Ease Of Use
The ease of use was one of Patton’s overriding themes on that brisk spring day as we tooled around his ranch in the Defender. He said, “Another reason I like this (Defender) is the ease of jumping in and out, which you do so many times a day. It’s just easier than a pickup.”
Indeed, Patton was constantly getting in and out of his Defender as he checked and fed his cattle, watched over the newborn calves (he was still in calving season when we visited), disposed of a calf that died, explored parts of his ranch, took some trash out to burn, checked the cows again, bottle-fed two calves whose mother rejected them and the list goes on and on.
Patton pointed out he also likes the nimbleness of the Defender, that helps him “get places that a pickup can’t get to easily.” We crossed a creek that meanders through his property, went to the upper part of ranch that sits on a sort of bluff that offers amazing views of not only his ranch but the still snow-capped mountains to the west (his ranch isn’t far from Glacier National Park), drove through some lingering snow drifts, made our way through some bumpy, marshy sections of his ranch and drove through varying amounts of cow manure and mud that covers acres of the ranch.
At some point during the day, Patton said, “And I don’t baby it (Defender).” That was more than obvious.
But he does take care of his Defender, which includes changing the oil regularly and performing other basic maintenance tasks. He hasn’t had any major—or minor, for that matter—mechanical issues with the vehicle.
Favorite Features
Patton rattled off, besides the vehicle’s nimbleness, other features he likes about the Defender. It has a lighter footprint in the fields compared to his pickup. It’s cheaper to operate than a pickup. It uses less fuel and gas is less expensive than diesel (which is what his pickup uses). “Why not just throw the calves in a pickup? It’s simply easier in a side-by-side. And I can get up banks you can’t in a pickup.”
We did ask Patton to list what he feels are the three best features of his Defender. First, he said, is the vehicle is lightweight and that makes it easy to get around in. Second, “I love the fold-up seats. I know that sounds silly but that’s an important feature for me.” And third, reliability.
As for the fold-up seats, that gives the cab a whole new use for him besides carrying a passenger. Sometimes he folds the seats up to carry more supplies or gears out to the fields and/or cows. “I have also had to pull calves into the cab and it works because the seats fold up,” he said. He explained that sometimes he may have to get a calf from out in the field to doctor it or check it closer. Well, the mama cow isn’t too happy when that happens and is pretty protective of her calf. So Patton will drive his Defender into the field up next to the calf, which is usually running by the time he pulls up, snatches it up and puts it in the cab before mama can run to the rescue. He then takes care of the calf and puts it back into the field.
“I use this just like a horse,” he said.
As to his third best feature, he said, “It was minus 20 degrees F this winter and I couldn’t get the pickup started but the Can-Am fired right up.” He added, “You can’t pick and choose when you’re going to ride or work. It’s all day all the time.”
Late, But Not Too Late
Patton admits he was “late to the show” when it comes to utilizing a utility side-by-side in his ranching operation, pointing to neighboring ranches that have been using them for years. Now he can’t imagine ranching without it.
Although born and raised in Montana, Patton has only been ranching on Agency Springs Ranch since 2014. He earned a college degree in exercise physiology and worked in sports medicine for 12 years, including nine in Lewistown, MT. In the spring of 2005 he moved back to Choteau and undertook a variety of entrepreneurial endeavors, including starting a sporting goods store in town and designing and making medical rehab devices (he received patents for two of them) as well as building homes. Then, in 2014 he sold the sporting goods store and went full time into ranching. Agency Springs Ranch was established in 1879 on the old Blackfeet Indian Reservation (which was moved north in 1876). His father purchased the original ranch in the late 1970s and Patton took over 2014 with just a few head of cows.
“The thing I like abut the size of my ranch is it’s big enough but yet small enough for me to run with just a little help here and there.”
Is it (specifically the Defender) all work and no play? “I’m glad I went to the 1000cc engine,” he said, “because I do enjoy driving it around. It’s fun to drive.”
But Patton knows the real purpose for his Defender—work.
And work it (and he) does. We saw it first hand.
