple.

The complicated part is… obviously… complicated… and not what I want to get into here.

The simple part is this. Fire needs three things- oxygen, fuel, and an ignition. Obviously, there is no way that in a wildfire we could ever contain or control the fire’s access to oxygen. In some ways we can or can TRY to have control over the source of ignition. We can try to be smart about camping with fires, sparks from shooting or exploding targets, controlled burning and fireworks. But sometimes people aren’t smart or despite their best efforts, things get out of control and fires happen. Even if we could put a stop to all fires started intentionally or unintentionally by people, there will still always be a chance of a natural fire starting. In our area, most wildfires are started by lightning.

We are forced to admit that we can’t completely control the ignition source.

Fortunately it’s a different story when it comes to fuel. Fuel in the path of a wildfire, grasses, brush trees, cannot be COMPLETELY taken out of the picture, but it can be significantly reduced. Actually, it’s the best option when it comes to being able to prevent or control a wildfire.

Now begs the question, if we want to try to limit the fuel in the path of the possible wildfire, how would we go about it? Honestly, I think we already know a handful of good and useful practices that have proven themselves in the past that we really need to take hold of. My first answer is grazing. Graze the fuels, grasses and weeds and brush and whatever else we can, to keep them at a manageable size. Cattle, sheep and goats have proven that their grazing rangelands can decrease potential fire fuels and slow the spread of wildfire. Grasses are the fastest and easiest means for a fire to spread.

Grazing the wild lands and ranges is actually a pretty terrific win-win. The cattle have good feed on the range. It’s true, it’s a great win for our ranchers. But the other winners of this deal are practically EVERYONE else. Because reducing fuels, reduces a chance of fire or at least helps keep fires smaller and easier to put out, and doing that keeps our skies clearer, air cleaner, and wild lands safe and beautiful for EVERYONE and ANYONE to use.

Doesn’t that sound like a win-win? And isn’t that a good thing? Even, a GREAT thing?!

Recently I watched a fire on our own rangeland. On a hot, dry August day with dry lightning in the forecast, it was no surprise that a wildfire started. This area of the range was rocky, spotted with cedar trees, and had been pretty well grazed by our cattle.

As I watched the progress of the fire, I was sort of in awe of its power. The fire was terrible and, honestly, incredible to see how it moved. It was just like watching water from a ditch move across the ground. It never was deterred. It never slowed. It never hesitated. Anywhere there was a path for it to go, it went. The areas with taller, thicker grasses were the places that it burned with greater vigor. But in those places that the grasses were grazed, it slowed, giving the firefighters more time to gain control.

My experience isn’t the only one out there that demonstrates the benefits of grazing when it comes to wildfires. Over the last few years, California has been devastated by rangeland fires. In May of 2019 there was a wildfire near Los Angeles that threatened Ronald Regan Presidential Library. As a means to protect the library, they contracted with a local goat rancher to come in and graze down the area to reduce the fuels. The fire came in raging but slowed to a crawl once they came up on the grazed area. In fact, the firefighters said that slowing the fires was key to giving them enough time to get ahead of the fire and save the library.

There is a lot of push back for grazing. A lot of people feel that grazing is disruptive to the course of nature both because farm and ranch animals don’t belong on wild lands and because it is trying to control nature rather than allowing it to takes it own course and should be left alone. True, grazing can seem somewhat invasive. And that can be considered a real bummer. But we have seen that the fallout of wildfires is more destructive than any grazing herd could ever cause, not only to the land but to communities and families near and far. Something even more terrible comes when we don’t take proactive measures like grazing. Mother Nature’s answer to fires is to let it go. Let it go until it either runs out of fuel (which means that it has burned EVERYTHING in its path up) or it has come upon a natural fire break.

This may have been ok hundreds and hundreds of years ago but this isn’t a suitable option anymore. As cities, businesses, and interests have changed and developed our communities, businesses and homes have spread across the country and many are now in the paths of wild fires. Not stopping fires and not preventing them allows too much devastation. A totally hands off approach to taking care of our wild lands may seem like a good option to keeping nature natural, but we have a greater responsibility to provide a safe place for people to live, work, play and raise their families. In fact NOT getting rid of the fuels that we can seems like we are setting ourselves up for disaster. Is it too bold to say that it seems irresponsible or even reckless to let those kinds of things go without being maintained?

