Saturday, I put in 3 miles of semi-permanent fence, which involves pounding rebar posts into the ground every 30 paces or so, attaching an insulator, and clipping in the electric wire (which my boss, Ranch Manager Brandon Dalton, lets out ahead of me). It was a beautiful day…upper 70’s and not a cloud in the sky. I actually got sunburned pretty badly, thanks to my recent haircut a few days before, which exposed areas around my ears and neck that literally hadn’t seen the light in years!
Sunday, I put up 1.5 miles of temporary fence. This is a slightly easier job, since I can drive these posts by hand, but quite grueling nonetheless. The job took most of the day, but when it was done, we had yet another task to complete. It was time for the 1543 yearling heifers to move to their new pasture, Someday Creek. Because they don’t yet know what’s waiting for them on the other side of the fence, we have to round them up into one big group and drive them, with force. This process is arduous and time-consuming, requiring patience, persistence and finesse. One wrong move, one extra inch of pressure, and the whole herd turns in the wrong direction. Trying to reverse this movement is like paddling upstream. Just out of pure necessity and outright desperation, I’ve learned a great deal about moving large herds during these first two weeks…at least enough to know that it’s more of an art form – a dialogue and a dance with the animals – than a science or knowledge-base.
Monday, I took salt & minerals to the heifers, then put up another ½ mile of temporary fence, in preparation for a small group of 32 pairs (i.e. mama cows & their calves) which arrived later that day. When I got back to the ranch headquarters (the corrals), Brandon and I, along with his wife Brandy and young son Emmitt, got to work outfitting my new living quarters (a 10x16 shed) with shelves, a bed, and a countertop. We didn’t get too far on the short-lived battery in Brandon’s drill, however. That didn’t upset me one bit, though, as it was already late in the day and I was exhausted from the previous days’ toil.
Tuesday, I checked 11 MILES of perimeter barbwire fence! Found a total of 6 spots needing repair (3 of which were pretty major), each the result of the powerful spring snow melt. The repairs were long, tough and painful, but it was very gratifying work! Securing a perimeter is a highly tangible, necessary, no-nonsense goal, and there is no way around it – no ifs, ands, or buts. One must simply get the job done the best way he knows how. I haven’t dealt much with barbwire in the past, so it was nice to have so much time practicing. I learned a lot, and I have the cuts, pricks, and punctures to prove it. Upon returning to camp, I was delighted to see that Brandon and Brandy had already completed construction of several things in my shed. Also a source of delight was a delicious sandwich brought by Brandy!
Wednesday, I checked another few miles of perimeter fence. Fortunately, no major repairs were needed! Then, I continued work on my shed and, later that day, received another 170 or so pairs. That brings the grand total to almost 2000 head! That's one hell of a responsibility...quite intimidating but also very exciting!!
Thursday was supposed to be my day off. However, I woke up to find 2 mama cows out on the county road looking for their calves, who were, ironically enough, on the right side of the fence the whole time. After getting them back with the group (which was no easy task), it was already after 10:00, and my day was ticking away. Before anything else could go wrong, I loaded my bicycle and took off. My destination was Spearfish, the closest good-sized town around, about 40 miles to the south. Although I did need to gather supplies, my main reason for venturing to town on my day off was so that I might fulfill an aching and unforgiving hunger, a hunger for human connection, for community. I went straight to a hip little coffee & bike shop that I had stumbled upon on my first visit to Spearfish. After dropping my bike off for repair and chatting with the mechanic for a few minutes, I immediately struck up a lively conversation with a group of guys hanging out with the coffee shop manager, breaking the ice with some witty comment about the South Dakota mud (i.e. “gumbo”) all over my boots from the morning’s rain showers. Friendly as could be, they started asking me all sorts of questions about who I am, where I’m from, what I’m doing in South Dakota, and the like. Although they were complete strangers, it was nevertheless so refreshing and empowering just to be heard, to be affirmed. Feeling blissful and rejuvenated from my short but fulfilling connection, I ordered a coffee and a shot of espresso and got to work catching up on all my internet tasks.
Friday morning, there were 2 more mama cows out on the county road, as well as 3 calves, none of which belonged to either of the cows. Although perplexed by the situation, I proceeded to work them all back into their pasture. However, because nobody was a matching pair, everybody wanted to go in different directions. Needless to say, this took most of my morning, time I really didn’t have to waste. Just as I was about to head out to work, Steve Brown, the owner of our cow-calf pairs, showed up with a few more pairs. He and I trailed them out to the group, then just stood there in silence for a few minutes, watching the pairs rejoin with their friends. After Steve left, I picked up almost a mile of temporary fence posts and wire from the previous paddock, Northview. Then, Brandon showed up and we put up a mile of temporary fence for our next paddock, called Ridgeline (Although only 220 acres, this Ridgeline pasture is of excellent quality, an estimate of at least 40 ADA’s (Animal Days per Acre), enough to feed a herd this size for 8 days if need be!). Brandon let out the wire, and I followed behind with the posts. While I was finishing up that, Brandon began scoping out the line for the following paddock, Dogtown (named for its community of Prairie Dogs). Once the Ridgeline fence was up and hot, we then rounded up the heifers and moved them onto their fresh grass. By the time we had finished everything, it was after 7:00…yet another 13+ hour day.
Note: In order to avoid redundancy, I haven’t included above anything on my routine cattle & fence checks done every morning and evening, or my daily land & animal monitoring duties. Both are essential parts of the job but quite uninteresting and uneventful nonetheless.
I hope you've enjoyed my week in summary! I promise to make future posts much shorter!!
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