Page 8 - Farm & Ranch

From Brood Box to Layers: A Guide to Raising Baby Chickens Read more

By Tracie Moats One of the most popular craft projects on the Internet right now is string art. And, to be honest, I can easily see why. It's modern, simple and, most importantly, affordable. What's not to love? So, I decided to take a shot at it myself, adding a little bit of North 40 flair into the mix. Materials Needed for DIY Nail & String Art Design String Wire Nails (this project took 2 packs) Hammer Wood Board (I used old barn wood) Paper Template (download mine here) Tape Scissors Need some of these supplies? Check out our craft supplies here Step One: Securely tape your template to your wood board. Begin pounding nails around your template. I have about a .25" space between my nails, but that is totally up to you. You can use more or less spacing depending on the complexity of your template. Try pounding all your nails t... Read more

When seeking to purchase an electrical fence for your farm or ranch, consider Shakespeare: You must needs, sirs and madams, understand your electrical fencing "audience and purpose." But seriously, all 16th Century lit. references aside knowing what you plan to do with your electrical fence is the first part in deciding what you ultimately need. North 40's first recommendation on learning about fencing set ups? Watch the video below and see Matt get electrocuted... and also get an instructional lesson from Gallagher's own electric fencing expert.   Is your fence permanent or temporary? First things first, this is the realest question to ask for a few reasons. Why? Permanent fences and temporary fences use way different materials. If it's a permanent fence you're after, then you're going to opt for an installation that utilizes wire... Read more

What Changed when Running Zoetis & Dectomax? Despite his initial hesitancy to invest more in the initial cost of Zoetis products over generics, Vic finally did volunteer to try something new and give Zoetis a chance. We joined him on his ranch in Montana out by the Smith river for our first administration during branding. Be sure to read the start of this experiment and learn what Vic already had to change when switching to Zoetis. Vic started the day off by running Dectomax Pour-on on all his cattle. Dectomax controls 33 stages of internal and external parasites with a single, convenient application... at least that's what the label said. Vic was surprised to hear this claim, and it is something we are really looking forward to watching and reporting back on come fall. Our Dectomax is available for online order and delivery her... Read more

Princess Twilight Sparkle: Culling Cattle Names in a 4-H Family Every spring, the kids pick out their favorite calf to show at the local fair. We have tried picking out the calf for them because, well, you want your farm to be well represented, but that didn't work. The kids have their favorites and that is who they want to take. There is no changing their minds. We do however have some influence on the names. We have saved some calves from some very interesting names like "Princess Twilight Sparkle" named after a My Little Pony character. Like with all young things, cattle need to be protected against diseases. Check out our cattle health section online here. Three 4-H Kids, Three Cattle Shows and "Tiny" the Calf Our daughter took her first fair calf Rose to the fair three years ago. The following year, her brother joined her by bringin... Read more

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Montana has a unique tie to ranching and livestock, and this was no more apparent to me than when I started researching brands. Montana became a territory in 1864, two years after the Homestead Act. Prior to 1873, the registration of brand information was left up to individual counties. This wasn't a functioning system because news and registrations spread more slowly (or not at all) during this time period. So down around Yellowstone you could have a ranch running the same brand as a ranch up by Glacier, and they wouldn't find out till they drove their cattle to market. This was remedied when the state enacted legislature in 1872 that centralized brand registration held by the Department of Livestock. Side note: Montana is a lot different than Idaho and Washington--because the state passed legislation designating a central housing place... Read more

The neck rag, the wild rag- the scarf. I don't know of many people who call this piece of cowboy gear a scarf, and calling it a wild rag seems a little over the top to me- but that may just be me. What this neck rag DOES though- that's undeniable. The lineage of the neck rag is traceable all the way back to pirates circa 1700 but for purposes of this magazine, we are focused on the functionality and use in the Western lifestyle. The neck rag, or the mascada, for the vaqueros is not only a way to demonstrate your political or buckaroo affiliations (if you really HAVE seen Tombstone), it is a truly functional piece of equipment. There are two main functions of the neck rag warmth and another, less well known reason, as a filter. In Montana and the northwestern climes, we know the weather can change and the ability to adapt is a must a silk... Read more

The short, simple answer to this question is, of course, the cow. That's her job. The role of the cow specifically, and cow/calf production systems in general, is to profitably turn forage into beef through the production of calves. Our entire management effort centers on providing the inputs required for the cow to do her job. Not providing these inputs diminishes her chances of successfully playing her role in the cow/calf production system. As cattle producers, our responsibility is to ensure that the fundamental inputs of water and forage are provided along with supplemental nutrition and sound animal husbandry and management that prevents disease and promotes herd health. Like every living thing, the cow needs water which is the most important nutrient. Water is essential to maintaining all bodily functions and, if limited, results ... Read more

Cowboy Crowns: In Search of True West Read more

Written by Jeff Streeby, Cowboy Poet A Definition of Cowboy Poetry Cowboy poetry is a tradition of work poetry /performance poetry that grew out of the 19th century improvisational entertainment practices of isolated crews of cattle drovers and ranch hands. Cattle drovers and ranch hands built cowboy poetry. After a day's hard work, cowboys would gather at the chuckwagon's cookfire or in the bunkhouse (the "ram pasture") to relieve, with extravagant yarns and folk songs, the tedium and stress of their dull, but dangerous jobs. According to D.J. "Kid White" O'Malley, a Montana cowboy who published his first important poem in the late 1880's, popular songs of the day were seized, and their forms and lyrics freely altered and adapted to fit the circumstances and environment of the West. This method of invention was also frequently used by B... Read more

GROUND RODS EXPLAINED In the above clip, North 40 Outfitters Purchasing Manager, Jesse Ova, talks about ground rods, but why do they matter in the scheme of things? There are three integral components when considering electric fence as an option for your livestock: energizer, wire, and grounding. It is recommended that you utilize three ground rods when building a fence for livestock. Here's the review we did of the S17 by Gallagher--check it out and see if it will work for you. Why? The ground rods are the "antenna" that pick up and deliver the electricity being used to effectively keep your animal penned in the more rods used, the more efficient the fence will be, and the more power the circuit delivers to the offending animal. If you don't use enough ground rods in your fence, your bull will walk right through it. Grounding is one of... Read more