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| Thursday, July 15 2010 @ 08:19 PM MDT |
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Working Dogs a Part of Ag Day in Rapid City, SD 2010
By Jamie Spring
I had the opportunity to be a part of a great event in Rapid City, SD the middle of May. SD WIFE (Women Involved in Farm Economics) organized an Ag Day for all of the third graders in the area elementary schools, and there were 1200 kids that participated over the two days. The event was set up to offer these primarily “city kids” exposure to all kinds of agriculture, and to get a basic understanding of where their food actually comes from. There were beef and dairy cattle stations, weather and crop stations, bees, bats, timber, horses and rodeo. Everything was geared to be hands-on, and it was pretty cute watching kids carrying bits of wool around after the shearing station.
For my part, I took some yearling ewes and dogs, as well as a few bucket calves the kids could pet. Laura Hicks joined me with her arsenal of great dogs and we set out to show the kids what great partners the dogs were. We worked to explain that our dogs aren’t just pets, but are bred to work and help us maintain our ranching livelihoods, handling both cattle and sheep. The kids were very interested and asked great questions. They were fascinated by the dogs, and loved that we communicate with whistles. They enjoyed watching the sheep and really picked up on the relationship between different dogs and how they handled the sheep. At the end of each presentation we let them meet and pet a few of the dogs.
As part of the feedback process the kids were asked to draw pictures depicting what Ag Day meant to them. There were so many about our dogs! Many of them remembered certain dogs’ names, and there were quite a few who drew a gal with a blond ponytail and a whistle (Laura). It was a great event, and I look forward to sharing in it again next year!
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| Monday, July 12 2010 @ 10:12 AM MDT |
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4th ANNUAL PATRICK SHANNAHAN SHEEPDOG BOOT CAMP
June 18-20th, 2010
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to host the fourth annual Patrick Shannahan Sheepdog Boot Camp. We had a great turnout and were able to extend the clinic to three days this year. The clinic was held on our ranch just northwest of Union Center, SD.
Day one was private lessons in the morning, but turned into a mini-clinic as discussion was welcomed and enjoyed after each work session. The afternoon was spent discussing the ins and outs of judging, as well as how that should determine our handling decisions on the trial field. The judging clinic was low-key with questions discussed throughout, and was a great learning experience for all of us involved. I sure thought it was a great addition! Days two and three were a working clinic and we had great participants. I was able to get help starting two young dogs, as did a few others. We also had Open dogs and handlers working, so were exposed to many different challenges and work styles. We worked on yearling range ewes, and also had some dog broke sheep for the young dogs. The sheep worked really well, and offered a great learning experience.
My favorite part of the clinic is that the atmosphere is very easy going, and questions are always welcome. Everyone learns, not just the person working their dog. Patrick has a great way of explaining things, and gets through to people as well as dogs. We grilled both evenings and enjoyed camaraderie and a lot of laughs. We had participants from all over the western US with different levels of experience and enjoyed spirited discussion on and off the field. One of the best things I heard was when someone said “Why wasn’t I here last year? I won’t miss this clinic again!”.
Plans are already set to host Patrick again next year, and the dates will be June 17-19, 2011. Many of the participants have expressed interest in attending next year, and we’d love to have you join us as well! If you’d like more information you can contact Jamie Spring at jamiespringbc@yahoo.com or at (605) 985-5961.
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| Monday, May 04 2009 @ 09:45 AM MDT |
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| Wednesday, February 11 2009 @ 10:45 AM MST |
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Update 2009 National Western Stock Dog Trial
Update 2009 National Western Stock Dog Trial
By Jim Chant
This year the 2009 National Western Stock Dog Trial had 50 entries. Competitors from 9 states worked a uniform set of Angus replacement heifers through an arena obstacle course. Scoring was based on points per head gained negotiating obstacles as well as time to complete the course. The first day 50 dogs ran in the preliminary with the top 20 dogs returning on Saturday January 24th for the final round (clean slate). Cappy Pruitt from Fort Morgan, CO judged the event. The top 20 dog teams and places are as follows.
The final saw handlers completing the same course with the change being they must complete each obstacle with all 3 head of cattle. Dogs were to fetch 3 head from across the arena and negotiate 2 poles and cross a fetch line in 3 ½ minutes. Cattle were turned from left to right behind the handler and driven through a "Y" chute obstacle unassisted with the handler remaining behind the fetch line. Cattle were then driven around the arena thru a blind weave obstacle which consists of cattle weaved through a series of panel that did not allow them to see the final opening. The last challenge was a pen and loading into a trailer. The first day saw 13 dogs score perfect runs. However the pen presented a problem for some. Several good runs ended in frustration when the heifers refused to load. The course design was such that the handler remained at the pen entrance and the dog was required to force the cattle into the trailer. The top five dogs were as follows, 1st place Murry Ketteler and Griz from South Dakota, 2nd Curtis Dukes and Dru from Iowa, 3rd Jeff Mundorf and Luke from Iowa, 4th Juan Reyes and Red from Wyoming, 5th Mike Davis and Sugar from Iowa.
