Hunkering down on the range: A Montana rancher's yearly battle against the elements
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Nov 8, 2020 4:58 PM EDT
After dealing with a recent cold snap in late October, Montana rancher Justin Iverson begins to hunker down his ranch for the winter.
With areas of the ground still muddy from a previous cold snap's snowmelt, Montana cattle rancher Justin Iverson, 43, and his family have got an early start preparing for the weekend winter weather. A third-generation rancher, Iverson and his wife, Jennifer, own Iverson Ranch in Potomac, Montana, where they raise cattle for beef production.
But Montana has proven to be no mild state in which to raise cattle.
Montana's winters can be brutal, and the low temperatures are at their most ruthless during January and February, when they can plunge to as low as minus 30. However, temperatures during October aren't necessarily mild. The mercury plunged to record-shattering levels across the state as a cold snap hit western Montana on Oct. 26.
Even in October, the low temperatures are capable of freezing the ground, creating hard, uneven terrain that can lead to foot injuries for cattle. Due to the complications winter poses, preparation for the season starts in mid-October at the ranch.
Around this time, Iverson reigns in the cattle from the pastures scattered across the counties where they had spent the summer raising calves and breeding. Their home on the range sits about 30 minutes to the east of Missoula, Montana, where Iverson can have them all in one place and keep a closer eye on them in the harsh elements.
A herd of cattle in a snowy field on a ranch in Potomac, Montana, where the temperature plummeted to minus-29.2 degrees F over the weekend. (Justin Iverson)
(Justin Iverson)
Low temperatures alone can wreak havoc on a ranch without proper preparations. A large concern for the ranch is ensuring the water troughs don't freeze over -- they have heaters in place to aid against that. However, even technology isn't the perfect defense against the most punishing cold.
"For us, it's equipment failures," Iverson told AccuWeather in a Zoom interview. The cold can not only prevent diesel-fueled tractors from starting up, but it can contribute to metal fatigue with the equipment used to lug around 1,400-pound hay bales.
"That's difficult on the equipment, so we have spares. We have spare equipment around [so] that [if] something breaks, we don't have time to try to fix it," Iverson said. The heavy equipment on hand, aided by block heaters to ensure the cold temperatures don't affect the fuel, includes machines to plow through snow to create a clean spot to throw hay.
With the forecast calling for feet rather than inches of snow over the weekend, the Iverson Ranch started preparing earlier in the week for the incoming blizzard. Due to the ranch's location in the mountains, Iverson told AccuWeather over a Zoom call that he generally doesn't see the true blizzards coming through, but the ranch will sometimes be buried under heavy snow.
Snow-covered cattle on Iverson's Montana ranch. (Justin Iverson)
"It's adapting to what's going on," Iverson said in relation to trying to be ready for whatever the weather throws at his ranch and cows. "You can never prepare 100% for the weather here. You just have to have plans in place and have practice. Fortunately, we have a lot of practice with cold snaps, so we're able to jump in and do some of those things."
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One way or another, the ranch works its schedule around the arrival of the winter weather, just as it works around Montana's winter in other aspects, from the type of cattle raised on the ranch to the cattle's lifecycle.
For the ranch's commercial cow calf operation, it raises summertime calves, which are born in March and April outside of the winter months.
"When I was a kid, we used to calve in February," Iverson said. "It was miserable. You were out all night long, making sure they weren't getting frostbite and getting them inside the barn, and that causes much more problems," he continued. "So we moved our calving later and later."
Even the types of cattle the ranch raises are specifically bred to be able to endure the landscape and the weather. The Iverson Ranch raises a hybrid cross of primarily Red Angus but also has a cross with both Gelbvieh and Simmental cattle, which are German and Swiss breeds, respectively, that Iverson said do well in the mountains and colder climates.
"Conversely, our cattle would not do well in the southern states. It would be too hot," Iverson said. "They would not be able to get rid of their body heat, much like the Brahman cross type cattle you'll see in Texas, etc."
A cow covered in snow on Iverson Ranch in Potomac, Montana. (Image/Justin Iverson)
"You'll see them walk around with snow on their backs -- that doesn't mean they're cold," Iverson explained. "That means they're well insulated."
The extra hay he throws during the winter also works to help keep the cattle warm, providing calories for them to burn, which makes expansive hay reserves crucial during the winter. The length and brutality of each winter will typically play into how much hay the ranch will go through during the season. An earlier winter means throwing hay to the cattle sooner rather than around the usual time for the ranch, which is typically close to Thanksgiving.
"We plan on starting to feed around Thanksgiving, and so we try to calculate feeding through from Thanksgiving through May," Iverson said. "We can turn our cattle back out on the range generally the first and second week of June."
Keeping the cattle fed with access to water throughout the winter was still the biggest challenge of the season. To put into perspective how much hay the cattle can go through, the largest of the three hay sheds on the ranch can hold approximately 190 tons of hay -- which is about two months' worth of hay for the cattle. Iverson and his workers also store hay at a stackyard on a ranch across the road.
The Iverson Ranch raises 500 acres of hay a year, so they typically don't have to buy the feed when winter comes around and prices tend to skyrocket.
