Osage County: A Whole Other Country

As chairman of the House Ag committee, I get a lot of opportunities to speak at some pretty interesting places. Most recently, I was called to deliver the keynote address at the Osage County Cattlemen’s meeting and annual summer tour in Pawhuska. The “Osage”, as they call it, is more of a region and it is where many of the historic Oklahoma ranches are located. Their county Cattlemen’s Association is as big as many state associations. It was amazing to view the sea of grass, lush and green from recent rain, that sprawls out over thousands of acres of what some would call the “epicenter” of the Oklahoma ranching industry. We got a chance to visit with many old friends and made several new ones. It was interesting to sit at a table with legends like Frederick Drummond. I did not get a head count at the luncheon but I would say there were well over 150 people.

The Osage is definitely a place where cowboys abound. It is not unusual to see folks wearing stovepipe boots with jeans tucked in the top and big roweled spurs. Anywhere you go in that area, you will see trailers with horses saddled and ready to go. The luncheon was especially memorable for me because not only did I address everything from ranch owners to hired hands, but also in the drawing, won a pair of John Israel handmade spurs. I found out right after I won that drawing that those spurs are a coveted item in the Osage. They were not fancy or buffed to a shine, but sure enough working spurs. Apparently, any cowboy worth his salt owns a pair and I was offered $500 for that pair of spurs before I got out of the building. Needless to say, they are not for sale.

We had a great barbeque and consumed some more beef. That night, they had an outdoor dance and, once again, the dress code was jeans, boots and palm leaf hats. Shorts and flip-flops were rare at that event. It was quite a time. That night, I rolled out my bed roll at Representative Eddie Fields’ place. The next morning, we loaded up and went on the ranch tour. The only thing more memorable than the beautiful grass of the Osage was the stifling humidity. As I said earlier, they have had a tremendous amount of rain and while it has really kicked off the grass, it made it tough to breathe. One interesting note is that many of the large land holders have started running government-sponsored wild horses. It is interesting that they are over 18,000 wild mustangs in Osage County alone. While many question the validity of that federal program, it has provided a great deal of steady income for many Osage ranchers. It was a tour of some of the greatest grass in the world combined with a history lesson and some great people. It is an amazing part of the world and for me; it was a huge honor to be asked to be a small part of that program. If you like cattle and ranch country, I would recommend a visit.

If you would like to contact me while I am at the capitol, please do not hesitate to send an email to donarmes@house.gov or call me at 1-800-522-8502.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:


“Ride like there’s no tomorrow, because you never know if there will be one!”