A question from an Anthropologist

[JesseAnthropologist]

Hi everyone,

My name is Jesse and I am Dutch and live in the Alps of Italy and Switserland. First a little about myself and why I came to this forum. Last year, I obtained my Master's in Cultural Anthropology. Now a year later, I realize that the culture I am most interested in is American culture in all its facets. This included the cattle ranchers. I have always been impressed by the work and life of cattle ranchers and therefore I am looking to get into contact with a couple of you, maybe send emails back and forth and get to know about the life and work of cattle ranchers.

There are a little of different questions I'd like to ask, but mostly I am searching to listen and hear what subjects you believe are central to you...

I looked into going on a cattle drive as a sort of holiday (although my horse riding skills are 0) hehe...but I felt (correct me if I am wrong) I'll be introduced only to the romanticized image of the cattle rancher. and this doesnt interest me much. What interests me is the real deal.

I hope I have not been too vague and that there is someone out there who likes a casual back and forth, maybe we can private message (I am not sure you have that on this forum) otherwise I'll bump this thread with my emailadress...

greetings from Europe
Jesse

 

[boondocks]

Hi Jesse from the Alps! and :welcome: to the boards!
I think if you are interested in such things, I would read up on some of the longer, "sticky" threads on these boards. There are some folks (who greatly preceded me) on these boards who wrote little memoirs, of sorts. And you'll find many anecdotes.

There's a range of cattle people on here---oldtimers to beginners like me. Some are fulltime with their cattle; many, I think, must have off-farm jobs to make ends meet (my family included). I'm sure others will chime in.

I'm sure folks would love to know what got you interested in the topic, if I might ask?

 

[Nesikep]

When my dad emigrated (from Switzerland) in the 60's, he got a job on the Gang Ranch, Canada's (if not North America's) biggest cattle ranch... His job was irrigating, and he did that for a summer. 40 years later we have our own little place (25 cows). Over the years he's met a lot of other immigrants who got their start working on the same ranch.

A "Cattle drive holiday" would be a small window into ranch life, and certainly would be a bit romanticized, but perhaps would be enjoyable none the less. Perhaps after the romantic version, you'd want to take a closer look at how the rest of the year is.

Around here, our year goes a bit like this:
January: -20C outside, Feed cows, fix equipment in the shop
Feb: -15C outside, Feed cows, still fixing stuff
March: Feed Cows, Calving starts, Be up at all hours checking on the cows, feeding.. they take up 90% of your day at this point, Also a good time for fixing fences.
April:Feed cows, Calving ends, Spring cleanup everywhere, ensure irrigation system is going to be OK, start field work like harrowing, plowing
May: Feed cows, Irrigation is in full swing now, Cows on pasture about the 25th, Check haying equipment
June: Irrigate, Seed new fields, Start summer projects (building or renovating a house, corral, etc)
July: Irrigate like mad, first cut of hay, it's now 40C in the shade, You work when it's tolerable
August: Irrigate like mad, still 35C, Second cut of hay
September: 25C, shorter days, still irrigating, but not as intense, start harvesting things in the garden, or row crops and grains.
October: 15C, no more irrigating, Start preparing for winter, draining anything with water in it, making firewood, finishing outdoor projects, wean calves
November:5C, finish what you started in october pretty much
December: -10C, Good time to take a break, feeding the cows starts once again mid month

So that's about how my year looks

 

[JesseAnthropologist]

Hey Boondocks!

Thank you for your reply...I will definitely check out the sticky threads! What got me interested in the topic is a variety of circumstances. I myself am from Europe (the Netherlands) and like many here I grew up with the image of the cowboy. So growing up, I was always fascinated about it. Then when I got older and started studying Anthropology, I had a teacher who had a Phd in Native American history. Somewhere around that time, I myself did a minor in American Studies and found it more and more interesting how the old relates to the new. I know from my own experience that farmers and rancher in Europe (although there are but few in the Netherlands) is not easy at this time and like you mentioned many have another parttime job on the side. Then again, I also understand its a true work of devotion. So in a nutshell, I sort of started to wonder what life really is like for modern day cattle ranchers. :-)

greetings

 

[JesseAnthropologist]

Hey Nesikep! Thanks for your elobarate overview of the year! It sounds like quite a task...yet very rewarding! what kind of cattle do you keep? what type in normal for ranching in North America?

might I ask where you live? the weather seems quite extreme! Is the weather stable? or does it get tricky when the seasons get unstable?
Have you yourself ever been back to Europe/ Swiss?

I myself lived in Amsterdam for a few years (the capital of the Netherlands) and since last year moved (back) to the alps of Northern Italy/ South of Switserland. Ranching isn't very common in Western Europe. Although there is one very close by to where I hike in the mountains. Its a magnificent sight seeing the cattle graze the hillsides!
Good like with the irrigation and the heat! :o

greetings

 

[Nesikep]

Well, I was born in Locarno which sounds mighty close to where you are now, lived in Bignasco for my first 3 years (still have an acre of land there), then we moved to Canada, after 8 years we settled in Lillooet, British Columbia. I was back once when I was 9 (25 years ago).

