The Fence Post: History, Ogden Ownership, Content and Editors
Profile updated November 2026
The Fence Post started in 1980 as the Rocky Mountain Fence Post, a small paper put together at a kitchen table in Bellvue, Colorado. Today it is a weekly agricultural newspaper owned by Ogden Publications that reaches more than 80,000 readers a week with news, auctions, columns and stories of rural life.
| Founded | 1980, as the Rocky Mountain Fence Post, Bellvue, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Founder | Don McMillen and his wife |
| Owner | Ogden Publications Inc. (since December 2021) |
| Previous owner | Swift Communications |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Readers | More than 80,000 a week |
| Official website | TheFencePost.com |
History of The Fence Post
Don McMillen, a former Rhodes Scholar, and his wife started the Rocky Mountain Fence Post from their home in Bellvue, northwest of Fort Collins, in 1980. The early paper mixed classified listings for equipment, ranches and livestock with poems, frontier family stories and reports on agricultural programs. By 1984 it averaged 16 pages and was losing money.
In November 1984 Terry Gogerty and John Walker bought the paper, and under later ownership it grew into a regional farm and ranch weekly. Swift Communications, a western newspaper group, owned The Fence Post for years until December 2021, when it was sold to The Ogden Newspapers. It now sits within Ogden Publications, the magazine arm of that family company, alongside its sister paper Tri-State Livestock News.
The Fence Post Today
The Fence Post describes itself as a nationwide agricultural newspaper published weekly. It shares a publisher and field service team with Tri-State Livestock News, giving the two papers combined reach across the Plains and Rocky Mountain states.
Assistant editor Rachel Gabel, a Colorado writer, also comments on rural issues beyond the paper and has appeared on the Denver Gazette's OpEdge podcast discussing Colorado's rural-urban divide.
What The Fence Post Is Publishing Now
News, auctions and events
Agricultural news, auction listings, event coverage, obituaries and human interest stories about farm and ranch families.
Columns and cartoons
Weekly columnists including Lee Pitts, Gwen Petterson and Mad Jack, plus cartoons and recipes.
Special sections
A seasonal Real Estate Guide, the Breeders Connection, a Summer Events Guide and other seasonal projects.
The Fence Post Editors and Staff
The Fence Post's about page lists:
- Rona Johnson - Editor
- Rachel Gabel - Assistant Editor
- Sabrina (Bree) Poppe - Publisher
- Scott Dirk - Director of Field Service
Johnson grew up on a sheep farm in rural North Dakota, studied political science at the University of North Dakota and worked at Agweek and the Grand Forks Herald, then edited Biomass Magazine at BBI International. The editor can be reached at rjohnson@thefencepost.com.
Who Reads The Fence Post
Readers are ranchers, farmers, horse people and rural families, with deep roots in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and the surrounding states. Cattle and calves are the largest single source of U.S. animal agriculture receipts, according to USDA's Economic Research Service, and the auction and breeder pages of The Fence Post reflect that weight. USDA's Quick Stats database gives county-level detail for the region's livestock and crops.
The Fence Post has carried cowboy poetry and cartoons since its kitchen-table days in Bellvue, so its readers already know a good story when they read one. For more in that spirit, farm.FM publishes farm satire and farm humor in a deadpan rural voice, along with ranch humor for anyone who has fixed fence in a Colorado wind. Its farm jokes are best read aloud at the auction barn.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
The Fence Post Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- The Fence Post: About us - history, ownership and staff.
- BizWest: Country charm flavors Fence Post publication - the paper's early years in Bellvue.
- The Fence Post: Rona Johnson, Editor - the editor's background.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - cattle and livestock economics.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - state and county farm statistics.
The Fence Post FAQ
When did The Fence Post start?
In 1980, as the Rocky Mountain Fence Post in Bellvue, Colorado.
Who owns The Fence Post?
Ogden Publications Inc. The Ogden Newspapers bought it from Swift Communications in December 2021.
Who edits The Fence Post?
Rona Johnson is editor and Rachel Gabel is assistant editor.
How often is The Fence Post published?
Weekly, in print and online.
From a money-losing 16-page paper in 1984 to a weekly with 80,000 readers, The Fence Post still carries the news, auctions and stories of farm and ranch country.