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00:00:00Oh, yeah.
00:00:14Can you hear that?
00:00:16The prairie winds can play this thing better than I do.
00:00:20They say buffalo like music.
00:00:23It's what everyone I've met has said.
00:00:26You see a stampede.
00:00:28Those people were right.
00:00:33Welcome to the Wild West.
00:00:36We really didn't have a lot of experience.
00:00:39Eastern Colorado does come with a lot of wind.
00:00:42Having the bison has really challenged me in a couple ways that I haven't anticipated.
00:00:47It's like I'm seeing dinosaurs.
00:00:50We feel overwhelmed.
00:00:52With 90 mile an hour winds, this thing doesn't stand a chance unless we beef it up.
00:00:56We got to get to work.
00:00:58Everything just keeps on getting bigger and badder.
00:01:02This is a little bit bigger of a project than we anticipated.
00:01:06A lot of wind.
00:01:07Go slow.
00:01:09Hold.
00:01:09Hold.
00:01:11Hold, hold, hold.
00:01:12Hold, hold, hold.
00:01:14Hold, hold, hold.
00:01:15Hold, hold, hold.
00:01:15Look out there.
00:01:33You know what you're looking at?
00:01:34The Wild West.
00:01:38Namely, Colorado.
00:01:41Look at these turbines.
00:01:42So do you see a lot growing?
00:01:46It's really dry.
00:01:47It's really harsh.
00:01:52It's at elevation.
00:01:53And it's really windy.
00:01:56Wind is the invisible predator for every homestead that has it.
00:02:01And on that note, Colorado, bring it on.
00:02:05In the expansive prairie lands of eastern Colorado, the Rainies respond to an SOS from one of their
00:02:14largest homesteads yet, a sprawling 265-acre ranch.
00:02:19With the increase of railroad lines in the late 1800s, this region was once teeming with settlers
00:02:26lured by fertile soil and wide-open grazing lands.
00:02:31However, when the drought hit in 1890, many fled, leaving only the most dedicated, who adapted
00:02:38farming techniques more suitable for a semi-arid environment.
00:02:42Today, the region experiences extreme shifts in climate conditions, from scorching heat to
00:02:51chilling hurricane-force winds, making life a struggle for even the most seasoned homesteader.
00:02:57And for the inexperienced, like the Cooper family, big ambition can lead to big problems.
00:03:07I'm Melissa Cooper.
00:03:08I'm Kevin Cooper.
00:03:10And this is our 265-acre homestead in eastern Colorado.
00:03:16We've been here four years now.
00:03:19We have actually talked about homesteading for as long as I can remember in our relationship.
00:03:25We love the lifestyle.
00:03:27We love being able to walk outside, hear birds chirping, see a beautiful sunset, and then see
00:03:32the buffalo walk across, you know, the prairie.
00:03:34Spurred by the pandemic and an unexpected health scare, the Coopers moved to their homestead and
00:03:42were confronted with some harsh realities.
00:03:44We would absolutely love to be able to sustain everything here, have our own food and our garden.
00:03:50But when we first moved out to the homestead, we really didn't have a lot of experience.
00:03:55We are the couple of city kids that came out here who don't have any background in agriculture.
00:04:02We jumped into something with big dreams and we weren't ready.
00:04:08Eastern Colorado does come with a lot of weather as far as wind.
00:04:13The wind is killing the garden.
00:04:15We have a really hard time starting plants on the homestead.
00:04:19We've tried multiple different methods, but as you can see, we've had very little success
00:04:24with the beds.
00:04:26We want to be more self-sustainable and grow vegetables, but we don't see it being feasible.
00:04:32One of our goals is to have livestock.
00:04:35We want pigs, but the barn's not a safe living environment right now.
00:04:40The panels on the roof have been blown off.
00:04:42There's structural beams that are no longer structurally sound.
00:04:48We're new to this whole process.
00:04:50There's so much that we're still learning and we feel a little overwhelmed.
00:04:54Right now we have bison and chickens.
00:04:57We do process our bison, but managing them is starting to be a threat to our livelihood.
00:05:04Bison are a very dangerous animal.
00:05:07If bison do not have food and water, they will go find it.
00:05:10So all of our fencing we have, if they want to go through it, they will.
00:05:16On the south end of the homestead, we have a functioning well, but we don't have water
00:05:21out on the pasture for the bison.
00:05:23Recently we had a new calf and we found the baby dead.
00:05:28The cause was the heat and the lack of water.
00:05:32Those are hard moments.
00:05:33Buffalo are number one and putting ourselves number two.
00:05:37We've already had those situations where you see Kevin and I snap at each other because
00:05:43the stress gets to us.
00:05:44You know, your dreams slowly turn into nightmares and we're trying to make it work the best that
00:05:49we can.
00:05:50We're just failing.
00:05:51Marty, Misty, Matt, we need your help.
00:06:01Hello.
00:06:02Hello.
00:06:03Hi.
00:06:05Well, who are we meeting?
00:06:07I'm Melissa.
00:06:08Melissa.
00:06:09Kevin.
00:06:09Kevin, are you?
00:06:10Husband and wife.
00:06:11Garrett.
00:06:11Who's this big guy?
00:06:12How does he fit in this rodeo?
00:06:13Brother-in-law.
00:06:14Your brother-in-law.
00:06:15Well, nice to meet you guys.
00:06:16How big is this homestead?
00:06:19It's 265 acres.
00:06:21And what are you doing with 265 acres?
00:06:24We have a small herd of bison.
00:06:26How many?
00:06:2616.
00:06:28So you called us here.
00:06:29Let's talk about some of those reasons.
00:06:33We actually met while I was still in high school.
00:06:37We have been together for 20 years.
00:06:39We've been married for 12 and we have two kids together.
00:06:43A boy who is 18 and a girl who is 9.
00:06:46We lived in a suburb of Denver.
00:06:50We just wanted to chase our dream to be more self-sustainable.
00:06:55We had been researching different types of livestock that we wanted to potentially raise
00:06:59and have decided on bison.
00:07:01Bison are native to this area.
00:07:04They're literally the main animal that roamed our prairies and our lands before they were
00:07:09almost extinct.
00:07:10Being just out on the property, there is rolling hills.
00:07:14It's definitely big sky country.
00:07:16I think it's beautiful.
00:07:18But it was more than nature that drew the Coopers to this way of life.
00:07:23It was Kevin's surprise cancer diagnosis.
00:07:27Anybody who's ever experienced any kind of big health anything can relate to the fact that
00:07:35it just changes your perspective on life, his cancer diagnosis made us start thinking about what the values were most important to us and how the time we had, we wanted to spend it.
00:07:48Having the bison, it's really challenged me in a couple of ways that I haven't anticipated.
00:07:52Got yours up?
00:07:56No.
00:07:57The bison take about eight, nine hours of my day every day.
00:08:01All right.
00:08:01I got the back.
00:08:02The bison are a full-time job.
00:08:04They don't always have that direct time to fix all the needs on the property.
00:08:09I try to repair things and fix things as I can, but we haven't installed and updated vital things for the bison, like getting that new bison shoot in.
00:08:21Right now, we have to transport our animals every time we need to do something to them.
00:08:27So whether that's a sick animal that needs to be vaccinated for something or our yearly roundup, the stress of feeling like it could fail, we've really invested everything.
00:08:40We've left all of our friends and everything.
00:08:43You know, I may have a big, tough facade on the outside, but on the inside, mentally, that's definitely my weak side.
00:08:49And the thought crossed my mind, did I make a mistake?
00:08:53It is pretty mentally anguishing.
00:08:55You do feel sometimes like quitting and waving the flag, but it would absolutely destroy my wife if we had to move out of this situation.
00:09:06Looking out my window and seeing the herd come in over the hill is something that I never thought I'd experience, but it's so peaceful.
00:09:15Being here for almost four years, I can't imagine not living here.
00:09:19Having to go back to city life just seems, I just don't know how I would do that.
00:09:32Sorry.
00:09:32Let's talk garden.
00:09:43So we started with these six beds.
00:09:46We felt really good our first year gardening.
00:09:49And what did you grow?
00:09:50We grew tomatoes and jalapenos, cucumbers.
00:09:53We had a nice zucchini crop.
00:09:54Did you try to plant anything this year?
00:09:56We did.
00:09:57We tried to plant a few things.
00:09:58Did anything grow?
00:09:59No.
00:10:01Is this wind pretty relentless?
00:10:03Yeah.
00:10:04I mean, this is mild for out here.
00:10:06And so how windy does it get?
00:10:07I mean, on a bad day, 90 mile an hour winds, it gets bad.
00:10:12What?
00:10:13When you're dealing with gardening and wind, you're dealing with something that is drying out your soil twice as fast.
00:10:19It's devastating to your plants, whether it's the stem or the leaves.
00:10:23And it kills seedlings so you fail before you even start.
00:10:28You need twice the amount of water when you're trying to garden in the wind.
00:10:32Right.
00:10:33Do you have water?
00:10:35We do have water, but it's also the same water that our house runs on.
00:10:40We only have one well that produces water.
00:10:42So when something goes wrong with the water, we're out.
00:10:46And it just goes to the bison?
00:10:47Yeah.
00:10:48Okay.
00:10:48We have a well over here, but it's dry.
00:10:51Okay.
00:10:52Can you show me?
00:10:52Yes.
