Ryan Taylor (North Dakota Politician) - Early Life, Education, and Early Career

Early Life, Education, and Early Career

Taylor is a fourth-generation North Dakotan, raised by his parents Marshall (“Bud”) and Liz Taylor on a ranch near Towner, N.D., in McHenry County. The Taylor Ranch, founded in 1903, was inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2010. Taylor graduated from Towner High School in 1988. In 1992, Taylor graduated with honors from North Dakota State University with two bachelor degrees in Agricultural Economics and Mass Communications, and a minor in Animal & Range Sciences. While at NDSU, Taylor was active in FarmHouse Fraternity and many other clubs and associations and was an active volunteer.

Taylor founded Sandhill Communications while attending NDSU, which provides communication and marketing services for agricultural clients in the Upper Midwest and Canada. Taylor’s syndicated column, “Cowboy Logic,” has a circulation of more than 160,000; he is the author of three books, “A Collection of Cowboy Logic”, “Cowboy Logic Continues” and “Cowboy Logic Family Style”; and he has delivered more than 200 entertaining speeches to groups and events. Taylor’s early career also included directing communications for Northern Plains Premium Beef Cooperative and growing veterinary pharmaceutical sales for Fort Dodge Animal Health. Since graduating from college through present day, Taylor has managed his family ranch, which consists of nearly 2,900 acres of range and hay meadows and supports more than 200 commercial Angus cow/calf pairs.