WHITEHALL — Calving in the winter is no small task for Montana ranchers.
"Ranching is all I ever knew growing up," says Garrett Harshbarger, a third-generation cattle rancher in Whitehall.
Watch the full story:
"And then I went to college and thought for a second there maybe I wouldn’t ranch, but then I realized that’s my passion and so that kind of brought me back to do what I'm doing now," he says.
After earning his degree in agricultural business at Montana State University, Garrett came back to Whitehall to take over the ranch from his parents and is now the owner of Waterloo Land & Cattle.
"I choose to run Hereford cows, and then I cross them to Angus bulls to get a cross-bred calf and so that’s kind of my program," he says.
Calving season in Montana can run anywhere from January to June. Harshbarger says for the sake of time, he chooses to calve mid-winter in February.
"No matter when you calve, it takes a lot of time. You know, you gotta put the time in and check them and make sure everything is going good. Really there’s a lot of things that could go wrong, and a lot of the time we just hope that nothing does," says Garrett.
Harshbarger explains that during winter months, cows eat double what they usually do because their bodies rely on food to make heat.
"And then also, you know, as we calve, when it gets this cold, we bring them into the barn to calve so they’re not in the wind and colder temperatures," he says.
From making hay to culling herds, prep is a year-round task. But during calving season, the ranch runs extra shifts—early in the morning, all through the night.
"In our operation, we try to check every two to three hours during calving to make sure we’re always getting eyes on what’s going on," Harshbarger says.
And even with years of experience, he says there is always still more to learn.
"I’ve had resources with our local vet and folks that have been in the cow business longer than I have that you know, I call on sometimes," Harshbarger says. "So, I would say I learn something new every week probably, there’s always something new to learn."
"Support your local rancher, eat beef, and if you're a rancher and you're not involved with a stock growers association in your area I'd highly recommend getting involved because it’s always good to advocate," he adds.
