Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2019)
NEWS Wallowa.com Wednesday, March 20, 2019 A15 Ranching: Women drawn by love of outdoors, dogs, horses and cows Continued from Page A1 and respectful of women. They are on your side, as long as you are pulling your weight. That doesn’t always mean being the fastest rock-jack builder, but it does mean being part of a team, and being willing to work hard on your own,” she said. In Wallowa County, the number of women who work actively in ranching or run a ranch of their own is increasing. For most, it’s a love of working with dogs, horses and cows and the chance to spend their life in the open places. There are diffi cult times and heartbreak. Skinning a still- born calf and putting its hide atop an orphaned calf so the stillborn’s mother will accept the orphan as her own. Calv- ing when it’s below zero and you have to save a calf that was born in a snowbank, hauling the calf and it’s bawling mother to a barn, and enclosing the calf in a warming shed, or taking it into your living room. The job hasn’t changed much, despite technology. Here in the county, it’s still done the old-fashioned way, with care, love and hope. Bar-B Ranch: Long days, cold nights Continued from Page A1 The Bar-B is an all-woman outfi t, owned by Sandie Tillotson of Sandy, Utah. Tami manages the cows with the able assistance of Avey Van Doozer as the lone buckaroo. Van Doozer grew up on a small farm near Walla Walla, where her family raised goats, cows, and miniature horses. Once in Wallowa County, Van Doozer drifted from one small-town job to another, hayed with Dennis Isley, and worked at Tamarack Ranch before meeting Tami in Goebels’ store one day. “We talked, she hired me,” Van Doozer said. “It’s my dream job. I get up every morning excited to go to work, no mat- ter what the weather, or what we are doing. Every day is different.” Like most ranches in Wallowa County, Bar-B and Tami’s own herd are traditional cow-calf operations. They breed their mother cows in May. Calves arrive about 283 days (9.4 months) later in March. They are branded in May, allowing them to be identifi ed should they stray from the herd. By June, when the cow-calf pairs are turned out on grass range, the calves are big and strong enough to hike follow their mothers the 10 to 20 miles necessary to reach summer pastures, and fend for themselves in a world where predators await. Then, as fall comes, cattle are driven back to the home place, where calves are weaned. Steers ship to feedlots, usually in the Boise area, along with heifers that will not be kept as replacement mother cows. Cows are fed all winter, and in March, the cycle begins all over again. To prosper in an uncertain economy, most ranches have a specialty. For the Bar-B, it’s the bloodlines and quality of beef. “Our Angus cows are bred to Akaushi bulls,” Lambrecht said. “They’re a Japanese breed, similar to Wagyu, that produces tender, well-marbled beef.” The Bar-B works with HeartBrand Ranch of Flatonia, Texas that provides the bulls and semen, and then buys back the weaned calves. The prices are a bit higher, but there’s also more work required—each calf must be genetically tested to keep track of its breeding and ensure that its father was an Akaushi bull. Genetic testing is done as part of the tagging and vaccination process when the calf is less than a day old. Like most cow-calf operations, The Bar-B keeps a writ- ten record of the day and if possible, the time, of each birth, and gives each newborn calf a shot of immuni- ty-boosting supplements that help insure survival. Along with the shot, the calf receives an ear tag with a number that allows Tami and Avey to easily identify it. It’s hard to recognize individual calves in a herd of mostly black cows. Ear tags are a necessity. At the Bar- B, each calf is also tattooed with an individual number that supplants the ear tag, and a sample of hair taken for a genetic record. Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop ABOVE Avey Van Doozer and Tami Lambrect of the Bar-B Ranch check to be sure all is well with the calf they have just given shots and a tattoo. Sporting a new and colorful ear tag, heifer 413 is ready to go. BELOW LEFT Tami Lamberth takes a moment to commune with her dog awhile feeding cows and calves on her Dad’s ranch. BELOW RIGHT Lamberth holds hyperdermic needles for administering shots of nutrients, multivitamins and antibiotics to a newborn calf. Generally, the shots are administered within 24 hours or less of the calf’s birth. Calving: Wallowa County’s Daarla Klages hopes to educate folks about ranching Continued from Page A1 calves and they were just about half-way done. On the ranch, it’s Daarla, Alan Klages, their employee Ryan Carey, who works weekdays, and the occasional help of Klages’s son, Caleb Howard. So no one is left wanting for something to do in this oper- ation. And each is in need of a good night sleep. But that won’t come for another cou- ple weeks. “The job never stops during this time,” said Klages. And to compli- cate life even further, she works another job with Ore- gon Department of Fish and Wildlife as the Offi ce Coor- dinator and also volunteers with several other organiza- tions. In this business, every- one contributes and there’s no shortage