Colorado Reader March 2019: The Story of Colorado Beef | Page 2

Meet a Colorado Rancher
family is able to manage the ranch.
My husband Jim and I, along with
our son and his family, handle all
of the work involved in managing,
producing, and harvesting feed
for our cattle, and taking all care
of the animals. We do work with
a vet for animal health issues.
Stanko Ranch,
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Written by Jo Stanko
Describe your operation: The Stanko
Ranch is a small (in ranching terms)
centennial ranch (more than 100 years
old) located just west of the town of
Steamboat Springs. We manage a
little over 2,000 acres. We have both
hay ground and range (pasture). We
manage range for our cattle in the
summer and raise hay to feed our
cattle in the winter. We have cows and
bulls, which produce the calves that
we sell in the fall. This segment of the
process of producing meat for your
table is called a cow-calf business.
Who is involved? With the
development of technology, our
Describe a typical day: Because we
have extremes in weather our days are
very different in summer and winter. A
typical winter day begins with going
out and chopping as much as six
inches of ice from water sources for
our horses, bulls, and multiple places
for the cows. Depending on how cold
the temperature is, this must be done
anywhere from one to three times
a day. The next few hours are spent
shoveling or plowing snow. The corrals
must be kept plowed out in
case they are needed; all feed
trails must be plowed so we
can reach all of the animals, the
lanes and yard must be plowed
just so we can get in or out.
The roof of every building must
have the snow shoveled off so
they won't collapse due to the
weight of the snow. In the late
afternoon, we feed the cattle so
that they will be burning calories
and generating heat during the
coldest part of the day. If it is
extremely cold, the cattle are fed
full feeding multiple times a day.
2 - Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom
A typical summer day begins in the
early morning before the breeze starts.
This is when one of us goes out to
spray weeds, to make sure that the
chemicals only go on the weeds and
not anywhere else. Someone else goes
out to repair fences. Due to the amount
of snow we get, every inch of fence
must be inspected and repaired, when
needed. In addition, the wildlife tends
to walk through fences so the routes
that they take must be inspected and
repaired routinely. Around 11:00 a.m.,
when the dew has gone off the hay, we
both head to the hay field. One of us
is responsible for cutting and stacking
while the other rakes and bales. At
night, when the dew moves in, usually
around dusk, we return to the house
to complete chores, repair and get the
equipment ready for the next day.