Ask almost any rancher how their summer is going, and all they’ll have time to say is, “Busy.” Moving cows up the mountain, baling hay, packing salt, building fence…the list literally never ends.

Except in the case of my family. I don’t know how we ever got so lucky, but summer is our “slow” season. I say that with some sarcasm, because ranch life is never slow; but it seems to be the time when we have the least to do. Our cows spend their summer out on the desert, and hardly ever have to be moved from one allotment to the next. Although we do raise our own alfalfa and silage corn, we hire local farmers to work, plant and harvest our corn, along with cutting and baling our hay. All we really have to worry about is irrigating everything, and making sure our cows have water, which takes up a good portion of the day.

Since we do have a little bit of free time on our hands, we usually spend time getting a variety of projects done while we can. My father calls this “beautification,” aka, making things look almost-new again. My parents have always taken pride in what they have, and this ranch is no different. We’re constantly spraying weeds, washing buildings, blading the road, raking, or mowing. I know that if ranch life ever fails me, I could easily make it as a landscaper 🙂

Back in June, we gave our ranch a brand new coat of barn red paint. This project is dreaded by all, as it ends up taking 5 full days. But the end result is completely worth it, and we always get compliments on how nice things look.

About a month ago, the guys put in two new water tanks, which we badly needed. One started leaking last winter, but we knew we couldn’t replace it until the weather warmed up, to avoid freezing. Luckily we were able to make a temporary fix that lasted until now!

Stay tuned in the next week or so, because I’ve got an amazing recipe coming! My Mother-in-Law taught me how to make her famous taco salad—it’s too good not to share!

~ Jessie

Jessie has returned to her roots on her family’s commercial black angus cattle ranch in southern Idaho after time away at college and working on behalf of the state’s cattle producers. She’s passionate about agriculture and the western way of life. When she isn’t doing ranch work or writing, Jessie enjoys baking, golfing and drinking coffee. As a newlywed, she’s also turning a little cabin on the ranch into a home.

September and cooler weather brings changes to our ranch (and many ranches in Idaho). It is the time of the year that we go out to our public Lands grazing range and bring our calves, who were born in February, home to wean from their moms. Our cows and calves spend the summer months out on the range grazing. They are healthy and physically fit as they wander the mountains all summer.

The mornings start early, saddling horses after a warm cup of coffee. We have friends, hired help and range partners that come to ride for the three days it takes to bring our cows and calves to corrals where they can be sorted. Mornings are chilly, but we were fortunate to have days of sunshine.

The riders split up and ride to different areas to bring the cows down off the mountain into our temporary corrals. Riders come back to cow camp for lunch then head out again and ride until late in the day.

On the final day, we gather all the cows and calves in pasture near cow camp, while trucks arrive and the sorting begins.

Cows are sent back to the range and calves are sent home to grass or to feedlots.
The calves are sorted by steers (male) and heifers (female). We also have cows/calves from other ranchers, so cattle or sorted out by brand to go to each owner’s ranch.

Our cows get a break from nursing as they are already pregnant with next year’s calf. Our cows will come home and usually find their own way back to the ranch as the day’s are shorter and colder. Once they are home, we will bring them in and do pregnancy checks on them to verify that they are pregnant.

We source verify and are verified natural producers so our calves get EID (electronic identification tags. They are also vaccinated on arrival to the ranch. They are turned out to pasture before they are sold in the fall. We were blessed this year with late summer rain and lots of grass for the cows to eat on the range.

While the cows are at range, there is continued activity at the ranch during summer months. We grow our own feed, alfalfa and oats for the winter months. This year the late summer rains blessed us with lots of grass on the range for the cows to eat, but delayed our cuttiing and baling of hay. It is important to get hay up so that we have regrowth in the fall when the cows and calves do come home.

Weaning time is always excited for Idaho ranchers as we get to see how the calves have grown and how the cows are doing as mommas. We’re always looking at what we can do to change and improve our cattle herds and the beef we produce for our tables and yours.

~ Lyndella

Lyndella and her husband, Stephen, own and operate Challis Creek Cattle. They are first generations ranchers, who began their dream of owning cattle more than 20 years ago after working in other industries. They run their cow-calf operation on both public and private lands, and are committed to improving the land and the animals in their care.

Hi! My name is Sadie. I’m 9 years old and I’m excited to be old
enough this year to be in 4-H and take a steer to the county fair.

My steer’s name is Charlie and he is very gentle. His breed is Hereford Angus Limousin. I wanted to show a steer because I like cows and a lot of my family does it so I wanted to try it too.

I got Charlie from my Grandpa’s ranch in Oakley. I picked him out in December and then he came to our place in March. For the first few months, I just took care of him by feeding him grain and hay.

At the first of July, we started wetting him down and brushing his hair every night. Once a week, we gave him a full body wash. I also started walking him around and setting him up with a show stick. Then we started blowing his hair in August. I also have a spare steer named Buddy, but I’m not going to take him to the fair.

