Rain, Snow, Sleet or Hail…Rancher’s Feed without Fail

It seems like all we’ve talked about the past couple of years is the drought and because of that we have experienced some very mild winters.  However, it is shaping up to be much different winter this year.  Just a month or so into what we consider “winter” here in NE Oklahoma, we’ve experienced dramatic temperature swings, episodes of ice and snow and yesterday stared a blustery -6 in the face as we A.I.’ed cows with a wind chill of -20.  Having, said all that, I don’t want it to sound like a complaint for the moisture.  Even the snow we have received has been so dry that you couldn’t even make a good snowball out of it, much less a snowman, which has disappointed young kiddos in the area greatly!

Chopping ice keeps animals with water and from falling through the ice.

But, I think it is important as agriculturalists to really let the public and our consumers, know what it truly means to be a rancher and a caretaker of the land and the four-legged bovines that graze it.  For any of you that have worked an 8 to 5 job in town or for that matter attended public school know that when the weather gets rough, most close unless they are necessary like grocery stores, shopping centers, some government offices, health providers and transportation departments.  And even then, only the necessary employees must report.  If it takes you a little longer to get to work or you need to head out early to beat the refreeze that is typically okay too.  Now, I want to be quick to point out, I don’t want it to sound like I am saying 8 to 5 people shut down, because they don’t.  Many employees take work home with them in anticipation of upcoming weather events. 

But, as much as you may take your work home with you mentally if you’re a rancher, you can’t take it home physically.  You just can’t feed and chop water from the comfort of your living room with a cup of cocoa or coffee.  Just because the weather is bad does not give ranchers a hall pass to stay home.  In fact, it is during those times that we as ranchers work our hardest.  Leading up to the bad weather, when warning is available, we begin by moving cattle to appropriate shelter and putting out extra hay for bedding and for food.  We feed a little heavier, ride pens a little harder trying to stay on top of the health during the inclement weather and once it hits we spend most of our time driving from pasture to pasture and pen to pen making sure the water gets chopped on the ponds, hay is rolled out so that they can bed down appropriately and that they continue to receive the necessary feed to maintain their energy levels.  Extra feed is like a warm bowl of soup to cattle and hay is like putting on a good heavy comforter or quilt on a cold winter’s night when they use it for a layer of bedding between them and the frozen, snow covered ground.

Yesterday was a prime example on how work just does not stop for anything around a ranch.  We set up a group of cows to breed about a month ago for yesterday.  They were all synced to come in heat (or cycle) Monday morning.  Now, it would have been nice to have set at home all weekend and enjoyed the NFL playoffs, but instead knowing what was coming in on Sunday, all our cowboys were out making extra preparations and went ahead and set everything up for the A.I. breed Monday morning on Saturday, leaving nothing to chance.  You see with A.I. breeding, it really makes no difference whether the temperature  is -6 degrees or 110 degrees.  It is a scheduled event and no matter what the elements the show must go on as scheduled.  Now, if you don’t think a few people were vying to be the A.I. tech’s assistant in the breeding box where it is slightly warmer than the outside elements and the wind is blocked off of you, well you would be correct. 

A breeding box controls noise, weather and provides a better environment for  A.I.

Now, it is bitterly cold today and we do have snow on the ground, but this is mild in comparison to the blizzard of 2010, one of the worst in state history in this area.  The news media was pleading with the public to not go out at any cost.  As the snow blew in and the drifts began to build, my husband and I both went to our jobs at the Ranch.  He left myself and our 1 ½ year old son, our daycare was closed as it should have been, at the office to answer the phones and take care of getting things the cowboys needed.  He went out and started around to all the ranch divisions right around Vinita while talking to our two divisions further out in Wann, Okla. and SE Kansas.  At one point the visibility and risk of stranding a cowboy became too great and business was called off for the day, but as soon as the blizzard stopped we each got back out and stared down a daunting list of to dos in very inclement weather.  It was so bad that a piece of heavy equipment staged in town was brought out to get us out of the house so we could return to our daily duties.    As each day passed the roads became more passable and within a few weeks you couldn’t even tell it had been there.  We literally had a 50 degree swing in temperature within three days.

We are not alone in experiencing any of these major winter events or caring for our animals in a similar manner.  We saw Facebook and blog posts from friends and ranchers this weekend all over the Midwest with similar stories, baby calves in back seats of extended and four-door pickups, bathtubs, houses, etc.  Nothing is too unusual to see this time of year and just like you welcome in house guests, we welcome in the four-legged kind.

Hay rolled out for bedding and for grazing purposes.

And yes, owning or running a ranch is a business and cattle are the commodity or the product we produce, however, you can’t shut them down like you can a lumber mill or something else.  And ranchers take this responsibility very personally.   We may not have every hoof on the place named, but many of us have our “favorites” within our herds and we care for these animals just like we do our children to some extent.  And sometimes we fail, just this last fall, we saw a devastating blizzard hit in the Dakota’s earlier than in the past.  Those ranchers through no fault of their own or the weather caster’s for that matter, were simply caught off guard.  This freak event was covered by news media nationwide.  It was devastating to watch our fellow ranchers struggle to get feed to their animals or try to get them out of snow drifts.  Anyone who has raised an animal like that knows the sinking feeling you get when you simply cannot get to them all.  There was a significant loss of cattle during that storm, however, it could have been worse and to add to the blow of that loss was a group of individuals who found fault with the ranchers, not with Mother Nature. 

As you go to the grocery store or as you pull your favorite meal off the grill or out of the oven, think about the coldest, most extreme weather event of recent (for some of you this won’t be hard) and then thank a rancher.  From birth to the point it reaches a consumer's plate, some facet of the beef industry has taken care of that animal for well over 18 to 21 months in wind, snow, sleet and hail.

We would like to personally thank all of our cowboys who work on days like today in freezing temperatures, merciless snow and wind chills, and through the weekend to ensure that our cattle are properly fed and maintained.  We would also like to thank their families for understanding why they go out early and come home late and even many times for their kids and wives that join in on those days and weekends to get the job done.  Ranching is a family affair and it is a way of life.