Kit and Company,

Kat and I received an award from a local farm/ranch organization Sunday evening.   It was called the Young Producer of the Year award.   We were very honored to have a group of local producers recognize us for what we have been able to achieve in our short ranching career.  

However, I was very disappointed in the overall negative tone of the rest of the meeting.   There seemed to be no hope for anyone in production agriculture.   Ever since we began our journey, we have heard that it is impossible to get into farming and ranching unless you are born into it or have a spouse that was.   We continue to hear this message, along with a new one.   THERE IS NO MONEY IN AGRICULTURE!  

These negative messages are a disease that if repeated often enough and long enough, will eventually be believed by most people.   Buck Brannaman once said, “If all you are thinking about is your horse bucking you off, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”   I think the same holds true in business.   If we only focus on the negative, we will only see the negative.   There is no doubt that money is tight in agriculture – but that does not mean success is impossible.

 When I graduated from college in 2009, I had dreams of owning my own ranch someday.   I didn’t know what it would look like or how this dream would be accomplished.   I seldom told anyone about my ambitions because when I did talk about it, I was told that I wasn’t born into that life, what did I know about ranching, I could never afford to get into that business – and this was from those who I was close enough to that I could share my dream.  

 In the fall of 2009, while working for another rancher, Kat and I attended our first PCC bull sale.   I was blown away by the entire organization.   The open sharing of ideas and the outside-the-box thinking.   Most importantly, you and your staff believed there was a way to make a good living in the cow-calf business.   Your program and philosophies are very different from what I learned in school.   Pharo Cattle Company has shown me that through the right genetics, proper grass management and working with nature, a decent profit can still to be made in this business.

As a first-generation rancher, I want to thank you, your staff and the entire PCC network for the positive encouragement we received.   Because of PCC’s positive messages, we have been able to accomplish many things that I was told would be impossible to accomplish.   Thanks for everything!

 

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