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I haven't been culled :shock:

Actually we just don't speak of our size here ... just isn't polite to brag :wink:

Not everything is bigger in Texas :evil:
 
My friends sell a pile of bulls to Douglas Lake every year-that darn Stan is tough to bid against. I'm going to have to sneak aboard one of the delivery trips-it's a very well run outfit for it's size-the Gang ranch has had a pretty interesting history too. The odd guy shows up in this country whose rode for the big brands-most of them you can see why they had to keep riding lol. Next time I get down to Buffalo,Wyoming I'm going to get my buddy to tour me over to the Padlock-he deals some cattle for them-I've got friends ranch beside them pretty nice country.
 
I have producers here where I work that Operate 500,000+ acres scattered throughout the country and own 5000+ head of cattle.

The Mertz' down near Eldorado ranch nearly 250,000 acres in 3 or 4 ranches: The Mertz 05, Mertz 07, and Mertz 09.

Currently there is a 100 section Texas University Lands Lease up for bid in Andrews County, Texas! Should be interesting what that goes for!!

Anyway......I never drool much over a lot of them famous ranches that everyone talks about.....I like the little ranches owned by someone who worked for everything thing on the ranch....and ranches that have passed down through the generations of hard work....the ones who sticks to themselves or their little community and operates their land and run their 300-500 head of cattle. Neighbor helping neighbor....those are the ranches I like to see/visit/work on!
 
I guess the reason I am interested in the large ranches is that a lot of them are big enough to stick to the traditional methods of ranching. You don't hear much about (but probably not that there aren't some) larger ranches having help flock to them to get to ride their 4 wheelers. :roll: :wink: :lol: I can just hear it now, "hey Slim, I hear the Padlock just got a new fleet of Kawaswakiiiiii's and they are hirin'. Let's get over there and get us a job". :shock: 8)

I also agree that the ma and pa operations that have stuck things out through thick and thin are to be admired.
 
For two years I rode the Pickett Creek allotment that is back of the Pitchfork Ranch in Meteetse. One of my brother in laws worked for about ten years on the 91 ranch that was part of the original Pitchfork.
This place that I lease now used to be part of the Varney Farrell Horse ranch that was running over ten thousand horses until the market dropped out in 1892. In 1897 they lost it to the bank that was owned by the Ellings who in turn lost it in the thirtys during the great depression. It was bought by Jeff Granger from whom my dad leased the place from in 1968.
I now lease from his grandson who would make all of the previous owners roll over in their grave with his environmentalist, tree hugging, bunny stroking ways. :evil:
 
Well Tap, I thought maybe someone better qualified to answer would respond to your question.Since nobody did I'll give you my response. not sure really what you want to know, so here goes.
I started my illustrious career with the big outfits at the Padlock
I was there from from 1984-1988 from1988-2000 I worked for the ZX,MC,Whithorse,Roaring Springs in eastern OR
I worked for some smaller places too,but you seemed interested in the bigger ones.
Don't believe everything you read in magazines about these places,
most is just a bunch of hype. why you ask??? what a cheap way to advertise for help for these ranches,to get guy to "flock" there.
It works!
a ranch might run 10-12,000 mother cows but they don't run them all together. divide and concur is the rule,big ranches and crews are divided into units or divisions, 3-4000 cows/unit seeems to be about the most effective size for the work to be handled efficiently
Then again divide and concur comes into play again.
Floyd Workman,at the Padlock(there's a name heel fly should know)always said if you threw together more than 500 pairs you made you're first mistake of many that you were going to make that day.
The big places are like any other business,try to keep overhead low,
production high,most seem to have a large pool of resources to draw from
and economics of scale come into play.
I think the best part of working for bigger outfits was the segregation of crews,you didn't see mechanics on half broke horses trying to sew up prolapses and you didn't see cowboys trying to mechanic,etc.
It's a great way of life for a young single man,I'm glad I went and did it.
It's a tough way to raise a family,although lots of guys have done so.
But I think their family had to sacrifice for them so they could do what they wanted to do,rather than them sacrificing for their family
I don't know if that even came close to what you wanted to know,
but I tried!
 
