Ranch Hand
John B Shawcroft Ranches
La, Jara, Colorado
A family owned and run ranch, I personally had many responsibilities depending on the time of year. During the summer my primary responsibility was to operate heavy machinery in the growth and harvesting of crops. During the Fall we would prepare the fields and fences to prepare to bring our cattle back from the mountain ranges where they had spent the summer. Once it was determined that the fences were in good condition, we would bring the cows home, which meant several days of driving to various ranges and searching the mountains to make sure we had found all of the cattle. During the winter my focus was to keep the cattle well fed by keeping track of how many cows were in each field, how they were fed the day before, and how much feed had. Then between the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring, we would start "calving season" Where I was in charge of taking specified shifts to go to the various groups of cows and if any of them had had their babies, it was my job to get the calf and the correct mother into our barn where they could stay warm through the night.