MM Livestock Co

I got an interesting call today. A reporter from one of the area newspapers is doing a series of articles on ranchers and the local food movement. This reporter had been told that we were a CAFO operation. I set him straight right quick! He came out to the home place and met the critters there including the HUGE Glouchester Old Spot Sows we just inherited. Then we went out to the cattle pastures and over to where the flocks are grazing. He got quite an education. There is a big difference between ranching and just raising animals. Ranching is a way of life, where the health and welfare of the land is as important as the animals that land sustains. The fella just raising animals to make a buck is more inclined to stick them in pens throw some feed at them and call it a day. He is only interested in how much money he can make and how quickly he can make it. Ranchers want their stock to thrive in the way Nature intended. Sure we doctor them if they need it, but our animals are far healthier than those raised in confinement. They are not crowded, nor are they fed things they weren't designed to eat. We don't have to rely on antibiotics to keep them healthy or hormones to make them grow. We do have to spend time in the saddle, or on an ATV. We do need our working dogs. We do need to have the knowledge to recognize a problem and fix it. There is an old Californio song that says "Mis Raisas estan aqui" My roots are buried here. It hurts the entire industry when Joe city moves out of town, buys a little (less than 100 acres) piece of dirt and calls it a ranch. It's a farm. If you raise anything other than ruminants, its a farm. If the animals are penned, its a farm. Horsemen will argue, but from where I sit, if you don't have the space for your stock to roam. You Are A Farmer. If they can't put their feet on the ground and have room to play, large or small, you are a CAFO. If you don't have a solid working knowledge of genetics, nutrition, husbandry and management you shouldn't be raising stock. You can't buy experience.