I spent a day with Mr. Whittle, a modern day cattle rancher up in Angels Camp, CA. He is a third generation rancher and his family has been in Angels Camp since 1864. They were one of the first families to settle there. Today they ranch over 20,000 acres of private and public lands. We spent today evaluating the pasture grass and opening gates to greener pastures for the cows. Now when we say cow in ranch country we are referring to momma cows. Male cows are called "bulls" and castrated males are called "steers", Young females who have not calved are called "heifers". We are cover about 800 acres or so today on horseback and this country is breath taking.
Some of you may wonder why we still us horses. It's really a lifestyle and it is less stressful for the cattle. Yes animals have stress too. When that happens they don't gain as well and it disrupts everything. So that means you wouldn't want a coyote chasing your cattle all day because they will in fact lose pounds and that can be the difference between cost and returns per animal. Like they say we like happy California cows.This school house has been here since 1864. It is one of the oldest structures here on the ranch.
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