Hi I’m Mike.
Why do people choose to be ranchers or farmers?
Isn’t it a lonely, back backbreaking, monotonous, tedius, low paying, dull job?
Well today, I am here to share with you, why I do this year after year, why I left a 6
figure corporate job to do it, and why I still enjoy it, on Our Wyoming Life.
Welcome back to our Wyoming life, thanks for coming along and exploring the ranch life
with us, if you are new here, I’m going to give you some back story, and if you have
heard this before, bear with me as this does pertain to what we are talking about here
today.
My wife, Erin, and I weren’t born farmers or ranchers.
Neither of us had really any real exposure to it before we came here.
We both worked in corporate radio for some of the top markets in the united states, but
all that changed when Erin’s step dad became sick and asked for help running his ranch
here in Northeast Wyoming.
To make a long story short, we quit our jobs and came here, with no idea of what we were
in for.
At that time, I believed almost every misconception about farmers and ranchers.
From the old MacDonald character, bumping through the fields in his overalls on his
little tractor, or someone out tending to a few cows.
Assumptions are easy to come by, even my first few months here I saw land, I saw equipment
and coming from a management background at that time, I saw the massive capital it kept
to keep this place running.
I learned that most operations like ours operate on one paycheck per year, when they sell calves
and I also learned that the profit can come and go very quickly, based on repairs, weather
or even disease.
Over my first 2 years here on the ranch, I was lucky enough to have my father in law
Gilbert here to coach me along, but I also saw the toll that ranching for a lifetime
had taken on him.
Toward the end of his life, he was bitter and angry.
He told anyone who would listen, don’t ever get old, like we have any choice in the matter.
He was mad at the world, he had a job he loved his entire life.
Taking care of the land, the animals and the ranch, and he knew he couldn’t do it anymore.
The two years that I was here with him, driving him out to the ranch almost every day, so
that he could drive his gator around and turn on water or go look at the cows, I realize
now that I was enabling him to continue his life on the ranch to almost the very end.
I know for a fact he wanted to die, alone, here on the ranch, instead he did so in a
hospital in Casper, but not alone.
So why do people choose to be ranchers or farmers?
Is it a lonely lifestyle?
No but it can be lonesome, you do typically work alone.
There is a reason most tractors only have one seat, as tractors can sometimes become
your office, the boardroom and the conference room.
Giving you a place you can spend hours in there, thinking about the budget, or what
needs done next.
On the flip side, you are going to deal with truckers, feed stores, salesmen and of course
neighbors and friends and family.
Ranching and farming isn’t lonely, nor is it isolating, you typically have entire communities
around you, who also support you.
But you need to also figure out how to support yourself, because when it comes to money,
you are going to be the last one that gets paid.
Is it a low paying job?
It depends on who you are.
For us the ranch always gets paid first.
The ranch itself is a living entity, all of the expenses are the ranches paycheck, plus
a little extra for those little surprises.
Whats left over, might make its way into your pocket, or it might not, and you better have
a backup plan.
Ours is diversification of the ranch.
From farmers market to youtube, all of our side hustles keep the ranch going for future
generations.
But wait, its monotonous, its dull and its boring…
Well it can be Its now almost mid march.
Since November we have been dealing with cold temperatures and snow, and lots of snow.
Our area of Wyoming averages 5 feet of snow every winter.
This year we are above average and without even a hint of the warm spells we normally
get every few weeks.
Last year at this time, we already had seeds planted in the high tunnels, we had a few
calves on the ground and occasionally got to run around without a coat on.
This year it has been cold day after cold day, and yes that gets tedious but at the
same time, it keeps you on your toes.
Water lines are going to break, fence needs constant attention, and as the spring thaw
comes, so does calving and all the excitement that can bring.
Each and everyday you wake up and you never know what to expect, and no day is ever ordinary.
But its back breaking work?
Of course it is, long hours, heavy lifting, rare vacations, no weekends off, no sick days.
It can also be dangerous, an injury to you could be the end of the farm or the ranch.
You can get one good nights sleep and hope that you have enough energy to last you two
days.
But the question should be is the work worth it, and that of course it’s a resounding
yes.
Why do people choose to be farmers or ranchers?
Why did Gilbert spend over 70 years of his life working on a ranch?
And why was he so upset and mad at the world when he couldn’t do the work anymore?
We do it because we love it, because its good honest work, and you work for yourself.
We do it for the freedom, to control your own destiny, to challenge ourselves and to
create something of value.
For me it comes down to a promise I made Gilbert that I would do everything I could do to help
his ranch succeed, so that our kids could have something to be proud of too, and know
the value of having a life worth fighting for.
Even when I am miles from another soul, I never feel lonely, I have been bored but its
never been dull, my paychecks have never been more than I can spend and my back, it may
be sore at times but its never failed me yet.
There is no place else I would rather be, and for me there is no other life worth sharing
with you.
Thanks for coming along and exploring the ranch life, while escaping the ordinary.
I am counting the days until I can come outside again in a short sleeve shirt, and that day
is coming.
The cows are waiting for a few nice days, hopefully to start having calves and I know
that Erin is waiting, rather impatiently to start planting for spring.
Its all on the way, soon, along with another season on the ranch.
Where things are going to be evolving, changing and growing, in ways that will hopefully blow
your mind.
Subscribe and join us and also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for a ton of behinds
the scenes material you cant find anywhere else.
Coming up this week, we get ready to move out the pigs as their days on the ranch are
numbered and we have a brand new livestream on Thursday, this week with special guest
zach johnson from Minnesota millennial farmer, its gonna be a great time and I hope you can
be there that Thursday 7pm mountain right here on youtube.
Until then, have a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.