Fire is really complicated and really simple. The simple part is that we have means to reduce the devastating effects that come as a result their unrelenting power. Grazing can play a big part in protecting the beautiful country we are all blessed to live in. While there is so much we CAN’T do to prevent fires, there are some things we can do. Let’s do them.

Beef. Its Your Choice

April 4, 2019 by Allison

It won’t surprise you to hear that I love beef. Beef of ALL sorts- I love a good burger, some yummy smoked tri-tip, pulled brisket, a chicken fried steak, a thick juicy sirloin steak, or a beef fajita. I don’t love beef just because it tastes so good or because we raise our own, but also because it is good for you. Really, really good for you.

Does THAT surprise you?

There are so many different voices telling consumers that beef is bad. Red meat is bad. Meat in general is bad. But I don’t think so. If it was I wouldn’t be eating it and certainly wouldn’t be feeding it to my family.

For a minute I am going to get all nerdy on you (I’ll admit it… gulp… I’m a nerd). Lets quick chat about all the good that is in beef. Beef is seriously loaded with all sorts of goodness. It is a significant source of 10 essential vitamins and minerals (protein, zinc, selenium, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and choline). In one serving of beef (3 oz) you get at least 10% of what you need daily of these 10 essential vitamins and minerals in less than 10% of your daily recommended calories. I could go into more detail (and will if anyone is interested) of how and why your body needs these nutrients.

Now, if you wanted, you could say, “Hey, The Rancher’s Wife, I can get all of that from other sources of protein.” Yes. You can. And its totally fine if that is the way you want to go. But you should know that in one serving of beef you get more and more complete nutrients in half the calories as you would in other plant based sources of protein. So in essence, you get more bang for your buck.

Beef is also a good source of the healthy fats that we need in our diet being considered one of the best sources of monounsaturated fats. That’s the same kind of healthy fats that we get out of avocados and olive oil!

Yes, beef is healthy!

All beef.

Grass fed (which most cattle spend the majority of their life on grass), grain finished, organic, and natura are all types of beef that WILL have these all nutrients. The beef from all the different ways the cattle are raised WILL be a benefit to your diet. Whether the cattle have been finished in a feed yard, given antibiotics when it was sick, or raised on a meadow and never doctored, IT IS ALL GOOD.

And leads me to my final thought…

It’s all your choice. To eat beef or to not eat beef. To have grass or grain finished beef. To have organic, all-natural, dry-aged, home grown, or whatever other options are out there! It’s all up to you. I’m not here to say that you HAVE to eat beef or that it will miraculously change your life (Ok… the yumminess may change your life, especially if The Rancher cooks it up for you!). What I’m here for is to give you the information you need to make a good choice for your family, to tell you that it is a great, healthy option for you and your family and for you to know that my family is here doing our best to give you a product you can be proud to serve your family.

The Rancher’s Rules of Feeding

March 18, 2019 by Allison

Over the years of getting out and feeding cows in the winter, I have come to learn that The Rancher has some particular ways of feeding hay. Usually this guy is super easy going and just flows with what is happening around him, but once in a while there things that HAVE to be done a certain way- his way. I will admit, his “Rules of Feeding” are good. It doesn’t take long to see the common sense in his thinking (which has to be one of his strongest traits/skills…) and that following his rules will make feeding go a little smoother and faster.

Here are the rules…

The first rule The Rancher follows is actually well before feeding time, during the haying season. You see, making a bale just right is all the difference in having it roll out nice and easy or it falling apart in one clump or not coming apart at all. When you have several bales of hay to roll out each day, those extra minutes it takes to get the bale to unroll can sure add up. The best way to ensure this is to make sure that the hay is baled at just the right time, with just the right amount of moisture.

Rules two (and a half… or we could say three… Ya, they are good enough to be their own rules.) The Rancher tries to keep a stack of hay close to the different fields we feed in. Rather than making one stack of hay in the summer while we are putting up hay, he will haul the hay straight to the winter feed yards to make it ready to go. Of course it is hard to estimate exactly how many bales we will need each year and most of the time we will have to haul more hay down. So to keep from having too many extra trips, The Rancher has another simple feeding rule he lives by. He loads up with bales every morning he goes to feed. And not just one extra, but all the extras he can carry. If the feed truck is going down, so is a bunch of hay. Why not? It saves work down the road, for sure!

Next, when day one comes to start putting the feed down, don’t start right inside the gate. The Rancher grumbles every day he has a rough drive over bumpy, hard, and frozen cow pies. To avoid this he starts feeding the cows as far away from the gate as possible and then works his way to the gate, day by day. Yes, there will be some poop scattered all around the field, but the majority of it will be where the feed is because that is where the cows are spending all their time eating. And pooping. And hopefully, not where he is going to be driving.

