When I landed the plum assignment to cover dude ranches in the American West, I was thrilled to live out a childhood dream. I always wanted a horse, but that didn’t fit our family’s budget. This year, ...

Brian Henningson, the ranch manager at Montana’s revered Rock Creek Cattle Company, picks up a blade of grass, holds it up against the cow-specked hills, and proceeds to give me a lesson in agronomy. ...