Rancher Resilience
I was asked to be a panelist at a national conference next week.
One of the original panelists backed out so they scrambled to find someone, anyone, who could model resilience in agriculture.
I probably should have declined.
Many women ranch alone and model resilience better than I.
So I’ll lean on them as examples during my talk.
I’ll use Nurse Nelle as an example of a person who paid back the Mount Kilimanjaro of debt she was left with, dollar by slow dollar.
I’ll talk about Megan the Stallion Trainor who is so good at identifying the core problem and solving it instead of randomly switching management strategies every time the wind changes.
I’ll talk about Rock Hound, who finds the positive aspect of every situation.
My resilient heroes are mentally strong.
Each intentionally chooses how to think about a situation.
Each knows the worst part of a bad situation comes right before a solution appears.
Uncertainty plays mean games on the mind.
It weighs heavy with unpredictability, making the next step so hard.
Drought stole our predicted forage and forced us all to make tough choices.
Rain covers a lot of mistakes while drought unveils them.
Drought has pushed our backs against the wall and this one isn’t over yet.
I wonder whether I will need to sell all of my cows and sheep and when I will pull that trigger.
It feels like I am looking into the eyes of Death.
Then I think about what I might do before I restock the ranch – maybe take a pack horse and ride the Continental Divide Trail.
The practical reality of drought is that I might need to get a wage-paying job while I let the ranch recover, but suddenly the death by drought becomes a potential adventure.
Nurse Nelle, Megan the Stallion Trainor and Rock Hound would jump at an adventure.
None of them are likely ride the CDT, but they all would find the good in this tenuous situation because resilience means finding the solution that works for you -- not your neighbor, a government support program or conventional wisdom.
Ranching experts recommend setting up advisory councils to brainstorm solutions.
Yes, more brains find more and better ideas.
Still, I have yet to set up an inner circle of advisors.
Just like so many ranchers, I’m an introvert.
The idea of sharing my worries and concerns makes my chest constrict.
No doubt, that is a character flaw.
I lean on great friends and my amazing family for advice about various aspects of ranching.
I talk to some about soils, others about cattle markets and my mother about finances.
When I see a neighbor at the gas pump and he shares a wreck, I know we are in this together.
It works for me.
I also lean on learning.
Once, I wanted to learn more about soils and I needed learn why my alfalfa looked so sick.
A book by Nicole Masters touched on some possibilities and she consults with ranchers.
I didn’t want to spend that much money on individual consulting so I hosted her for a workshop at my ranch during our drought.
Nicole’s face when she saw my degraded pasture forced me to quit pretending that the efforts I had already made were enough.
I had to quit lying to myself --in front of a lot of my peers.
That humility helped me seek better answers for my entire ranch.
I’ll find those answers and I’ll find a way through this drought.
If I need to sell all of my livestock, you might see me greeting customers at Walmart.
No doubt, I’ll meet more smart people while I wait for my ranch to heal.