If you have children or get on social media around this time of the year you’ve probably seen an “Elf on a Shelf” getting into mischief in the house while keeping an eye on kids for Santa. A ranch in Northwest Kansas has taken the “Elf on a Shelf” fun to a whole new level with “Elf on a Ranch.”
Last year Adam and Jeanne Jones, owners of Crooked Creek Angus near St. Francis, Kan., came up with the idea of moving the Elf to the ranch after first hearing of Elf on a Shelf.
“Many of our friends and family were sharing their creative ideas via Facebook and we thought there was an opportunity to showcase our cattle operation with the Elf as the narrator,” Adam says. “The seedstock business is a competitive space and we are always looking for unique and interesting marketing ideas.”
While working on the ranch throughout the day, Adam and Jeanne have been taking photos of the Elf helping out. Then they share the photos in a blog post on their ranch website calling the page “Elf on a Ranch.”
While Jeanne and Adam don’t have children yet, their niece and nephews have been eagerly following along with the Elf’s adventures on the ranch. The response from other followers of the blog has been great, too.
“Many have voiced how much they’ve enjoyed a glimpse at the daily activities around the ranch and hope that Adam will continue to post similar topics after Andy the Elf returns to the North Pole,” Jeanne says.
A post about farm safety hit home with many local farmers and watching the Elf cookout steaks got consumers involved on social media.
Checkout how Andy the Elf has helped out at Crooked Creek Angus this past month in 20 photos:
1. Picking out a Herd Bull
| Elves have a pretty good eye for spotting reindeer to lead Santa’s sleigh. Elf on a Ranch is trying his hand at picking out some herd bulls.
|
2. Running the Hydraulic Squeeze Chute
| Andy the Elf still needs a little practice on catching cattle with the head gate.
|
3. Balancing a Ration
| Elves aren’t exactly trained ruminant nutritionists.
|
4. Adding Special Ingredients to the Ration
| According to Andy the Elf, candy canes are an excellent source of energy. Especially when you work round the clock at Santa’s workshop.
|
5. Expert Bunk Reader
| Elves specialize in reading bunks at the North Pole reindeer barn. They’re pretty good at doing it for cattle, too.
|
6. Riding Shotgun in the Pickup
| He’s had plenty of experience riding shotgun in Santa’s sleigh. But even for an elf -6 degrees F is pretty cold and he’s not much help opening gates, either.
|
7. Cleaning the Windshield
| Andy the Elf will lend a hand cleaning a windshield if it means he can play in the snow.
|
8. Breaking Ice
| Elves are more highly skilled at running a claw hammer than a sledge hammer.
|
9. Filling Water Tanks
| After chopping ice, Andy the Elf gets to work filling the tank with more water.
|
10. Refilling the Water Truck
| When the water truck goes empty Andy the Elf will be right there to fill it back up.
|
11. Studying up on Carcass Traits
| While highly versed in reindeer games and toy building, our Elf friend still needs to learn about carcass traits in cattle.
|
12. Loading Hay Bales
| While loading marshmallows into bags is Andy the Elf’s preference, he’ll help out with hay bales if a truck has a good bale bed.
|
13. Cutting Net Wrap
| Give him a sharp corn knife and he’ll have this net wrap cut lickety-split.
|
14. Wadding up Net Wrap (and Himself)
| No one said he’d be good at wadding up the net wrap after cutting it.
|
15. Prowling the Cattle
| He walks the feedline seeing if any cattle act sick and might need some treatment.
|
16. Stretching Fence
| Elf on a Ranch can stretch a quarter of a mile of fence in no time.
|
17. Checking for a Spark
| His buddy, Sparky the Elf, really enjoys testing hot wire fences for a charge. But Sparky is up at the North Pole, so looks like he’ll have to do it this time.
|
18. Master Chef
| Working on a ranch gets your appetite built up for some steaks and potatoes.
|
19. Riding for the Brand
| Andy the Elf sure has enjoyed riding for the Crooked Creek Angus brand.
|
20. Starting a Herd of His Own
| After a great experience with Crooked Creek Angus, Andy the Elf is thinking of starting a herd of his own.
|
The feed truck series has been one of the more popular posts and there has been a lot of engagement on the Crooked Creek Angus Facebook page this month because of the Elf on a Ranch.
Adam really enjoyed the gag of adding candy canes to the ration. “When I dispersed the candies and was trying to get the photo taken, I had bulls come up and start eating them, wrapper and all,” he says.
Andy the Elf rides around with Adam in the top pocket of his coat while he chores and works on the ranch.
“For the most part, the poses just present themselves as I’m going about my day,” Adam says.
Pictures are taken with either cell phone or a stand-alone camera to help improve the photo quality.
In addition to ranch duties, Jeanne works as an agronomist with K-State Research and Extension. While attending meetings across Kansas she has had a number of people tell her about the “Elf on a Ranch” not knowing that she is one of the creators.
Adam and Jeanne say it has been fun doing the “Elf on a Ranch” and believe he will be making an appearance at Crooked Creek Angus next December.
