By Kerry Hoffschneider
Rick Wolfenden was still a babe when his Grandpa Warren started taking him along for chores on the ranch. 
“I grew up along the fence line, working the ranch,” Wolfenden said. “We lost Grandpa when I was nine. Up until Grandpa got sick, I spent every waking minute with him.”
Wolfenden has spent nearly every waking minute of his life on the ranch located in the middle of Cherry County, Neb. Half his day is spent feeding livestock and the last half of the day is typically spent working on machinery and fence. Just about every minute is work and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Today, Rick and his wife Joyce, ranch with a passion for cattle and retaining their independent way of life.
“We're in a pretty remote area,” Wolfenden said. “I started driving the eight miles to country school when I was eight years old. The closest town is Mullen, 40 miles south and the county seat is Valentine, 60 miles to the north. Everywhere else is about 100-plus miles away.”
Wolfenden said he doesn’t mind the remoteness because his strength is his Christian faith, “When a man is at peace with Christ, he is never alone!”
During his formative years, Wolfenden attended high school away from the ranch at Nebraska Christian in Central City, Neb., “It had a dormitory there and we were 238 miles from home. It was traumatic at first. But the values and friendships I got out of the experience are priceless. At that time, dad had an airplane, and he flew us home on the weekends as much as he could, or we drove home.”
After graduating, Wolfenden took one year of Bible college in La Grange, Wyo. and then headed to Laramie, Wyo. to study diesel technology, “I came home and have been working on the ranch ever since. My brother Bob and I ran a mechanic shop in the area for a few years to help make ends meet. Then my dad’s uncle wanted to sell his cows. I bought them on a contract and that’s when we started transitioning from Hereford to Angus cattle on the ranch.”
“We are definitely in the Sandhills,” Wolfenden added, describing the landscape that has surrounded him his entire life. “We have ranges of hills and valleys. We typically summer the cattle in the hills and winter them in the meadows. We cut prairie hay off the meadows when we can. If we run short, we purchase hay. I also take in a few cattle for another man besides my own.”
“I expect the cows to calve on their own for the most part,” he noted. “I calve year-round, with most of them calving in the spring. By calving year-round, I think we spread out the risk. During those early spring blizzards when everyone is calving so intensely, it sickens me to think all those babies are coming right then. The majority of our calves come in late spring, a few in the fall and occasionally in the winter. It seems to work for us.”
Wolfenden met his wife Joyce in 2000, “I am a quiet man, and don't go where there’s drinking, dancing, and partying. Consequently, I did not know many girls. Then I was invited to a Christian singles group and met this gal. She changed my life. We married when I was 39 years old. It was the first time either of us had been married and we have now been together for more than 20 years. Joyce is truly my help mate.”
While the openness and freedom of their location has been endearing to the Wolfendens, he said fewer people in the area is a concern, “We don't have many neighbors left out here. One of the biggest changes I have seen is the migration of the people from the area.”
With just the two of them working in tandem, fewer neighbors can mean different challenges, he admitted, “There is just not the hired help anymore or people around to help a fella. So, when you have equipment, it needs to be reliable.”
Equipment also becomes important when the hard work of daily activities begins to cause wear and tear on the bodies of farmers and ranchers. Wolfenden said, “I started working really young and it has caught up with me. I have had five shoulder surgeries. One was the result of tipping a tractor over. The other four, the surgeon said, are clearly a case of over-use. The surgeon told me bone spurs had cut into my ligaments so badly that the ligaments in my shoulders were ready to tear in two and would have caused my arms to go limp.”
Wolfenden had screws put in both shoulders to hold them together. He is also on his third knee surgery. Two surgeries were the result of working with livestock. This time he is getting a complete knee replacement. But, despite the physical challenges, he is bound and determined to continue ranching.
That’s where Nebraska AgrAbility can become a vital resource for farmers and ranchers like the Wolfendens who are seeking to continue their ag businesses, despite physical challenges, he said, “I think my first contact with AgrAbility was at an ag show in North Platte. I asked some questions and they pointed me towards Rod Peterson, AgrAbility Program Manager from Easterseals Nebraska. Rod came to the ranch and looked over my situation and asked me what my greatest needs were.”
“I told him it would be great to have a hydraulic calf table,” Wolfenden went on. At that time, a cow had broken Rick’s neck and the Wolfendens were needing to get the calves worked. Rod directed the couple to another Easterseals project outside of AgrAbility called the Alternative Financing Program where he was able to obtain a low interest loan to buy the calf table.
“I got that table, and it has been such a blessing to us. Joyce and I can now go and work calves together. Thankfully, my spinal cord was not injured, and I am not paralyzed in any way from that. I do have neck issues still, but I am so thankful to still be able to do the work,” he said.
Wolfenden is also thankful for the skid loader he has been able to add to his ranch operations with resource coordination from AgrAbility, “I had been handling all my own feed sacks and was lifting about a half ton of feed a day by hand. Now I can handle the feed with the skid loader. The machine also allows me to lift dirt, haul hay to the corral, and handle corral panels. I added a hydraulic post hole digger to the skid loader. It has been a huge help because digging post holes by hand was such a killer on my shoulders.”
“I would really encourage others to reach out to the AgrAbility program, “Wolfenden said adamantly. “I am a very conservative man and I detest government handouts. This is not a handout though. Agriculture generates so much for our country and sometimes with very little return. This is a way to keep us working hard.”
“I am very, very appreciative of the help I have received,” he said in closing. “It’s keeping me going. Ranching is in my heart! I love it.”