1907:  Theodore and Elizabeth Ridder moved their young family from northeast Nebraska to their newly-purchased ranch west of Callaway in 1907. Here they built a business and raised what would become a 13-member family, among them two Catholic sisters, ranchers, a mechanic, a dentist, an interior designer with a PhD, and a Naval aviator instructor.

4th generation:   Aside from the date on the calendar, little has changed on our 4th generation ranch all these years. We still fix fence, repair windmills, put up hay in the summer, calve out cows, brand and wean, check pastures, and contend with severe drought, cyclonic blizzards, early and late frosts, too little or too much wind, wild temperature swings, undependable markets, serious world affairs, and two-legged and four-legged varmints.

 Rewarding:   The work on a ranch is rarely easy but it's often rewarding. We enjoy the fact that we plan our day, seeing a project through to its completion, and realizing first-hand the outcome of our management and our muscle. 

The Year:    Below are some of the jobs we do throughout the year. 

Following a snowstorm, feeding hay  with a bale shredder.

Feeding heavy (calving) cows "up close" during a snowstorm.

More feeding chores, this time with a feed wagon.

Eartagging & measuring a newborn calf.

Moving cows down the road to winter grazing. Often there's a lead cow who shows the herd where to go.

Sorting calves on branding day. All of our family gets into the action.

Bringing in the cattle for branding in early May.

Sometimes a cow "plants" her calf when she leaves it to go eat. After searching, we found this calf hunkering down in a safe place.

Fencing is almost a year 'round job. Above these fencers rests Old Blue, the fencing truck.

Construction projects include new roofs.

Our sale day is held on our ranch each February, just before calving begins. Here our customers are studying the offering.