Raised cowboy tough
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
This Wyoming cattle outfit began in 1895 when Jim Jensen’s great grandfather James Jensen came from Denmark and homesteaded near Boulder, WY.
“He had seven cows and three horses and lived in a dugout, and daily shoveled snow off the grass nearby, to keep them alive that first winter,” explains Jensen. From that meager beginning, his grandfather eventually owned a big share of the Boulder Valley. “He always wanted to help other people, however, and helped a few neighbors attain some of his land ,” says Jensen.
Two of James’ sons, Brant and Leo, stayed on the ranch and eventually split it.
“Leo was my grandfather,” says Jensen. “My wife and I are now on the half that Leo ended up with. My father, Wayne Jensen, passed away last January, which was unexpected, but he’d done some forward thinking so the government didn’t take it all.
“My father had gradually handed over the reins of the operation to me during the past 10 years, and had enough foresight to do some estate planning. At a certain point he realized he wasn’t going to work the ranch the rest of his life and started turning over decisions to me, so that eventually I was running the ranch. I didn’t have to suddenly learn how to do it when he passed away.”
It was a smooth transition.
“A lot of ranchers, however, hold onto the reins and then when something like this happens, the younger generation can’t make the business decisions even if they wanted to keep it going,” he says. “Our Lucky Seven Angus ranch didn’t take any steps backward.”
