Thursday

Ferguson Ranch, Inc. is a family owned and operated corporation. It is a cow-calf and yearling business operating in western and eastern Laramie County and Albany County on approximately 10,000 acres in addition to a forest permit and other leases. The far, in eastern Laramie County is used mainly for winter feed production, wintering weaned calves and the A. I. program. They recently started a cell grazing project here. In western Laramie County and Albany County, the cows are calved out, and that is where most of the summer pasture is. Approximately 250 cows are run year-round on a cash basis for another owner.

Blanton Horses

Stuart and Samantha Hoar graduated from Laramie County Community College, earning degrees in horse rearing and training. While at college, they met each other and got married. They then took over Samantha's father's small part time farm and turned it into a horse rearing and training farm. They now have a sizable herd of breeding horses and also train horses for other people. Their horses are sold nationwide and some internationally. Stuart and Samantha also raise their own hay so they can control the mix and quality of hay they use. Web site link.

King Ranch

Mark Eisele operates and co-owns the King Ranch, 5 miles west of Cheyenne. A local native and a graduate of the University of Wyoming, he was active in both 4-H and FFA with a emphasis on livestock production. The King Ranch has variations in elevation from 6500 feet grasslands to 8800 feet grazing in the Medicine Bow National Forest. Mark is diversified in many aspects with cow-calf production, yearlings and hay sales, in addition to custom hay harvesting and off-season reclamation.

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Saturday, December 2^nd

Y6 Feeders and Y6 Ranch Adventures

The Y6 is a 33,500 acre, vertically integrated ranch, located in southeast Wyoming. The majority of the ranch was purchased in 1935 by the Petsch Family. The Y6 is still owned and operated by the Petsch family and is home to 25 third, fourth and fifth generation Petsches. The Y6 runs over 2000 head of Angus and crossbred cattle. Intensive grazing, rotational grazing, artificial insemination and individualized records are utilized extensively in managing the operation. There are 1760 acres of irrigated farm ground, with a center pivot and surge valve irrigation for the corn, alfalfa, barley, grass and other crops. The newest addition is a state of the art 5,600 head feedlot. Construction and operation are on the extreme cutting edge of technology in the cattle feeding industry. The ranch also is home to a guest lodge operated by the family, Y6 Ranch Adventures, and home for numerous wildlife and beautiful scenery. Y6 Feeders web site link. Y6 Ranch Adventures web site link.

Holly Sugar

Special needs: No open toed shoes, jewelry will need to be removed in the packaging area and several stairs are involve in one area. Homesteaders Museum is available at the same time.

Holly Sugar will give you an inside look at the world of sugarbeets. Beet sugar, the sugarbeet and its by-products are a vital and necessary part of Wyoming's farm economy, providing not only industrial and agricultural stability but also contributing significantly to Wyoming's livestock industry where feeding of sugarbeet by-products is widely practiced. The Holly Sugarbeet Factory was built in 1926. The plant employs 130 people year round with a combined beet harvest and processing campaign work force numbering 380 employees, pumping $5 million in wages back into the local economy. With 26,000 contracted acres of sugarbeets in the Goshen County area, the crop amounts to an annual addition of $12 million into the Platte River Valley ag economy.

Warren Livestock/Lodgepole Creek Ranch

Warren Livestock Company was founded more than a century ago by one of the most colorful figures of Wyoming's early history-Francis E. Warren, Wyoming's first governor and first U.S. senator. The legacy of FE Warren continues to this day under the able management of three generations of the Etchepare family, who embody the spirit of the real west. From the beginning this ranch has believed that cattle and sheep can profitably use the same range. Warren Livestock continues to keep the operation competitive in an ever changing livestock environment. The Warhill breed of sheep, developed by Dr. John Hill and Fred Warren, is a result of careful research and breeding and is raised only on the the ranch. Today the ranch is a true diversified operation with approximately 12,000 acres of farm ground, products that include beef, lamb, wool, wheat, minerals and real estates. the diversity allows the ranch to take advantage of the varying commodity prices. A visit to this stop will remind us all of the hard work and dedication involved in making agriculture a success.

Schlagel Manufacturing

With the advent of no-till farming, Ron Schlagel perfected and manufactures a true one-pass tillage and planting machine. The "A" SERIES TILL-N-PLANT, teamed with the PC-3000 TOOL CARRIER, a "goose-neck" hitch to attach your pull type or three point planter, performs a compaction-reducing tillage process ahead of the planter. This makes a true one pass tilling and planting process. Adding on Schlagel Mfg's POSSI CLOSE PLANTER allows you to start planting days sooner in wet conditions, creating a perfect seed bed. Schlagel Mfg also offers the BALE GRAPPLE, a heavy duty attachment to industrial loaders to handle big round and square bales. Also new is the BUMPER HOIST and, as an added sideline, they offer custom signs and silhouettes using a computer controlled plasma arc cutter in their manufacturing plant. Web site link.

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Friday Optional Tours

Francis E. Warren Air Force Base

Francis E. Warren Air Force Base is home of the peacekeeper missile. This tour will provide a brief tour of a mock missile silo and launch control facility. F.E. Warren was originally Fort D. A. Russell and still has most of the original brick buildings that were built for the fort. The most fascinating of these buildings are the officers quarters. The officers wives club has agreed to open some of their homes for tours. These are well worth the time to see. A stop at the base museum will also be included.

~~Coastal Chem~~

Coastal Chem is a nitrogen production refinery. They produce nitrogen in many forms from natural gas. This plant produces urea, anhydrous ammonia, and liquid versions of nitrogen. As a by-product they also produce CO2 and dry ice. This tour will be limited to the first 100 registrants due to restrictions set by the company. Long pants, long shirt sleeves, and hard shoes will be required. Safety glasses, hard hats, and hearing protection will be provided. Due to a change of ownership, our tour of Coastal Chem has been cancelled!

Frontier Refinery

Frontier Refinery is a petroleum refinery, producing tar, diesel, gasoline and propane. This refinery provides products for the tri state area. They are one of the largest employers in Cheyenne. No limit has been set at this time by the company for number of attendees. Coveralls and safety equipment will be provided.

Terra West

Terra West is a zinc production plant. They use the by-products of galvanization to produce a high quality agricultural zinc supplemental prill. They should be in full production preparing for the spring application season at the time of the tour.

Around town Cheyenne

Continuous buses will be provided on Friday to the downtown area, as well as Frontier Mall, for those not going on the optional tours or attending the classroom activities. Sights to see downtown, besides the unique shops and restaurants are the Transportation Museum, the Historic Governor's Mansion, the State Capitol and the State Museum. Buses will also schedule pickups and drop-offs at the Old West Museum in the Frontier Days complex and the Botanical Gardens.

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