| The cows head home after a summer in the mountains above Ferron. |
With the fall chill in the air reminding us that winter is not far away, it’s also time for the cows to come home. There has been a mad dash off the mountain for cattle anxious to spend the winter months in their home fields or winter range. These cows belonging to Ferron ranchers didn’t have to be told it was time to come home, but the first cold and storm on the mountain brought the cattle down on their own.
The ranchers will begin now to take to the mountains to remind any stragglers left behind that summer is over for this year. Ranchers in Ferron gathered the cows in the upper Ferron gathered the cows in the upper corrals which are on Canyon Road, just below the Millsite golf course. They trailed them down the city streets and across SR-10 to the lower corrals where they will be taken to their wintering spots. The cattle will be fed hay throughout the winter as well as grazing the fields foraging for whatever is left from the summer crops.
| Wendy and Camie Whittle get ready to help trail the cattle down Canyon Road. |
Ferron City has enacted an ordinance for the trailing of cattle through the city and designated which streets are open for this purpose. Their ordinance states: Permission required: No person shall drive livestock through the city upon streets not designated for that purpose, except upon permission and according to the direction of Ferron City Council.
Ferron City has enacted this ordinance in order to give notice to the city when a cattle move is to take place and also to help protect property owners from damages which might be sustained from the trailing cattle. Since enacting this ordinance only one citation has been issued. The cattlemen are cooperative in observing the new ordinance as well as working to prevent damage from their cattle as they are trailed.