00:10:53Okay.
00:10:54Melissa is successfully growing weeds.
00:10:57And if that weren't bad enough, there's no water.
00:10:59Growing food here is not going to be an easy thing.
00:11:11Cool.
00:11:12After a meal.
00:11:13So this is our stables, corrals.
00:11:16Is this a huge barn?
00:11:18It's a big, big barn.
00:11:21And they're not using it for anything right now?
00:11:23Not right now, storage.
00:11:25How old is it?
00:11:26About 1950s.
00:11:28We're a good 70, 80 years old.
00:11:32It definitely looks like the water's leaking, you know, down into the rafters.
00:11:38Yes.
00:11:39When we look at, you know, just the integrity of the building, open wires, birds' nests,
00:11:46feces, just the holes in the ceiling.
00:11:48I mean, we're just trying to make sure that this building is going to be secure enough
00:11:53for housing animals properly.
00:11:57They're talking about bringing pigs in and, you know, pigs, a horse, you know, eventually
00:12:01and utilize some of the stables in here.
00:12:04These homesteaders want to expand their livestock so they can have another source of protein
00:12:09and make more money.
00:12:10Correct.
00:12:10Because they probably need it.
00:12:12Correct.
00:12:12Got a lot of potential.
00:12:13Getting that barn whipped into shape and ready for livestock could be the ultimate game-changer
00:12:19for this homestead.
00:12:20It'll give a chance outside of those bison to be self-sustainable.
00:12:24So now we're heading out to our windmill for the water.
00:12:33Oh, right there.
00:12:34Yep.
00:12:35That's not functioning.
00:12:37We've never had time to get to it.
00:12:40Right now they're walking all the way in for water to the corral.
00:12:45Earlier this year we had a hot spell come through and one of the calves died about 100 yards
00:12:51from the water tank.
00:12:52No way.
00:12:52From the corral.
00:12:53No.
00:12:54Dehydration is kind of what we assumed happened.
00:12:56How hot did it get?
00:12:57104, 105 was the max.
00:13:03I feel privileged to be able to see buffalo or bison.
00:13:07Seeing this site is how it's supposed to be.
00:13:09This is the way it was meant to be.
00:13:11The people in Alaska that raise bison will tell you that animal can go through any fence
00:13:18if it wants to.
00:13:19Fences are suggestions.
00:13:20Buffalo, also known as bison, are the largest mammal in the United States.
00:13:27Prior to European settlers, millions of bison roamed North America, nearly hunted to extinction
00:13:35in the late 1800s.
00:13:36In the late 1800s, ranchers, First Nations communities, and conservationists have worked to rebuild bison
00:13:43populations since the early 20th century.
00:13:46Commercial bison farming and ranching began in the mid-1980s, but the animals can be unpredictable and dangerous.
00:13:56With charging speeds up to 35 miles per hour, they've caused serious injuries and at least one death in recent years.
00:14:05You've been here four years.
00:14:09You've never seen any water come out of here?
00:14:11Nope.
00:14:11Do you know any history on this well?
00:14:14We looked it up through the county to know that this was operational at one point in time.
00:14:19Once upon a time, there were homesteaders here before Kevin and Melissa.
00:14:24Word is they raised cattle, and maybe those cattle relied on the water produced by the windmill, which now doesn't work and produces zero water.
00:14:37It's a matter of life or death on a place like this.
00:14:41We've got to get it fixed.
00:14:42All right, guys, this is what I really appreciate about these homesteaders.
00:14:50They want to step back in time and help replenish the plains with buffalo.
00:14:59So how are we going to help them?
00:15:00Their mission and their dream, it was amazing.
00:15:04But homesteading isn't just a one-faceted thing.
00:15:07How are they bringing in a garden here and keeping it alive?
00:15:10How are they bringing other livestock?
00:15:12What's that bigger picture plan look like?
00:15:14I have ideas, but is there going to be enough time in the day after they've tended to the bison?
00:15:20And what did the three of us combined know about buffalo?
00:15:24Not that much.
00:15:26We're going to have to get real creative because we're a little bit out of our league.
00:15:36All right, folks, let's just start with what you guys are doing here.
00:15:40It's cool.
00:15:42That said, there's a lot to do here.
00:15:46When it comes to having a successful garden here, the biggest challenge is the wind.
00:15:52I have a lot of ideas.
00:15:54I'm ready to get to work in the morning.
00:15:55Sounds great.
00:15:56Garrett showed me the barn.
00:15:58And the real money is in the barn itself and putting livestock in there.
00:16:05Whether it's trying to figure out what's happening with the well out there, resurrect and make functional a barn, or try to grow anything, if you will, that's what we do.
00:16:16That's all called homesteading.
00:16:18But we're not buffalo whisperers.
00:16:22Well, I've got a proposition for you.
00:16:24There is a neighbor ranch that we have a good relationship with.
00:16:27I say we go take a look at their place tomorrow and get you guys more familiar with the bison and the buffalo.
00:16:33How does that sound?
00:16:33That sounds like a blast.
00:16:35Crash course.
00:16:36It's crash course.
00:16:37We'll meet you there.
00:16:38Let's do it.
00:16:38See you in the morning.
00:16:39Get some sleep, guys.
00:16:40See you, guys.
00:16:42See you later.
00:16:47Wow, there's a big one over here.
00:16:48Where, where, where?
00:16:50Dad, here comes the big guy.
00:16:51Oh!
00:17:03Here we go.
00:17:04As a new day dawns in eastern Colorado, this is the land where the buffalo roam.
00:17:12You!
00:17:13The Rainies travel for their crash course on one of America's most legendary animals.
00:17:21Hello.
00:17:23How are you guys?
00:17:24Good.
00:17:24How are you?
00:17:25Doing well.
00:17:26This is quite a spread.
00:17:28This is 2,700 right on here.
00:17:302,700 acres.
00:17:32Yeah.
00:17:32Is it all buffalo?
00:17:33All buffalo.
00:17:34I'm Sean Bennett.
00:17:36I run Prairie Ridge Buffalo Ranch.
00:17:39And I met Kevin and Melissa Cooper about five years ago.
00:17:43They had a dream.
00:17:44They wanted to come out and raise bison.
00:17:46And it's like any business.
00:17:48It doesn't happen overnight.
00:17:49It's a very steep learning curve.
00:17:51And we're happy to help them as much as we can.
00:17:54So we're so excited to be here because being from Alaska, we are not bison experts.
00:18:00So we're here to, like, see your operation, kind of see what's been working for you and
00:18:04what hasn't been working for you.
00:18:05The coopers are so overwhelmed on their homestead because of the bison.
00:18:10They take up so much time, so much energy.
00:18:13We need to figure out how they can grow their herd so that there's time left for homesteading.
00:18:20So is there anything we should know before we go out?
00:18:22First thing I learned in the buffalo business, sometimes it's best just let buffalo be buffalo.
00:18:26It's kind of like raising kids.
00:18:27Very similar.
00:18:28We're going to jump in my truck.
00:18:29We're going to go out.
00:18:30We're going to go look at some buffalo.
00:18:32Let's load up.
00:18:32When you show up on a buffalo ranch and the owner of the ranch says, jump in the truck,
00:18:38let's go for a drive, you get a little glimpse into history as you stand in awe of a herd of
00:18:47America's national animal.
00:18:53Oh, my gosh.
00:18:56You know you're dealing with some dangerous livestock when you can't approach them on foot
00:19:01and have to make sure you're in a truck so you don't get caught in a stampede.
00:19:06Oh, yeah, buffalo dust.
00:19:08Wow, look at these guys.
00:19:10Whoa.
00:19:12Buffalo treats.
00:19:15What a beautiful animal.
00:19:18Visiting Sean's ranch is really amazing.
00:19:21It's like I'm seeing dinosaurs.
00:19:24It's like a triceratops.
00:19:25Look at this guy.
00:19:27Wow, there's a big one over here.
00:19:29Where, where, where?
00:19:30Dad, here comes the big guy.
00:19:32Whoa.
00:19:38I'm back.
00:19:42That is the most incredible thing I've ever seen.
00:19:45Sean, what is that buffalo weigh?
00:19:47About 2,300.
00:19:482,300 pounds right there.
00:19:51This is like an incredible amount of water.
00:19:53Like, how much water does it take?
00:19:54Typically, a bison will drink about 16 gallons a day.
00:19:58With 265 acres, is that enough room to rotational graze?
00:20:02You know, I look at Kevin and Melissa, where they're at right now, where's your water sources?
00:20:07They need that windmill up and operating.
00:20:10For this homestead, having water is really important when it comes to 16 gallons a day per bison.
00:20:18But, man, I'll tell you right now, they just don't have that set up at all.
00:20:23We're wanting to mainstream it as much as we can, so there's room for other things.
00:20:28So you have to expand what you do on a ranch in order to make the ranch viable, in order to make it functional.
00:20:35So let's talk.
00:20:37What is it that you and your wife want to do?
00:20:40So right now, we're doing meat sales.
00:20:42So we are in that meat market, but that's where we've kind of got to get creative in bringing more money in to the homestead
00:20:49to kind of keep us moving forward and being successful.
00:20:52Copy.
00:20:54All right, well, that was fascinating.
00:20:56Thank you guys very much for coming out.
00:20:58That is the buffalo magic.
00:20:59So cool!
