Mike Ingersoll, Still ranching

SAINT MARIES—My name is Mike Ingersoll, our ranch is Lightning I Ranch. We’re located between Plummer and Saint Maries and we have beef cattle which we raise on our own, start to finish. They’re born there raised there and finished there. And do have market for people to purchase an animal if they so need.

So what effect did COVID have, you still needed to get things done?

Yes, we had to keep our cattle fed and people were calling all the time wanting to be fed too! But we are at a bad place too, we do not have a surplus right now to accommodate the people that are calling. But we will have in the next year. We are going to retain some more beef for our beef customers.

How many cow-calf pairs do you have?

We have 65 cow-calf pairs right now on the ground. And we have four bulls, 13 steers, and 11 replacement heifers.

More and more people are going directly to ranchers for their beef?

That customer has the opportunity to visit the ranch where the animal is raised and see the format in which they finish the animal, and that way they can choose at that time if they want that animal or not, by the way, the rancher takes care of the cattle.

The consumer gets a deal and they cut out the middleman?

Correct!

I’m Mike Ingersoll, my wife are I are still ranching in 2020 and we will continue