Pat & Sharon O'Toole: Hard Winter

The winter is wearing on, and on. In the “old days”, we considered this normal weather, but we have had so many brief dry winters that we feel well and truly buried. We are moving our animals in closer, trying to protect our haystacks from marauding elk, and spending money on feed. That animal feed is made even dearer by the ethanol bubble, which has increased the costs of all livestock supplemental feed. High corn costs and a hard winter are a nightmare for basic producers such as ourselves. At least the days are getting longer.

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Hayshed, Squaw Mountain
Lemmons Meadow, Routt County, Colorado
photo by Pat O'Toole

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Cows on feed, Sheep Mountain
Lemmons meadow
photo by Pat O'Toole

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Desert cow
Powder Flat, Moffat County, Colorado
photo by Pat O'Toole

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Winter deer
Powder Flat
photo by Pat O'Toole

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Questar blading a wellsite
Powder Wash, Moffat County, Colorado
photo by Sharon O'Toole

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Sheep on the Red Desert
photo by Pat O'Toole

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Red Desert camp
photo by Sharon O'Toole

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Pickup loaded with sheep camp supplies
Red Desert
photo by Sharon O'Toole

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Horse Mountain at Sunset
west of Home Ranch
photo by Pat O'Toole

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About Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Pat and Sharon O’Toole are ranchers in the Little Snake River Valley near Savery, Wyoming, right on the Colorado-Wyoming border. They raise cattle, sheep, horses, dogs and children. Pat “immigrated” from Florida in 1970. He attended Colorado State University, where he met Sharon when both worked for the campus newspaper. Sharon grew up on their ranch, where they live and work with her father, their daughter, son and granddaughter (soon to be grandchildren!). Pat is a “water buffalo” and has served in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1986-1992), on the President’s Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission, and is the current President of the Family Farm Alliance, which advocates for farmers, ranchers and irrigators. Sharon is an author, poet and journalist. She writes extensively on Western issues and is a columnist for “The Shepherd” magazine. Pat and Sharon are the parents of three children: Meghan, 27; Bridget, 26; and Eamon, 20.

Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Hard Winter

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