The Eagle Creek ranch is located 18 miles southeast of Big Sandy on the Warrick Road. This part of the ranch is mountainous as it sits up against the southeastern edge of the Bear Paw mountain range at an elevation of 3630 feet. Aspen groves and evergreen trees are abundant here. Range grasses include most species of Wheat Grass, Blue Grama, and Timothy.
Eagle Creek is home to the company President/CEO Richard Roth and his wife Jeri. Richard came back to the ranch in January 2002 after having spent time marketing agriculture commodities both in the public and private sectors. Richard manages all business, financial, and production segments of the operation as well as all company relations. .
A scenic and majestic part of the ranch, Shane Rigby and his wife Josie manage this location and are in charge of calving over 525 first-year heifers in March and managing them through the summer on deeded and private leased lands. Shane is also in charge of 650 replacement heifers, colt breaking and all day to day operations. Josie handles all meals for a large crew during calving and one to two additional employees during the summer and fall. Josie also works closely with Diane Sparks, who has run the ranch’s livestock inventory system for over 20 years and is now a ranch mentor, managing the “Ranchlogs” cattle inventory and grazing system. This software includes annual cattle movement schedules and AUM usage and ranch-wide livestock inventory. Josie is actively involved in livestock and range data input as well as assisting with calving out the first year heifers.
Each year in October, approximately 850 head of heifer calves are weaned at Eagle Creek. Their mothers are pregnancy tested and trailed to fall/winter pasture. Fence-line weaning is used to wean the heifer calves from their mothers and has proven to be the most efficient and economical method. Death loss in these heifer calves during this time-frame is less than half a percent. Lick tubs from Cenex Harvest States are put out for the heifer calves for 30 days to aid in the weaning process.
500 two-year-olds begin calving the first of March. These first year mothers are exposed as yearlings for only 45 days and ultrasounds are done in August. Ultrasounding enables the ranch to segregate first and second cycle heifers. During calving, the cows are in a 100 acre pasture during the day and moved to a monitoring lot at night. Every attempt is made to assist these first time mothers in the calving process. 40 plus indoor pens and a heated indoor OB room provide a low stress environment in which to calve. Supplementation is used post calving to bring the young mothers back on an increasing plane of nutrition until spring grasses are present.