Our cows stay on the farm all year, so we aren't really a "ranch", where cows usually go out in the mountains on range. They are pretty typical beef cows, though I have a few I milk once in a while.

As for the seasons, the trickiest is when the weather is still cold and the cows are calving, and of course haying time... I just got the last of my hay in, a tiny bit wet, but we might be in for some more rain now.

 

[inyati13]

Hi Jesse,

Jesse, there is extensive documentation on the culture of the "old West". There are several museums like the "Cody Museum of the West", Cody, Wyoming. You know the process for conducting research. The first step is a literature search. Then, contact a fellow Anthropologist. I would suggest the University Of Wyoming at Laramie, Wyoming.

Here is a web page put up by the Dept of Anthropology, University of Wyoming. My second choice would be the University of Montana or Montana State University.

http://www.uwyo.edu/anthropology/

Western culture is captured in art, none more so than Charles Marion Russell. Here is a reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Marion_Russell

 

[JesseAnthropologist]

Thank you Inyati13!

I will definitely look at the links you send me! I gather you yourself are an anthropologist too? or have a background in social sciences?

My background is definitely in Anthropology (i.e. my nickname). But I am not thinking about conducting research on ranching, nor the Old West. I am mostly doing this for myself and enjoying the one on one contact with the people here! Yet, I think its good for people to know my background. Still, your links are very valuable (thank you for the uni link), and I have already fallen in love with the imagery of Charles Marion Russell.

greetings Jesse

 

[inyati13]

Thank you Inyati13!

I will definitely look at the links you send me! I gather you yourself are an anthropologist too? or have a background in social sciences?

My background is definitely in Anthropology (i.e. my nickname). But I am not thinking about conducting research on ranching, nor the Old West. I am mostly doing this for myself and enjoying the one on one contact with the people here! Yet, I think its good for people to know my background. Still, your links are very valuable (thank you for the uni link), and I have already fallen in love with the imagery of Charles Marion Russell.

greetings Jesse

Not an anthopologist but if I had another life to live, I would be a Biological Anthropologist and focus on the evolution of the hominids. I love the ascent of man; the entire primate group is interesting.

I wondered if this was a personal interest since the approach you stated was not in adherence to the scientific method. Nevertheless, you will get some good suggestions from those guys at the University of Wyoming. Please contact them. Some authentic cattle drives are still to be found in Wyoming and Montana. I have lived in both states and got to witness an amazing cattle drive in Wyoming. If there is one place where the real west still does exist: it is Wyoming!!!

 

[JesseAnthropologist]

Hi Inyati13,

What cattle drive was it you witnessed? do you have a link for that too maybe?

Many greetings Jesse

 

[HDRider]

Hey Boondocks!

Thank you for your reply...I will definitely check out the sticky threads! What got me interested in the topic is a variety of circumstances. I myself am from Europe (the Netherlands) and like many here I grew up with the image of the cowboy. So growing up, I was always fascinated about it. Then when I got older and started studying Anthropology, I had a teacher who had a Phd in Native American history. Somewhere around that time, I myself did a minor in American Studies and found it more and more interesting how the old relates to the new. I know from my own experience that farmers and rancher in Europe (although there are but few in the Netherlands) is not easy at this time and like you mentioned many have another parttime job on the side. Then again, I also understand its a true work of devotion. So in a nutshell, I sort of started to wonder what life really is like for modern day cattle ranchers. :-)

greetings

Read this one first.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=64329

 

[inyati13]

Hi Inyati13,

What cattle drive was it you witnessed? do you have a link for that too maybe?

Many greetings Jesse

Jesse, A pleasure to serve you.

Wyoming is a large area. Nearly 80 % of the State of Wyoming is publicly owned land. Cattleman lease grazing rights on public land for summer forage. However, they move the cattle to their private holdings at the end on the grazing season. The private holdings are generally the Ranch Headquarters where they have the infrastructure and materials needed to over-winter the cattle. The climate in Wyoming is one of the most challenging of any state in the US. High winds, low temperatures, temperature extremes, open plains, lack of shelter, blowing and drifting snow, etc. These combination of conditions require cattle to be moved long distances from the summer leased grazing areas to the ranch headquarters. The only corridors for this movement at times are the public road system. I have seen these drives in several places in the western half of Wyoming. But they can occur almost anywhere that cattle are moved from leased grazing to the ranch headquarters.

The cattle drives I have witnessed are not the ones that are tourist attactions like I pasted below. They often catch you totally unprepared when you are out traveling the public roads and get caught up in one. You have to pull your car to the side of the road and wait until the herds are moved past before you can continue. They are moved by ranchers on horseback. Men, women and children participate in the movement. It is delightful to see children as young as six years old out riding along with the grown-ups. They also use cattle dogs. I have seen these drives in Montana where the same circumstances exist.

You might be interested in spring branding operations. I stopped my car and was leaning on a fence watching one such operation. One of the cowboys rode his horse over and ask if I wanted to drive in an watch up close. I did. They are open to visitors and many are very friendly folks.

Also, contact the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. They will no doubt have personnel that are familiar with some of the more grand authentic cattle drives.
http://www.wysga.org/

http://www.doublerafter.com/
http://www.dryheadranch.com/