Tom and Betty Bodie purchased, sight unseen, the original 480 acres of land in 1947 when Tom returned home to Nebraska after 6 years of service as an Army Captain in World War II. He was a POW for 3.5 years in the Philippines and China. Tom survived the Bataan Death March, 2 ship sinkings, starvation, disease and 6 prison camps.

Doctors stateside told Tom to go into agriculture, in order to have less stress in his life and to regain his health. Tom grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska where he earned a business degree from the University of Nebraska, but he gained no ranching experience during college, so his approach to cattle ranching was unique and un-proven.

Tom used that to his advantage by learning new techniques to optimize native grass production and to raise beef cattle in the tall grass prairie of southeast Nebraska. These new techniques proved to be successful, thus leading to the growth of what is today the Big Blue Ranch and Lodge, and all of it's outdoor adventures.

Betty grew up in Taylor, Nebraska, which is located in the Sandhills of Western Nebraska. She worked as a registered nurse and speech therapist which helped pay for land, windmills and fences for many years. They raised two sons, Ralph and Scott who strive to continue the tradition of good stewardship for future generations.

With the purchase of other parcels of land, the ranch has grown to 2000 acres and continues to support family members through sustainable agriculture. Over the years, the cattle operation has evolved. The guys are real cowboys and the gals have also learned to ride horses, drive tractors and operate equipment.

The ranch started as a cow/calf operation with about 100 calves being born on the ranch and raised to sell at local sale barns. As the ranch grew in size, it converted to a backgrounding operation, buying about 650 steer calves at around 500 pounds in late fall, feeding them through the winter, and having them graze the pastures until they were sold on video auctions in early fall at about 850 pounds. Now the ranch provides custom grazing services to 400 cows/calf pairs and 25 bulls for a five month grazing season with a dry lot program after weaning.

Our ranch uses a rotational grazing program that includes 13 different pastures. During the summer growing season, we move the cattle about every 5 days into a new pasture. This allows the grass time to recover until the next grazing event. By rotating and having pastures rest, we are able to increase our stocking rates and utilize our pastures in a more efficient manner. This also allows for pastures to have added habitat for wildlife.

Big Blue Ranch and Lodge LLC is the most recent step in this evolution. Scott and Billie Kay Bodie will be your hosts. We hope guests will enjoy the adventure of life on a working cattle ranch, reconnect their soul to the soil, relax in the cedar log lodge and enjoy all that nature has to offer. Just contact us to arrange your visit.