The Cattle Guard Magazine: Colorado Cattlemen's Association Profile, Content and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
The Cattle Guard magazine is the quarterly publication of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, one of the oldest livestock organizations in the West. Printed in full color, it goes to CCA members and beef producers with in-depth coverage of the issues facing Colorado's cattle industry.
| Publisher | Colorado Cattlemen's Association |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Quarterly, four-color |
| Circulation | 2,500, with total readership of about 6,000 |
| Association address | PO Box 16307, Denver, CO 80216 |
| Association offices | Livestock Exchange Building, National Western Complex, Denver |
| Membership | About 6,000 members in all 64 Colorado counties |
| Official website | ColoradoCattle.org |
History of The Cattle Guard
The Colorado Cattlemen's Association was organized in the territorial era, when ranchers banded together against rustling and range disputes; Colorado Sun coverage in January 2026 described it as a 158-year-old organization. Its history of bringing order to an open-range era is still a point of pride.
The association works from Denver's historic Livestock Exchange Building at the National Western Complex. In 2022 Erin Karney Spaur, who joined CCA in 2015 as director of industry programs, became executive vice president, the first woman in the post. She succeeded Terry Fankhauser, the longtime executive vice president, who died in 2024.
The Cattle Guard is the association's member magazine, carrying CCA's policy work and event coverage to members between conventions. Leadership has included ranchers such as Janie VanWinkle, elected the association's 115th president in 2020.
The Cattle Guard Today
CCA's media kit describes The Cattle Guard as a quarterly with a planned editorial calendar: bull sales, equipment and supplies, haying and harvest, weaning and vaccinations, marketing and coverage of the CCA convention and conferences.
The association's current priorities, laid out in its 2026 top issues, include local control, water, private property rights, right-to-farm, grazing access, soil health, wolf management, stream access legislation and animal disease threats such as screwworm. Sugar City rancher Curt Russell is president.
What The Cattle Guard Is Publishing Now
Policy and legislation
Reports from the Colorado legislature and federal agencies on water, grazing, wolves and property rights.
Ranch management
Bull sale previews, weaning and vaccination programs, hay and harvest and marketing.
Association news
Convention and mid-winter conference coverage, affiliate news and member recognition.
The Cattle Guard Editors and Staff
Colorado Cattlemen's Association leaders named in 2026 coverage:
- Erin Karney Spaur - Executive Vice President
- Curt Russell - President
- Sarah Dideriksen - Director of Industry Programs
- Terry Fankhauser - Former Executive Vice President (died 2024)
The association can be reached at PO Box 16307, Denver, CO 80216, or (303) 431-6422.
Who Reads The Cattle Guard
Readers are cow-calf producers, stockers, feeders and allied businesses across Colorado, from Eastern Plains grasslands to mountain parks and the Western Slope. Cattle and calves are the largest single source of U.S. animal receipts, about 37% in USDA ERS figures, and they anchor Colorado's farm economy.
Colorado ranchers deal with wolves, water law and spring blizzards, often in the same week, so they earn their laughs. farm.FM serves ranch humor and farm satire with a straight face, plus farm humor for the hay and sugar beet neighbors down the road. Its farm jokes are best read aloud at the sale barn cafe.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
The Cattle Guard Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- CCA media kit: The Cattle Guard - frequency, circulation and editorial calendar.
- Colorado Sun: Erin Karney Spaur and CCA - 2026 profile of the association.
- Beacon Senior News: CCA's early history - the association's founding era.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - cattle's share of livestock income.
- USDA NASS: Census of Agriculture - Colorado cattle and farm data.
The Cattle Guard FAQ
Who publishes The Cattle Guard?
The Colorado Cattlemen's Association in Denver.
How often is The Cattle Guard published?
Quarterly, in full color.
How many people read it?
The media kit lists circulation of 2,500 and total readership of about 6,000.
Who leads the Colorado Cattlemen's Association?
Executive vice president Erin Karney Spaur and president Curt Russell.
For Colorado ranch families, Cattle Guard magazine is where the state's cattle business, and its fights, get told in full.