A Look Inside the Ranch
Angus ranch featured on the Travel Channel.
Two mountain valleys, lush grass and wide-open spaces create the breathtaking scenery of Baker City, Ore. Those who call it home would say Baker City is one of the best small towns in the United States. The Travel Channel agrees.
The city and its residents, including Thomas Angus Ranch, were recently featured on the Best of the Roads by Rand McNally. The program is a search for the best small towns in America and airs each Wednesday. Accompanying McNally were USA Today® and rally team Two for the Road, Nik and Dusty Green of Austin, Texas.
"The Best of the Road caught a glimpse of how serious producers across the country take raising cattle," says Lori Thomas, Thomas Angus Ranch, "and that is all we hoped for out of this event: to touch one person with the truth about agriculture."
Lori and her husband, Rob, operate the 50-year-old ranch, which currently is home to about 1,300 head of registered Angus cattle. They say they consider themselves lucky to have had the Best of the Roads platform to educate consumers about how farmers and ranchers provide high-quality beef for consumers.
"We are fortunate to be in this valley and in the cattle business," Lori says. "What better way to live than to raise cattle and kids in a community where agriculture and kindness run deep?"
When the Travel Channel crew visited Thomas Angus Ranch, they were greeted with a Western-style get-together, complete with ranch chores and Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand steaks. Before the meal, the visitors tried their hands at roping and watched cattle being moved by horseback.
"We jumped into this experience wholeheartedly with the intention of giving our visitors the best experience possible," Lori says. "And in our mind, that is with CAB."
Black cattle grazing below snow-capped mountains were the perfect backdrop filming. A number of Baker City farmers and ranchers, from 20 to 80 years old, joined in on the welcoming party, representing the small-town hospitality for which the area is known.
"We are the face behind agriculture, and Baker City gives the rural setting that allows Americans who are generations removed from the farm back to the grassroots level this country is founded on," Lori says.
While the episode featuring Baker City has already aired, more information about the show can be found on the Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) blog at www.gorare.com and the Two for the Road team blog.
Editor's Note: This article was provided as a news release by the American Angus Association.
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