Those big outfits like Douglas Lake and Gang are still going. The Frontier Cattle Company which was the biggest is long gone. Heck the leftest government out there turned a lot of it into a park.
If you read the historys of these big outfits its always the same thing. Disaster to the owner. Well it depends on who owns them. Last I heard some sheak from the middle east owns the Gang Ranch and Walmart owns Douglas Lake.
These big outfits are to big for a real cow man to afford to run. You need deep pockets. Even if you did ever scrape the money together to own something that big the business end of running the ranch would be a full time job. You need to know more about business than cows to be successful.
Now CO/OPs like the Waldron in Alberta are a different story and if you ask me a good idea. Its well run and a cow man can afford to buy into them. It also saves the ranch from developement and or turning into a Dude ranch tourist thing.
 
I know of Floyd Workman and also his son, Dave, who is a ranch manager over by Lewistown (I think that is where he is.) Really good
hands, both of them. Floyd might even be legendary...

I think you presented a true picture of what goes on on big outfits.
We have a good friend here that worked for the Padlock and he would
say exactly what you posted. He would totally agree with you. He was Cattle Boss on the Hairpin after that (Jim Leachman's) and then he went
to work for smaller outfits. They didn't pay good and it wasn't what
he decided his family needed...too much sacrifice on their part as you mentioned. So now he does something else and is very successful.
Took him quite awhile to pay off his 'cowboy debts' though.
 
Lonecowboy, I think you probably were pretty accurate in everything you said. I just thought this might be an interesting thread, and you added a lot to it.

I don't have any illusions of grandeur or anything about the big ranches, but I think the historical part of it is as important. I have a interest in the history of the west.

I also think a lot of the hands on the larger ranches are the young guns just learning the game. Did Ian tell the story accurately about the MC horses? They might have weeded out a few hands.

The people on the ranches are as important as the ranch itself. Maybe more so. I would think a good boss would be first of importance. There was a time I might have liked to test myself on some of the ranches you mentioned, but those days passed. It is probably the spririt of youth that drives that, and that might be a good thing even. Paying the bills is first in line these days. The country interests me as much as anything anymore. I like the wide open sagebrush country, and the mountains as well.

Do you have lots of good stories you want to share about any of the ranches you worked on? I have heard of all of them, and they all have a reputation. Where did you like it the best?
 
I stopped in at Leachman's one night after supper-they'd just spent all day moving a big herd of cows with their 'tourists'- I can't repeat what the hands were saying about that experience lol.
 
The big places in my country are migatory shee[ ouyfits that run 10,000 pluse ewes usually in bands od 800-1200 -2000 the smaller on the moutain in the summer and the bigger bands on the desert in the winter.There 4 or 5 that big they winter on the red desert in Sweeywater county lamb on the carter and cumberland country in Linclon County some over on the green river in Subblet. then theyy summer in the Unitas in untia co. or wyoming range in Linclon-subblet or windrivers in subbley.... pluse mose have a cow herd at the home base of 300 to 500 cows....
 
The first ranch that I worked on was right out of high school. It is the Quilchena ranch in the Nicola valley of British Columbia. This ranch is located between The Nicola Ranch and Douglas Lake ranch there are lots of smaller ranches all thorough these valleys. I just love it up there my Grandfather called it gods country . Quichena is a family owned ranch with the original road house still there all the furniture thoughout is about as old I suspect there is even real bullet holes in the bar . I worked there as a dude wrangler and grounds keeper. That was a great summer I must say. It wasn't until 1996 I think can't remember of the top lol that I worked up a Douglas lake as a house keeper for the Woodwards they still owned the ranch at that time. I beleave that Joe Gardner Is still the ranch manager there and my good frien Shelia husband is the farm boss . This ranch is amazing sure wish I wasn't on dial up so I could post pics of this place .They have a full arena and I think three barns for horses. and and and If you ever make it up this way put these places on your list or go to Douglas lake . com they have cabin rentals and every thing fly fishing need a holiday check it out . The Nicola valley says they have a lake a day for your stay LOL Can't tell I love it up there :) :)
 
Modern day big ranches; Nebraska style: The infamous Turner Buffalo and Land Co.; Deseret Land and Livestock.
I've hauled hay off two McGinley ranches after they sold to Turner, both huge and beautiful. Made me wonder what in the he!! I was doing clear out there in a truck.
I think there are still some good sized outfits that have a century or so of history, some with name changes due to son-in laws(which most married men are). But I think around 1000 mother cows will catch the big end now.
Back in the day......
 
