Overall this winter has been unusually warm and dry for western South Dakota but the last few weeks Old Man Winter broke that silence with a cold crack. With over night lows flirting around the zero mark ranchers gearing up for calving season have definitely noticed the change in temperature. Local Hermosa rancher Denise Baker said she's been praying her cattle will wait for some of these extreme low nights to pass before they start calving.
"It was -15º Saturday night and we were out checking cows around 2 a.m. we were just hoping we didn’t have any calving problems,” said Denise.
Denise and her husband Jim have been ranching together for 18 years now. Jim comes from a ranching family both his parents and grandparents were ranchers while he was growing up. Life on a cattle ranch is secondary nature for this couple now. Although the cold weather can be a challenge it comes with a silver lining.
“We have less calf sickness when it is cold and dry for calving rather than later in the spring when it could be warm and wet, said Denise. “When it's cold we calve in the barn and once they r up and have sucked the worst part is done.”
The cold nights are a fair trade to the ranchers who love what they’re doing. And so far this winter has been gracious to those running cattle in the Black Hills.
“It is a great way of life! Not necessarily very lucrative, but very satisfying,” said Denise. “The best day is probably sale day when you see you’re hard work pay off.”
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