The current drought has been going on in our area for about 15 years and we are heading into our fourth year of severe and exceptional drought; last year was the worst in 120 years of recorded NM history. Over half of the cattle in the state were sold due to the drought. We sold seventy percent of our herd in 2011 and are now back up to 50% as a result of our drought management planning.
We also raise lean grass fed all natural beef. No antibiotics, hormones, or chemicals. Not organic by legal definition! It is a growing niche market and we sell direct to customers(over 400 so far). We are barely able to keep up with demand and will increase our stocking rate as the drought eases.
Once a year we have a customer appreciation day and our customers get to see the cattle and our grazing management program. Great relationship with our customers and we listen to them. If farmers and ranchers want to stay in business, they have to think outside of the box.
Government is of course a big problem; we are dealing with endangered species act and all the bs the enviros and bureaucrats can bring down on us. We have learned to deal with it, or at least establish legal standing, by working with local governments and making comments on the proposed listings and working through the NEPA process. But thats another story
If you were an NJrancher instead of an nm one; you could walk a few of those beef creatures over to the Governor’s house (avoiding any bridges of course); have a good ol’ fashioned cookout and perhaps change some minds.