WYOMING CATTLE GROUP CHOOSES FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT

            This column is primarily about rodeo people, past and present.  I am a rodeo historian and I enjoy sharing information about cowboys and cowgirls that have special abilities and did/do interesting and unusual things.  The following is truly a special ‘cowgirl’, however not in the rodeo arena.  She lives the life of a cowgirl by operating a ranch by herself and has just been chosen by other ranchers to lead a very important organization.  Read on about  this spirited and intelligent professional rancher who has ‘earned her boots and hat’ by making a good ranch a better one and being chosen by her peers to direct their future and that of their land, which ranchers hold so dear.

            Fred Astaire was a fabulous dancer in days gone by and Ginger Rogers was often his dancing partner.  There was an old joke that said- -  “Ginger did everything Astaire did only in high heels and backwards!”  This statement has a lot of merit when you think about it.  Let me tell you why;  June 10^th,^, 2005   Lois Herbst, of Shoshoni, Wyoming,  became the first woman President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, which was organized in 1871 by a group made up of men interested in the preservation of their land and how to keep their cattle safe from rustlers.  Herbst’s background certainly qualifies her for this prestigious position.  She has been First Vice President of this important organization for two years.  Her agenda as the new leader  is to work for the protection of property rights of ranchers and make sure our government does not over-regulate our lands and the cattle business.  Simple?  Absolutely not!  When President Herbst explains land management, USDA regulations, and the hopes of working with other related organizations for the good of all ranchers it is evident she has done her homework and spends many hours each day on a better tomorrow for ranchers.

            From the time she married Bill Herbst in 1958 and moved to his family ranch, homesteaded by his father in 1906,  she educated herself in every way she could to assist her husband in a successful cattle ranching program.  She studied the cattle including genetics, checked and kept records on the gain and production of their herd and recommended significant changes.  She also spent many hours on the ranch working along side her husband, which included checking cattle, irrigating, vaccinating, or whatever needed to be done.  In time, their three children; twin girls, Karen and Linda, and son, Frank, also worked the ranch.   In 1990 Lois Herbst began going to local meetings of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association  and reporting back to her husband,  who detested attending  meetings, even though they were important to all ranchers.  She even video-taped an occasional meeting for him.  You see, they realized how important the organization was to their business and those ranchers across the state. 

 There was a time when this charming woman viewed ranching and its livelihood with curiosity from a distance  having been raised in the Ohio River Valley , the seventh of eight children.  She spent her youth on a small farm, then moving to a ‘factory town’ during World War II.  When she grew up she joined the Air Force, after being discharged she went to college on the G. I. bill, while working full time in Portsmouth , Ohio , and later Denver , Colorado .  It was not until her marriage to Bill Herbst that ranching became her passion. 

President Herbst points out that the original goals of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association in 1871 were the same then as they are today: (1)  ownership of cattle and ability to identify them and (2) private property rights.  She, however, points out that today it is mandatory that every rancher be informed, and the process has become so sophisticated, with computer data and figures available.  The communication and legislation of the group go well  beyond the state of Wyoming .  It requires meetings in Washington D. C. and various locations through the United States  if they are to reach the goals that will keep ranchers progressive and successful.  One of the thrills Lois has enjoyed was meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and being ushered in to his office in Washington D. C. with other Wyoming ranchers.

Lois lost her beloved, Bill, in 1991,  to leukemia.  Son, Frank, who had been working with his parents, continued to be her partner in the ranch.  They were named Wyoming Commercial Cattle Producers of the Year in 1995.  They were selected, in 1996,  by the members of the Wyoming Beef Cattle Improvement Association to represent Wyoming at the National Beef Improvement Federation in 1996.  Son Frank, died of a heart attack in 2000.  Lois has continued her ranching and her association with the organizations that promote her goals.  She continues to run approximately a thousand head of cattle plus other ranching endeavors.  She has established a maintenance feeding program, allowing better nutrition and a better herd health program, which in time produced a higher percentage on weaning rate.     Her commitment to private land use finds her attending all land management meetings. 

Lois Herbst has a multi-faceted goal for the next two years as she leads the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.  Her direction is no different than the many men, that have preceded her in their quest for the very best that ranchers can expect through the auspices of the one hundred and thirty four year organization.

Now how does Lois Herbst and Ginger Rogers compare?  While becoming a leader in such a male-driven organization Herbst also raised three children, tended to her home, prepared meals and took the children to community activities while honing her skills at being one of the best cattle-raisers and ranchers in the country.  I would say that compares to Ginger’s dancing backwards in high heels any day.  The very best to President Herbst – Cowgirl Extraordinaire!