of sacrifi ce all around. Daarla and Alan Klages spend all afternoon and eve- ning monitoring cows and calves. Not just for those calving right then, but also paying attention to any indi- cation that a calf isn’t eating properly. “We look at every single one and try to fi gure out their story,” Klages explains. “Look to fi nd enlarged utters to see if mom’s calf is eating property.” And sometimes a cow that neglects her calf will be sold-off because it’s not economically effi cient. These diffi cult decisions test a rancher’s grit — but like any business, and ranching is no different, diffi cult deci- sions are made for the good of the ranch. In the evenings, nights and weekends when it’s just Daarla and Alan, one or the other, or both, have to check on the calves every three hours or so, which leave very little time to sleep. Generally, Ellen Morris Bishop A newborn calf gets a good look at her snowy, cold surroundings a few minutes after birth on the Klages Ranch while her mother cleans her and keeps her warm. Cleaning the amniotic sac from the calf is am important post-birth task for the cow. If not cleaned off , the membrane can block the calf’s nostrils. Licking stimulates circulation and helps keep the newborn warm. ourselves and produce a high quality product for others to enjoy.” She wants to be an advo- cate for each of us to better understanding one another. She said, “people need to learn to be nice and have a little respect. Everybody has got something that they are good at and something that makes them special and peo- ple need to respect that,” she continued. “I get so frustrated there is so much distrust between the people who have lived here for ever and the people who are new or moving here,” she said as she conveyed her genuine emotion. “I’m just as guilty. We all are. We have to do more to understand each other’s motives.” Selecting the Bulls the two ranchers check the calves through the afternoon and evening. Then again at midnight and again usually around 3 or 4 a.m. There are a lot of factors for ranchers to consider when deciding whether to calve in the fall or spring. “We calve now because they have to be big enough to escape the wolves come summer time,” Klages explains. Already planning for next year’s season, to time every- thing correctly around the cow’s gestation period— about 283 days, give or take—the ranchers will need to get these cows to The Nature Conservancy in May to graze them for the sum- mer. That’s when they turn the bulls out — the cycle begins anew. In the summer time, Daa- rla takes most of the respon- sibility of monitoring the cat- tle, while Alan controls most of the farming operations. And as if long days and little sleep weren’t enough, Klages spends time pro- moting education and bet- ter understanding so that all demographics of Wal- lowa County, including tour- ist, can better understand her way of life and that of her friends. Daarla’s mission to education A couple years back, Klages began photographing her experiences ranching. Her hope was to share the lifestyle with those who oth- erwise wouldn’t understand it. She wants to educate folks by showing that ranchers and farmers are good hard- working people just trying to make a living like every- body else. Folks need to see that “it’s not a lifestyle full of environ- mentally irresponsible peo- ple, or lazy people,” Klages said. “We aren’t rich people. We are hardworking people trying to make a living for The temperature can be a factor in a calf’s develop- ment. Often, in cold weather, the calves can be born too big. Ranchers might try to mitigate that by purchasing bulls with very high calv- ing ease number and lower actual birth weight. The Klages’s purchase their bulls from a breeder in Redmond, Oregon. There is a science to this pro- cess, to be sure. The couple buys VF Red Angus. “DNA tests all breeding animals to ensure the epd’s —expected progeny differences — are exactly correct. However, crossing different cattle breeds can sow numbers,” according to Klages. Not going away any time soon Daarla and Alan Klages are tired. Both look forward to good sleep after a couple weeks. They work hard all day and all night to ensure these calves are not only born, but they observe and foster bonding between mom and calf as well. Speaking of a mom and her calf, Daarla says, “It’s really important to let them bond together.” While ranchers are forced to adapt, just like the rest of us in any industry, the future seems bright for Wal- lowa County agriculture. Throughout Wallowa County there are young agrarians stepping up to usher in the next generation of agricul- tural industrial leaders. And while women have always put in more than their fair share of ranch and farm work, there are notice- ably progressive trends — the reality of more women ranchers taking leadership roles in Wallowa County is growing more and more apparent. The current vibrant market, coupled with pro- gressive trends, innovative marketing and technological discoveries leave the impres- sion that agriculture isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Love your bank. BEO commits its service to our agricultural communities! Term Loans Lines of Credit Ag & Commercial Real Estate Loans Enterprise Branch 541.426.4205 beobank.com Member FDIC
