“Ladies and Livestock: Life on the Ranch,” the second book in the Montana Family Ranching Series, from the Research and Education Endowment Foundation of the Montana Stockgrowers Association (REEF),is now available on iTunes and Apple devices. The digital book is a pictorial explanation of Montana women and their roles in the ranching community.

“Women are often described as the ‘backbone’ to the ranch and we want to capture what that means in this book,” said Lauren Chase, author and photographer.

Ladies and Livestock is leading the way in multimedia technology and storytelling as it will be released in digital format instead of print. Readers will be able to download Ladies and Livestock to their iPads and flip through the vivid imagery with the swipe of their fingers.

This book features over 130 pages of stories, photographs and video features of the ladies who raise livestock, care for the land, and build their families’ legacies on Montana ranches. Not only are these Montana women working on the ranch, many have jobs in town, volunteer in their communities, and are involved in the legislation process of issues affecting agriculture.

Ladies and Livestock is the second in a series of book featured in the Montana Family Ranching Series. The first edition, Big Sky Boots, released in 2012, features the working seasons of the Montana cowboy and is available in print edition from the Montana Stockgrowers Association by visiting bit.ly/BigSkyBoots.

“This series is meant to help people understand what it takes to make a Montana ranch operate successfully and also, to show the wonderful ranch families that make it possible. Creating the book for the iPad is really exciting for us because we can reach new audiences much easier through digital means,” said Chase.

Included on nearly 30 of the pages are video features that play with the touch of the finger. These videos show interviews of the ladies speaking on their ranch history, family life and how they feel about being part of Montana’s agriculture.

The book can be downloaded for $14.99 in the Apple iBook store by searching title: Ladies and Livestock, or going directly to bit.ly/LadiesAndLivestock. Proceeds from the sales of the book contribute to the Montana Stockgrowers Association’s Foundation to help support educational programs and scholarships for youth.