00:21:04All right, see if you can pry that sucker out of there.
00:21:09Later that day, Matt and the Cooper's brother-in-law, Garrett, returned to the faltering barn, hoping to restore it
00:21:17to safely house necessary sources of protein, like pigs.
00:21:25All right.
00:21:26I figured we start on the worst one and put a full-length stud in here.
00:21:32Right now, we are replacing studs.
00:21:34We already got two in.
00:21:35And the reason is, it's because of this.
00:21:38Look at all this.
00:21:40I mean, this wood is not, it's not rotten, you know?
00:21:44This is not termites.
00:21:46This is not water damage.
00:21:48This right here is livestock, rubbage, scratchage, and chewage.
00:21:55To prepare the Cooper's barn for future livestock, Matt and Garrett will fortify the existing
00:22:02structure with new support beams, replace dangerous exposed wiring, and seal the roof
00:22:09by replacing deteriorated fiberglass panels, turning this once vacant barn into a full-bore
00:22:16source of food and, eventually, income.
00:22:20Working with Matt, it's a great experience.
00:22:26We work well together.
00:22:27We have the same mind goal for this barn, and that makes the process so much easier when
00:22:32we're thinking alike.
00:22:34How's it fit?
00:22:35Perfect.
00:22:35One of the really cool parts about Garrett is, he is just as invested into this whole
00:22:42bison ranch as the people that live on this ranch.
00:22:46That's a brother-in-law you want to keep, and he's tall.
00:22:51You got a big scrapping guy that can really put the studs in.
00:22:55You got a stud working with the stud, putting the studs in.
00:22:58It seems windier today.
00:23:12It is crazier today, definitely.
00:23:14Just outside the barn, Misty and Melissa are ready to defend the garden from Colorado's
00:23:20elements.
00:23:23No plant is going to survive in this.
00:23:25Crazy.
00:23:25I don't want to tear down the existing fence.
00:23:29I just want to add wind protection.
00:23:31So I'm thinking, literally, just like a wood wall, a wood fence, that the wind can't penetrate.
00:23:37Yeah.
00:23:38I think that sounds amazing.
00:23:40Today's the day where we actually get to start homesteading.
00:23:43Clearly, the bison have taken top priority with Melissa and Kevin, but guess what my top
00:23:48priority is?
00:23:49It's feeding this family.
00:23:51We'll try this guy off.
00:23:52Melissa and Kevin, they're successful ranchers, but moving to a place where they can actually
00:23:58grow food and setting them up for the spring is what I plan on doing.
00:24:02Okay.
00:24:04We know where the posts go.
00:24:05Easy enough, right?
00:24:06Yep.
00:24:06Let's grab the auger, the post, and get them in.
00:24:08Sounds good.
00:24:09To protect the garden from eastern Colorado's intense winds, Misty will drill holes to install
00:24:17a protective wooden fence, complete with 4x4 posts solidified in concrete, so the Coopers
00:24:23can finally grow their own fresh food source on the homestead.
00:24:27We're still overwhelmed with all we need to get done, so Misty working on the garden is
00:24:43a relief.
00:24:44And with the wind barrier, I think that we're going to hopefully be able to be much more
00:24:49successful in the future.
00:24:52We're going to call that good 4x4 post in.
00:24:56It's set in concrete because of 90 mile an hour winds, this thing doesn't stand a chance
00:25:01unless we beef it up.
00:25:02So we get the wind barrier in, we get it nice and sturdy.
00:25:05That way, Melissa can actually garden.
00:25:08Woo!
00:25:09Woo, woo, woo!
00:25:17I believe that's Wayne.
00:25:19I like this guy already.
00:25:21Over at the windmill, Marty and Kevin meet with a local expert who can hopefully get it
00:25:27in working order and provide a desperately needed water source to help the bison and the
00:25:33Cooper's homesteading dream from dying.
00:25:37Wayne.
00:25:37Wayne, Marty Rainey.
00:25:39Kevin.
00:25:40We moved here about three or four years ago and never seen this thing up and running.
00:25:45So I'm wondering if you wouldn't have a little bit of knowledge on this.
00:25:49Won't know until we get it out of the cold.
00:25:51Okay.
00:25:52I'm holding you up.
00:25:54I like this guy.
00:25:55He's a man of action.
00:25:57These homesteaders have a house on the other side of the property with a well.
00:26:02But out here on this back pasture, it's dry.
00:26:05So we have to fix the windmill to produce all the water than 16 buffalo can drink.
00:26:14Relying on the expertise of Wayne, Marty and Kevin will first take the windmill well apart
00:26:20from the ground up, then establish at what depth the water is resting and rebuild the
00:26:26well accordingly.
00:26:27They'll also remove any obstructions and fix any broken parts, including the powering fan
00:26:34at the top.
00:26:35This will allow the Coopers to not only water their herd of 16, but to add enough bison to
00:26:42make the ranch sustainable.
00:26:43I just met Wayne, and guess what?
00:26:51I've heard he's smart, he's talented, and he's a jack-of-all-trades.
00:26:57We might just fix this windmill.
00:26:59Like your style.
00:27:00It's day three on the Cooper family's 265-acre Colorado bison stead.
00:27:24Fire in the hole!
00:27:27And with the windmill well disassembled and cleaned, Marty and Wayne make final preparations
00:27:34to provide a life-saving water source for the grazing bison.
00:27:38So, 1336, when it's 1227.
00:27:44The 109 feet, so the deeper this is?
00:27:47To the bottom of the well, yes.
00:27:50Okay, we're going to pull this out until we hit water on the rope.
00:27:55The reason that they go with a lot of windmills instead of electric pumps, because this can't
00:27:59pump that fast.
00:28:00This will only pump about two, three gallons a minute.
00:28:03That's perfect.
00:28:04A lot of times you get in with an electric pump, pump a drive.
00:28:08Yep.
00:28:09The first recorded evidence of windmills being used for pumping water and grinding grain
00:28:15was in Persia between 500 and 900 A.D.
00:28:19In the 14th century, the Dutch took windmills to a whole new level with their taller and more
00:28:26efficient tower mills.
00:28:27By the late 1800s and early 1900s, windmills were sprinkled all over the American landscape,
00:28:36becoming very useful in the Great Plains.
00:28:39When a windmill's fan spins on a shaft, it drives a geared mechanism in an up-and-down motion.
00:28:46That motion pushes a long pump rod inside of a pipe in the well, while a sealed plunger
00:28:52at the end of the rod forces the water up the pipe.
00:28:56With sufficient wind, an average windmill will produce up to 1,500 gallons of water a day.
00:29:06Right there's static water level.
00:29:0823 feet.
00:29:09It sounds like we're going to put this thing back together, and we're going to see what
00:29:12this well can do in real life.
00:29:14Yeah.
00:29:17Grinches?
00:29:18Don't cross-thread it, Marty.
00:29:23Moment of truth.
00:29:27Well, you just rebuilt it.
00:29:28Now what?
00:29:29Now we'll see if it works.
00:29:38I think I can fit through that hole.
00:29:39Let's go.
00:29:39Oh, once you get the shoulders to, now the real test is the love handles.
00:29:45Let's see.
00:29:47While Matt begins the barn roof repair...
00:29:49Okay, so here's the deal.
00:29:52Misty enlists Garrett for his expertise...
00:29:55I've heard that you have a little bit of a plumbing background.
00:29:58That's correct.
00:29:59...to revitalize a long, dormant water source.
00:30:02Let's take a look.
00:30:05What is this?
00:30:06That's a drywall.
00:30:07Oh, that used to be an old pump inside of there.
00:30:13Old breaker box.
00:30:15Black Widows.
00:30:16Do you think it's a power issue or a water issue?
00:30:18Because the shutoff valve's off.
00:30:21Well, we can jump in and...
00:30:23And just see if the shutoff...
00:30:23Just to see if the shutoff is active and see if we get any kind of fluid.
00:30:27I'm a little scared.
00:30:28Then somebody said Black Widow.
00:30:30I can see some.
00:30:31I'm going down in.
00:30:34So, unfortunately, I have to jump down into a well full of Black Widows.
00:30:39But we could have a secondary water supply that's huge.
00:30:44Oh, my God.
00:30:45It's going to get on me.
00:30:47It's going to get on me.
00:30:52And we've got water.
00:30:53We've got water!
00:30:54We've got water.
00:30:55Okay, coming out because it's too scary.
00:30:57There's water coming out of a pipe that's 70 years old.
00:31:01This is super exciting.
00:31:04Can you just check my back?
00:31:05Oh, yeah.
00:31:05No, you're good.
00:31:05Like, can you just brush my whole body?
00:31:07We're good.
00:31:08Just get in there.
00:31:09Yep, you're good.
00:31:10I did not expect water to come out of that pipe at all.
00:31:14There's a secondary water source on the homestead.
00:31:17Like, this...
00:31:18What?
00:31:19The fact that we have water in here.
00:31:21The fact that we have water is huge.
00:31:23Is huge.
00:31:24Huge.
00:31:25Yes.
00:31:26Let's deal with the Black Widows.
00:31:27Let's get to a place where we can be down there safe and working.
00:31:29And we know what our materials list is, so let's just go get it.
00:31:33Let's do it.
00:31:44Family, come on over here.
00:31:45Come on, kids.
