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Hunting season in the Platte Valley is a busy time of year for many people, but nobody more than the local meat processors. With over 80 years combined experience, Encampment River Processing and Merrill Meat Company are given plenty of business. Lloyd Buford, owner of Encampment River Processing, bought his business in 1983 and experienced his first full season in 1984. “I think the first year we had this, our first full game season, we did six deer for the whole season,” said Buford. “We...
In Wyoming, hunting is big business. A report released in 2017 by Southwick Associates estimated that outfitters and guides in Wyoming collected nearly $45 million from big game hunters in 2015. It was also estimated that, in total, both resident and non-resident hunters contributed over $300 million to Wyoming’s economy. In just the Laramie region alone, there are approximately 20 outfitters according to the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association. What can someone interested in having a guid...
For many people, hunting isn't just something to do during the fall and winter seasons, but is a way of life that is passed down from one generation to the other. Dennis Goodwin is one of those people. Having archery hunted for nearly 25 years and understanding the importance of the hunt to conservation and management, it's a tradition that he wants to teach his children. "I don't care if they hunt when they get older, but as long as they experience it now as they're growing up," said Dennis....
Editor's Note: While interviewing Lindsie Farver earlier in the year, she told a story about hunting antelope in her volleyball uniform. The Saratoga Sun is giving her the opportunity to tell her story in her own words. Hunting is in my blood, I was raised around it. Every year I go hunting with my dad typically rifle hunting. But this last year I decided archery was for me. We practiced quite a bit and used a crossbow for my first big game archery hunting season. As I've gotten older athletics...
The Upper North Platte River Valley, much like the rest of Wyoming, is filled with family histories that are an integral part of the history of the area as well. The descendants of original homesteaders often still operate the very ranches founded by their ancestors. Sometimes, though, a family will find that they are working on far less land than their forebears. Such was the case for Alan Peryam, great-grandson of William T. Peryam. "Suddenly, you look up and this famous old ranch, one of the...
Firewater Public House (Firewater) owner Danny Burau has always envisioned his restaurant to have locally grown produce and proteins served at his venue whenever possible. "We had conversations with ranchers when we opened and the Barkhursts, from LL Livestock, came in we struck up an easy conversation about serving beef or bison from the Platte Valley," Burau said. He said the talks centered around how Barkhursts and Firewater could make this work. "I knew it was going to be a challenge to...
Steve Priest, the principal of Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School went to Ohio State thinking he was going to major in agronomy. His goal was to graduate and work for the seed company Dekalb. "In high school I was interested in crops, crop science and seeds, and I knew that is what I wanted to study," Priest said. "Then my Ag teacher told me I should consider going into Ag Ed. Then, another Ag Ed teacher told me I should look at it, too, so I decided to consider it." Priest was...
Toni Tolle may not be a native to the Platte Valley, having moved to Encampment in February 2018, but she is a native to the world of agriculture and the West. Born and raised in Hereford, Texas, Tolle spent countless hours in her father's tack and saddle shop. Her father made and repaired saddles, horse tack and repaired boots. "He didn't get too much into the non-tack stuff," said Tolle. An early benefit to having a father who made saddles was that Tolle used the saddles when showing and ridin...
The economics of ranching are, to put it simply, complex. Whether it's a ranch that's been family owned for over a century or an operation that spans hundreds, if not thousands, of acres, the issues faced are often the same. The health of cattle, the availability of food and the abundance, or lack thereof, of water are concerns shared by ranches of all sizes. Because of the complexity of ranch economics, the life of a ranch hand is one filled with long hours and hard work. On the TA Ranch,...
It is no accident that we use the term "busy as a bee" when talking about how active and hard working someone is. Bees are, and have been, one of the hardest working and most efficient pollinators in the animal world. A well-known byproduct of their pollination efforts is, of course, honey. According to the National Honey Board (NHB), honey production in 2013 was nearly 149 million pounds in the United States and the NHB puts annual honey consumption in the U.S. at 450 million pounds. Wyoming,...
As a Career and Technical Education teacher at HEM Jr./Sr. High School I often find myself asking what students are planning to do after high school graduation. "I'm just going back to the ranch," one student answered. I promptly reprimanded the student for considering pursuits in production agriculture an option of dishonor. Students should be proud to be involved in the agricultural industry and agricultural courses strive to support those pursuits. Realms of Participation Participation in...
Ranchers will tell you this time of year is calving season. Most of the births happen without having to get a veterinarian involved, but sometimes it is necessary to get help and Carbon County has a vet ready to help. Warner McFarland has been a veterinarian in Carbon County for over 20 years. He attended Carroll College in Helena, Mont. where he earned his B.S. in Biology. In 1993 he graduated from Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. McFarland holds licenses to practice...
