B Bar Gazette – March 2024
| B Bar Gazette |
| Issue #10 March 2024 |
| Hi B Bar Friends, Rarely do we feel alone at B Bar. If a big question arises on the Ranch, someone in the agricultural community usually addresses it. At the Soil Symposium we recently attended, influential speakers shared ideas and actions that convey a bright future for sustainable agriculture. |
| Shea Kennedy, B Bar's cattle and grazing coordinator, was inspired by Kelsey Scott's work with the Intertribal Agriculture Council and 4H in which children became community leaders, providing food to locals instead of auctioning the livestock they raised. Mihail gained insight from conversation with Anne Biklé about soil ecology. Cooper Hibbard’s discussion about successful winter grazing practices at Sieben Ranch in Montana was influential to all. |
 Randy giving us a thumbs up as a reminder that warmer days lay ahead. |
| We are also heartened by our new hire of old friend Randy Mesce as Maintenance Foreman. Not only is Randy quite the hand and mechanic, but he is good company too. His appreciation for regenerative agriculture stems from his time working at Good Earth Market in Billings and his close connection to nature as a traditional bow hunter. We’re lucky to have him. |
| As winter and spring battle for primacy this season, the land and livestock crew uses elbow grease as an added layer of warmth. Pounding fence posts into partially thawed land, tinkering with a broken tractor, reading ear tags of haphephobic cattle (don’t like to be touched), fulfilling direct to consumer beef orders, and hauling offal to the compost pile fill their schedules. To ease their muscles, an evening sweat in Mihai’s new sauna helps the crew rejuvenate before tackling the next day’s challenges. |
 Shea and Nina updating and scanning cattle tags into the new AgriWebb software. |
| Lastly, a big thank you to the partners who purchased corned beef. We are continually grateful for the bounty nature provides and sharing it with you. Over 2,000 pounds of B Bar Ranch organic corned beef will be enjoyed this Saint Patrick’s Day. Don't worry, there is still plenty of beef available here. Sincerely, Maryanne Mott Owner and General Manager |
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| Photo taken by Kate Talley |
| Our B Bar Family Maryanne Mott- General Manager and OwnerAmy Berndt- Administrative AssistantKenney Berndt- Maintenance Foreman Troy Lerwill- Maintenance Technician Mark Rose- Land & Livestock ManagerTrina Smith- Guest Operations ManagerEl Stone-BookkeeperWillie Stewart- Business OperationsJackson Stewart- Marketing & SalesMihail Kennedy- Production ManagerShea Kennedy- Cattle & Grazing CoordinatorNina Jenson- Ranch Hand Randy Mesce- Maintenance Technician |