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Ranchers in West Texas Beef Up Communications

By Holt Hackney, Managing Editor

The gentle rolling plains of West Texas belie a real danger for those who make a living off the land—isolation.

Two decades ago, a rancher who worked the 5,000-acre Wild Hog Ranch might lose a day of work if his truck got stuck crossing the south fork of the Pease River. The rancher typically had to walk back out the entrance of the ranch to get to the highway, where he might be able to catch a ride back into Matador.

David Stafford remembers those days all too well and is glad that his cell phone will save him time if faced with similar circumstances. Stafford, part owner of the Stafford Cattle Company LLP, travels throughout Motley County in West Texas to tend to the partnership’s cattle, which are spread across three ranches. He says that being able to converse with his fellow ranchers is an invaluable capability, allowing the firm to make spot decisions, rather than waiting until they are together at a single location.

Cell phones make it easier in other respects as well, notes Stafford. “You can talk between cowboys on a cattle drive,” he says. “This allows you to make sure all the cattle are accounted for and you are not too spread out. The last thing you want is to miss one and have to go back and find it.”

Stafford says there are still challenges with cell phones, noting that not all the major carriers have ventured into the hinterlands. “You learn real quickly who has the best service,” says Stafford. He says he has also learned that using an external antenna for his phone will virtually eliminate all of the dead spots. “But even if you do forget the antenna, or you are out here on horseback, all you have to do is find a high spot, and you’ve got that signal.”

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