The American dream. The search for a life on the range. This is something I have always dreamed of. Ever since I was a little kid, I grew up wanting to be a cowboy. A somewhat far fetch dream for a boy from an ocean side town in California, but last school year I set the goal of working on a ranch for the summer. At first I thought it impossible but as summer neared I was given an opportunity to go work on a ranch in central Florida. Not exactly the western ranges I was hoping for, but an excellent opportunity none the less. As I began to research the place I would call home for 2 months of my summer I began to fully understand the opportunity before me. 

The ranch, Deseret Cattle and Citrus, is the largest cow calf operation in the United States. An operation of unfathomable magnitude. Home to around 45,000 head of cattle spanning 300,000 acres. It began to dawn on me that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. One that I could have only dreamed of. I was going to get a taste of the ranch life, and on one of the largest scales imaginable. 

When I arrived I didn’t know what to expect. I had seen pictures but nothing compares to being there. Driving around the ranch you begin to get a scope of things. Wide open pasture stretching hundreds of acres, the only thing splitting them, barbed wire fences and crushed shell roads. As I settled into the place I would call home for the summer everything began to set in. I was living the dream. 

My days on the ranch were long. Like on any ranch the day starts early, usually before the sun is up. The first thing we did when work started was feed the horses. While they ate we brushed and saddled them. As they finished up we put our bridles on and loaded the horses onto the trailer. It was time to go rotate cattle.

Now I had never really worked with cattle before this summer. I had ridden along with my great Uncle once on his ranch but that was the only prior experience I had. I also didn’t have much experience on horseback. I would ride every chance I could get growing up but these opportunities were rare. Regardless of experience I just decided to put myself out there. A trial by fire. I was determined to make this work, to learn.

As the sun began to be fully visible on the horizon we started our cattle drive. On the average day we would rotate around 3-4 herds, pushing them to different pastures to continue their grazing. Our unit had around ten herds with an average of 300 head to a herd. Some herds had calves on them as well, this meant we would be pushing closer to 600 animals as calves are not a part of the herd count. Rotations were done everyday. The reason, promote healthy grasses and keep a surplus for when winter comes. 

The first half of the day was spent rotating. It took around an hour per herd to gather and drive the cattle to the desired pasture. After all the rotation for the day was done it was time to head back, unsaddle the horses, and feed them. The second half of the day was spent building things to improve the unit, fixing fence, or doing odd chores. This is where the truly back breaking labor came into play. Whether it be lifting 8 foot wood poles, to building whole new sections of fence, the Florida summer heat combined with the humidity made for quite the work environment. It was not rare to sweat through your jeans and shirt. As the end of the day approached we would clean up and get things ready for the next day, just to do it all again. 

Now although all this sounds pretty straight forward, ti wasn’t quite as simple as I thought. The first week was rough for me. I always felt like I was doing something wrong or in the way. Turns out cows are a little more complicated than you would think. They react heavily to your movements and things can go bad in an instant. But as the summer progressed I learned. I started to comprehend the movements and behaviors of the cows. I began to understand how they would react to me and my horse and what to do in certain situations. I learned how different ages of cattle move, some take a lot of work to rotate while other practically rotate themselves.

The most interesting and important days of the summer came when it was time to ship out calves. This day was described to me by one of my bosses as the ranch version of the Super Bowl. It was when you figured out if all your work for that calving season had paid off. These days started way earlier than others, well before the sun was up. But it began like every other day by getting horses and everything ready. 

I remember the first day we shipped calves. I was a couple weeks in and really starting to get the hang of things but this almost felt like starting over. As we sat on our horses in the pasture waiting for the sun to show, I was absolutely taken aback by the work. This is the experience I had always dreamed of. As light shown work began and we pushed the herd towards the cowpens where they would be processed. 

These were the days where I learned the most about what it means to be a cowboy. From getting kicked in the leg to splitting off and chasing after calves, these days were long and eventful.  As we pushed the cattle into the pens the real work for the day was only getting started. There are two main goals on these days: ship calves, and check cows for pregnancy. 

Once all the cows were in the pens it was time to get dirty. Whether it be covered in mud or cow poo, the job was messy. Calves were split off from cows and sent to be weighed. Cows were then sent back through to be pregnancy checked. As the low man on the job site I spent my day running back and forth, moving cattle on foot through these pens. Eventually after paying my dues running around I was able to move up to help work the cows. When we would check the cows we would also give them dewormer and other vaccines. This was my new job. As they came through the chute I was responsible for administering two injections into each cow. Often they would begin flailing about. It’s interesting to get to work so closely with an animal of that size. They become more real, more personal.

My summer was exactly what I needed it to be. The experiences I had and the knowledge I gained is priceless. After seeing and working in the cattle industry I truly began to realize all of the work that goes into putting food on the shelves of our grocery stores. There are so many people that play a part in the process. I think it often gets taken for granted how much work it truly takes to go from ranch to plate. I gained a greater appreciation for all food and a greater appreciation for the meat we consume. After all the work I put in the summer, each bite now tastes a little better.