See… they make sense. So simple, yet so brilliant.

This next rule The Rancher follows I think is pretty clever and pretty darn observant. On our net wrap, there is a little yellow strip that goes down only one side of the bale. If he picks up the bale with the strip on the left, the bale unrolls just right. Every. Time. mostly… Ya know, like toilet paper.

If you pick up the bale with the strip on the right, you have to roll out the bale driving backwards. The Rancher handles it just fine, but the combination of driving backwards and feeding hay all at the same time just doesn’t work out too good for some of the rest of us. If The Rancher can manage it, he will even stack and line up the bales with that yellow strip all on the same side. So organized. So efficient. So beautiful.

The Rancher has a handful of other tips more than rules when it comes to feeding. Tips like how you should always have a sharp knife ready to go and to first bust off the snow and ice off the bale as best you can. Of course the best tip he lives by is to always bring a buddy along to open the gates and cut off the net wrap so you can stay in the nice warm feed truck!

Try out The Rancher’s “Rules of Feeding”. I would bet they will help you out too! What are your rules of feeding?

The Cattle Raised the Family While the Family Raised the Cattle

February 20, 2019 by Allison

Every once in a while I have the chance to do a little freelance writing. While I love these opportunities, I always get a little nervous because I’m writing for someone else… and what if what I write isn’t good?! Lucky for me, my subject this time was my own family- the Eliason’s. The February issue of the Line Rider, the magazine put out by the Idaho Cattle Association, was their Cow-Calf feature and they wanted our operation to be their cover story.

Situated in the Curlew Grasslands of southeastern Idaho sits the Eliason Livestock ranch, a ranch that through the generations has developed a high quality operation of land and cattle. Over the years, each generation has worked to not only maintain what has come before them, but to make their own improvements to the business. Through the work that they have done, the hardships they have encountered, and the advancements they have achieved, they have found success. And while the success on the ranch has been their ultimate goal, the success in their families- raising up the next generation- has been their greatest accomplishment. Fortunately, these successes came hand in hand- while the family raised the cattle, the cattle helped raise the family.

The Eliason ranch found its start in the early 1890s when August Eliason found an opportunity to make his own start. After leaving his home at 14, August found work with the Bar M Ranch, eventually becoming a herd foreman, running thousands of cattle along the railroad through Northern Utah and Southern Idaho. Poor grazing practices and a devastating winter compelled the owner, a railroad baron, to abandon what little cattle had survived. August and others that had worked for the Bar M Ranch were able to lay claim to the abandoned cattle and use them to make a start of their own. August new the land well after working over it for so many years and developed a similar operation of trailing the cows north during the spring and summer months to Holbrook, Idaho and back to Locomotive Springs in Utah for the winter. Within a short time August was able to homestead a few acres in Stone, Idaho and establish a headquarters for his ranch.

It was a lot of work, but August’s cattle operation began to prosper. His success can be contributed to several factors. First, the land, if managed well, provided a hearty and healthy place to raise cattle. The summers in Idaho had good feed and fair weather and the winters in Utah were more mild and ideal for calving. Second, running his cattle on the open range meant that they grazed with cattle of other ranches. This enabled the ranchers to pool their resources, time and energy to collectively care for their cattle. Third, August had a drive and a desire to be successful. It pushed him to work hard, long hours, to adapt and find new ways to go about the work, and to instill a passion for the work in his sons.

At 45 years old August fell ill and passed away leaving the operation to his sons, Chester and Bert. Although they were quite young, the boys were able to keep the ranch operating and running smoothly, evidence of August’s success as both a rancher and father. Over time the brothers acquired their own homestead land to add to the ranch, built their own homes and began their own families. They had worked hard to build up the ranch from what their father had left them, thriving with their herd of Hereford cattle and small herd of wild horses.

Chester and Bert faced their own challenges and hardships as cattlemen. 1929 was a particularly hard year. That winter a blizzard blew through Locomotive that caused the herd to wander more than 50 miles around the west side of the Great Salt Lake. Eventually the men found the cattle and began the long and cold trek back to Locomotive. Several of the cows were too weak to make the journey as a result Bert arranged a railroad car to take them back. It was that same year that they struggled to sell their cattle due to the Great Depression. In an attempt to keep things afloat, the Eliason brothers participated in the Agriculture Adjustment Act, the government’s effort to subsidize the cattle market. Chester and Bert sold 40 cows at $14 a head that were simply killed to reduce the surplus.

