Rancher
The seemingly simple term “rancher” is commonly misinterpreted. The term rancher may bring to mind a guy riding a bucking bull or horse in a western movie or maybe a tough looking guy without much brains raising cattle on the prairie. Other people think of a farmer. Actual ranchers specifically raise cattle, while farmers raise crops, hogs, and poultry. Modern ranchers are hardworking men and women who live off the land raising cattle for consumers. Despite popular beliefs, it takes a lot of knowledge to raise cattle. American ranchers use business and technology skills to raise cattle. Even with these skills, they are still at the mercy of Mother Nature and gamble with her every year.
Ranching goes beyond chasing cows and riding horses. Ranchers are businessmen. They carefully manage their operation's expenses, income, and taxes like other typical businessmen. Income only comes once a year when they sell their calves in the fall. Therefore, each dollar is spent wisely on equipment, feed, and advertising.
Ranches use a lot of expensive equipment. This includes tractors,...
People who run ten cows or ten-thousand cows are classified as ranchers. Whether they spend ten minutes or ten hours in the pasture, they are considered ranchers. No matter the type of cattle, the main source of income, or the knowledge of the industry, people who own cows, are ranchers. However, there are some individuals who are more knowledgeable about cattle than others when it comes to breeding and raising livestock.
The King Ranch The King Ranch, 825,000 acres right here in the great state of Texas! The King Ranch started as a small cow camp in 1853, no one knew how big it would soon become in later years. Richard King started the small camp with 15,500 acres, the ranch is now 825,000 acres full of some of the finest cattle and horses in the world. Each year, more than 35,000 people go to Kingsville, Texas to visit the ranch.
Joel Salatin is a 57 year old farmer who has been farming full time since 1982 on his farm “Polyface” which is located in Swoope, VA, where he is somewhat of a local legend in farming. “The farm services more than 5,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing” (Salatin, Polyface.com). Mr. Salatin utilizes a unique method of farming, a fact which makes him so profoundly interesting. The style in which he farms his land is termed “mob grazing”. Mob grazing is the process in which different animals are rotated at different times throughout the farms’ fields. He is an advocate not just for the human well being but for the world’s ecological sustainability and the continuance of growth.
They often work with farmers to obtain and maintain the proper equipment necessary to complete farming tasks. Ranch managers must ensure that the livestock complies with government regulations and is being grown to market standards. Ranch managers work with heavy equipment and large animals such as cows and horses, which are unpredictable. The Livestock must be cared for year-round and each day, it is not uncommon for them to work excessive hours through the week, weekend, and holidays. They must schedule many tasks within a week and are often required to multitask. Tasks required by ranch managers are often overwhelming and have to be performed through all hours of the day and night, so you must have a strong work ethic and be responsible enough to become a great ranch manager. Their job demands a great deal of physical work, mechanical skills, and endurance. Ranch managers also work with other ranch hands to ensure each job or task has been completed in a timely manner. Time is an important factor in farming and requires hands-on work to fulfil the link to final completion. Endurance plays a major role in this profession. They must endure the strenuous labor to complete their work often under very hard circumstances such as the weather. They oversee each step so safety rules are followed and required regulations are met. In an article by Environmental Science, “the ranch manager careers focus on strategic
Factory farming is a system of livestock that uses intensive methods by which livestock are contained indoors under strictly controlled conditions. In the article, “Factory Farms in a Consumer Society,” Chad Levin explains how farmers began to adopt the term, “factory farms”. In the beginning, farmers were trying to industrialize and create the best factory farm in the United States. Many farmers wanted to succeed with new technology presented, they created faster ways to butcher animals, antibiotics to control the criticism of many that did not believe factory farming was the healthiest way to produce food. Factory farming is preferred over other traditional farming methods because it is an efficient way to produce more meat in a shorter time
Many people may ask, “What the heck is the Cattleman’s Association?” Normally, the first thoughts that fill people’s minds when they hear “Cattleman’s Association” are: farmers, cows, farms, rednecks, dairy, beef, steaks, hamburger, milk, and so on. Many of these “stereotypes” prove true and many not so much. My experience with the KCA (Kentucky Cattleman’s Association) may be limited, but its roots run deep in my hometown and my family. Although a great number of my family members are in the KCA, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about them, which inspired me to “get to know” them.
The drought and drop in the market price of beef caused most of the cattle ranchers to leave Arizona. During the height of the Cattle Boom, ranchers stocked one cow per five acres. However, ranchers in Arizona today stock one cow per 65 acres (Guido 2). Modern day ranchers now are keeping “a keen eye toward future climate challenges, and are tuning their ranch operations to the environment” (Guido 1).
with row crops or with livestock. We need to understand the industry, and in doing so, we will
In addition, cattle people didn’t have a real great way to contain their livestock. During this time, it was known as an “open range” because the cattle could go wherever they wanted to. However, in 1874, barbed wire became available. The fencing of this rangeland quickly put an end to the open range grazing era (A Condensed History of American Agriculture 1776–1999).
On one of my parents’ first dates together, my father described cattle they drove past as “amazing creatures” telling my mother someday he would like to have land and livestock of his own. That wish to transition from the big city to the country led him to buy a house in the middle of nowhere Indiana, soon raising his own amazing livestock. Growing up, I often complained about the amount of work living on a farm entailed, from cleaning pens to taking care of my 4-H animals. But my dad never complained because such duties were his reward for starting an idea from scratch. Following his footsteps in pursuit of a dream of my own, I chose to attend a large university where I studied abroad to contrast and challenge my rural perspective. Through that transition, I began to respect the difficulties my father experienced following his goal. And while the responsibilities he undertakes are stressful and uncertain, I now
as pastoral farmers are faced with declining amounts of land and water for their cattle,
Such products include vaccines, medications, and antibiotics to support healthy and consistent herds of beef producing cattle. It segments the market into three distinct categories. Hobbyists herd less than 100 cows; Traditionalists commonly carry between 100 to 499, and businesses are working with 500 or more. (Mohr, 1999) Time spent in the field with the ranchers was allocated based on the volume of product purchased by each individual.
Yet, this was not enough for them. There were so many ranchers that there was the rise of the “Cattle Kingdom”; they took
Without farmers, there would be no food for us to consume. Big business picked up on this right away and began to control the farmers profits and products. When farmers buy their land, they take out a loan in order to pay for their land and farm house and for the livestock, crops, and machinery that are involved in the farming process. Today, the loans are paid off through contracts with big business corporations. Since big business has such a hold over the farmers, they take advantage of this and capitalize on their crops, commodities, and profits.
What would happen if farmer’s fields didn’t grow according as planned? How would America get it’s precious food? Thank goodness for agronomist’s. Agronomist work hard work hard to make sure a farmer’s fields are at the peak of their performance. Agronomist’s work with crops, soils, and improving the environment (Agronomy.org).