00:31:46With Misty finding a possible water source for the garden,
00:31:50150 acres away,
00:31:53Marty gathers everyone out on the pasture
00:31:55to see if they can strike life-changing water
00:31:59for both the bison and the homestead.
00:32:03We may have water.
00:32:04If it's dry, we've got to go back to the drawing board.
00:32:07Wayne, what's the next thing that has to happen?
00:32:09We've got to put oil in the tranny?
00:32:11We can check it and see if there is any in there,
00:32:13if you can reach it.
00:32:14But I don't know if you're going to reach out from the platform.
00:32:16Clint can.
00:32:17Clint can do anything.
00:32:18Clint, get up here, please.
00:32:19Have you seen how long Clint's arms are?
00:32:27It would mean the world to have water on the homestead,
00:32:30not only just for us,
00:32:32but what it means for the bison is huge.
00:32:35There's times out here on the homestead
00:32:37where you feel in a bit over your head.
00:32:39Having the capability of having water out on pasture
00:32:42for our bison is a crucial step for us to get this going.
00:32:45We've got Wayne hooked the brake back up.
00:32:48We've got Clint ready to cut the chain and the wire.
00:32:52I think we're ready.
00:32:53Okay, so as soon as you let it go, Clint,
00:32:54it's going to want to start spinning when you let go.
00:32:57It's going to spin.
00:32:58Careful, Clint.
00:32:59It's going to spin and knock you.
00:33:01Clint, that's a lot of wind.
00:33:10There she goes.
00:33:12It's spinning.
00:33:13It's going up.
00:33:14Look how fast it's going.
00:33:18Look how fast it's pumping.
00:33:22Look at that thing.
00:33:24Come on, water.
00:33:25What is there, water?
00:33:26Come on, water.
00:33:27Come on, baby.
00:33:28Okay, I still don't see water.
00:33:30Okay, hold on.
00:33:30I mean, she's moving.
00:33:35Come on, come on.
00:33:37Where is it?
00:33:39Okay, now I'm getting nervous.
00:33:42You guys, we have to talk.
00:33:43No B.S.
00:33:44What if water doesn't come out?
00:33:49I'm thinking you guys are screwed if this thing doesn't work.
00:33:52I'm thinking you guys are screwed if this thing doesn't work.
00:33:59The pivotal windmill has failed to strike water.
00:34:13Wayne, what do you think?
00:34:15We're going to have to pull it out and see what's wrong with it.
00:34:18Okay, so we're going to pull it all back apart and see what's going on.
00:34:23You want to stay and work on it?
00:34:24Yep.
00:34:24Okay.
00:34:25The rest of you guys go back to work.
00:34:26I'm really sorry.
00:34:27Let's go.
00:34:28We're going to start all over.
00:34:30I'm sorry, everyone.
00:34:32Kind of a bummer.
00:34:34You know, we were excited.
00:34:35We were, you know, all of us, the Rainies, ourselves, we got excited for the water.
00:34:40And, well, it never came.
00:34:41All right, let's get an X-Vader.
00:34:44I'll take you down there.
00:34:45Let's grab the X-Vader.
00:34:47Never hear someone say failure is not an option.
00:34:51What a ridiculous statement.
00:34:53We did a lot of work.
00:34:55We were 100% confident and no water came out.
00:35:00So now we'll learn from those mistakes and make a better, stronger.
00:35:05Well, cool.
00:35:06Just hold it right there.
00:35:07Oh, yeah.
00:35:08We're trying to get this windmill back up and run it.
00:35:11So we've got the X-Vader up there.
00:35:13Stop the blade from spinning.
00:35:14We're chaining up the blade right now.
00:35:16As soon as he gets done chaining up that blade, we're going to drop back down and pull the pipe back out and see if we get water out of this.
00:35:29Yep.
00:35:30See, this right here is broke off.
00:35:32Oh, so the brake broke.
00:35:33Yep.
00:35:34That arm up there is supposed to hook into there.
00:35:37It sits right there.
00:35:38It usually sits right there when it's on.
00:35:40Are we going to be able to get a new one?
00:35:42Yep.
00:35:43Well, a used one.
00:35:44Used one.
00:35:44Used one.
00:35:45Okay.
00:35:46Okay.
00:35:47New to me.
00:35:47So the first issue is there's no brake system on this windmill.
00:35:52The next step, we've got to figure out what's going on down below.
00:35:57I'm going to get in here and grab a pipe wrench.
00:35:58We're going back in.
00:36:01Can't hurt me.
00:36:02I think there's our problem.
00:36:16What?
00:36:16What?
00:36:17And it's full of mud.
00:36:19Badly full of mud.
00:36:21So we dropped it down too far.
00:36:22Yep.
00:36:23This is our filter, right?
00:36:25Look underneath here.
00:36:27We stabbed it that far, this far into the mud.
00:36:35The five or six inches of screen that draws the water in, we sealed off any chance of getting
00:36:41water out.
00:36:41We're convinced now that this thing's going to generate and pump water.
00:36:46However, we do need some critical parts so that this thing can operate safely with a
00:36:50brake system.
00:36:52So until we can fix the brake, we're sitting high and dry.
00:36:56The next morning, while the windmill team sources parts for the brake.
00:37:11Let's start with the worst one first.
00:37:14Matt and Garrett begin in the barn, reinforcing the post beams that support the roof.
00:37:21Okay, I think we're through.
00:37:22So it's the first project on a daunting list of important repairs to make the barn safe
00:37:28for livestock.
00:37:29The biggest reason why these posts failed was because they were just sitting on the dirt.
00:37:36There's no way we're going to fix this post by putting a post back on dirt.
00:37:40We got to put that post on concrete.
00:37:43I say we fill the hole, set of posts on here, and then we'll just move on to the next one.
00:37:47Let's do it, man.
00:37:48But before that, I have kind of a surprise.
00:37:52We got a hold of some people.
00:37:54They're locals, and they're going to help us with electrical.
00:37:56Steve, Dryland Electric.
00:37:58Garrett.
00:37:58Thank you so much for coming.
00:38:00Yeah, we plan to light it up in here.
00:38:01Awesome.
00:38:02That's awesome.
00:38:02I don't want to get in your way.
00:38:03Let's just work around each other because we just got to keep going.
00:38:06We got a lot of stuff to do, and I'm sure you're busy as heck.
00:38:09All right, let's get to work.
00:38:10Let's do it, guys.
00:38:10Pull this out.
00:38:18Okay, that worked really well.
00:38:21Matt and I are working in the barn.
00:38:22We're getting posts secured.
00:38:23We're pouring concrete in the ground to give integrity to the building.
00:38:27The electric guys are here.
00:38:28They're working fast.
00:38:29They're doing the updates and upgrades that this barn needs to make it safe and sound.
00:38:32You know, about yet?
00:38:37This thing's going to be bomb-proof, man.
00:38:40That's what we want.
00:38:45We've got plenty of wind, but no windmill.
00:38:48I mean, look at this.
00:38:49This is pathetic.
00:38:50With work on the windmill still stalled until Wayne acquires a new brake part, Marty brings
00:38:56up something else that has been troubling him about the bison setup on the homestead.
00:39:01I've learned more about buffalo in the last couple days than I've learned my entire life.
00:39:07After that tour, something was said that I picked up on.
00:39:11We can rotate through, so I can push a pasture during the summertime while it's growing and
00:39:16then pull animals off of it and allow it to grow, so, like, their winter pasture hasn't
00:39:20seen a buffalo in six months.
00:39:22The herd is on one side feeding, while the other half of that pasture is allowed to grow,
00:39:31to replenish, to get healthy.
00:39:33I sense that a fence straight across here would give you at least a start on rotational grazing.
00:39:41Yep, yep, that would be a good start.
00:39:43I brought some string.
00:39:44I've got about 75 T-posts, so we just get started.
00:39:47Let's just start putting boats in the ground.
00:39:50Identifying a lack of sufficient grass for bison due to overgrazing, Marty proposes a reinforced
00:39:57fence that covers one square mile to create rotational grazing.
00:40:02This will allow the bison to feed on one side of the fence while the other side regrows, and
00:40:09then rotate every few months.
00:40:18In this crash course of how to raise a buffalo herd successfully, I've learned this.
00:40:25It would behoove us to put in a fence straight across the property, dividing that 265 acres
00:40:32into two parcels.
00:40:34The cool thing is, the windmill's right about in the center.
00:40:39If we could get it fixed, they'll have access to life-sustaining water.
00:40:46Thank you so much.
00:40:50Push.
00:40:51Kayton.
00:40:52Me and Marty started doing fencing today for our rotational grazing.
00:40:57We're essentially building a box around the water tank itself with an entry and exit point
00:41:02to the new pastures.
00:41:03So this is going to give them lots of room, and it's just going to really help with our
00:41:07soil and our grass, so that way we can get more livestock that produce more income.
00:41:14Off to a good start.
00:41:20Across the homestead.
00:41:21All right, Garrett.
00:41:23Garrett arrives with news that could set back the garden well project.
00:41:30So this well is labeled as a canceled well with the state.
00:41:36Oh.
00:41:36We are not able to get this well activated again unless we get the state involved.
00:41:43Why would they cancel a well?
00:41:47The reservoir underground is empty.
00:41:49We're going to be pulling dirt.
00:41:50So that water was coming from the pre-existing well from the house.
00:41:55Pre-existing well, existing lines in the property.
