After driving for 8 days and totally 2945 km (+- 10 km), we reached the goal for our roadtrip! We made it to Big Snowy Mountains and the ranch where we are going to stay. The ranch is located outside smalltown Judith Gap in central Montana, or actually 20 min east of Judith Gap, by the foothills of Big Snowy Mountains. Easy to find on a map right between Great Falls and Billings. This mountain range doesn't look so huge at the map, but it's quite big and the tallest peak is still over 2500 m. We have really pretty views of the mountains!
This ranch is family-operated, which raises calves and sell them when they are around 8 months old. Usually the calves get sold by end of october. They run around 750 cow/calf pairs of mainly Black Angus and some Red Angus. And like most all ranchers here, they cut their own hay. ( Alot of it!)...I don't know exactly how big this ranch is...( you don't really ask a rancher/farmer how much land they have..here or in Sweden.) but I've been told around 10.000 acres so around 4500 hektar..so huge!!
All cattle always goes outside, more or less in huge pastures. Usually they are up in the mountains until the colder season starts, then they come down to lower elevation before shipping and in time for start haying them. I think the rule in Sweden is that cows are granted 5 months outside, the rest of the year inside in a barn...if you don't apply for permission and pay quite alot of money. I know more and more farmers want to do it "natural" so we'll see if that will simplify the rules. Here you don't see any large barns...only small, sometimes half covered for calving or doctoring... so the cows live a natural life outside and almost undisturbed! ...
I put up some pictures from the cellphone, but tuesday we'll get better connection so I can put up real pictures from my camera....
(And sorry for my bad english and spelling...it takes a while to write with my phone..and I miss sometimes... )
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