The Scapegoat. We all know the story; find something that is seemingly unrelated to the problem and then blame everything on them. I mean pile it deep. The more absurd the accusations the more believable they are. I mean take the humble cow for example; Ole Bessie has been blamed for everything from deforestation to heart attacks to ruining the ozone.
But trying to pin so many woes on the unassuming cow really makes you wonder if it really is the cows’ fault or if other factors are at play here. And I have to tell you I think that cows get a bad rap. I mean can an animal really be intrinsically bad? It actually does not take all that much research before you realize that the cow gets some pretty bad press against them. So for this week’s newsletter, I will be a spokesperson for a group that has no voice.
Cows are pretty simple; give them some green grass to chew, open spaces to roam, and some clean water to sip and they are generally happy/healthy dudes. They take care of their young and hang around in herds for community protection. So how is it that they get blamed for so much?
Well, and I know that you will find this hard to believe, but as soon as you take a free-ranging animal and place them in confinement, you start to see problems. When you take a grass eating animal and make them eat nothing but grains, you disrupt the natural balance. Then by perpetuating this disruption to the natural flow, we end up with unhealthy meat and over-grazed lands. So our system for raising animals is the issue and not the cows. But can you do things differently and be a viable rancher?
Fortunately for us (and the cows) the answer is yes. I would like to share with you the story of the Ranney Ranch here in Corona, NM. Nancy Ranney is/has been a pioneer and vocal champion for Conservation Ranching. At the root of this philosophy is the idea that there is a system in which animals and the land can work in a mutually beneficial way? The animals help support the land that in turn helps support the animals. It may sound simplistic, but much of the ranching today sees the animals and the land as just commodities rather than a living ecosystem that can actually help each other be more resilient as a partnership.
For Nancy and her crew on the ranch, designing a conservation approach to ranching begins by looking at what the land and the cows need to be healthy. As I mentioned, cows just need space, grass, and water (if you could distill someone’s needs into a fortune cookie). The healthiest land you will find is home to a diversity of plant species and has as little “dirt” as possible. Meaning that a healthy soil has living plants covering it.
So how do cows help create a healthier land around them? a) Spreading grass seeds. As grasses grow they send up seed heads. Cows eat those seeds and then move/plant them as they walk around pooping. So a cow’s manure not only adds fertility to the land, but helps spread seeds to regenerate a healthy pasture. b) As cows eat, they tug on the grass. This tugging on the roots breaks some roots and fosters a deeper more fibrous root system. A deep root system will help heavy rains soak into the soil quicker avoiding run-off and helps find deeper water in times of drought.
Grazing is actually one of the best practices that you can do for a pasture or a hillside. It is when you do not move the cows and they are forced to eat in the same spot for long periods of time that you see the negative impacts of over-grazing. So Nancy and her crew have developed a rotational grazing system where the cows are in one large area for a few weeks and then they move to a new range that has been allowed to rest/regrow. A system like this actually gives you a more diverse and abundant ecosystem than if you left the land alone and did nothing.
Dining on a mix of grasses and having no grains in the diet, the cows are healthier. Lower saturated fats, more Omega-3 fats, lower cholesterol. And when we eat grass-fed cows, we are healthier. The embodiment of the old saying that “You are what you eat.” I feel like there is so much red meat guilt in our society that it really skews the conversation. If you choose to eat meat in your diet (which I do), the meat should be raised like this; local cows, 19,000 acres of space, fresh grasses, clean air, and living within the herd community. I am happy and proud to be able to offer such a high quality beef program to our members.
Additionally, the Ranney Ranch system of conservation is so innovative that Nancy caught the eyes of the National Audubon Society. Audubon saw that this rotational management is not only good for the land and the cattle, but also cultivates amazing habitat for birds as well. So Nancy is the only ranch in NM certified Bird Friendly by the Audubon Society. Cool stuff.
Enjoy, Farmer Monte