Kane continues rich ag involvement

Nate Kane is the 28-year-old son of David and Terri Kane. Nate helps run a cow/calf operation alongside his parents in Sheridan and northwest of Sheridan, near Ranchester, which Nate refers to as the Wolf Creek place. 

“We have two separate places, but we work hand in hand,” he says. “Half of the time I’m out there helping my dad do stuff and half of the time he’s out here helping me.” 

In addition, Nate also ranches alongside his wife Molly and two children, soon to be three-year-old Tessa and one-year-old Hadley. 

Nate shares he has appreciated his upbringing in agriculture and the opportunity he has had to ranch in Wyoming, and he’s excited to share this lifestyle with his own family. 

Ag involvement 

Growing up, Nate was very active in 4-H, and throughout his career he showed two steers and a pig. He notes he took a lot of pride in his 4-H projects since every steer he showcased at the fair was ranch-raised – excluding a show steer he bought one year. 

Nate also mentions he has learned numerous valuable lessons growing up on his family’s ranch and showing 4-H projects. 

“Helping on the ranch was our summer job – we were always helping dad,” he shares. “It instilled in me the drive to work hard and to be proud of the work I do.” 

He jokes, “Ranch work taught me to do the job right the first time, so I didn’t have to go back and do it again.” 

Today, Nate stays busy ranching with day-to-day operations and helping his parents. The ranch is currently moving cows and preparing for calving season. 

Community involvement 

As the son of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) President David Kane, Nate also volunteers his time and partakes in several roles within WSGA and his community.

In December, he was elected as the vice president of the WSGA Young Producers Assembly (YPA), which was founded in 2015. 

The YPA is a group of WSGA members who came together to create a place of learning, camaraderie and a friendly, family atmosphere while advocating for Wyoming’s cattle industry. The mission of the group is to generate opportunities for young producers to be successful and passionate about the livestock industry in Wyoming. 

The current YPA officer team includes President Ty Espy, Secretary/Treasurer Kendall Roberts, Holly Dyer of Region Two, Keren Drumhiller of Region Three, Kyle Smith of Region Four and John Nelson of Region Five.

In addition, Nate serves as the social, recruitment and events committee chair for YPA and is a board member for the Sheridan County Weed and Pest. 

“Being involved with YPA has allowed me to be a part of WSGA and help the younger generation,” explains Nate. “We’ve held several fun events and did a ranch tour on our place several years ago.” 

He notes, “YPA is a place for the young folks of WSGA to get to know each other, learn and chat about agriculture and the livestock industry.” 

Future advice 

Growing up in agriculture and the ranching lifestyle has been a long-standing tradition for Nate, and he’s excited to do it alongside his own family. 

“I feel very fortunate to come back to a family ranch as a fifth generation rancher and to have my kids be the sixth generation on the ranch,” shares Nate. 

Being a young producer within the agriculture community can come with challenges but Nate offers future young producers some words of advice by saying, “Keep your head down and push through. Things will always turn out.”

Brittany Gunn is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.