Shortly after the Great Depression, Chester chose to take his part of the operation and expand north into Holbrook, Idaho. For years he had his eye on a particular piece of ground, the Rockhouse Ranch, and finally had the opportunity to buy it for himself. His uncle, Dave Dille, owned the ranch and had first offered Bert the chance to buy the cattle and land. With Bert declining the offer, it was Chester’s for the taking. He jumped at the chance and moved his family the 14 miles north in a horse drawn wagon and went to work. The ranch came with a few modest buildings, fences, cows, hay lands and was the new beginning Chester had dreamed of. The combination of his new land, the original homestead, and his share of the range permits provided a solid foundation for the beginning his own small cattle enterprise.

Chester got to work improving the ranch and making it his own. He began by salvaging the better existing buildings, getting together a team of horses and ditcher to clean out the ditch that had only previously been cleaned by a hand shovel, employing the help of his neighbors to build a new barn, and trading a saddle horse for their first tractor. Often he would hire men to help with the work, especially during the summer to help put up hay, but his most reliable hands were his two sons that learned to work by his side.

While Chester made significant changes and improvements to what his father had begun, he stayed true to so many things that were at the core of the father’s success in ranching. He continued to run cattle on the range with the neighboring ranches. They found a collective strength in working and running cattle together. It provided the means, resources, energy, support and man power to get the work done, but it also allowed them the autonomy to run their own operations how they wanted. Not only did he continue to run his operation in a similar manner as his father, but he did so with those same values of hard work, honesty, responsibility, and drive that were fundamental at keeping the ranch not only running, but successful. And again, these traditions and values were something that Chester instilled in his children.

For years, Chester worked with his sons, Ray and Don, but eventually it was Don that took over the operation. With the innovations of the times, there were several areas that Don could make improvements at the ranch. For quite a while they had been moving cattle from Locomotive to Black Pine in two 2-ton trucks. While this was faster than the 10 day cattle drive they had done for years, it was still slow and hard. In 1982 Don took the plunge to buy a semi and cattle trailer to haul the cattle (ironically buying the trailer before the truck- literally the cart before the horse!). Not long after that, he purchased their first round bailer which transformed their haying operation after putting up loose hay for nearly 100 years.

Don improved their irrigation system by moving from flood irrigating to hand lines and then again upgrading to wheel lines. New buildings and sheds were erected to better maintain and care for the equipment. He slowly grew the herd by keeping more cows each year, and grew it to a sizeable number only rarely supplementing by purchasing cows. In that time he also moved from a Hereford operation to Black Angus.

Eventually both of Don’s sons, Ken and Ron, returned to the ranch after finishing college. They worked as partners for years, each bringing new ways to maintain and improve the ranch. In some of his college courses, Ken had learned how to preg check cows and was one of the first in the area to begin using that practice for better herd management. He admitted that in the beginning he was inexperienced but over time he became more proficient and his talent became quite an asset for the ranch. No longer were they keeping and feeding open cows that were not profitable or having calves born late into the fall every year. Preg checking allowed them to have a clearer picture of their herd- what cows were profitable, what needed to be culled as well as more easily manage each year’s calf crop.

As they were fine tuning their herd management, they were also improving their herd genetics. The cattle already had strong genetics to thrive on the rough range. Ron focused on finding genetics that would produce larger calves through AI-ing and the new herd bulls purchased every year.

As opportunities arose, the men would purchase or lease land that would allow them to expand their operation. They purchased more land locally that provided the space and hay land to manage a growing herd. Eventually the hay acreage was sold to facilitate buying more land in Locomotive, which continued to be an ideal place to have the cattle during the calving season. For a few years they leased acreage on the Gamble/Wine Cup Ranch in Nevada where they ran several hundred cows year round. Having some of the cattle in Nevada worked well because of the good feed and its low maintenance but eventually the distance became too much and the cows came home.

It has been important to the Eliason’s that as they tried to improve where they could, to continue using those practices that had proved successful over the years. To this end, the men continued to run cattle in Locomotive and in the association with several other ranchers formed so many years ago. The benefits that August and Chester had found still serve the current cattlemen well. There is also some amount of pride in continuing the heritage of calving, riding, roping, branding and weaning out on the open range like the cowboys did so long ago.

