Category Archives: Stewardship

Reason for a blog

I am not much of a marketer of my stuff.  While in the horse industry it seemed to me that it was more about the marketing than the horsemanship.  I never sold one piece of training equipment. I did write a book and made some videos but I never marketed them; nor did I take any profit from them.  It was always a challenge for me to give folks their money’s worth in a clinic.

My favorite thing to do has always been demonstrations.  Whether it was starting a colt, roping, horsemanship, or cattle handling, it was a short time for someone to hear and see my point of view.  If they did not like it they could leave or criticize it to anyone they wanted to tell.

Hopefully this blog will serve the same purpose.  I have had so many great learning experiences from my childhood and onward – some from mentors, some from paying people to learn from them, and many more from making mistakes and learning from them.

One skill that is a must is the ability to communicate effectively.  I have always felt at ease and confident in live demonstrations. Only time will tell on how I communicate through written words.

So here we go.  My goal is to provoke thought and to hopefully improve quality of life for humans, animals, and the environment.  I will present positive thoughts and ideas that have worked for me, and you can take them or leave them.  If something offends you I apologize, but to be honest it’s on your shoulders. Because in the end, it is simply my opinion, and it will probably change in time anyway. I truly hope you find it worthwhile.

This was what I wrote in my first blog, which I later renamed “Scoop Loop.” I feel like I have kept my word and added even more to it.  I never once tried to sell anything to anyone except ideas to think about.

I added Monday Morning Photos and Friday feel-good music.  It was real fun for me to do and hopefully enjoyable for you.

The reason I started writing was to promote NCBA’s Stockmanship and Stewardship program and the ideas I promote .  I am not sure I did that, but I sure put ideas I believe in out there.

If you have been reading these posts you know I am an avid environmentalist who is passionate about grazing animals being used to improve the environment and consume excess production from farming.  I like animals and people and feel they need to be treated properly.

Honesty is such an important thing in this life.  Most important to yourself and then to others. 

I am going to stop writing on the Scoop Loop for a while.  I thank you for letting me throw my opinion at you.  I hope it got you thinking.  I thank Jesse Bussard for making me look like I paid better attention in school, and for doing more than she was paid for.

~ Curt Pate

Manage the world like a ranch

My son, Rial, and I are in Hawaii riding some horses for our friend, Nancy Jones.  We had a nice discussion at supper and Rial expressed concerns about the world’s future. This got me thinking about solutions to the world’s challenges.

I wonder if the world leaders were all ranch managers if we could manage it for maximum production and maintain it for future generations.

The first thing we would need to figure out is available resources.  The next thing would be to figure out how to manage those resources in a way that will create profit, investigate ways to increase resources, and decide the best methods to harvest those resources.

If I purchase a 1000 acre ranch it comes with a history.  Its resources were managed in a way that those in control decided they wanted.  When I take over I make the decision to keep operating in the same manner or to change it to what I want.

If I am going to raise livestock without any inputs from anything but this 1000 acres, I will need to be very careful about the number of animals I run on the ranch.  In some cases it may be better to operate with a certain number of animals and bring in some outside inputs that I can purchase from another source with some of the profit I take in from selling my resources off the 1000 acres.

The previous management may have only ran 50 head of cows, did not manage grazing, did not irrigate, never made any repairs to improvements, and did not spend any money because they did not make any.  They got along fine, but had a very hard life because there was not any money to purchase things that made life easier and they could never save enough to be secure.

I could possibly take this ranch and increase production dramatically.  I could develop and improve the soils to create great forage with improved management and utilizing irrigation.
I could manage the grazing in a way to quadruple production.  If done properly  this could really make this a ranch that is going to improve soil fertility, ensure a high quality of life for the people involved on the ranch, and create an environment on the ranch that is comfortable in the present and will be improved in the future. The profit from the resources are split up into maintaining and improving infrastructure, creating a high quality of life for those involved with the ranch, training new help for the ranch, taking care of those that have worked on the ranch after they retire, and some of the profit should go to stockpiling resources for future use.

I could also take this same ranch and only think about taking as much as possible with no regard to what effect it is having on the soil or surrounding ranches.  I could use as much fertilizer and chemical as possible, run as many animals as possible, only trying to get as much as I can as fast as I can.  I may more than quadruple production and take as much profit as I can so I can live an extravagant lifestyle.  I am not sure how long it will last, but I am going to get the most out of it I can.

From what I can tell, the Earth ranch is either the first or the third scenario.  What I think we need to do is get to the second scenario.  We need to utilize the world’s resources in way that works like a good ranch, combining Mother Nature with technology, then adding common sense and integrity.

The Earth is a big place.  If there is a worldwide drought or if the animal units get to be more than capacity, we can’t haul in more feed or ship units off to another earth.

The Earth is only so big, and there are only so many resources.  We can’t expand this ranch unless we go to space.  We must manage with what we have.

I have seen many places with the same resources in which one outfit improves and prospers, and another beside it goes bankrupt.  It is all about the management.

I think all the world leaders should go to a Ranching for Profit School.  I and Jesse have both attended this school and many people I know have as well.  It lays it out how to work with available resources to improve and prosper in many ways.  Isn’t that what the world needs?

We need to be realistic with how we manage. Before ranching came along Mother Nature kept things in balance for the way the world worked.

I am not sure everyone on Earth will ever work together to make the ranch run smooth, but you and I can work on our division to make it the best, and just like on ranches I have worked on, this creates desire to improve from other ranch workers.

~ Curt Pate

Nevada “Range War” Seems A Tough Story To Unravel

Image via The Dana Show

Sharing at Curt’s request:

By now most of the nation is aware of the self-proclaimed “range war” brewing on the ranch of Cliven Bundy in Clark County, Nevada. The situation is complex, and like most complex issues it’s hard to pinpoint who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong on this one. Throw in the various spins the talking heads of the media are taking on the story and we will likely never get a straight answer.

If nothing else, the Bundy ranch difficulties show how difficult it is to ranch in the West under the supervision of bureaucrats.

Click here to read more in my latest Beef Producer blog on Fodder for Thought.

~ Jesse Bussard