This place was first surveyed in 1882 or 86, the surveyor 'Spellman' located the section line as 30 paces West of the residence, and that they were building a new home. Their residence was the West end of a log barn, part of which still is standing in 2006. The two residents were brothers by the name of Ritchey. A man named 'Peter Rickets' author of the book '50 Years in the Saddle', owned the place from about 1900, until he suffered a broken back. He was a first rate cowhand that rode for a living for many years.
He had gone to Omaha, Nebraska to visit the stock yards and stepped backwards off
the board walk backwards, and he never recovered. That happened in the late twenties.
It was then purchased by the Padlock Ranch and they built the part underground shop
which has the brand and 1933 on the cornerstone which is still in use today. It is a double
stone walled building on the exterior. The mortgage holder sold it to a Twiford family,
from whom my grandfather bought it . This ranch consisted of around 70-80 sections
and grandpa sold around ten sections to stock it and buy right of ways. He also used a smaller place called 'Cottonwood' as a down payment to the Twifords. All the while he kept his own ranch on Little Powder River, which was 30 sections. My two brothers got grandfathers place, Uncle got ½ of this place (35 sections) sister got 16 sections of mostly leased land, and I have around 15. No where in all the reading, on old time ranches do I see mentioned their propensity to drink and gamble, where they would bet their small parcels of land with springs or other water rights. Peter Ricketts lost several good sized ranches in that manner.
 
Tap, sorry it took me so long to get back to you,Friday night's lightning took the phone lines out.
You asked about the horses, I never noticed any freebies for man or beast
if work couldn't be gotten out of either they got sent down the road.
They're no worse than horses anywhere else,although it is easier to put up with a non user friendly horse in bigger country. Don't have to get on or off as much and lots of miles to point them at.lots of wet saddle blankets.
A good cowboss is key,he is the link between management and labor.
a good boss attracts a good crew that stays longer, a good crew that stays longer knows the country better,cattle do better,horses get better.
work goes smoother.he(the cow boss) acomplishes this by keeping both management and labor in check and will take either to task if they get out of hand. as a rule he is very good at biting off a work load for the day that can be chewed,and usually goes smoothly.he usually is very adept at
adapting to and over coming circumstances as they change.

What was my favorite place? the next one!!!
they all have good and bad points,enjoy them while your there then move on,see what someplace else has to offer.I can't pick one best one or I would have stayed there,I have left and went back to some of these places several times. some I wouldn't go back to,some probably wouldn't have me back.

You're right the country is the best part,I've had opportunity to see some big wide open remote places lots of people will never see.
lots of these places run on public land and the radical enviromentalists are
taking their toll.if common sense doesn't come into play a lot of these historical ranches will be reduced to just history.
 
Thanks Lonecowboy, looks like you have made the full circle like the guy your handle refers to. He had some good stories about the desert countries in his books. Cowboys North and South comes to mind.

Hope you got some good rain with your lightning storm. We had pretty much dry lightning here that same night. In far NW SD. Capital MT is just across the border, west of us.
 
Prettiest spot must be Cowboy Heaven at the Flying D, at Gateway, MT. Course we know who owns that one now.


Padlock is pretty typical, but if you are more than about age 23, you would be too old to cowboy there. Those kids are pretty young, for the most part.

One nice one I have been at was the Bell Ranch in NM. Not the registered Hereford Bell Ranch, the other one. :wink: Solano area. Old Spanish land grant. Lots of movie stars frequented there in the 30's, 40's.

Now owned by Lane Industries, who own the Holiday Inn catering service co.

Bell Ranch can run about 5,000 pr on 220,000 acres. They also run another place near DC VA. That one can handle about 2,500 pr on 6,000 acres.

In an odd twist, the guy running the place in VA, finished his MS here at Cornell. He was on the King Ranch with his dad for a while, but grew up on the Deseret in FL.

One of those "degrees of seperation" deals.

Was at a neat conference a few years back. 12 ranchers or managers, owned or oversaw right at 112,000 head total. They think a little different than most, to say the least. :wink:

Badlands
 
Haytrucker said:
Modern day big ranches; Nebraska style: The infamous Turner Buffalo and Land Co.; Deseret Land and Livestock.
I've hauled hay off two McGinley ranches after they sold to Turner, both huge and beautiful. Made me wonder what in the he!! I was doing clear out there in a truck.
I think there are still some good sized outfits that have a century or so of history, some with name changes due to son-in laws(which most married men are). But I think around 1000 mother cows will catch the big end now.
Back in the day......
Click to expand...
went to college at UW with a McGinley , he was on the rodeo team.... back late 70s
 

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