00:41:58Well, you're a real buzzkill.
00:42:00No, I'm just kidding.
00:42:02I'm sorry.
00:42:04Super bad news from Garrett.
00:42:06Yesterday there was the old windmill.
00:42:08That's a total bust.
00:42:09We have the canceled dry hole in the ground with my well.
00:42:13Thanks for all the information.
00:42:14Anytime.
00:42:14I appreciate it.
00:42:15Absolutely.
00:42:16As far as the big homesteading dream, there's not enough water here to sustain it.
00:42:22We're getting closer.
00:42:38With two days remaining on the Cooper's Colorado homestead, critical projects hang in the balance.
00:42:46Okay.
00:42:47That's pretty good.
00:42:48As Matt begins work on a door for potential livestock at the barn.
00:42:53You got cracked egg shells to make an omelet.
00:42:56Misty goes back to square one after the failed garden well plan.
00:43:01Do me a favor.
00:43:02Pick this one out right here, please.
00:43:04And while the windmill is still in need of parts.
00:43:09Marty and Clint repurpose building materials for the rotational grazing build.
00:43:14Anytime you see a bunch of telephone poles on a property and you're about to put in some fencing for buffalo,
00:43:23it'd be kind of cool to use them as the main races, if you will,
00:43:26because we've got to build not one but two gates in this rotational grazing program.
00:43:33Let's go.
00:43:34Let's go.
00:43:34All right, Melissa.
00:43:44Here we go.
00:43:46Later that morning, Misty and Melissa pivot to the fence build that will protect the garden from Colorado's vicious windstorms.
00:43:54So I was trying to find one by of any kind.
00:43:58I found this.
00:43:59These are beautiful.
00:43:59I love them.
00:44:00Okay.
00:44:00They're great.
00:44:00So we'll use these as pickets.
00:44:02Okay.
00:44:02On the front side.
00:44:03It's going to look good.
00:44:04Right.
00:44:04But we care about blocking the wind so you're able to guard it.
00:44:08Yes.
00:44:08And you'll be able to do that when we get these on.
00:44:10So let's cut the straps.
00:44:11Okay.
00:44:13Today's the wittiest day on the homestead.
00:44:15By far.
00:44:16It's time we put in the wind barrier.
00:44:20Okay.
00:44:21Timber.
00:44:22First things first, we've got a four by four post in concrete so that this thing doesn't blow down.
00:44:30Ooh, I like it.
00:44:31I love it.
00:44:32I think it's fantastic.
00:44:33Are you excited that you're actually going to be able to garden?
00:44:36Yes, I'm very excited.
00:44:37I think that the wood with the exposed bark looks amazing.
00:44:42I think it's going to function really well.
00:44:44And I was excited about the project even the first time she explained it to me.
00:44:48But now with the new planks that she has found, I'm even more excited about it.
00:44:52I think it's going to work really well.
00:44:55Perfect.
00:44:56How far apart are your kiddos?
00:44:58About nine years.
00:44:59So I had Conrad when I was 19.
00:45:01So we were pretty young.
00:45:01And then Kevin was diagnosed with vesticular cancer.
00:45:07Shoot.
00:45:08How long ago?
00:45:09It's about 11 years now since his diagnosis.
00:45:12Kevin was barely into his 30s.
00:45:15At that young age, you don't expect to hear the C word.
00:45:19And so it's just a shock to the system.
00:45:23He was pretty fortunate in the fact that he had the less aggressive types.
00:45:28And I went and did the surgery.
00:45:29And he was about a week out of recovery.
00:45:32And I had been feeling kind of sick for a week or so.
00:45:36And of course, because we had just got a cancer diagnosis, he was like, oh my God, you're dying.
00:45:40And so he made me go to the doctor.
00:45:43And I went to the doctor and I found out I was pregnant with Lily.
00:45:46Oh my goodness.
00:45:47So she's sort of our miracle baby.
00:45:51We both have lost people to cancer.
00:45:57It's so...
00:46:00It just has a big eye impact.
00:46:03It changes your perspective on everything.
00:46:08Oh, yeah.
00:46:09Yeah.
00:46:09Oh, that's so cool.
00:46:11Oh, it looks so good.
00:46:12I love it.
00:46:12I think it's great.
00:46:14I'm so happy that Melissa opened up to me about Kevin and his battle with cancer.
00:46:18I think for me, it's just motivating me, right?
00:46:21This is their make it or break it moment.
00:46:23They know how fragile life is.
00:46:24This is their dream.
00:46:25And no matter what, we have to make it work.
00:46:29I love the fact that there's a wind barricade.
00:46:31I love the fact that there's ventilation.
00:46:33I love the fact that we didn't create a wind catch, right?
00:46:36We don't want a solid wall.
00:46:37Yeah.
00:46:37It's going to protect the plants but allow air to go through.
00:46:40Yeah, done.
00:46:40Okay.
00:46:41So that's one, two, three, four, five.
00:46:44We just literally have a million more.
00:46:45A hundred to go.
00:46:46Should we keep moving?
00:46:47Yep.
00:46:47Let's do it.
00:46:47All right, pin it.
00:46:57Okay.
00:46:58That ain't going anywhere, man.
00:46:59Not staying there.
00:47:01Later that day, with the barn repair well at hand...
00:47:04I'll follow you.
00:47:05All right.
00:47:06Right over here.
00:47:07Melissa peels off the fence project to task Matt and Garrett with another homestead need.
00:47:12So I wanted to bring you over here because I was going to see if you guys could help us with our bison shoot.
00:47:18Okay.
00:47:19This is a cattle shoot.
00:47:20It was here when we moved onto the property.
00:47:22It's too small for bison.
00:47:24Yeah, right?
00:47:25So we got a bison shoot that we just need to swap the two shoots so that we can start working bison on our property instead of having to load them all up and take them over to Sean's property to vaccinate them or check them for pregnancy or any of those kind of things.
00:47:40Okay.
00:47:41Well, heck.
00:47:42Let's take a look at the bison shoot.
00:47:43All right.
00:47:43Come this way.
00:47:45Once upon a time on this homestead, there was cattle here.
00:47:49The coopers have an old cattle shoot, which is perfect if you want to put a cow in there.
00:47:55But the bison are substantially bigger.
00:47:59They're a lot more agile, and they need a bison-sized alley and shoot.
00:48:06So this is a bison shoot.
00:48:08So this is a bison shoot.
00:48:09Wow.
00:48:10This thing is massive.
00:48:12Heavy duty for a heavy-duty animal.
00:48:14Oh, my gosh.
00:48:15I mean, it's just a solid steel contraption.
00:48:17So basically, with this one, it works the same way as the other one does.
00:48:21The bison come running through the shoot, and they hit their heads on the crash gate on that black wall.
00:48:26That'll cause them to back up, and then we can squeeze them into the shoot.
00:48:31You've done this before?
00:48:32Yes.
00:48:33Once a year?
00:48:33Yeah.
00:48:34All 15 females get on a trailer and spend the night at Sean's ranch so that we can work them.
00:48:39That does sound stressful.
00:48:40Well, and we've lost a cow before during the process.
00:48:42Really?
00:48:43They get really stressed out in the pen, and we woke up the next morning, and she was deceased.
00:48:47That's really unfortunate.
00:48:49Yeah.
00:48:49So this is a necessity.
00:48:50Yeah.
00:48:50This is a necessity.
00:48:51Absolutely.
00:48:52Not only is it stressing out the buffalo, but it seems like it's stressed out the homestead quite a bit.
00:48:56Yes.
00:48:56Okay, well, out with the old, in with the new.
00:48:58Love it.
00:49:00To safely allow bison to move to and from the property and receive life-saving medications, Matt will install a bison chute.
00:49:10First, he and Garrett will lay a thick cement slab where they will anchor the three-ton bison squeeze chute.
00:49:18Then, they will make the alley bison-ready by raising the walls.
00:49:23Finally, they will build a runway along the side of the alley from which the handlers can coax the bison once inside.
00:49:30Bring in the tractor!
00:49:35Come on in!
00:49:37This is a bison ranch.
00:49:38Obviously, the cattle chute's not going to work for us here, so we have made a game plan, and we went and grabbed Kevin so he could give us a little assistance getting that old cattle chute out of there.
00:49:49I think that's going to work.
00:49:50All right.
00:49:51Stand clear.
00:49:53Oh, it's going!
00:49:54Oh, it's going.
00:49:55That's perfect.
00:49:56Easy!
00:49:57Easier than I thought.
00:49:58That's perfect.
00:50:00All right, should we unhook it?
00:50:02Yeah.
00:50:04Awesome, man.
00:50:05Well, hey, thanks a lot, Kevin.
00:50:07Glad I could help, boy.
00:50:09Cool.
00:50:10That came out awesome.
00:50:12Yeah, it really did.
00:50:14So, let's measure the new chute, figure out how big of a footprint we need to put here, and then once we know that, we'll start forming up our forms for the concrete slab.
00:50:24Let's do it.
00:50:24Okay, kids.
00:50:41First of all, good morning.
00:50:43Just 48 hours remain until the Rainies leave the Coopers' 265-acre homestead.
00:50:50Let's talk a little bit.
00:50:52As they push to finish their multitasking masterclass, the Rainies meet to enact a plan to juggle their many projects.
00:51:00The rain falls mainly on the Plains.
00:51:05It is definitely false.
