McPherrin's book begins with a dedication to his parents “They started the ball rolling. It was their hard work and sacrifices that have allowed me to roll the ball a little farther.” In this tightly knit family, it's hard to imagine a time when they weren't working together, pulling operations forward. Many third and fourth generation ranchers surround the McPherrin-Damboriena Sheep Company, creating a community with values more common to another era. For the most part, folks just naturally help each other, because neighbors are neighbors, even with a good-sized spread, and that's the way it's always been.
Numbers for sheep operations are in decline. According to a recent article in the Casper Star Tribune, “Inventory data on U.S. sheep began in 1867, when there were about 45 million sheep in the United States. Sheep numbers peaked in 1884 at 51 million head. Since then, numbers have declined to 6.1 million head today....During the 1990s, sheep operations dropped from more than 106,000 to about 66,000, as producers experienced shrinking revenues and low rates of return.”
“It's a hard thing to do, sheep here are supported by some of our other operations.” McPherrin explains that besides sheep, his property includes a substantial gravel quarry, cattle, and mineral rights for natural gas. He has a degree in accounting from UC Berkeley, which may have contributed to his early decision to develop each resource of the land methodically, and in a manner that compliments, or at least doesn't in any way deter, other ventures. He notes with irony that on one had he is glad this diverse income base, but that in many recent years, the ranch operation has been financed indirectly by construction-the building boom has resulted in record gravel quarry sales. “It's kind of funny how growth pressures us on one hand, but on the other, has been good for quarry business. With so many houses being built, last year we sold over 1,500,000 tons of gravel. Natural gas is finally turning around and showing profit, too.”
The sun is dipping down in the sky as I watch the entrance to the McPherrin-Damboriena Sheep Company fade out of sight in my rear-view mirror. I smile to myself and feel that somehow all is right in the world because in this special place, on this fine fall day, time stands still and watches over traditions that run deep in the grain of human habits. I always feel better after visiting a working ranch.
