by Naomi Loomis, WSRRA
Association Representative
When it comes to magazines or online stories, you need good content and interesting topics; they also must grab the reader’s attention, and be of good quality, Right? Today, I want talk with Tim O’Byrne with the Working Ranch Magazine. Tim is also an author of a couple of books, Cowboys and Dog Tales and Cowboys and Buckaroos – Trade Secrets of a North American Icon. “Working Ranch is the leading brand for the cattle industry. Our magazine reaches over 55,000 of America’s largest cattle operations with a special focus on commercial and purebred cow/calf producers; our Facebook page enjoys over 160,000 highly engaged fans that pushed one of our videos viral to over 7 million; and our radio show is enjoyed by ranchers throughout the world.” workingranchmag.com/about-us/
Tim talks a little about his life, “My family came to Canada from Europe and Ireland way back when and ended up on the Central Plains where they raised cattle and crops. My dad was in the Air Force, and I was born in Germany, so I got the travel bug early,” he says. “I started west of Calgary right out of high school at what is now Alta Genetics, they were doing cutting edge embryo transfer back in the late ‘70s. All of it was surgical back then; we’d knock the cow out and do midline incisions to implant the embryos. I fell in with the recip cowboys my second year there and got bit by the bug hard,” he says. Tim also talks about the outfits that he worked on; “I headed west and worked for all the big outfits in British Columbia; Nicola, Quilchena, I was a division foreman at Douglas Lake, and cowboss of the Gang Ranch. Along the way I buckarooed on the Gamble Winecup, the T Lazy S and the JD, all in northern Nevada, and every one of the outfits I was on was big and strictly horseback with camps and wagons. After that I did five years in the big feedyards in Alberta.”
Tim tells me about some of his best memories, “Me and the cowboss of Douglas Lake one time, we were short-handed but had some nice Kelpies coming up, we set out to gather, or try and gather, a very huge chunk of country by ourselves. What the heck, right? We took our time, and five hours later I was at the gate and counted 1,207 pairs through, without a doggie in the bunch. Took an hour and a half for them to waddle through before the cowboss and the drag showed up.” He also told me about an time in Carlin, Nevada, “One fall I was down on the JD south of Carlin, Nevada, and Royce Hanson was the buckaroo boss there. We were gathering some big country of yearling heifers to ship, and they weren’t having any part of it. I got behind twenty or so and they said, “Nope” and were gone down one of those sage-choked arroyos that disappear down into the desert. I didn’t have any dogs, and I didn’t want to hold up the works, so after about 45 minutes of chasing those waspy gals, I dropped them and made my way back to the rodear. I walked my spent hoss up to Royce and admitted I lost ‘em, which was hard to swallow. He just sat there, reins and romel draped over the horn, and said, “Well, kid, don’t worry too much about it, there’s an ocean on either side of us, it’s too cold up North, and they’ll never make it across the Panama Canal.” Those priceless, respectful, calming teaching moments are never forgotten, and I’m forever grateful to have worked on crews led by such amazing men.”
I know that I sure enjoy reading the Working Ranch Magazine and I wanted to know a little more about how Tim got into the writing and magazine production. “My wife Christine was with me for much of my big outfit years, and one day she suggested I write a book about cowdogs and their exploits, which I eventually did (Cowboys and Dog Tales). Western Horseman reviewed it, which led to me writing ranch features for them for several years. Then, I wrote their book, Cowboys and Buckaroos – Trade Secrets of a North American Icon. A few years later, the gentleman that had the idea for Working Ranch, Drew Lawler, called me up and said he saw that book and wanted to know if I’d come onboard. That was 15 years ago.”
The Working Ranch has evolved through the years. “We listened to the readers right out of the gate, we gave them what they wanted, and made them feel like WR is a safe harbor where they could relax and visit like neighbors and family, show off pictures of the grandkids and their critters. We all know the bad stuff, no reason to dwell on it. We keep it upbeat, funny, poignant, educational, and feature amazing photography from out in the field; the vast majority of our photos are shot by ranch wives out there every single day.”
We spend a lot more time on social media and the digital world. After 10 years, we have 160,000 followers. Every Friday I post a cattle call, “Hey, what’s everybody doing out there in cow country?”, and I’ll get between 150 and 200 replies, videos and photos. And everyone stays very polite and follows cookhouse rules because they know I’m right there, answering or liking every single video. Also, I use social media as a place where I can ask for special photos or get some input or a lead for a story. Folks come back almost immediately with a photo or an answer. It’s invaluable to us. And our podcast, the Working Ranch Radio Show, is extremely vibrant. We get over a thousand downloads per day, and we’re on SiriusXM and most of the Heartland AM/FM stations. Again, very interactive because we have a hotline, 707-RANCH-15, that listeners call in with questions or answers to previous questions, so it’s like this big ol’ porch visit for an hour every week.”
One thing I wanted to get was Tim’s opinion about was how he foresees ranching evolving in the next decade. I appreciate his response, “It’s going to be amazing, the next generation is so cool, they have it together way more than my generation did, I think. There is no box for them, and they’re not afraid to tell folks or family what they intend on doing, and how they’re gonna get it done. I just smile. But to be fair, we did set the stage for them pretty good; when I was a young lad you couldn’t get a decent steak in town. Today, there’s a hi-quality steakhouse on every second street corner in downtown America, and the dining experience is consistently amazing, and I like to think my generation and those before us had a lot to do with getting us here today.”
I also asked him what he thinks are the biggest challenges facing family ranches and the ranching industry. “Succession is one, but we’re overcoming that; and connecting with the young city folks who’ve been spoon fed a bunch of tripe about our industry and community is going to be a significant hurdle, but we’re going to win them back by taking the high road and patiently educating them while refraining from engaging with the vocal detractors.”
One thing that I love about helping with the WSRRA is meeting folks like Tim. To be honest, I sanctioned my ranch rodeo with the WSRRA after reading an article in the WR written by Tim for the WSRRA. Tim tells me that he met Marc Page when he was just starting the association. “I met Marc years ago when he and his crew first got it going, and I just liked the style of it, since I spent my cowboy years in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Basin. We even visited about doing something jointly in Vegas during NFR, which is not totally out of the question.”
Check out Working Ranch Magazine on your favorite social media outlets and subscribe to it as well. “We target 55,000 ranches that are verified to have over 200 head of beef cows, so our lists are BPA-audited with herd sizes on them. That way, the advertisers know our readers are legit, they are playing to win. We estimate our pass-along is pretty high, like two to three more pairs of eyes, because rarely does anyone throw a copy away, they either give it to someone or it gets “tactically acquired” by someone else. Content is the equivalent of sweet feed. Subscribe by going to workingranchmag.com, we keep it affordable, only $19 per year for six thick glossy issues,” states Tim.
On behalf of the WSRRA, thank you Tim and crew at the working Ranch magazine for your support of the WSRRA. I would like to leave you with Tim’s favorite quote and statement.
“Once started, half finished.”
“It’s up to us old guys to pass along the real cowboy and buckaroo traditions that are learned and earned, not some made-up version, and it’s up to the young pups to grasp it and keep it alive. We owe it to the old boys that nursed us along when we were sprouts. My advice to anyone starting out punching cows on the big outfits is to keep your trap shut until your 25th birthday and learn by watching & doing.” – Tim O’Byrne