Juan Reyes furnished and handled the Angus heifers, Jim Chant, Baggs Wyoming was the Course Director. A great crowd was on hand Saturday during the finals. The trial was held outside in the Stock Yards at the show with great weather for the event.
Stock Dog Sale Results
2009 saw a new and no doubt a regular event at the NWSS. This year prior to the cattle dog trials a cattle dog sale was added. A small group of select cattle dogs were previewed on Thursday, January 22nd at 9:00am and auctioned at 1:00pm in the Stock Dog Trial Arena. During the preview folks saw dogs and handlers work 5 head of yearling cattle around an arena set up with obstacles. Handlers were asked to show what their dogs could do i.e.: fetch, drive, load, grip, etc. The sale saw tremendous interest from a variety of stock men. Dogs sold to ranchers both present at the event, over the phone, and also on the internet. Internet capabilities were provide by NWSS livestock auctions.com. A nice set of well started and fully trained dogs sold by some of the top cattle dog trainers in the country. Demand was strong, bidding was aggressive, and there was little doubt in anyone's mind that this event is up and coming, look for it next year. Dogs sold from $900.00 to a $4,100.00 top and averaged $2,780.00.
Stock Dog Sale Results:
1. $4,000.00 Pete Carmichael & Palmers Buffy, 18 month old female, very well started.
2. $3,800.00 Pete Carmichael & Sleet, 3 ½ year old female, finished.
3. $3,500.00 Juan Reyes & Levi, 1 ½ year old male, well started.
4. $3,300.00 Tim Gifford & Ringo, 2 ½ year old male, well started.
5. $3,000.00 Jeff Mundorf & Scooter, 2 year old male, well started.
6. $2,900.00 Dorance Eikamp & Sky, 5 year old male, finished.
7. $2,800.00 Clyde Johnson & Nard, 6 year old male, ranch broke.
8. $2,000.00 Jeff Mundorf & Reese, 2 year old female, started.
9. $1,500.00 Pete Carmichael & Whiskey, 1 ½ year old male, started.
10. $ 900.00 Murray Ketteler & Sioux, 7 year old female, ranch broke.
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| Friday, December 22 2006 @ 08:42 PM MST |
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Carmichael Article 1
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South
Dakota Rancher -
Pete
Carmichael
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Linda Fogt of the Working Border
Collie Magazine
had the pleasure of interviewing Pete Carmichael. Having met Pete
before trialing at the Prairie Classic, She became aware of his
engaging wit and humor, which is often directed at himself or his
hapless dogs. Pete generously shared some of his experiences with her.
"I was raised in North Central South Dakota with three other siblings.
Went to country school, only went through the eight grade. I wanted to
be a World Champion Bronc Rider. That didn't turn out so good. I worked
on sheep ranches as a kid. At that time we did a lot of trailing for
the railroad. Most of the sheep flocks were around eight hundred to a
thousand head. Ordinarily we'd wean off the lambs and drive them off to
the railroad. This would have been during the last half of the 1940's.
Being as I didn't go to school I helped trail five cattle herds and
that many or more sheep herds to the railroad. Gained a lot of
experience that way. It was about 30 miles to the railroad, which took
two to three days to drive. We always had farm dogs around. Course
everybody talks about the dogs they had as a kid. There were some
pretty good ones really. But not like these dogs we have today.
I wish now that we did have access to some really good herding dogs
back then. If someone like Bud had come into the prairie country with
some really good dogs and taught the ranchers how to use them it could
have really improved the shepherding. At the time we had yellow or
brown dogs called English Shepherds. They were decent ranch dogs, but
we didn't know how to train them.
I grew up in a Norwegian neighborhood. The Norwegians recently came
from the old country and had a bit of trouble with the language and
spoke broken English. The neighbors had two sheepdogs, with English
names, Maude and Bob. Every year Bob had two litters of pups and Maude
never did have any!
When I was just a kid I went with one of the last Wild West
rodeos. We traveled around for a couple of years. Then I worked on
ranches for the next few years. The day I turned twenty years old I
went in the army for the Korean War. When I came back from the war, I
rodeoed a little more, but by 1954 I was a foreman on a pretty big
ranch. I ran that for several years until I got on my own about 1956.
That was about the time pregnancy test came in. A friend of mine talked
me into training for that. It was a good choice and I tested about 15
to 20 thousand cows a year over about thirty years.
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| Friday, December 01 2006 @ 09:56 AM MST |
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Raising a tradition
The
Meike siblings east of Kaycee reveal the secrets of success behind a
long-time ranching family
By Katie Hulet
Story Courtesy of the Buffalo Bulletin
For
the three Meike siblings Don, Peter and Barb, ranching has always been
the only way of life. They have carried on the tradition their
grandfather started in the early 1900s.
"Our parents taught us many important lessons," Barb said. "The first
of these being that ranching is a hard business."
Don and Peter Meike, with
their dog Benny, work sheep in the corrals on a dreary Sunday afternoon.
