Tag: Oklahoma

36 Groups Urge Ag Secretary to Enforce Beef Checkoff Program’s Prohibition Against Conflicts of Interest; Urge Other Reforms

Mike Callicrate

Joint News Release For Immediate Release: Contact: Bill Bullard: (406-670-8157) Fred Stokes (601-527-2459) September 11, 2014 36 Groups Urge Ag Secretary to Enforce Beef Checkoff Program’s Prohibition Against Conflicts of Interest; Urge Other Reforms Washington, DC – In the wake of this weekend’s announcement by the National Farmers Union (NFU) that it was withdrawing from the Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group (working group), 36 organizations sent a joint letter today to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to Read More …

Chain Ranch – OK. Great Ranches of the West

Mike Callicrate

“Ralph and Darla have never forgotten the dustbowl lessons of how fragile this land is. Before Ralph took over ranch operations from his father, wildlife had been scarce for the previous sixty years, killed off by homesteaders and unstable environmental practices. Now whitetail deer, birds, wild pigs, and other creatures native to this Oklahoma region flourish where the Chains have taken the time to create specific habitats for them on the ranch. ‘My goal is to put this Read More …

Drummond Ranch – OK. Great Ranches of the West

Mike Callicrate

“The spring rains yielded to hot summer days, and it was the second hunt of the year ordered by the elders. Several six-foot-tall hunters of the Ni-U-Kon-Ska people quietly padded through the prairie grass that reached above their shoulders. These “Children of the Middle Waters” – called Osage by the early French settlers – were skilled traders, bartering the hunt’s game for implements and weapons at the mercantile store in town. The young store employee who met these Read More …

Drummond Ranch – OK. Great Ranches of the West

Mike Callicrate

“I’m instantly enchanted by this family – by their appreciation of history, their concern for the land, their creativity. For example, Ladd’s wife Ree recently launched a modern Little House on the Prairie blog that gets more than 3,000 hits a day. Is she a pioneer woman like the last century’s Addie Drummond? ‘I am nearly a mirror image of her,’ she says. ‘Well, except I grew up in the city and never set foot in the country Read More …

Chain Ranch – OK. Great Ranches of the West

Mike Callicrate

“The century-old tale has been passed down through six generations of ranchers, undiluted by time. In 1893 – fifteen years before Oklahoma would become a state, Oscar Chain traded $50 and a shotgun for 160 dusty acres situated between the North and South Canadian Rivers in Dewey County. Looking over the ranch today, it seems to me that the founder of the Chain Land and Cattle Company got a fabulous bargain. With 60,000 acres spread over seven different Read More …

Drummond Ranch – OK. Great Ranches of the West

Mike Callicrate

“I’m instantly enchanted by this family – by their appreciation of history, their concern for the land, their creativity. For example, Ladd’s wife Ree recently launched a modern Little House on the Prairie blog that gets more than 3,000 hits a day. Is she a pioneer woman like the last century’s Addie Drummond? ‘I am nearly a mirror image of her,’ she says. ‘Well, except I grew up in the city and never set foot in the country Read More …

Chain Ranch – OK. Great Ranches of the West

Mike Callicrate

“The century-old tale has been passed down through six generations of ranchers, undiluted by time. In 1893 – fifteen years before Oklahoma would become a state, Oscar Chain traded $50 and a shotgun for 160 dusty acres situated between the North and South Canadian Rivers in Dewey, County. Looking over the ranch today, it seems to me that the founder of the Chain Land and Cattle Company got a fabulous bargain. With 60,000 acres spread over seven different Read More …