Jim Dowdy

Jim Dowdy was born in Weld County Colorado, the eleventh child of twelve. The midwife who delivered him was Rattlesnake Kate, famous in her own right. Jim grew up farming and ranching in Colorado. In the summers he went up in the mountains to his sister’s place to put up hay with teams of horses. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Jim returned home from the Korean War, where he served as a heavy equipment operator reaching the rank of Sergeant. Jim married Nellie Mellor and they reared four children of their own and countless foster kids. Jim and his brother, Pat, purchased a ranch belonging to their Uncle Charlie south of Upton. A few years into the partnership, Jim bought Pat out and continued to raise sheep and cattle. Eventually the sheep were phased out and he kept the commercial cattle and registered Herefords. The time came when Jim determined that they could buy calves cheaper than they could raise them, so they sold all the cows and went to a yearling operation. In 1983, he began what was referred to as “Commuter Ranching.” They bought Stan Smith’s feedlot in Thermopolis. For many years he ran 160 head of cattle at the home ranch in Upton and would spend over half the year in Thermopolis feeding 800 steers and 200 heifers. In the late 1980s, he sold the ranch in Upton and pursued custom feeding in Thermopolis, where he fed cattle for other people. Keeping a small herd of cows of his own, he also provided the WBCIA heifer testing site for the University of Wyoming. Jim was well-known for his ability to create feed rations to suit a desired rate of gain. That knowledge was often sought by neighbors, local extension agents and FFA Advisors, as well as the youth themselves.