00:51:06I've not seen one drop of rain since we've been out here.
00:51:09It's been hot.
00:51:10It's been dry.
00:51:11And everything we're doing needs water.
00:51:14We've completely rebuilt the windmill from the top to the bottom, and we still have no water.
00:51:23In the meantime, we've moved on to the next aspect, which is rotational grazing.
00:51:28So, right now, if we can pull this off, we've hopefully got water, rotational grazing, and we're well on our way to helping these guys be buffalo ranchers.
00:51:38I have a backup plan, I hope, for the canceled well.
00:51:43But slowly but surely, we're getting there when it comes to wind protection for the garden.
00:51:48And I want to spend these next couple days shifting my focus to the bison.
00:51:53I'd love to be able to take a little section of that barn to be able to create a shop and a space where people can come, support the ranch, and create this learning facility.
00:52:04I want to focus on kids.
00:52:06That's a really good idea.
00:52:07So, Garrett and I have talked to Melissa and Kevin, and there is a surprise project that I think is going to help the buffalo immensely.
00:52:18And it has to do with being able to work the buffalo in the proper chute, with the proper alley going in.
00:52:27But it's no small project.
00:52:29My biggest contribution for the bison is this alleyway and the chute.
00:52:34And we will literally save lives.
00:52:36All right, let's hit it.
00:52:43Kevin, thanks for joining us.
00:52:45Yeah, what have we got?
00:52:46I wanted to show you this awesome slab.
00:52:48Near the barn, Matt and Garrett bring in Kevin for some advice on their ambitious bison chute project.
00:52:57What do you think of this?
00:52:58That's a slab.
00:52:59You think this is going to hold the big old buffalo chute?
00:53:03I think so.
00:53:05I'm jacked about it, man.
00:53:07This is a huge value to us.
00:53:09The new bison chute is going to be critical for us to work our animals here on our property and give them vaccinations and take care of them.
00:53:16One, for the time that we're not going to waste hauling our animals to get them work somewhere else.
00:53:19And number two, it's going to keep the stress low on them more than I'm here.
00:53:23We got to talk about this little runway here.
00:53:26Yeah.
00:53:26So just like the old chute was made for cows, I think this area was also made for cows.
00:53:32Yeah.
00:53:32Not bison approved.
00:53:34Yeah.
00:53:34Bison are pretty big.
00:53:35Do you think that this is too small?
00:53:37Yeah.
00:53:38They'll jump over these.
00:53:39So it's too short.
00:53:41Yeah, for sure.
00:53:42And then the other thing is a lot of the working facilities, they actually have a walkway about three feet off the ground.
00:53:48You just need to have access in to see them and to get them to move forward.
00:53:53It's got to remember this is a stressful process for them.
00:53:56So you want to make it quick and painless as possible.
00:53:58Get them in, get them out.
00:54:00This is all great info.
00:54:01We got a lot of work to do over here.
00:54:03This is a little bit bigger of a project than we anticipated.
00:54:06There was a little more bit off than Matt and I thought we were chewing.
00:54:09I mean, these are big animals.
00:54:11We need to make sure that this chute was going to work properly for these animals.
00:54:25Okay.
00:54:39Matt and I are putting up the side panels.
00:54:41We got to make it the right height, about seven feet.
00:54:46Okie doke.
00:54:47I think we've definitely raised the fencing high enough, but I think we need to make it so that these animals can't see through it.
00:54:56Yeah, we do need to block this up.
00:54:57They get scared of us just as much as we can be scared of them.
00:55:00Okay, so next step is let's wall off our fencing.
00:55:04Let's make it happen.
00:55:08We're going to get the blinders put up.
00:55:10It's really exciting stuff because we're going to be able to work these animals properly.
00:55:13Less stress on the animals, less stress on the ranchers.
00:55:16We're good to go.
00:55:17One, two, three.
00:55:18Oh, perfect.
00:55:19Perfect height, dude.
00:55:27Yeah.
00:55:35Just kick it down.
00:55:36Yeah, there you go.
00:55:41All right.
00:55:42Is it sturdy?
00:55:43Oh, yeah.
00:55:44Jump around up here.
00:55:46I can get in here.
00:55:48Yeah?
00:55:48I can work animals, keep them moving forward, and I'll be safe.
00:55:52Everything just keeps on getting bigger and badder, like those bison.
00:56:01It looks so good.
00:56:04With the new garden taking shape, Misty asks Melissa to show her the business end of the homestead.
00:56:13What is this space?
00:56:15So this space, currently, we use it as our makeshift shop for the ranch.
00:56:20So when we have visitors, they come in here first, and this is also where we store all
00:56:24the meat to sell to customers.
00:56:26Okay, nice.
00:56:27Is it this?
00:56:28Yes.
00:56:28So show me.
00:56:29You have your different cuts.
00:56:31So we have our cuts and our price sheet.
00:56:33And then right now, this is our meat selection.
00:56:37Certified.
00:56:38Yeah.
00:56:38Like ready to go.
00:56:39Ready to go.
00:56:39We're in business right now.
00:56:40Yep.
00:56:40Man, this is amazing.
00:56:43So you're just, you're already a small-scale operation.
00:56:46Yes.
00:56:46Would you like to do something pretty official when it comes to what you're doing already?
00:56:52Yes.
00:56:52I'd love to have a place that customers can come in and they feel like it's an actual store.
00:56:57Okay.
00:56:57I would love to be able to do that.
00:57:01Now that we have sort of got the garden almost finished, Misty called me over to talk about
00:57:07our storefront for the ranch.
00:57:09Misty wants us to work together on giving that shop a facelift so it's a little bit more
00:57:14presentable when we have customers come and visit the ranch.
00:57:16So I feel like we take this country store, we add to it, and possibly turn it into something
00:57:21else as well, if there's time, and we just make it happen.
00:57:24So let's go.
00:57:25Let's do it.
00:57:27Over at the windmill, the project to make it functional is at a standstill.
00:57:37The moment of truth.
00:57:38With the clock ticking to bring vital water to the herd, Marty and Kevin need Wayne to
00:57:45come through with the break part.
00:57:47Good news or bad news?
00:57:53Good news.
00:57:54For real?
00:57:55I have the parts.
00:57:56You have the parts.
00:57:57I got to be honest.
00:57:59I wasn't the least bit surprised.
00:58:00Were you?
00:58:01No.
00:58:01I knew Wayne would pull through.
00:58:06Tell us what to do.
00:58:07Please.
00:58:07Please.
00:58:08We're ready to go up with it.
00:58:10We're ready to go up with it.
00:58:13It's going to get western.
00:58:20Getting a little crazy out here.
00:58:22The wind's howling.
00:58:24The fans are designed to move in the wind.
00:58:26Bring it on over.
00:58:27Trust me, those galvanized fins are sharp, and yet Wayne, Clint, and I, we're trying to keep
00:58:37it stable so we can remount it and go for our second test to produce water.
00:58:43It ain't coming loose.
00:58:46Regardless of that wind, we don't have time to spare.
00:58:49We're going to go for it.
00:58:51If you can just hold it right there away from the tower, right there.
00:58:55Okay, you got it.
00:58:56Going up.
00:58:57We're trying to keep it stable.
00:59:28That's heavy, dude.
00:59:30While Wayne at the top's hanging onto the tower with one hand, and with the other hand,
00:59:35he's trying to guide the mass of the windmill and motor onto a little shallow.
00:59:40And those galvanized fins are sharp.
00:59:47Careful there.
00:59:50Okay.
00:59:57There you go.
01:00:02She's set.
01:00:03You're amazing.
01:00:14We're good.
01:00:14Okay.
01:00:16Should work.
01:00:18I hope it works.
01:00:20Well, you got plenty of wind for it today.
01:00:24We're about 10 seconds from having water.
01:00:26Everybody get up here.
01:00:27Okay.
01:00:28Come on over here.
01:00:40This morning, we kind of woke up.
01:00:43We were a little bummed because of the water situation.
01:00:45There was a lot of anticipation and buildup for there to be no water.
01:00:50So today, we were kind of waiting with bated breath.
01:00:54I'm hoping that this is the one.
01:00:58It was deja vu all over again.
01:01:01Same people, same place, no water.
01:01:04And I'm telling them, it's coming this time.
01:01:07It's coming.
01:01:08I hope that's true.
01:01:12What do you think, Wayne?
01:01:14Give us an update.
01:01:14Well, I hope it works this time.
01:01:29Come on, baby.
01:01:31Keep it coming.
01:01:32It's coming.
01:01:38Having that water up and running out on the windmill, out on pasture, is a major, major game changer for us.
01:01:44Woo!
01:01:45We can start doing rotational grazing, and that's just going to help the buffalo and the grass and the soil all be healthy.
01:01:52Oh, muddy!
01:01:56Just a little dirty.
01:01:57Just a little dirty.
01:01:59Give it a chance to clear up.
01:02:01It's going to be crystal clear in 15 minutes.
01:02:04You think after seeing water come out of the ground, out of a pipe, that it would become mundane.
01:02:10But every time you see water coming from where it wasn't before, you know that you've just changed the lives of the homesteaders.
01:02:22Woo-hoo!
01:02:23Yeah!
01:02:23Okay, so 10,000 gallons a week is coming out of there.
01:02:2910,000 gallons a week.
01:02:31We need it.
01:02:31We need it.
