For the past 25 years, Chico Basin Ranch has been managed by Ranchlands, a ranching company owned and operated by the Phillips Family. The family has lost the lease and this was their final cattle branding before they have to leave the ranch in December.

They are currently looking for new land to lease so they can keep their herd of Beefmaster cattle that have been carefully developed over the past two decades on the ranch. Duke Phillips III, the patriarch of the family, describes these cattle as “intelligent, gentle and resilient – able to be worked and moved, and to thrive on their own in adverse range conditions, through heat waves, blizzards, floods and droughts.” He says they are the product of a management philosophy that seeks to live in harmony with the land, requiring minimal inputs in order to do their crucial work of grazing for rangeland health.

The team vaccinated, branded and tagged just over 300 calves during this branding.

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Originally Published: June 30, 2024 at 4:06 p.m.