New Opportunity Offers Security for Ranchers and Prairie Birds
The Nature Conservancy has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on an innovative and voluntary program that contributes toward the conservation of greater sage-grouse and four declining grassland songbird species on ranching and agricultural lands. The goal of the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) is to maintain and enhance habitats for […]
Personal Waterhole
Who said animals are not smart? This bull was tired of waiting for me to cut the ice in the reservoir waterhole. He created his own drinking spot in a large puddle from the thaw. It is actually thicker than it looks. I have seen these holes before and knew that cows would stand […]
Growing Up Country
Hello & Merry Christmas! My name is Conni French – part of the French family Taylor has talked about – and oddly enough, I am writing this blog about Montana ranching from our daughter’s home in Guam. As we enjoy sandy beaches, warm days, and snorkeling I find myself thinking back to how a […]
From Farm to Prairie
Hi everyone! My name is Marisa Sather and I’m a biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish & Wildlife (PFW) Program. The PFW program is the private lands branch of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and we work with private landowners across the country to implement habitat restoration and enhancement for […]
Just when you think you have seen it all!
Good day from the Barthelmess Ranch. Hi! My name is Leo Barthelmess. I’m going to talk about what a challenging summer the ranch and region had. In my last blog posting I discussed the drought we were in. It is now the end of October and most of the measurable precipitation we received came […]
Animal Health, Food Safety, and Sustainability
On a ranching operation, animal health is integral to sustainability. Although this may seem like stating the obvious, the consequence of mistrusted animal health is debilitation of individual operators or of the industry in a particular region or country, as diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow disease”), bovine tuberculosis, and brucellosis, […]
Low-Stress Cattle Handling at the French Ranch
It is officially the first day of autumn! Since my last entry, areas of the United States have been coping with hurricanes, while in drought-stricken Montana we went from a high of 96oF on Monday, September 11th to 43oF on Thursday, September 14th with snow at higher elevations. In south Phillips County we have received […]
Jim Gerrish Workshop
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance held a Sustainable Ranch Management workshop featuring Jim Gerrish of American Grazing Lands Services on September 19th. It was well attended and packed full of information. The morning was spent in the class room. The afternoon session was held […]
Greetings from the French Ranch
Greetings from the French ranch! My name is Taylor French; I live and work with my husband, Wayne, on the ranch that his grandparents built in south Phillips County. I was raised in Calgary, Canada, with no background in agriculture, and my post-secondary education consisted of anthropology and chemistry, so let me begin with a […]
Walsh Ranch Cattle Moves, Water, & Remnants of the Past
2017 has brought new challenges with the drought. Many ranchers have it much worse than we do. We were fortunate enough last year to receive 30” of rain. The normal is 10-12”. With that said, our grass was in great condition going into the spring and the reservoirs and pits all had abundant water. The […]
