CapitalPress.com
July 29, 2016
A family tradition of eficiency
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
PLYMOUTH, Wash. — The
Diamond M Ranch recent-
ly started a different way of
weaning calves.
The ranch used to wean
its calves at a feedlot, said
Justin Hedrick, partner in the
ranch with his grandfather,
Len McIrvin, and uncle, Bill
McIrvin.
“We just started weaning
them the last few years by
ourselves, move cows into
a new wheat or green circle
with the cows, give them a
couple of days, that way they
know it’s home,” Hedrick
said. “Then you go in, preg-
check the cows, and then
haul the cows away and leave
the calves there. They know
that’s home and they don’t try
going anywhere.”
Hedrick said the change
has saved “huge amounts” of
money.
“We’d have calves in the
feedlot for $2 to $2.50 per day
per calf,” he said. “They’d be
in there for 30 days per herd.
Being on circles, we can wean
them ourselves for 37 cents
per day. It’s made a huge eco-
nomic difference for us.”
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Grandfather, Len McIrvin, and grandson, Justin Hedrick, pause from
doing maintenance on one of their cattle trucks April 13 on property
in Plymouth, Wash. McIrvin and Hedrick are partners with Bill McIrvin
in the Diamond M Ranch. Hedrick is also president of the Stevens
County Cattlemen’s Association.
Justin Hedrick
Age: 29
Title: Partner, Diamond M Ranch; president, Stevens County
Cattlemen’s Association
Hometown: Laurier, Wash.
Family: Married, two sons, one daughter
Education: Chewelah High School
Website: https://stevenscountycattlemen.com
It’s the latest move by a
long-running ranching family
with a history of striving for
— and achieving — eficien-
cy.
In 1973, Diamond M was
one of the irst ranches to start
bringing cattle from north-
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ern-tier counties to southern
Washington for wintering,
now a relatively common
practice. The ranch retains
ownership of all its cattle
from calving to slaughter. The
ranch was also one of the irst
in the area to own cattle-haul-
ing semi trucks.
“We will deinitely look at
any new and improved meth-
ods, but also we’re real skep-
tical,” Len McIrvin said. “If
they’re the right kind of cows,
there’s a lot of things the feed
companies, mineral compa-
nies and technology compa-
nies say you’ve got to have
that really you don’t.”
“(For branding), we can
run the same number of calves
with a four- or ive-man crew
as a lot of people can with a
30-man crew,” Hedrick said.
Hedrick joined the opera-
tion in about 2011. All three
partners stress that they are
equals.
“It’s ‘we,’ not ‘I,’” Len
McIrvin said.
“It’s ‘us,’ rather than a
‘me,’” Hedrick agreed.
This story irst appeared
June 17, 2016.