Our county fair starts this week. On Monday, we cleaned out our beef barn at the fairgrounds, spread out sawdust for the steers to lay on, and put decorations up.

I also have a cooking project that my mom teaches. I made Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were delicious. I can’t wait to see what ribbon I get!

I’m excited and a little nervous about this week. I’m going to write a little each day about my experiences. I hope you like reading about my week at the fair!

We’re excited to share posts this week from a little guest blogger. Please check back daily to read more about Sadie’s adventures at her first county fair. So many life lessons occur when children have the responsibility of taking care of an animal. And talk about the family memories

With less than 30 short days until I say “I do,” I can’t help but think about what the future holds. Unlike what seems to be the bulk of my generation, I believe that marriage is a union worth taking seriously. These days it seems as though couples I know get divorced on a monthly basis. And every so often I find myself wondering if we know what a big journey we’re about to embark on.

So how does ranching relate to the life of a pair of newlyweds? The fact is—ranching has everything to do with it. The relationship between an ag couple is far different than any other marriage out there. You wake up together, you eat breakfast together, you work together, you raise a family together, and at night you fall asleep together—just to wake up the very next morning and do it all over again. His hardships are yours, and yours are his. One year, you may make more money than ever before, and the next two years you’ll be lucky to break even. Neither of you know what’s to come, but something deep down inside keeps telling you that no matter what happens, it will all work out. Of course there are things worth looking forward to. You sweat together, you laugh together, you raise your family in a place you have strong ties to, and if you’re lucky, he’ll spin you around the dirt floor in the barn at 2 a.m. while you’re waiting on a heifer to calve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ranching is a scary business. Yet, the occurrences a couple faces—the good and the bad—are what help to strengthen the bond they have. I don’t know a thing about marriage statistics for those in the ag industry; but nonetheless, I’d put down $100 to win that divorce rates are less prevalent among couples who work in agriculture, than among the general population. We’re lucky that we’ve been taught how to live and how to love by some of the greatest relationships out there. This ranch has almost 70 years worth of marriage in its blood, and that’s one of the primary reasons its been able to withstand tough times.

 

Neither of us has ever started something just to throw it away, and this union is no different. We both know our chosen way of life will test us more than anything else, and that’s fine by us. There is nobody in this world I would ever be willing to take on such a life with, and something makes me think that he must feel the same.

Those 70 years of marriage that I mentioned earlier? Well, I’ve got a feeling that the Jarvis’ will be adding another 70+ to it.

~J

When I married my husband, I knew I’d never live in town or drive a beetle car. I’d need four-wheel drive and it’d be easier to see across my field than into my neighbor’s window. I knew there would be dirty boots by the door. On our honeymoon, we bought a sign that reads, “Please remove your spurs before getting into bed.” We anticipated cattle and hard work, but we pictured it with the bliss and naivety with which every newlywed couple enters into marriage.

Enter reality. No matter what time of year it is, there is always a potential for hay slivers in the sheets. I learned how to cook on a budget. I made a lot from scratch. Actually, it’s been sixteen years and I’m still doing that.

The reality is that we all have dreams and ideas of what life will look like. We imagine how it will transpire and it is beautiful!! Everyone is healthy, the work gets done in record time, and nothing ever breaks down or slips past a fence. Dreams are good for creating a hopeful platform as they propel us to keep going. Yet, I certainly never pictured tractors breaking down, bailing hay through the night to beat a storm, or feeding cows while having the flu.

On the flipside, I also didn’t imagine that ranching would rope me in and dally itself right to my identity. I had been raised in town. Please don’t stop reading. City girls can go country!
I met my husband in college at a country dance that someone coaxed me into attending. I gave him my number and didn’t think I’d hear from him, but I did and we started dating.
He took me riding, moving cows, and showed me everything I never thought I’d know about ranching. He didn’t get embarrassed of my lack of knowledge or ability, but kept encouraging me to try. It wasn’t until later that I realized this was in his favor, as now all my training came from “his” way of doing things.

So I married him and he carried me off to our first little trailer home.
Older than most of the dirt that held it together, it felt like a mansion.

Then something unexpected happened. Instead of me working for years alongside my man to get ready for a place of our own…we had a baby. Ahhh. Yes, it was wonderful. She is wonderful. But it is hard to ride pregnant, especially while still a beginning rider. Then we had another baby and another. Motherhood is the most amazing thing that could ever happen to a person, but also a fair amount of work. We didn’t have family around, so it was up to us to bring these babies everywhere we went. Our oldest daughter spent much of her first birthday in her daddy’s saddle, on his lap, while working cows. (That was a good horse.) I’ve ended up growing up in ranching along with my kids.

True, I never really knew what I was getting into, but I wouldn’t change it. Well, not most days. Guess what? Those dirty boots by the door? They aren’t going anywhere. They are mine.

~Marci

Marci is a city girl gone country. She married her cowboy and never looked back. While life may be different than what she first imagined, it’s also better than expected as well. She and her husband are raising their three kids on the ranch, and she has grown used to all the boots by the door.