Dedication

Welcome to Open Range, I’m KayDee Gilkey. Stay tuned because after the break I’ll check in with our field reporter, Greg Martin for the AgriBeef Minute.

Thanks KayDee. There is a group of people out there that are kind of the unsung heroes of the land. They are the ranchers that regardless of the time of year take care of the livestock.

RAYMOND: It’s kind of tough this time of year like last night it was oh about 15 degrees here and you’ve got heifers calving and so your up all night trying to keep them alive. They’re worth a lot of money and you don’t keep them alive you don’t get to do it again next year. So you’ve got to put the time and effort into it whether it’s warm or cold, foggy or the suns shining or whatever is going on.

That’s cattle rancher, Ryan Raymond from down in the Helix, Oregon area who doesn’t really look at this as a day job.

RAYMOND: For the most part it’s 365 days a year. One of the neat things about is other than certain times of the year you can kind of set your own hours during the summer then the cattle are turned out. This time of year when a guys got heifers calving and you’ve got to feed hay every day and it’s pretty much 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

That’s dedication to your lifestyle. But Raymond says it can be a job as well.

RAYMOND: When it’s 15 degrees outside and it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and you’re running around in the dark you kind of think it’s a job. But the rest of the time you know you’re riding around on horseback in the mountains and you kind of wonder why you’d get paid for it.

I’m Greg Martin and that’s today’s AgriBeef Minute.

Thanks Greg. Don’t forget Greg will be back each Wednesday with the AgriBeef Minute. Agri Beef Co - Real Families, Great People, Exceptional Beef. I’m KayDee Gilkey.