Yak Calves In Snow

“Xenophobes”, “Racists”, “Haters” – get ready.  Yak ranchers are ready to come out of the shadows and march. We will not be forced to live in fear anymore.  We will not force our yaks to assimilate into your paternal, taurus-centric, culture.  Yaks “Grunt” they don’t, and won’t “Moo”.  No amount of “Mooing Immersion” will change that.  Veterinarians that refuse to treat yaks or fail to provide translators should prepare to be sued!
To you cattle, sheep, hog, and chicken farmers/ranchers – they are all immigrants, none of them are indigenous, not to mention the disease and destruction some have wrought upon ……… Viva la Yak!

“But for reals”,  all this hubbub about yaks is nothing new.  This issue is not about yaks, it is about people – neighbors and ranchers – and the laws of their state.  Comments on several of the articles related to these roaming yaks like,  “Now people try ridiculous schemes like this Yak ranching boondoggle to pretend they are engaged in agriculture on their 35 acre ranchettes” and “And no incentive for yak ranchers and ostrich idiots to make believe they are ranchers and encourage their herd to graze the neighbor’s pasture.” are dismissive tactics.  The yaks we have in America are domestic cattle. Like Bos indicus, they are different than the more common Bos taurus. Being closely related, they can interbreed but it doesn’t happen very easily. Yaks are perfectly viable livestock for small operations not because they are part of some kind of scheme but because they are outstanding multipurpose animals that require less forage per pound than their cousins,  and are extremely winter hardy. I could yak about the merits of yaks indefinitely but again, yaks aren’t the issue.
The issue is how neighbors and ranchers get along and apply the established laws concerning livestock.  The laws concerning grazing and fencing in western states are truly fascinating…. but remember “sheep is different”.
This is about people and their respect for each other not a war between “nuisance yaks’ and “indigenous cattle”.

I would recommend keepin’ all your critters on your property  “fence out” or not.

To read more about the Johnson County Yak War follow our links on Delicious.

Raising anchor yaks since 2005!

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I really have no idea of what to blog about. I can tell you that in the grunge of a recession and mire of my business reality, yaks continue to lead me in the right direction. My family had the opportunity to take “a road like Black Bear Road” last weekend to finally see some dear friends. They live in a place that “you can’t get there from here”. The beauty, if it was not Sangri La, was a complete hologram. Somehow Shannon found us and invited our family into hers. Bob, Becky, Paul, Shupa, Myrtle, Steve, and the whole He-Haw-Gang.  Although we were familiar with dogs and ponds and gardens and elk hunting and cold mornings, Wow…. this was real life! As we came home, we “took pictures of the road” and wished we had rented “a you -drive-em army-jeep-car from a fellow by the name of Kuboske”. C.W. had no yaks or he wouldn’t have lost that jeep-car.

Wool Market Yaks

Our neighbors and friends Bijou Basin Ranch asked us to bring yaks to the Wool Market to support their booth which focused on yak fiber and yarn. We had no idea of the tremendous interest that there would be in yak fiber. The event staff was outstanding and made our first trip to the market a breeze. We brought three yearlings to the show. Located outside the Wool Barn, the traffic was constant and intense. The whole family and our dear friend Shannon were busy from open to close with hardly a minute to catch our breath. The three yaks, Skywalker, Izze, and Allison were great sports most of the time and delighted the kids as they were eager to eat treats and be petted. We ran out of print material by noon on Saturday and had to scramble to find a local printer for day two. Carolyn at Estes Print Works called us back at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, opened up and ran us a print job to get us through, huge thanks to her! We met many new folks and some old friends and acquaintances from the National Western Stock Show. Many people came to tell us how yak fiber was their favorite exotic fiber to spin or knit. Packers and trekkers showed up as well with great questions and insights on using yaks to pack in the Colorado mountains. We should have taken a few more pictures but just didn’t think of it. I did sneak into wool barn once and was excited to see that Wild Fibers Magazine had a great shot of a yak as their primary display. We have posted a few shots of the show on The Yak Ranch on Flickr page and will try to get better shots next year as we will definitely return. We want to thank the entire crew at the Estes Park Wool Market for making us feel at home and especially Bo and Diane for everything they did for us and Carl Eileen Koop for inviting us.

We aren’t sure how to move forward with yak cheese but it is delicious! After making this batch with the help of our friend Shannon, the whole family was sold on the how great yak cheese is. Getting enough milk to provide anymore than personal consumption is going to be a challenge.

Keep an eye out for these folks as the project develops. Ragya Yak Cheese.

Studies by others have shown that certain types of dairy-derived fatty acids, particularly conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), may help fight heart disease, cancer and even diabetes. However, little was known about the fatty acid composition of yak cheese.

In the new study, Brian W. McBride and colleagues compared the fatty acid composition of yak cheese from Nepal with that of cheddar cheese obtained from Canada. They found that levels of CLAs were four times higher in the yak cheese than the dairy cow cheese. Levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are healthy for the heart, were also significantly higher in the yak cheese, the researchers say.

American Chemical Society (2008, March 18). Heart-healthy Yak Cheese. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 2, 2009

It was great to reconnect with old friends and to see their beautiful daughters have fun learning about yaks and sharing with their friends.

Y is for Yaks

A great learning year.

We still think Skywalker was the Best in Show but “God loves a Terrier”!

Skywalker won a red ribbon in the Yak Bull Calf pen show. The competition at the show continues to increase. This year several of the OG yak herders showed up for the first time in years and showed us all what great yaks are all about. Joan and Bill from Washington and Larry from Montana brought some the most amazing animals anyone could imagine. The stock show in general was a great experience for us. We met so many new people and connected with old friends. This year it seems that our booth was continuously under siege from folks who were passionate about one aspect of the yak or another. Alpaca folks were extremely curious about yak’s fiber. By the end of the show, Starfire was a bit tired of me leading her to the front of the pen to show off her fiber or her gentle nature. We met folks who had been spinning yak fiber for years and taught us a great deal about the wonderful qualities of the undercoat. We also met folks who were interested in the dairy from yaks and we had to a again defer to our great friend Shannon. She milks her yaks and creates the same kind of artistry with the dairy products that she does with the fiber. She makes everything from cheese to ice cream. The raw milk  folks were captivated.

We were honored to be the ranch providing the meat samples for iYak this year and the feedback was tremendous. One of the long time yak breeders told folks that the meat was grain fed. Can you imagine my rage! He meant no harm and was really delivering a compliment, as my guess is that, in his experience, grain fed or finished meat tastes better than grass fed. My mom said things about grain fed meat that I can’t repeat and didn’t understand when I was 10.

We want to send a heartfelt thank you to Scott and Michele Steiner for their work to make the stock show a success and to promote yaks in general.