bunch of questions concerning livestock and ranching

[leanin' H]

You'd have your work cut out for you trying to write about a ranching family using only your background and experiences. My suggestion is to find ranching families and learn about their heritage and ancestors. I've found that true life is much more thrilling and interesting that fiction. Many of the folks on this site have amazing stories and experiences they might share. Good luck with your project regardless of which direction you go!

[Big Swede]

The first thing that came to mind when you said the novel would be about a family that had owned the place for generations was that it needed to be way bigger than 2900 acres. That's about how big the place would have been a generation ago, but in my experience a ranch usually doubles in size every generation. Around here the population and number of operations in the 1930's was booming. The drought and depression cut that number in half or so. By the 1980's that number was probably cut in half again. Each time the remaining operations bought more land and got bigger. Just a general statement but you get the idea.

Just recently my Dad who is 84 was taking a drive with me and he was telling me about where all the neighbors used to live. I knew about most of them from the old foundations out in the pastures but he mentioned a few that I hadn't even known about.

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Big Swedes comments on previous neighbors got me to wondering. Did those folks come out, from the east or where ever, thinking "ok...this is enough land to make a living on" when in reality it wasn't? So therefore, after years of trying to make it work, they sold out, which in turn was bought by other neighbors.....making their spreads larger and more apt to support a family? So on and so forth?

[Big Swede]

I think that the 160 acres that the homesteader received for proving his claim was barely enough eek out a living back in the day. My Dad said the only reason his family made it through the depression is because my Grandmother had a job teaching school. And even though she had a job, the county was broke so instead of a paycheck she got a promise of payment when the county could afford it again. The drought meant no crop to sell and most who left forfeited their land because they couldn't afford to pay their taxes. This isn't the greatest crop land to begin with so when the rains didn't come it got really tough. I wonder what this area would look like today if the dirty 30's never happened. Would we still have the consolidation of operations anyway? Would it just have been a more gradual process? I've got more questions than answers too jersey lilly.

[gcreekrch]

When I moved to this area and got married in 1980 there were 26 different operations from 20 to 400 cows. There are now 14 on the same land, 4 of them with 40 cows, 2 with 150 and the rest between 250 and 700. The herds at 150 and below have outside jobs to support them.

[Big Swede]

I guess my assumption of losing half the operations per generation holds true up in your area too gcreekrch. Wonder if the trend will continue. More than likely, unfortunately. What's going to happen to the schools we have left, more consolidation I assume.

[oldblood]

messed up

[oldblood]

KevinL I was born and raised on a farm/ranch, been on 1 my hole life except college, last year I went to the east coast and hated every last second of it not for me, I could never write a book about city life that city people would buy it's not me, if you know nothing about ranch life how can you write about it and make it real, If what you know about ranch life is from a movie I hope it's not Brokeback Mountion,o I gotta go to the salon for some shots, go brake up a mining camp, beat a sheepherder, go teepee creeppen, ride 10 miles of fence, plow the back 40, slop the hogs, punch some doggies, and get home to unhook mama's team before dark cause we ain got no lights, and the lantern done run out of feul. seeyaall

[oldblood]

Kevinl if you are going to write a book write about what you know and love, if you would love to ranch I will be calving around Jan 15 on a hill that you can see for 40 miles to the northwest, might want to bring a coat.

[movin' on]

[Clarencen]

Kevin:

Don't let us guys on Ranchers net discourage you. I would agree it would be good if you would live and work on a ranch to get the feel of things. Ranch operation in it self is not all that interesting, it is the out of ordinary things that happen on a ranch, and how the people respond to them. To get the real stories behind a ranch that has been in the family for years you should get stories from the fellows who have been in or are who are in ranching today.

Old timers can give you a lot of stories, but I would want to hear stories from those who are just starting up today too. Yes, true stories are more interesting then fiction, but this will be your story. When you get enough information and stories together, use your perspective of them to write your story. You might see something in them that the story teller doesn't. Your story might be fiction, but rely mostly on facts to make it seem real.

[KevinL]

Thank you for your comments.

For a few days I dropped the whole idea, cause you people really had a point there: I don't know anything about ranching.

I was sort of discouraged, and then I found out why. There is no way I'm gonna write this novel out of my city-living-point of view... but my thoughts kept coming back to ranching. And I kept forcing them away from it. Then I wondered why.
So, I won't write a novel. But I will write some sort of silly little story just for myself the way I imagine things on a ranch. And every rancher would laugh, so I'll make sure nobody will ever read that story. (haha)

It will not keep me from learning about ranching though. I will do my best and I will spend time on ranches in order to improve my knowledge.
This last part is tough, as I'm living in a totally different part of the world and am interested - of all places! - in north american ranching. But I'll get there. Someday.