|
2011 Farm Family of the Year
|
|
The Charles and Pam Dorsey Family |
|
Cattle ranching has been a way of life for Charles Dorsey -from dairy cattle to beef cattle. Charles was raised on a dairy farm & pecan orchard where the Port of Catoosa is now located. The land was seized by eminent domain in order to build the port and the families in the area were forced to sell and relocate. The Dorseys had been on this farm since the 1930's making it a very difficult time in their lives. Hank & Charlotte Dorsey purchased a farm in the southwest part of Mayes County from the Eli Yoder family. Hank's health was failing but it was his desire to raise Charles on the farm as his older brothers had been. Rather than going back into the dairy business, Hank decided to purchase beef cattle. Beginning his herd of registered polled Herefords was financed by Charles hauling hay with the Walsh brothers, Randy and Gary. Along with caring for his own cattle, Charles maintained his dad's cattle and attended school at Chouteau. Very involved in extracurricular activities, Charles showed his polled Herefords at the Mayes County fair and was Chapter President of the Chouteau FFA. During this time he judged cattle and was in welding and soil competitions. Following graduation Charles married Pam Sheats from the Osage School community; they have been married 33 years. Pam has worked for Electrical Services for 32 years and still uses vacations to help with mowing and raking in the hayfield. Charles worked shifts at Georgia Pacific for 22 years while growing his ranch in his spare time. In order to purchase bred heifers, lease pasture and purchase additional land, Charles and Pam would raise baby calves on the bottle, sell wood and hay. In 1999 Georgia Pacific had gone to 12 hour shifts and Charles felt the pull to be a full-time rancher. It was getting too difficult to work twelve hour days, feed, bale hay, fertilize & spray pastures, and work the cattle. The cattle operation needed his full time attention. A full time job with benefits and a weekly paycheck versus a bi-yearly paycheck while raising three small children was a difficult decision. Pam was very torn by this but Charles said to trust him and he could make it work. Neither has ever regretted it Charles is doing a job he loves. The Dorsey Ranch is definitely a family affair -their three children & spouses take an active role in all aspects of the operation. Heather Dorsey Mills and husband Brandon, Samantha Dorsey Posey and husband Nathan, Charles Wesley Dorsey, and granddaughter Charlotte Rylie Posey can be seen most weekends helping with whatever needs to be done and all have their own herds. Even three year old Charlotte Rylie has a miniature cow named Minnie. While still in school the kids would work during the summers in the hayfield and working cattle. Today they still work cattle but mostly on the weekends as they all have full-time jobs. Wesley is a junior at Chouteau High School and works whenever he's not attending school. Family helps family in the cattle business and Pam's brother and his wife, Bruce & Karen Sheats, are generally at the Dorsey Ranch helping to work cattle when the time comes. The Dorseys reciprocate when the Sheats are ready to work their herd -that's what families do to make a successful ranch. The Dorsey Ranch is a cow/calf operation with fall and spring calving. Seven hundred mother cows and replacement heifers live on 531 acres owned and 1280 acres leased which is used for pasture land and hay meadows. The best heifers are kept for replacement heifers and a low birth weight bull is used several different breeds of bulls in fact. Charles has a 45-60 day breeding and calving period. Weed control and fertilizing are a top priority with Charles. It is his belief that you cannot have a successful ranch if you do not have top quality roughage and foliage. The cattle are gathered in the spring to be wormed, lepto'd, black leg, banded and branded. Charles wean vacs his calves and they are brought in from all the pastures to work and wean. Charles and Pam are very open to new and innovative ranching ideas. Two years ago a friend told them about using blabs to wean the calves -they have tried it and love it. Upon the first round of shots for calves they are 'blabbed' and turned back out with the cows. With this the calves do not walk the fences and bawl for their mothers; consequently losing weight. In 7-14 days they are brought in for the second round of shots, blabs are removed and they are weaned -the calves do not get sick, lose weight and bawl as much. Today's technologies can make for a more efficient and profitable ranching experience and the Dorseys use many new methods in their operation including a computer program called Wean-Vac (radio frequency identification) that tracks cattle from weaning to sale. Also used is a program that tracks the weight of each animal for optimum profits and PVP which verifies beef to be sold to overseas nations. Charles is currently Vice Chairman on the FSA Board and Vice President of the Mayes County Cattleman Association. Charles and Pam are both members of the Chouteau FFA booster Club. |