Eventually Ron and his family chose to leave the ranch to chase their own adventures. Don and Ken continued to work side by side but with Don ageing, the business of the ranch was turned to Ken. Through the ups and downs of ranching, Ken has continued to see the progress and growth of the ranch. He recalls how they used to keep and feed their weaned calves through the winter to sell in the spring. But now, they are able to sell heavier calves months earlier, a success he attributes to their continual striving to make the operation better. A clear example of just how notable their cattle operation has become is in the ICA Annual Grass Futurity Contest. The Eliason’s have entered a calf each year for the last three years and have been one of the top three finishers for two of those years. In 2018 their calf not only won the contest, but was the heavy gainer two of the four months.

In looking to the future Ken has some very clear goals. First, he wants to pass on the ranch to his sons as had been done for so many generations. There is a legacy and heritage found in the family ranch that he is honored to pass on to his sons. His second goal is simply to keep and maintain what they have. Ken’s final goal is to carefully manage the growth and financial affairs of the ranch. Over so many years and generations they have developed an impressive operation and while he wants to expand, he isn’t willing to risk losing what they already have.

Ken is proud of their family’s ranch. Proud of the work that was done before him, proud of what he has been able to do, and proud of the future the ranch will have in his own children. He and his wife Kristy have raised their five sons, Brayden, Clayton, Nathan, Quinn, and Eric, on the ranch and they largely attribute their living and working on the ranch to shaping them into the men they are today. They learned well the lessons of hard work, responsibility and accountability. They learned how to run cattle, work with horses, use and maintain equipment, and harvest what they sow. Ken talks about how great it was having their boys to work with him as they were growing up. “They loved the work and always wanted to be involved in whatever we were doing. The hardest thing was always finding enough horses or saddles or whatever to go around for them all!”

Their life on the ranch set the stage for each of their futures. As they attended college they all studied ranch and ag related degrees. Their passion for the industry and their individual talents has made for some great opportunities for the ranch and in their own lives. The boys all admit that they would all love a chance to come back to live and work on the ranch but understand that that is unlikely. For now they take whatever time they can to come and help and still be part of what is happening on the ranch.

Currently, two of the sons, Brayden and Nathan, have returned to the ranch with their families. With their return they have brought with them new ideas and dreams for the ranch- pivots to replace the wheel lines, a drone and cameras to more easily watch and check the herd, more advanced haying equipment, and better herd health and nutrition.

The ranch isn’t the only place that has benefitted from the hard working family. The Eliasons feel strongly in being involved and serving in their community. Throughout the generations, they have been involved in their local volunteer ambulance, fire department, search and rescue, fair board, church, and community rodeo. Several of the Eliasons have even served on the ICA Board of Directors. When it comes to service, Brayden says, “If not me then who, and if not now, when?”

The Eliason ranch has changed in so many ways over so many years, but so many things have stayed the same. Each day is filled with the men doing their best to improve upon the day before while holding close the heritage and values that the ranch had been founded on. Ken says, “We have raised a lot of cattle through the years, but our best crop has always been our kids.” It is evident that through the legacy of hard work not only has a successful cattle operation flourished, but more impressive are the successful generations of a hard working ranch family. The family raised the cattle, but the cattle also raised the family.

Weekend Adventures in Locomotive Part II

March 28, 2018 by Allison

**If you missed out on Part I of our adventures, find them {HERE}**

While we were out to Locomotive to work, we were also there to get a little vacay in. That meant sleeping in and a good long breakfast. Doesn’t camping call for a hot breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon? Once the dishes were cleaned up and we had donned our work clothes, we all packed into the gator and took off to check the cows.

We run the cattle in a few different herds on our personal rangeland in Locomotive. One herd is what will graze on the Forest Service ground during the summer and then other will join the BLM association cattle in May. The last herd we watch on the range is our first-calf heifers that have calved at home and have been taken to the range as their calves have gotten older.

Checking the cattle is pretty straightforward. We check the calves to make sure that they look healthy and that they are thriving. We watch to make sure that they get up and moving, that they nurse well, that they aren’t sick with scours, drooping ears, coughing or anything else that looks out of the ordinary. We keep an eye on the mommas too, to make sure that they are healthy to take care of their babies. Obviously, we make sure that if they are calving, that there aren’t any complications like the wrong foot or a nose coming first or that they haven’t prolapsed or retained their placenta. The last important thing we pay attention to is to make sure that the cow’s udder is in good condition. If the udder is engorged and her teets are big, her calf will have a hard time getting their mouth on and being able to suck. If the calf can’t suck, then they won’t get the nutrition they need and they will get sick. As we drive around we try to get a look at every calf and cow.