Bulletin Photo by Katie Hulet |
Whatever
trials and tribulations they have encountered along the way, the three
have remained together and made their ranching operation 19 miles east
of Kaycee a success.
Considering Don is 77 years old, Barb is 75 and Peter - the youngest -
is 72, that's an accomplishment.
"Dad used to say that 'it's not doing what you like, it's learning to
like what you do,"' Barb said.
The three Meikes know those are words to live by.
When
their grandfather Emil Meike first arrived in Wyoming, he formed the
Sussex Irrigation Company. Bringing water to the fields that surrounded
the Powder River was an incredible feat. It was the first water taken
out of the Powder River for irrigation - and men and horses solely
created those ditches.
For most, it provided winter feed for the livestock from haying. It
also gave the Meike Ranch its biggest start.
During
1915, there was an oil boom in place in the region and teams of horses
aided most of the production. Oats grew on the ranch; they were a cash
crop and the main source of feed for the horses at the time.
When
the ranch was passed on to Peter Meike elder, the Meike
siblings' father, he encouraged his children to become a part of the
operation.
At the ripe age of 21, the boys were each given the
chance to buy one-third of the ranch. Don said at that moment, he and
his brother reached a milestone - they became one-third boss.
"This early age of responsibility is the reason that we
have held it together for so long," Don said. Instead of paying for
their share of the ranch, the young men worked their debt off for the
ranch.
The ranch itself is now a corporation of 21 stockholders, of whom the
five Meike children are members.
Don,
Peter and Barb have two other sisters, Emma and Helen. Emma lives just
up the road from her siblings and helps out when she can, and Helen
remains in Newcastle. Barb is the only sister who has stayed on the
ranch to help.
Also included in the corporation are nine nieces and nephews and four
employees.
But
it's been the three Meikes - Don, Peter, and Barb - who are the
backbone behind the stability of the ranch over the decades.
In
1985, Don and Peter decided they would offer their employees shares in
the ranch. "This gives them incentive to really dedicated themselves to
their work," Don said.
Of the four employees, Carlos Caro and
Ramon Espinoza have worked on the Meike Ranch for 27 years apiece -
since they were 18 years old. Dan Fraker and Erasmo Garcia have been
there for nine years each.
The employees are provided with houses to live in, beef during the year
and health insurance.
Their
father taught the kids many lessons, among them being good employers.
Years ago, their father came up with the ranch motto: "Being a good
neighbor is always our top priority."
Being a good employer and neighbor go hand-in-hand with the hard work
ethic their parents taught them, Don said.
"We
have been very blessed to make this ranch work because we get along
with one another," he said. "We don't always agree on everything but we
have good communication."
And with 50 years of teamwork behind them, they're doing something
right.
The
ranch has seen its share of tough times, however. It has made it
through many years of drought. Peter pointed out another lesson: It is
vital to recognize the problems that are present.
"By knowing
that we will have a shortage of water to irrigate with, it is important
to get irrigating out of the way earlier in the season," he said. "We
utilize our resources when we have them."
Don and Peter don't
see problems with the sheep and cattle markets. They said the cattle
market has dropped slightly but not enough to hurt them.
They
don't have to worry about hay prices because they never are required to
buy hay from other producers. Everything the Meike Ranch grows is kept
for their herds' feed.
To help supplement their alfalfa supply, corn is a major source of feed
that the Meikes rely on.
This
fall season has been particularly tough, though. Usually, the ranch
doesn't have to feed the livestock during this period because there is
late-season rain that provides moisture for growth in field grasses.
But with the lack of moisture and the abundance of rabbits, the fields
are completely devoid of food.
"We have been forced to start feeding our livestock hay already,"
instead of at the heart of winter, Don said.
Thankfully, the Meikes have strong support.
With
1,200 acres of irrigated land, employees are essential to the strength
of their ranch. Forty years ago, the three children did all the
irrigating by themselves. But being in their 70s and having so many
fields to water, they have to rely heavily on their help.
In
addition to the irrigating, the hired hands assist in the haying during
the summer months and the plowing in the fields. The Meike Ranch
currently has about 2,100 sheep, only about two-thirds of what the
operation normally has because of the dry conditions.
They also are wintering around 500 cows. The hands help with the
livestock feeding and the lambing season when it comes.
During
the summer months, the sheep are sent to the Big Horn Mountains with
the sheepherders. It takes two weeks to trail them to the mountain and
two weeks to get them back down. Often, the lambs will be shipped
directly off the mountain in order to save time during trailing.
"The
mountain is an insurance company for us," Don said. "Whatever the
conditions are like on the ranch, the mountain is always more fair."
While the mountain will remain for generations to come, the end of an
era is approaching.
Don and Peter are saying goodbye to their sister who is moving to
Buffalo to officially retire with her husband.
Although
they won't be far from her, things will undoubtedly be different for
them. They are now going to have to cook their own meals and clean up
after themselves.
But they'll continue with the only lifestyle they know being ranchers.
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