01:02:32So thank you, Wayne.
01:02:33Thank you, Wayne.
01:02:35Having Wayne come out and help us like that and having a neighbor so close just kind of confirms what we've learned so far with rural living
01:02:43and how great our community is about circling around their neighbors and helping where they can.
01:02:48We've got work to do.
01:02:49We're going to leave you with your new well.
01:02:52Thanks a lot, Wayne.
01:02:53Appreciate it.
01:02:55Don't blow away, sir.
01:02:56Yeah.
01:02:56I think we've got the muscle to pick it up, but let's see.
01:03:22Later that day, Matt and Garrett enact the final step in completing the bison chute project.
01:03:29The alleyway is beefed up for bison.
01:03:32Now we've got the excavator in here and see if we can lift up that new bison chute and put it into place.
01:03:39You're good.
01:03:39Just come straight down.
01:03:42Let's go.
01:03:43And over at the windmill, Marty and Clint launch back into the fencing for the rotational grazing project.
01:03:52Let go.
01:03:54Today, we're bouncing around projects.
01:03:56So back to business here.
01:03:58We're going to put a fence right down the center of this property, right where the windmill is.
01:04:03There's going to be a gate here and then a gate on the opposite to create rotational grazing for these buffaloes.
01:04:09Pond it in there.
01:04:13Pond it in there.
01:04:15Woo-hoo!
01:04:18While concrete is laid in the shop.
01:04:22Can you help me with something?
01:04:24Yeah.
01:04:25Misty and Melissa borrow Clint with an idea for a simple yet potentially game-changing solution to the canceled well.
01:04:34We have the dry canceled well, right?
01:04:37But we have water.
01:04:38Yes.
01:04:38From the main water supply at the house, which has gone dry.
01:04:41My dream come true would be to have a self-contained watering system for this garden.
01:04:47A holding tank sitting right here, separate from everything else.
01:04:50And I think literally it's just a liner in the dry canceled well.
01:04:53Perfect.
01:04:54We should plumb up, move everything outside this dry well, and put the shutoff valve in a place where you can reach it.
01:05:00Oh, great.
01:05:02Let's start digging.
01:05:02Okay, here we go.
01:05:04Right now, I'm working on the well with Misty.
01:05:08Obviously, more water in the garden is going to be super beneficial so that our crops have water all the time, regardless of what happens to our other water source.
01:05:18What do you think?
01:05:20Should I dig with a shovel?
01:05:21I didn't want you to hit the pipe.
01:05:24We'll dig the rest out by hand.
01:05:26Run some new plumbing.
01:05:27Get the shutoff valve and the spigot out here.
01:05:29Done.
01:05:30Okay, water's off.
01:05:32Water's off.
01:05:32Turning this decommissioned well into a reliable water source for the garden is a necessity.
01:05:41Cut those flush.
01:05:43Once this is a complete system and the bison are complete system, doesn't matter what's happening, the homesteaders are completely set up for success.
01:05:52Okay, go ahead and attach that.
01:05:55I want you to do the honors.
01:05:56Okay.
01:05:57First time, hopefully, that water's in the garden.
01:06:00Yeah, I'm so full.
01:06:08It's going to be so helpful.
01:06:10We have water for the first time, which to me, I'm looking at guaranteed food, right?
01:06:15Yeah.
01:06:15No matter what happens, your goal.
01:06:17We'll just get a lid on this thing, done.
01:06:19Yep.
01:06:22Water in the garden.
01:06:23Woo!
01:06:24Woo!
01:06:30It's the final day at the Cooper family's 265-acre bison stead.
01:06:44Here we go.
01:06:46Over by the garden, crucial deliveries arrive for Misty.
01:06:49First, a truckload of topsoil through the garden beds.
01:06:54All of these beds.
01:06:56Melissa's finally going to be a successful gardener.
01:07:02And later, new pine trees to reinforce a wind barrier.
01:07:08Somebody to order some trees?
01:07:09Hi!
01:07:10The plan is to kind of create this wind barricade across the front of the house.
01:07:15Okay.
01:07:18Right here.
01:07:25Thank you so much for coming and helping.
01:07:27We'll get these trees in thanks to you, and we really appreciate it.
01:07:31Like, what a generous thing.
01:07:38Okay, here we go.
01:07:39At the barn, Matt and Garrett survey the newly restored facility before livestock finally arrives.
01:07:47You can see every improvement we made to this entire barn, just in this one corner that we made for the pigs.
01:07:54We beefed up some fencing just by using some 2x6s, upcycled old gates.
01:08:00We have new posts.
01:08:03Actually safe wiring, not just for outlets, but for lights.
01:08:07Absolutely.
01:08:07It's incredible in here.
01:08:10The barn is spectacular.
01:08:11It is not just a leaky building for storage.
01:08:15We can put animals in this building now, and that was what Kevin and Melissa needed for this homestead.
01:08:20We didn't beat this barn up for nothing.
01:08:22Yeah.
01:08:23Wait till you get a load of this.
01:08:24I got a pig surprise for you.
01:08:26All right.
01:08:29How you doing, sir?
01:08:30How are you?
01:08:31What's your name?
01:08:31Brad.
01:08:32Brad.
01:08:33You're the man with the pigs.
01:08:34I am.
01:08:35Pigs are probably ready to get out of here, right?
01:08:36All right.
01:08:39Move them in.
01:08:41Starting with the barn and getting it ready for livestock was important to the homestead because
01:08:46you can't just really run a bison ranch on the bison alone.
01:08:50You have to diversify, and that is really where the barn is going to come into play big time.
01:08:57I want to see the pigs.
01:08:59Hey, Melissa, we beefed up the barn.
01:09:03Yes?
01:09:03For bacon.
01:09:04Oh, they're so cute.
01:09:08I love them.
01:09:10The ultimate goal is to diversify the homestead.
01:09:12Right.
01:09:12This is definitely a big step in that direction.
01:09:16These four little pigs, they're just the beginning.
01:09:18You could raise anything in here.
01:09:21Hey, look.
01:09:21They look so happy.
01:09:22They look so happy, yeah.
01:09:23Tails wagon.
01:09:24Thank you so much.
01:09:25This is amazing.
01:09:26I'm so excited.
01:09:27That's music to my ears.
01:09:28See you later.
01:09:29All right.
01:09:31Let's go check out that buffalo squeeze.
01:09:33Let's do it.
01:09:34So the bison are going to walk down through here, and then you corral them.
01:09:40That is correct.
01:09:41They'll be coming down the alley now.
01:09:43Yeah.
01:09:43Into the squeeze.
01:09:46Bashing through here, and then go bam.
01:09:49Now squeeze them in there.
01:09:53Okay.
01:09:54Now let me out.
01:09:58We come right out here.
01:10:00And then go back to being a buffalo.
01:10:02These animals stay on the property and working them right here, and that's going to make it as stress-free as possible.
01:10:10I agree.
01:10:11I agree.
01:10:11We want stress-free animals.
01:10:13It's going to keep stress-free homesteaders, and that's key.
01:10:16Words can't explain the transformation.
01:10:19For the Rainies and the locals and the community just coming together, it's a blessing.
01:10:23Everything revolves around the bison on this homestead, and I think that we have helped the bison the best way that we could.
01:10:30I agree.
01:10:31This is great.
01:10:34Seven days ago, the Cooper family had a leaky, unstable barn.
01:10:39It was unsafe for additional livestock, and they had no way to contain their bison for vital care and handling.
01:10:46Today, they have a completely renovated barn with new roofing, support beams, and electrical wiring, now ready to house sources of protein and profit.
01:10:58They also have a new bison shoot, where they can work animals safely on the homestead, allowing for a stress-free environment and helping to make this a viable ranching operation.
01:11:11I feel really good leaving this homestead because I know that this is going to come in real handy, and it's going to save buffalo lives.
01:11:18Absolutely.
01:11:19I think our work here is done.
01:11:20Let's go.
01:11:21Here we go.
01:11:30In the pasture, Marty, Kevin, Sean, and the rest of the team race to finish the fence line that will allow rotational grazing for the bison.
01:11:41These last couple of hours have gotten a little hectic.
01:11:43It has literally come down to the wire.
01:11:47I can sense the buffalo are kind of tired of me being here.
01:11:50They're getting closer and closer every day, so we've got to get this done quickly.
01:12:03We've got a crew down there with some barbed wire, but from that corner to that far corner, it's about 1,000 feet.
01:12:14So if we do five strands, we've got a mile of barbed wire to stretch now.
01:12:20They're here.
01:12:30Now, these guys have decided, wait a second, there's a whole group of people up there.
01:12:34They're going to move up a little closer to protect these buffalo that they basically sent up here to investigate us.
01:12:37There's water over here, so at some point, we might have to wrestle them if they want water.
01:12:44Either that or we've got to move.
01:12:45We want to drift through nice and slow, nice and calm.
01:12:49No pressure.
01:12:50All you're doing is acclimating these new fence lines we've put up.
01:12:53What you don't want them is running.
01:12:55If they run, they don't see that fence.
01:12:56They run right into it.
01:12:57They tear it all down.
01:12:58They're like, oh, that's how easy it is to tear it down.
01:12:59I'll do that next time, too.
01:13:02She's going to go check all this out, decide if she likes it or not.
01:13:06Whenever they start shaking their head, you start paying attention.
