The 2009 Maytag Mountain Ranch Branding was a succcess for all involved, both human and animal.  The organization and effectiveness of our ranch team this year, including staff, owners, family, and friends, was outstanding.  This year’s event showcased the way that a ranching community like we have here can truly come together and work for the good of both the ranch and the animals.   Thank you to the King family for their outstanding photos. Above: Russ Maytag ropes a calf. Above: Jamie, an MMR owner, herds the cows and calves to the corrals. Above: Cattle manager Montana Canterbury hands out jobs and responsibilities during the pre-branding huddle. Above: Russ and Kenny, a neighboring ranch cowboy, sorting calves from cows.

Above: Friends and neighbors of the ranch donate their time to rope some calves.

Summer has been treating the ranch well with good amounts of moisture to grow lush grass, perfect weather for riding, fishing, and hiking, and lots of owners and guests out to enjoy summertime on the ranch.  The fat cattle are currently being shipped and delivered to our beef customers and the initial reviews of our first crop of USDA organic certified cattle have been excellent.

Our summer improvement projects that include staining the ranch amenity buildings and constructing new fence lines are nearing completion thanks to the efforts of staff and owners working together.  We have had many new horsemen and women out to learn the secrets of working with horses; helping a new rider transition from a timid passenger to a confident rider in a safe and secure setting is what our riding program is all about.

The MMR chicken flock is producing well, and all owners, guests and visitors are able to enjoy a breakfast made form our fresh, free-range eggs.  If you are out and about on the ranch and you’d like a fresh egg or six,  look no further than the far side of the horse arena where the chickens are on bug control duty for the central compound.        

The wildlife have been beyond plentiful lately and have taken up late summer grazing in our alfalfa field.  Each evening you can find herds of 20-50 deer and elk grazing across the lush feed of the alfalfa field.  Our easy winter and wetter summer have provided the wildlife with incredibly high-quality forage for the past year, and the quantity and quality of wildlife we are seeing thus far as a result of these weather patterns is outstanding.