HAGER RANCH

by Charles and Sandra Munn

Entry B51 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Hager Ranch, located south of Mullen on
the forks of the Dismal River, was put
together by Ross Hager in 1936 and 1937.
Alot of the land was purchased from insur-
ance companies for around 25% an acre. The
original ranch consisted of around 16,000
acres. Three-quarters of a section was added
in 1976 from the Lattin Brothers. The ranch
was mainly used for summer range in the first
few years until the headquarters was built
around 1938. Alot of the lumber used in it was
from the old Morrison house. A calving shed
was built about three-fourths of a mile east
of the headquarters around 1954. A house for
a hired man was placed there in 1961. Some
of the old homesteads on Hager Ranch are
the Morrison place, the Woods place and the
Sam and Minnie Musser place.

Electricity came to the ranch in 1954.
Before that power was supplied by a 110 volt
windcharger with a stand-by generator back-
up when the wind didn't blow for several
days.

Communication from the ranch to Ross'
house in town was by FM (business band)
radio that was put in in 1954. Telephones
weren't installed until the fall of 1977 when
underground lines were plowed in.

The ranch was first stocked with Hereford
cattle. Ross had a registered herd that he
raised bulls for the commercial herd and sold
some of the bulls locally. The registered herd
was phased out around 1960. The heifers that
weren't kept for replacements were sold in
the fall. In 1967, John Munn took over
running Hager Ranch. Black angus bulls were
brought in to breed the first-calf heifers. This
practice was used until 1979. The herd was
then returned to straight Herefords. Charlie
and Sandy Munn started a registered cow-
herd in 1977 and again are producing bulls for
the commercial herd. The feeder heifers are
still sold as yearlings but the steers are put
in a feedlot when they're 1 1/2 years old then
sold as fats when they're two. The cowherd
has also increased in numbers to graze the
pastures once used by the two-year old steers.

The Hager Ranch is now owned by Charlie
Munn and Joan Munn Hopkins, an attorney
and partner in the firm of Tye, Hopkins and
Associates in Kearney, Nebraska. In January
of 1986, the name of the ranch was changed
to Munn Hereford Ranch.