An image of Iverson Ranch’s largest hay shed on the property, which can hold about 190 tons of hay. That’s about two months' worth of hay for the cattle. (Justin Iverson)
During years like the previous one, when Iverson and his crew didn't have to start feeding until later into the winter -- during late December rather than late November -- they were able to sell the surplus hay to locals who were running short. However, Iverson said, he typically will only sell after May, which is usually the last month when hay is thrown to the cattle.
With the arrival of the warmer months comes the reminder of another battle the ranchers face -- retaining land for their cattle to roam and graze.
Over recent years, an influx of people to Montana has sparked a fight for land between ranchers and developers.
"It's having that open space to be able to put out hay, to be able to graze in the summertime and have those cows spread out," Iverson said, adding that being able to do so is crucial, but it's becoming increasingly stressful.
Some of the open land is able to be preserved through conservation easements, which are agreements that protect ranches, farms and wildlife habitats from development while also keeping them under private ownership. The Iverson Ranch has about 700 acres in the valley that the family actively runs, and different members of the family own different pieces of it.
In addition to the battle for land for the purposes of ranching, housing prices have also risen sharply.
"Montana is a great place to live. It's a hard place to make a living. So finding affordable housing has been very difficult," Iverson said. "It's not getting any easier with folks moving out here."
Charlotte Durham, broker and owner of Big Sky Sotheby's International Realty, spoke with AccuWeather over a Zoom call on the topic of the people she sees moving into the area of Bozeman, Montana, which is about a three-hour drive south and east of Potomac.
"We've seen just an explosive amount of growth over the last few months as people flood more dense areas to our area," Durham said. "With everything that's happening in the world right now, whether it's COVID or the violence we're seeing across the country. I think that people are really just looking to come to an area of wide-open space and fresh air."
The transplants come from across the states, Durham noted, though there has been an increase in prices now, as Iverson noted he had also seen around Missoula.
"There's just not enough inventory to keep up with the amount of demand that's coming into the area," Durham said.
The Iverson Ranch sign nearly buried in snow. (Image/Justin Iverson)
Iverson added that around Missoula, the land isn't sold in small subdivisions, meaning people have to buy around 20 acres at a time, which can bring the price up.
So with the harsh winters and the battle for land, why stay in Montana? For Iverson, it's all in continuing the family legacy. The Iverson Ranch has been in the family for three generations, and he says his cousin's kids are the fourth generation to work on the ranch.
"There are a lot easier places to raise cattle for sure, but we like this little pile of rock," Iverson said.
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News / Weather News
Hunkering down on the range: A Montana rancher's yearly battle against the elements
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Nov 8, 2020 4:58 PM EDT
After dealing with a recent cold snap in late October, Montana rancher Justin Iverson begins to hunker down his ranch for the winter.
With areas of the ground still muddy from a previous cold snap's snowmelt, Montana cattle rancher Justin Iverson, 43, and his family have got an early start preparing for the weekend winter weather. A third-generation rancher, Iverson and his wife, Jennifer, own Iverson Ranch in Potomac, Montana, where they raise cattle for beef production.
But Montana has proven to be no mild state in which to raise cattle.
Montana's winters can be brutal, and the low temperatures are at their most ruthless during January and February, when they can plunge to as low as minus 30. However, temperatures during October aren't necessarily mild. The mercury plunged to record-shattering levels across the state as a cold snap hit western Montana on Oct. 26.
Even in October, the low temperatures are capable of freezing the ground, creating hard, uneven terrain that can lead to foot injuries for cattle. Due to the complications winter poses, preparation for the season starts in mid-October at the ranch.
Around this time, Iverson reigns in the cattle from the pastures scattered across the counties where they had spent the summer raising calves and breeding. Their home on the range sits about 30 minutes to the east of Missoula, Montana, where Iverson can have them all in one place and keep a closer eye on them in the harsh elements.
A herd of cattle in a snowy field on a ranch in Potomac, Montana, where the temperature plummeted to minus-29.2 degrees F over the weekend. (Justin Iverson)
Low temperatures alone can wreak havoc on a ranch without proper preparations. A large concern for the ranch is ensuring the water troughs don't freeze over -- they have heaters in place to aid against that. However, even technology isn't the perfect defense against the most punishing cold.
"For us, it's equipment failures," Iverson told AccuWeather in a Zoom interview. The cold can not only prevent diesel-fueled tractors from starting up, but it can contribute to metal fatigue with the equipment used to lug around 1,400-pound hay bales.
"That's difficult on the equipment, so we have spares. We have spare equipment around [so] that [if] something breaks, we don't have time to try to fix it," Iverson said. The heavy equipment on hand, aided by block heaters to ensure the cold temperatures don't affect the fuel, includes machines to plow through snow to create a clean spot to throw hay.
With the forecast calling for feet rather than inches of snow over the weekend, the Iverson Ranch started preparing earlier in the week for the incoming blizzard. Due to the ranch's location in the mountains, Iverson told AccuWeather over a Zoom call that he generally doesn't see the true blizzards coming through, but the ranch will sometimes be buried under heavy snow.
