Making Ranch Life Easier: Ranch Hacks Go Viral
“I didn’t think it would do anything. I thought maybe 10 people might watch it,” says Malcolm MacLean of Malcolm’s Ranch Hacks.
MacLean is always looking to complete ranch tasks faster and more efficiently, which fuels his engineering of ranch-related tools and equipment that help make typical ranch-related tasks easier.
From the “All-In-One Fencing Pliers” to the “Barbed Wire Spacer,” MacLean’s ideas come from his own experience working on ranches and grazing reserves.
In late 2019, after building several “ranch hack” tools, he decided to share his ideas with others online, not expecting much from the effort.
However, after posting videos of his creations including a thorough explanation and demonstration, the ranchers of Facebook found Malcolm’s Ranch Hacks to be quite enjoyable and useful.
Some of his videos have reached over 4 million views, sparking hundreds of comments and thousands of shares across the platform.
Comments often suggest MacLean needs to patent his creations. Viewers have also asked to buy his innovations. MacLean says, “We weren’t really ever wanting to monetize it. I’m not a salesman, but people were asking quite a bit.”
While MacLean’s hacks all have their time and place to improve ranch work, he says his favorite is the “Tee Post Pounder” as he uses it quite frequently.
One of Malcolm’s Ranch Hacks’ popular videos includes the demonstration of his hands-free “Barbed Wire Spacer.”
The “Fence Staple Puller” has also been a social media favorite.
While MacLean’s videos have been focused on fencing so far, he plans to share hacks in other areas of ranching, including cattle and horse handling and stockmanship.
MacLean’s creativity reaches beyond ranch work as a singer and songwriter, which he also sprinkles into his Facebook page as musical entertainment.
When talking about future videos, MacLean says, “the best is yet to come.” His next video will feature a hack that took over 30 versions to get just right. “There’s nothing like it,” he says.
From small improvements of regular equipment to inventions of his own, MacLean’s goal for his videos is simply to serve as quality rancher entertainment. All of MacLean’s videos and local, Canadian-built hacks available for purchase can be found on the “Malcolm’s Ranch Hacks” Facebook page.
