Can we survive the end of ranching?

“Yes!” you may exclaim.

Stop raising animals for food!

Stop the supply and we will stop the demand for meat!

Reduce greenhouse gasses, the list could go on…

Yet, is that all that ranching encompasses? Sure, ranchers provide food for people. But do you know what means? They provide food for thousands of people that they have never met, and thousands more that they will never know. Why?

Because ranching is more than *just* supplying food for the masses. It is an integral part of the life that we know and the culture that we long for.

Ranching comes from the very roots of our society, the founding of the land that we live. It evokes a sense of community and fosters an attitude of not only relying on others, but helping one another when there is a need. Ranchers don’t just turn a blind eye when their neighbor is in need, they turn their eye to how they can help, how they can lend a hand and be a profitable part of someone else’s life.

Ranchers raise children that are not afraid of hard work. Children who will get out of a warm bed on a night that is well below freezing to check on a calf that *might* be born. Children who will go out of their way to help others, who will work all day long without (or with just a little) complaint. Children who understand the balance between life and death and who grow up to be productive and compassionate adults. Adults who repeat the cycle of care and humanity, all while living their lives in service to someone else.

This is the heritage that Josh and Nicole get to call their own! Not only are they managing a ranch that has been in their family for decades, they are doing a fantastic job of it! They are also managing to do this while starting their own heritage, and passing these things down to their babies. Their little girl, Zeta, is soon to be a big sister! How exciting! When the new little one arrives, Zeta will get to pass down the sweet few years of experience that she has and teach her new little sibling the ropes!

What an amazing privilege to have! I am so proud of Josh and Nicole, and how they are accomplishing so many important things in their lives. Not only are they accomplishing it, but they are also doing it with style and class.

This session isn’t just about giving them amazing memories, although that’s great too. It’s about freezing these moments in time. Freezing this season of life for them, and the time when these qualities- and this work- is real. It’s contributing to the world and other people’s lives. It’s about always having this to hold on to and that now, RIGHT NOW, this is alive. This is their life. No matter what the future holds, they will always have this to look back on and say to their children “Look, that was your beginning, this is your heritage.”

Ranching is about more than just raising food, it is about serving others. Yes, by providing them with a meal, but also by showing a sense of humanity and compassion and reality, keeping those and so many other basic human needs alive, as we watch in horror as those qualities are disappearing from the world a little bit every day.

So can we survive the end of ranching? I certainly hope we never have to see that day come, because of all that would go away with it.

Josh and Nicole, thank you so much for letting me be a part of this season of your life! I look forward to seeing what the future hold for you all, because you know what? I know it’s going to be awesome. Your hard work and dedication are already paying off, and you have proof of that in the beautiful family that you have!