Snow-covered cattle on Iverson's Montana ranch. (Justin Iverson)
"It's adapting to what's going on," Iverson said in relation to trying to be ready for whatever the weather throws at his ranch and cows. "You can never prepare 100% for the weather here. You just have to have plans in place and have practice. Fortunately, we have a lot of practice with cold snaps, so we're able to jump in and do some of those things."
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
One way or another, the ranch works its schedule around the arrival of the winter weather, just as it works around Montana's winter in other aspects, from the type of cattle raised on the ranch to the cattle's lifecycle.
For the ranch's commercial cow calf operation, it raises summertime calves, which are born in March and April outside of the winter months.
"When I was a kid, we used to calve in February," Iverson said. "It was miserable. You were out all night long, making sure they weren't getting frostbite and getting them inside the barn, and that causes much more problems," he continued. "So we moved our calving later and later."
Even the types of cattle the ranch raises are specifically bred to be able to endure the landscape and the weather. The Iverson Ranch raises a hybrid cross of primarily Red Angus but also has a cross with both Gelbvieh and Simmental cattle, which are German and Swiss breeds, respectively, that Iverson said do well in the mountains and colder climates.
"Conversely, our cattle would not do well in the southern states. It would be too hot," Iverson said. "They would not be able to get rid of their body heat, much like the Brahman cross type cattle you'll see in Texas, etc."
A cow covered in snow on Iverson Ranch in Potomac, Montana. (Image/Justin Iverson)
"You'll see them walk around with snow on their backs -- that doesn't mean they're cold," Iverson explained. "That means they're well insulated."
The extra hay he throws during the winter also works to help keep the cattle warm, providing calories for them to burn, which makes expansive hay reserves crucial during the winter. The length and brutality of each winter will typically play into how much hay the ranch will go through during the season. An earlier winter means throwing hay to the cattle sooner rather than around the usual time for the ranch, which is typically close to Thanksgiving.
"We plan on starting to feed around Thanksgiving, and so we try to calculate feeding through from Thanksgiving through May," Iverson said. "We can turn our cattle back out on the range generally the first and second week of June."
Keeping the cattle fed with access to water throughout the winter was still the biggest challenge of the season. To put into perspective how much hay the cattle can go through, the largest of the three hay sheds on the ranch can hold approximately 190 tons of hay -- which is about two months' worth of hay for the cattle. Iverson and his workers also store hay at a stackyard on a ranch across the road.
The Iverson Ranch raises 500 acres of hay a year, so they typically don't have to buy the feed when winter comes around and prices tend to skyrocket.
An image of Iverson Ranch’s largest hay shed on the property, which can hold about 190 tons of hay. That’s about two months' worth of hay for the cattle. (Justin Iverson)
During years like the previous one, when Iverson and his crew didn't have to start feeding until later into the winter -- during late December rather than late November -- they were able to sell the surplus hay to locals who were running short. However, Iverson said, he typically will only sell after May, which is usually the last month when hay is thrown to the cattle.
With the arrival of the warmer months comes the reminder of another battle the ranchers face -- retaining land for their cattle to roam and graze.
Over recent years, an influx of people to Montana has sparked a fight for land between ranchers and developers.
"It's having that open space to be able to put out hay, to be able to graze in the summertime and have those cows spread out," Iverson said, adding that being able to do so is crucial, but it's becoming increasingly stressful.
Some of the open land is able to be preserved through conservation easements, which are agreements that protect ranches, farms and wildlife habitats from development while also keeping them under private ownership. The Iverson Ranch has about 700 acres in the valley that the family actively runs, and different members of the family own different pieces of it.
In addition to the battle for land for the purposes of ranching, housing prices have also risen sharply.
"Montana is a great place to live. It's a hard place to make a living. So finding affordable housing has been very difficult," Iverson said. "It's not getting any easier with folks moving out here."
Charlotte Durham, broker and owner of Big Sky Sotheby's International Realty, spoke with AccuWeather over a Zoom call on the topic of the people she sees moving into the area of Bozeman, Montana, which is about a three-hour drive south and east of Potomac.
"We've seen just an explosive amount of growth over the last few months as people flood more dense areas to our area," Durham said. "With everything that's happening in the world right now, whether it's COVID or the violence we're seeing across the country. I think that people are really just looking to come to an area of wide-open space and fresh air."
The transplants come from across the states, Durham noted, though there has been an increase in prices now, as Iverson noted he had also seen around Missoula.
"There's just not enough inventory to keep up with the amount of demand that's coming into the area," Durham said.
The Iverson Ranch sign nearly buried in snow. (Image/Justin Iverson)
Iverson added that around Missoula, the land isn't sold in small subdivisions, meaning people have to buy around 20 acres at a time, which can bring the price up.
So with the harsh winters and the battle for land, why stay in Montana? For Iverson, it's all in continuing the family legacy. The Iverson Ranch has been in the family for three generations, and he says his cousin's kids are the fourth generation to work on the ranch.
"There are a lot easier places to raise cattle for sure, but we like this little pile of rock," Iverson said.
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