Working Ranch Magazine - Index

Working Ranch Magazine - magazine - Index

recalls their mother, Nan, saying that
three boys were enough and Chuck
would kill himself trying to build a
place for them.
“Dad was aware of what it takes for
there to be room for everybody. And
luckily, Ladd and I were able to come
back and we’ve added a lot of acres over
the last 20 years ourselves, which is
hard to do,” Tim says. “Number one,
when the opportunity presents itself
you have to take advantage of it. We’ve
been fortunate enough to do some of
those things, and it’s hard to do.”
By piecing together small tracts of
land, many less than 160 acres, the
Drummonds have put together a contiguous
grazing range of roughly 15
miles by 6 miles that consists mainly
of native bluestem prairie. Most of the
land in Osage County is in tight
hands with many acres still owned by
the Osage Nation, Tim says. They feel
fortunate to have been able to purchase
pieces of the puzzle that have
made a productive operation.
“The base and the root of our operation
are here. We grew up in
Pawhuska,” he adds. “We decided we
wanted to expand our farming operation,
and around here there’s really no
large amount of acres that you could
put together that are farmable. And
that’s why we started an operation in
southern Oklahoma.”
The southern farm in Jefferson
County Oklahoma was purchased in
1996 and consists of 6,000 contiguous
acres, including about 1,000 acres of
grass. The balance is wheat pasture
used for winter grazing. Chuck and
Nan now spend a large portion of
their time at the southern place.
“We try to use the two operations
jointly, where they compliment one
another,” Tim says. “We have enough
grass in southern Oklahoma to warehouse
some of the weaned calves before
the wheat gets ready. But we don’t have
enough to warehouse all of them, so we
end up holding quite a few cattle up
here to go down there to wheat.”
DRUMMOND CATTLE IN EVERY
PHASE OF THE CYCLE
The cow herd is managed at the
ranch near Pawhuska. The base of the
herd is Angus and Angus-Plus, but the
Drummonds have purchased a few
crossbred cows from the sale barn in
recent years.
“I like a Brangus bull for the hybrid
vigor it offers,” Tim says. “I just think
they produce a little more growthy
type calf, and we’re able to do that on
an Angus-type cow.”
They purchase 30 to 40 bulls each
year, with the goal of replacing herd sires
by the time they are seven years old.
“Usually by the time a bull gets to be
about seven he gets lazy. Every once in
a while you get a bull that still works
past seven, and that’s where your caretakers
and your cowboys — the good
ones — stand out from the bad ones,”
Tim says. “They know which bulls work
and which ones don’t. They know their
cattle. They know which cows they’ve
While the Drummond family is serious about
getting work done, there’s still time for fun.
Josh Sellers gives Paige Drummond a hard
time, something he’s enjoyed during the time
he’s worked for the Drummonds watching the
kids grow up.
got where, and they know what they’ve
got versus somebody who will just go
out and dump feed.”
Both spring and fall calving herds are
maintained to diversify and also provide
a revolving base of calves to move
through their grazing systems. Tim says
he favors the fall calvers because he can
utilize the grass in the late summer and
The Drummonds own one of the largest contiguous commercial
cattle operations in Oklahoma. To make things go
a lot smoother, the ranch has several first-class working
facilities located in strategic places around the outfit.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008 | WORKING RANCH | 51