Page 209 - The Welfare of Cattle

186 the WeLfare of CattLe

VaLUeS

At the very center of ranching is a set of working values that provides direction, guides
decision-making, and forms behavior. While each ranch may define their core values differently,
two guiding principles are universal for success—husbandry and stewardship. Husbandry is the
application of human creativity and labor to the care, cultivation, and propagation of crops and
animals. Stewardship is the wise and responsible management of valuable resources that has been
entrusted to one’s care. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a successful ranch that is devoid
of commitment to husbandry and stewardship.
Husbandry values the symbiotic relationship between humans and livestock; the timeless con-
tract that in exchange for the gifts of food, fiber, and by-product obligates the stockman to providing
devoted care. Husbandry gets to the core of the work to be done; in the case of a ranch this gener-
ally means attention to the care, cultivation and propagation of forage (grass, forbs and browse)
and livestock. Good husbandry requires sustained effort in planning and executing strategies and
tactics that produce desired levels of performance from rangeland and livestock. William Danforth,
the founder of Purina Mills, was driven by the belief that people are judged by the animals they
keep. His vision frames the importance of husbandry and recognizes that superior management is
required to create excellence in agricultural pursuits. However, husbandry without stewardship may
produce desired outcomes in the short term but potentially with consequences that diminish the
long-term success of the ranch.
Stewardship is the foundational ethic that drives long-term ranch performance. Stewardship is
not a set of activities. Rather it is a philosophic underpinning that provides a spiritual sense of pur-
pose to those who dedicate their lives to ranching. Stewardship is the “why” of ranching. Embracing
stewardship calls people to a purpose greater than themselves and lays the foundation for a life that
is deeply fulfilling and equally challenging.
Embracing the stewardship ethic explains why men and women choose to immerse themselves
in a working landscape and to pursue a life that is so very visceral—where life and death; beauty
and hardship; work and love; success and failure are ever present and mysteriously intertwined.
The pursuit of unraveling the mystery, learning the pathways that connect the system, and building
extraordinary resilience drive the practitioners of extensive ranching.
Stewardship must be applied to multiple resources on a working ranch (Figure 17.3) and while
each resources is vital in its’ own right; none of them can be considered individually without

Community

Livestock

Finances

Landscape

People

Figure 17.3 focal points for stewardship.