I’ve always thought that any job that depends on being liked by others or the approval of others can be gut wrenching. I worked in marketing for years and I always fretted when there was a disconnect between reality and perception. Maybe that’s why I like ranching. Ranching is a lot of things; but, you can be sure that it’ll always give you a full dose of reality each day.
My work is a series of tasks or challenges that follow the seasons, the weather and circumstances mostly outside of my direct control.
I know generally what I’m tasked with doing each month, but the specifics are always a wildcard. I think that keeps things interesting.
I certainly don’t always succeed at every challenge on the ranch, but I usually get the chance to approach things in my own way, and give most things my best shot.
While many consider farming and ranching a duel with the environment and market conditions, I kind of find this life to be a competition with myself. Can I be better than last year? Have I learned something new that will improve my herd or my crops? Can I better gauge market conditions and make them work in my favor? How will I adjust to environmental, market and economic factors beyond my control? Am I effectively managing both long and short term risks and opportunities? Am I serving both myself and our next generation? How long can I keep doing this at the current level? Will the next generation be ready and able when I need to step aside?
These are just some of the things I go to bed thinking of most nights. I think most small business owners do the same. It’s a lot to fit onto a pair of 60+ year old shoulders, especially feminine ones.
I’m grateful that my daughter handles most of the hands on cow work on our place, and that we have great friends and neighbors who are willing to help us knock out that workload. As for me, I try to stay focused on farming, get ahead projects, repairs, improvements and all of the book work, financial and management a ranching operation requires.
As I feel myself spending into my 60’s, friends and family wonder if it’s time to slow down or hang things up. I really don’t have time to even consider it. My daughter learns more each year but it’s a steep climb to acquire all the knowledge and experience you need to run a place like our ranch. I feel like I owe her my best for as long as I am capable. On a completely practical level, she and I are the cheapest labor available, and since we rarely have extra money just lying around, we both need to keep working.
Ranching, the way we do it, can also be fun, romantic, rewarding and addictive. It combines a lot of things that I think are very good for the human soul. It adds up more to a meaningful way of life than an always profitable business model. I know that when I plan for next year, my truest internal goal is to have enough and be healthy enough to do it all again. My long game is to be able to do this long enough to leave the place solvent and better for my daughter, so that she can experience raising her own family here.
I wonder if guys who work for Google feel the same way.
Kris Stewart is a rancher in Paradise Valley, Nevada.