Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/11583
8A – Daily News – Saturday, June 5, 2010 Agriculture & farm Last week I was in North-west- ern Colorado for the Western Livestock Journal High Country Ranch Tour with friends from Cal- ifornia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Kentucky, Texas, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Ohio, Indi- ana, and Connecticut. The tour was well named High Jean Barton Country, because the ranches were at 5,000 to more than 8,000 foot elevation.For many of us, we were short of breath, while others had nose bleeds or were dizzy when walking. Hay fever was another problem. We were constantly reminded to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. Coming from breakfast one morning in Steamboat Springs I noticed a couple walking hand-in-hand, so I asked them how long they had been married, thinking they were newly weds. Their reply was 46 years, but she was holding on to her husband so she wouldn’t fall because of dizziness. Our first mountain pass was Berthoud Pass at 11,315 feet, with sharp turns as we climbed up the mountain, with snow, and cross country skiers warned of avalanch- es. The previous week Berthoud was closed due to snow. We were headed for Granby, and the 8 Mile Cattle Co, LLC, 4th generation Merrit Linke and his wife Teri. They had stacked round bales of hay for a wind break, and the busses were pulled in a circle but it was still windy and cold, as we learned about ranching in the high country. The men had to keep a hand on their hats, so they wouldn‚t blow away. The Linkes were now running yearling cattle, instead of raising cows and calves. It is 450 miles to the closest sale barn. Summer pasture, including some hay ground, is used to run between 250 to 400 yearlings. The year- lings are on the ranch from about May 15 to Sept. 30. They provide tie down roping calves for the weekly rodeos, and lease the yearlings for cuttings and ranch rodeos. During the summer the yearlings will put on 200 pounds, after being turned out about June 1 on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. They will start haying about July 20th, putting up 350 to 400 tons of hay. Much is sold as premium hay for horses, and the remainder is used to winter about 50 horses, which are primarily from a local dude ranch. The thermometer in Kremmling read 37 degrees and the flags were blowing straight out, when we arrived at the Middle Park Fairgrounds for lunch. Originally it was scheduled to be a picnic on a meadow near a rushing stream at the next ranch we visited, but everyone was glad to be indoors. The wind chill was below freezing. Baked brisket and barbecued chicken, baked beans, potato salad, cornbread, with ice tea and brownies for dessert. Our next ranch visit was Ritschard Cattle Co. started in 1960s as a family partnership with Hereford cattle as the main breed, when Angus were introduced. A second ranch was purchased in the Troublesome Valley, and the family ranch grew in size. In the 1970s they started using Charolais bulls for terminal cross sires on the Hereford/Angus cowherd. Con and Gladys Ritschard had purchased their first ranch in 1939 along the Colorado River. Their children Gene and Mimi Ritschard with Kay and Joe Kayser ranch High Country Ranch Tour Courtesy photo The first day of the WLJ Colorado High Country Ranch Tour was windy, cold, sleet at 8 Mile Cattle Co; Granby. Eight Mile Creek runs through the ranch. Merrit Linke, owner, at far right with microphone. formed the first partnership with the parents in the 60s. In 1979 the Pickering Ranch on Troublesome Creek was purchased with two other ranchers. The family is now in its fifth generation in the Middle Park Valley. Recreation business with catch and release fishing is important, and the river is fenced off. It was sleeting, and the wind was blowing the sleet horizontal as we tried to hear how the ranch hays the meadows after the cows and calves are driven to summer range in the high country. This was rugged, high, cold country and we noticed the houses in the small towns we drove through, did not have landscaping, just a few shrubs. They said that 80 degrees was considered toasty. The cows and calves were in good shape. The ranchers all mentioned how the fall and winter had been mild, while they were two weeks behind in turning out this spring because of the cold weather and the grass not growing. It was good to get on the warm busses and head for Steamboat Springs, and our hotel for the next three nights. Earlier in the day a truck had jackknifed and Rabbit Ears Pass, 9,426 ft was closed, but was open by afternoon. The wind was blowing hard and the bus would sway in the gusts as snow blew across the high- way. The Continental Divide went through Rabbit Ears Pass, with the streams on the east side draining into the North Platte River, and the creeks on the west side draining into the Yampa and Colorado Rivers. The aspens in the snow were still bare, but where it had melted they were an apple green in the lower country. Steamboat Springs was 6,728 ft, and a population of 9,800. The first inhabitants were the Ute Indians, but the French fur trappers gave Steamboat Springs its name. Legend has it that the rhythmic chugging of the hot Community Clip? e-mail: clerk@redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 527-9251 Build your own hanging basket LIC #808524 Call For Free Information Toll-Free (800) 464-1403 or (530) 365-1403 6183 MEISTER WAY ANDERSON, CA 96007 (530) 365-1403 (800) 464-1403 and receive 10% off Garden Center Red Bluff 766 Antelope Blvd. (Next to the Fairground) 527-0886 spring near the river sounded like a steamboat. When the railroad came through a hundred years ago, dyna- mite caused the spring to change its sound and we couldn't hear the chugging. Our hotel was in the ski area, with a lift on the adja- cent street, about four miles away from old town. Very nice since it was off season, and we had the hotel for our group. Next day was sunny and we could see Rabbit Ears Pass when we drove to visit Rathopoulis Ranches at Craig. The airport for Steamboat Springs is actually in Hayden. There were large coal mines near Craig, and coal was used to make electricity at the power plant. Down at Glenwood Springs I counted a coal train with three engines, 50 loaded cars, three engines in the middle, fol- lowed by another 50 or more coal cars, and three engines on the end pushing. I was told that the long trains came from Wyoming and were headed to Texas to make power. Rolling hills with sage brush, and lots of antelope were seen near the county road above Craig. During the week we saw a few deer, moose, coyote, fox, beaver dams, eagles, Rocky Mountain sheep, but lots of ante- lope in Moffat County in extreme north-western Col- orado. Elk were mentioned as being a nuisance coming into the hay fields and high fences were seen to keep them out of the stored hay, but they had already gone to the higher mountains when we were there. For May I measured .9 inch of rain, and light frost on the 11th and 22nd, with a high of 89 degrees on the 15th. A cool spring. Jean Barton can be reached at jbarton@theskybeam.com. Stroings join Membership of American Angus Association Tom & Jeannie Stro- ing, Red Bluff, are new members of the Ameri- can Angus Associa- tion®, reports Bryce Schumann, CEO of the national breed registry organization in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The American Angus Association, with nearly 31,000 active adult and junior members, is the largest beef cattle reg- istry Association in the world. Its computerized records include detailed information on more than 16 million regis- tered Angus. The Association records ancestral infor- mation and keeps pro- duction records on indi- vidual animals for its members. These perma- nent records help mem- bers select and mate the best animals in their herds to produce high quality, efficient breed- ing cattle which are then recorded with the Amer- ican Angus Association. Most of these registered Angus are used by the U.S. farmers and ranch- ers who raise high qual- ity beef for U.S. con- sumption.