Featuring Austin Bower, SD
Where I live here in South Dakota we run our cows in the Ft. Pierre National Grasslands from roughly May 1 until about the end of October. Every year we move about 300-325 pairs from the main place of operations to the halfway point on Day One. That way it gives us time to get the cows paired up with their calves, usually around the stock dam or near the creek so they know where the water is.
On Day Two we move them the rest of the way, pictured here. Day Two consists of crossing the major highway that runs from Interstate 90 to Pierre, SD. Traffic has to be stopped using Law Enforcement and it generally takes about 10 minutes depending on how many turn backs we have. About two miles off of the highway we come to the public trail that takes a person back into the grasslands where most people never go because “they can’t see the highway”. Going down the trail the cows usually travel side by side in two’s or three’s and towards the back of the herd the spread becomes wider. When I took this photo, I wasn’t thinking much about the quality or what the photo could be used for. I was just thinking that it was cool seeing them all lined up and going up and over the hill. The trip may only total roughly 10 miles to the furthest fence line, but the two days allows for pairing up and not having to fight returning calves. iority
