For Manny and Corina Encinias’ family of nine, sustainability runs deep. They are stewards of a legacy, working the land dating back to 1777, when the first generation began herding sheep in the nearby Moriarty community. Today they focus on cows well suited to the harsh New Mexico desert, fostering community strength and creating opportunities for others to follow in their footsteps.
It’s a normal day near Hudson, Colorado for the Walter family, yet the view is uniquely awe-inspiring for visitors who have never stepped foot on a ranch. As cows come in closer visitors take in the far-reaching pastures and breath-taking mountain views. For the Walter Family, there’s no better backdrop to introduce people to the place where beef begins.
It’s a labor of love, obvious in the way she lights up explaining their family’s 33-year effort to proactively adapt Angus cows to their land. A lifetime of telling stories from the pasture or kitchen has resonated with nonfarm consumers as much as fellow ranchers. “Everything we do is about cattle, but it’s also about family and connecting our kids to the land and to the cattle,” Debbie Lyons-Blythe says.
The hands of a veterinarian hold the life cycle of an animal in their care. The mind, however, directs the hands. Anyone who’s met Dr. Bob Smith knows the way he thinks is something else. It’s come from more than 30 years in the industry caring for its people and cattle. It’s why he earned the 2021 Industry Achievement Award.
Dr. Bob Smith, or “Doc Bob,” is the kind of man that looks to others’ success before his own. One that endeavors to be a life-long learner and shares that knowledge with anyone it’ll help. He’s also our 2021 Industry Achievement Award recipient.
Stress of any kind affects performance and health, but also well-being and behavior, a special focus for CSU animal scientist Lily Edwards-Callaway. Her team’s literature review found shade benefits vary by location, structure type and the weather.
Two fishing cabins stood on the edge of the San Marcos river in 1919. Sixty years later Bodey Langford connected the two, as brick-by-brick, he built a home where he and Kathy would raise daughters Anna and Callie. There on his late father’s ranch near Lockhart, Texas, he also built his herd with purpose.
The owner-managers of Morgan Ranches learn and teach through such wisdom gathered over decades. Every day is a choice, and they choose to make it good. That positive philosophy only begins to tell why Morgan Ranches earned the 2020 CAB Commercial Commitment to Excellence award.
Humans developed over millennia to hunt and herd. When it’s time to move animals, instincts send us out with a purpose but sometimes little thought to how our aggressive behavior affects what they do. Stepping into a cattle pen, we naturally act the predator, manipulating where animals go. But good handling practices should turn us into leaders, says Kip Lukasiewicz.