Friday was a big day of driving through the herd. We gave everyone a once over and then tagged a few of the newer ones. Overall, everything looked great! Along the way, we did see a few things that peaked our interest.

Just as we finished going through the BLM herd, we noticed a cow off on her own. We buzzed over to her and saw that she did have a little baby there with her. The Rancher jumped off the gator and caught the new baby to put in a tag and castrate it. Everything looked good, but then he noticed the calf had just one ear! We could see that he had been born with both ears, but somehow he had lost it. It hadn’t been cold enough for him to have lost it to frostbite so the only other likely cause was that something had chewed it off. After The Rancher tagged him, he jumped up and took off after his momma, showing that he really was doing fine. He will just have to go by One-Eared-Tom (compliments of our kids) the rest of his life…

Before we moved on to the next herd, we had a little work to do, like… to gather up the back hoe and trailer that had been abandoned by the road after our late-night-stuck-in-the-mud-saga. Along the way, The Rancher stopped at a water trough and moved dirt around and in the trough to fix the leaks. It only took a few minutes, but those minutes were nice to be in the warm back hoe.

After making it back to the corrals we decided to take a lunch break. A girl can only handle frozen toes for so long and hungry babies never make good passengers.

With thawed out extremities and full bellies, we loaded back into the gator and took off to the next herd. We bounced around the range, seeing nothing but good. The calves were running and bucking while the mommas were busy filling their bellies and keeping their noses to the ground. Of course, when everything always seems to be looking good, there is always something that has to put a kink in things.

What we found was a momma with a big, BIG udder and teeny, tiny calf. That combination means that we needed to step in and make it so that this baby could nurse. We started the pair headed towards the corrals and slowly but surely made our way. I have to tell ya, watching this momma with her big bag swaying from side to side and getting rubbed raw… oh it just made me hurt…

On our way to the corrals, we had to go through a gate and as always, I was the lucky gate girl (hazards of riding shotgun). After opening the gate, I took a step back to help her head out through the gate, except she didn’t appreciate that. I lose no pride in admitting that this old girl had me on the fence when I took one step to push her through.

Getting her to the corral was only the beginning of the battle with this bad-word cow. How do you set up an alley and chute and herd a cow into the alley and chute when she won’t let you step foot into the pen she is in? I’m not gonna lie, the corral itself didn’t give me a lot of confidence of safety because I’m pretty sure it’s as old as the dinosaurs and could come crashing down the first hit of an angry momma cow (ok, not really, but they are old and shaky and I didn’t trust ‘em!). The Rancher and I played a fun game of distract-the-angry-cow-while-the-other-one-risks-their-life-to-get-everything-else-ready. After everything was good to go, we had the next hurdle of actually getting the cow into the chute.

I don’t know that I have seen a cow with such a stubborn streak and rubber sides. We poked and prodded and coaxed and anything else we could think of to get that cow to step into the chute. We could get her almost there and maybe even a step in, but then she would hunker down and quit on us. And then she would change tactics on us and blow right through the chute and we would have to start all over again.

And again.

There may have come a point that we were the perfect demonstration on the definition of insanity- trying the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.

The Rancher deemed this old cow nylon deficient and rounded up a few ropes to try plan B. While it would have been much easier to milk out the cow and help the calf nurse in standing in the chute, we were perfectly fine roping that cow and tying her down to get the job done. We got a rope on her neck and a rope on a hind leg, tied them to the fence and just like that we were in business, milking business to be specific.

In these moments I try to channel all of my granddaughter-of-a-dairyman talent and hope that my little hands can hold out long enough to get some milking done. This had to be one of the more challenging milk out sessions we have had because she was so engorged and that it was hard to gain any momentum to our milking. Good heck, where was a lactation consultant when we needed one?!

Eventually we milked her out enough that the calf could suck without help. We collected a lot of the milk and put into the bottle to give to the calf so that we knew she had full tummy before we let them go. Whether or not this would be a permanent help or not, time could only tell.

Our time out on the range is never dull! From the baby to this momma, there is always something happening that brings a smile to our faces and keeps us coming back. There are challenges and setbacks but most often there is progress and satisfaction.

Stay tuned for Part III of our weekend adventures in Locomotive!