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Six dollars worth of quarters in a pay phone in zero-degree weather was the start of Wayne and Barb Ohlrichs. Barb was a cattle girl from the Sandhills of Northcentral Nebraska growing up on a cow/calf operation. Wayne was the son of a farmer in Northwest Iowa. While they came from different backgrounds and different states – their drive, work ethic and ultimate love of cattle molded them together in a bond that continues to make a lasting impact on the livestock industry. Barb Barb Ries was born and raised near Valentine, Nebraska alongside two brothers and seven cousins on their family’s cattle ranch. It was her grandpa’s, dad’s and his two brothers’ family operation. Her dad did the farming while her uncles took care of the cow/calf and feedlot side of the operation. Being around cattle is all she has ever known. Before she and
the other kids were old enough for 4-H, the family helped them borrow money for each to buy their first Angus heifer. They started their own herd in a small way from there. The Maines, Chis and Simmentals came over during the time that Barb was growing up and showing feeder calves. The family had to start out with every breed just to see which breed worked best for their operation. “Growing up on the ranch we spent a lot of time on horses working and AIing cattle. Us kids halter broke our own calves. We did our own work. It wasn’t mom and dad and somebody else doing it all for us. They were there to support us, but us kids all gathered around and said, ‘let’s all go do it.’ We challenged each other just to be better.” With Barb’s cousin being the oldest, she would end up getting the better calves. That allowed Barb to challenge
herself to be better. “I was like, you know what? I’m going to be better than her because I’m going to do my own thing. Just like an athlete. If there’s something you really want to do, you can do it.” It was good family competition as they all got along, did everything together and pushed each other to do just a little bit more or try a little bit harder. With the love for cattle running through her veins, most people in the cattle business probably have no idea that Barb actually went to college in Torrington, Wyoming on a basketball scholarship. “The cool part was, I went to college and I paid $30 every semester. That’s all I paid. I didn’t pay for any board and room. I didn’t pay for any books or anything. They paid for everything.”
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