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This approximately 7,000-acre ranch that the two of us own and operate, is part of who we are. We love the land, and strive to take good care of it and its inhabitants, wild or domesticated. We feel very privileged to be able to live on the land we love and we want to leave this land in better shape than we found it in. We practice sustainable agriculture and manage the ranch holistically. We are constantly working hard at improving the ecological condition of the ranch, by restoring the watershed and removing infestation of invasive species. We are building electric fences to allow for better rotational grazing management, allowing for long periods of rest - 315 days per year - in each pasture, and short grazing durations, anywhere from 2 days to 12 days depending on the size and composition of each pasture. This helps improve vegetative health and vigor. A healthy vegetative cover will slow water run-off and allow the water to soak into the ground, rather than run off and create erosion. We have installed several large water storage tanks and numerous water troughs as well as miles and miles of underground pipelines to better distribute the water availability, both for our cattle and for the wildlife. We do all the labor ourselves, and our summer "working cattle ranch" guests will sometimes lend a helping hand too! h
Tom was born in south central New Mexico. His father was an old time cowboy who worked on some large cattle outfits there. His family came to New Mexico in a covered wagon from Texas in the early 1890's, and homesteaded in the foothills of the Capitan Mountains. Tom grew up on a ranch and learned cowboying from his dad. He served in the United States Army and when he came back he graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in Range Management. For many years, Tom worked as Manager of large ranches in Southwest Texas and in South Central New Mexico. In 1980 he was introduced to Allan Savory's Holistic Resource Management principles, an intensive grazing and planning process, which he successfully implemented on these ranches. The intensive grazing planning process favors the vegetation, cattle and wildlife alike, and is part of our planning for this ranch in Northeastern New Mexico. Mimi was born in Sweden, always loved animals and being around them. She grew up horseback, while dreaming of being a cowboy and riding the wide open spaces of the West. While living and working abroad in Switzerland, through her job she had opportunities to go on week-long camp-out rides in Arizona's Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly. Right then she knew where her heart had belonged all along. It was just a matter of time. In 1988 the opportunity presented itself to move to the U.S. It was not long before she found herself living on a ranch and learning everything from fixing windmills, fences and pipelines, to caring for and working cattle, while also helping and day-working on other ranches. She attended cattle and ranch related seminars, joined cattle organizations, took classes and went to meetings, but it was the hands-on experience that taught her the most. Mimi is living her dream, being around her beloved animals every day.
Together we take pride in the work we do, and the many range improvements we have implemented on this ranch, which benefits not only our livestock, but ultimately also all the many wildlife that we share our lives with here. We provide water where before there was none, and through our intensive grazing management, we increase the forage and cover for all species of wildlife. We also allow the wildlife the "run of the ranch" as the cattle vacate each pasture for 105 days or more before re-grazing it for a short duration, usually a few days. We take pleasure in watching new fawns, or wild turkey hens protectively guiding their little ones. range stewardship awards The Quivira
Coalition's 2010 Society
for Range Management Upper
Hondo Soil & Water Conservation District Goodyear/NACD
Conservation Awards New
Mexico Cattle Growers Association |
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