01:13:08Now, if they shake their head, they're basically getting themselves just like you would in a bar fight.
01:13:11She is shaking her head.
01:13:14She doesn't like it.
01:13:15We're just going to back up and give them space.
01:13:19Oh, my gosh.
01:13:21What you're really watching is they go from the head shake to their tails.
01:13:25A tail goes up, we need to get in the truck.
01:13:37Congratulations on picking the windiest day of the year.
01:13:40We took fall trees that are leaning towards your house.
01:13:43Melissa wanted us to take out a few trees and then pull the stumps.
01:13:47Sure, we did it.
01:13:49But when we pulled the stumps out, I thought, man, that stump looks like we could carve it into something.
01:13:54Maybe that could be a buffalo.
01:13:59This horn starts off as a tree branch.
01:14:02And then we set it at the store.
01:14:10The buffalo's talking.
01:14:17But I'll guarantee you this.
01:14:19Out of all the people with a buffalo store in Colorado,
01:14:22there's only one that is a buffalo head carved out of a stump this big around.
01:14:30You'll be the first photo of Minnie.
01:14:31So we've got work to do, but the problem you run into is sometimes you just got to let buffalo be buffalo.
01:14:47Find out how good you put those in the ground now, won't you?
01:14:52Oh, my Lord.
01:14:55He just bent the post.
01:14:56Oh, yeah.
01:14:57Look.
01:14:58No, he bent it.
01:14:59What do we, I mean, what?
01:15:00We have to fix it.
01:15:02Hold on, stop, stop, stop.
01:15:03Clint's in the skid steer.
01:15:04Yeah.
01:15:05That okay?
01:15:05Yeah.
01:15:06She's not wanting Clint.
01:15:10She just wants a drink of water.
01:15:13I've got to tell you, this makes me really happy.
01:15:15We spent a better part or two, two and a half days trying to get that thing to produce water.
01:15:21And there you go.
01:15:22See how calm this is?
01:15:24I have no more head shaking.
01:15:25Everybody now is looking at, oh, we've got a hole, I've got water, when's it my turn?
01:15:30Oh, this is amazing.
01:15:32This is it.
01:15:33Done.
01:15:33This is why you do what you do.
01:15:36And you know, you don't think about it, but they didn't really need to do this at this time of day.
01:15:39This is almost them coming over and telling you thank you.
01:15:41So what we just witnessed, correct me if I'm wrong, was the herd getting familiar with all these changes.
01:15:48Absolutely.
01:15:49Coming out here and checking out the changes, seeing what the changes do, what they affect.
01:15:53I tell you, that's one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed.
01:15:56Oh, it's amazing.
01:15:57Now that the buffalo are gone, we've got to get to work.
01:16:06Time is way too precious on this homestead to stand around.
01:16:09I love this thing so much.
01:16:29It's so beautiful.
01:16:29And it's protecting one of the most important things on the homestead, the garden.
01:16:35Woo-hoo.
01:16:36I love it.
01:16:37It's amazing.
01:16:38We're missing one thing, plants.
01:16:41Yes.
01:16:41I think that letting the soil sit and getting it ready in the spring is perfect.
01:16:46Yeah.
01:16:46Obviously doing more than just bison ranching was the point.
01:16:50Yeah, I think it's going to be way more successful because of your help.
01:16:54We called the Rainies out here because we needed help on the property.
01:16:58And in the last week, they've really been able to transform it.
01:17:03All of the changes are going to make such a difference as far as being more self-sustainable.
01:17:08Having water storage is so important.
01:17:11It's huge.
01:17:12The idea was to take that cancel dry well and turn it into a reliable water source for the garden.
01:17:19You are going to be a successful gardener.
01:17:21I hope I don't disappoint.
01:17:22No, you won't.
01:17:23You won't.
01:17:24Should we go check out the shop?
01:17:25Yeah, let's do that.
01:17:28Come on in, your new shop.
01:17:33Oh, my gosh.
01:17:35This is amazing.
01:17:36I absolutely love it.
01:17:37It's so cool.
01:17:38I wanted to do something different, and I was thinking, why not be geared for kids?
01:17:44Let's have them learn about bison, maybe become bison ranchers themselves.
01:17:50That's what this space is.
01:17:51I think that's so cool.
01:17:52We just couldn't say how thankful we are for them coming out and helping us.
01:17:58Would you be willing to be the first person to sign the guestbook?
01:18:02I would love that.
01:18:03It's just overall been a mind-blowing experience.
01:18:06It's been great.
01:18:07Seven days ago, the Cooper family had a garden wasted away by heavy windstorms and a lack of water from a dry well.
01:18:16Today, they have brand-new garden beds with fresh topsoil, a wooden fence barrier with extra trees for wind resistance, and a nearby water storage cistern for the garden.
01:18:30To ensure their homestead business will thrive, they also have a restored bison shop, complete with an educational area to make it accessible to kids and adults alike.
01:18:47That makes me so happy to see this reaction.
01:18:50You guys have worked really hard to get to this place.
01:18:52Yeah, definitely.
01:18:53And when you look around, are you like, oh, my gosh, we're going to be able to pull it off.
01:18:56Yeah, we're actually going to be able to do things that we've talked about and dreamed about, and it's amazing.
01:19:03So thank you.
01:19:03You're welcome.
01:19:11Windmill's blowing.
01:19:13What's that sound?
01:19:15That is the sound of H2O.
01:19:18That's the sound of success.
01:19:20That's the sound of hope.
01:19:22That's the sound of the future.
01:19:24And it can come true if you've got enough water to keep it alive.
01:19:29Yes, sir.
01:19:31This whole water, fence, rotational grazing, I just can't even put into words how this is going to help us and the buffalo.
01:19:40In the short amount of time that we've had that water up and running, the bison actually have been going out there more than they've been coming into the corral,
01:19:49which is just a good indicator to me that the work that the Rainies have done here is really going to help us,
01:19:54and not just today, tomorrow, for years to come.
01:19:57One week ago, the Cooper family had a dry windmill well on a sparse pasture, causing bison mortality and preventing the expansion of the herd.
01:20:08Today, they have a working windmill well, capable of producing 300 to 400 gallons of water.
01:20:17It's the central piece in a rotational grazing fence system that will allow the bison to feed on a portion of the pasture,
01:20:24while the other side recovers, making for a healthy, productive herd.
01:20:29It actually gives us hope for the future, that we can continue taking care of these great animals out here.
01:20:36It's a good moment.
01:20:38It's a fantastic moment.
01:20:46You know, it's a good day on a homestead when you've done your best, and you've worked till the sun's set.
01:20:53Yeah, we totally whipped that barn into such good shape.
01:20:57There's pigs in there now.
01:20:58The Rainies are examples of what homesteading is, and doing the unheard of for the Coopers.
01:21:05It's official.
01:21:06You guys went from ranchers to homesteaders.
01:21:09We showed up.
01:21:09You were very focused on the bison, and we've shifted gears, and now there's so much going on.
01:21:16Well, thank you guys so much.
01:21:18We want to give you this.
01:21:19It's a photo I took.
01:21:21Oh, wow.
01:21:22Nice.
01:21:23That's so sweet.
01:21:24That's so awesome.
01:21:27From the bottom of my heart, her heart, and Garrett's heart, we absolutely appreciate what you guys have come out and done for us.
01:21:33You've accelerated us.
01:21:35You've given us hope.
01:21:36So, thank you.
01:21:38I don't know what else to say, but thank you.
01:21:40A lot of the things that I took away from Marty is how to stay mentally tough.
01:21:45I know how to do a lot of things, but there's something with experience and mental toughness that comes through this style of life of homesteading and rural living.
01:21:55I'm extremely joyful for the things that the Rainies have done for us.
01:22:00It means a lot to me personally.
01:22:03Coming to their homestead was like a dream come true for me.
01:22:08To actually see wild buffalo roaming across the plains of Colorado.
01:22:15Thank you again is an experience I'll never forget.
01:22:19Go help somebody else.
01:22:20Since the Rainies left, things have been going great.
01:22:32We did have a big snowstorm, and so having the barn complete with a new roof and stuff was super helpful.
01:22:40Here's the pig pigs.
01:22:42They're doing great.
01:22:43Love coming out there.
01:22:45Little outdoor area as well.
01:22:47The water tank.
01:22:49That's working awesome.
01:22:50Still got water flowing.
01:22:51The buffalo are drinking out of it.
01:22:53It's a big stress reliever.
01:22:54And one thing I'm really happy with on the garden is the windbreak.
01:22:58When the wind's kicking up, it really works.
01:23:01I'm just very excited for spring.
01:23:04The shop is absolutely amazing.
01:23:07The great thing with Garrett is he actually fell in love with the bison,
01:23:11and him and my sister and their kids are actually planning on moving out here.
01:23:14We're going to try to get them on the property with us.
01:23:17We're going to try to get them on the property with his mother.
01:23:21I don't care.
01:23:22We're going to try toael so much.
01:23:25And finally do we do that?
01:23:27We're going to try to achei a mission.
01:23:29We're going to be able to keep them on our Twitter.
01:23:31Our 어�valleste is the same thing that we have in 김broth persecute.
01:23:34We're going to feel like we need to take a ride, so we're going to have trouble and push them out here.
01:23:37Let's go!
01:23:38And we're going to beat this thing, it's going to be the same thing.
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