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Our Philosophy

Be fair to others,
be humane to your animals,
be kind to mother earth, and
be thankful for what you have.

Coyote Ridge Ranch

At the very least, this working farm is an experiment. It's more about what we can do differently and still do it successfully, than anything else.

Who says you have to do it like everyone else?

Notable Quote:

Playing follow the leader would be great. Unfortunately, most people live their lives following the follower.
- Unknown

The Benefits of Custom Grazing

With drought, rising inputs (fuel, hay and grain) and lack of time... not to mention the sky-rocketing costs of land... many cattle growers are finding it harder to add affordable weight to their cattle without compromising their potential for profit. Custom grazing and seasonal herd management can often be the simple, most cost effective solution to help stabilize costs.

For the last three years we have practiced rotational grazing. Seeing how this type of grazing program improved our use of pastures, we will be implementing Planned High Density Grazing (PHDG) in 2012. We have been able to increase our stocking rate to more than 1au/acre.

Pasture/Grazing For The 2012 Season Is Booked.

After several years of leasing our rotational grazed pastures on a small scale, we decided to add another 24 acres of pasture to our small ranch. This fall, we installed posts and fencing on this acreage. In the spring of 2012, another 300 gallon remote watering station and a Heavy Use Protection (HUP) pad will be added. We also plan to subdivide the pasture areas into smaller (3 acre) paddocks. During the grazing season, we will further subdivide the paddocks into temporary 1 paddocks. We now have 60+ acres of pasture.

With the additional acreage, we will be moving to a new style of pasture management. As mentioned above, we will be implementing Planned High Density Grazing. With PHDG, we will be moving cattle daily. This gives cattle fresh forage every 12-24 hrs. Forage that is fully rested and fully re-grown.

If we have another year like this year, our target stock density is/will be 40,000-45,000 lb/acre. If you are not familiar with PHDG, this density may sound excessive, but it is not. Our goal is to eventually hit a stocking density of 80,000-100,000 lbs/acre. At that time, we will most likely be moving cattle 3 times daily. We hope to be there in 4-5 yrs. In 2012, we will be limiting our clients to 45 animal units.

The Responsibilities

We, of course, will provide the pastures, fencing, water and management. Your herd will be moved daily. In some cases, twice daily. We will monitor your herd for general health and contentment. Our primary goal is to not limit your herd's intake. A quiet herd is just one indicator, the one we use is 'gut-fill'. On a healthy animal, there should be little to no void or indentation before the hip and under the backbone. This area on a beef animal should be full. If the void is full, the animal is full.

If for some reason you are not able to make periodic inspections, we will provide you with updates, via phone, email and/or both. This includes emailing photographs to you. There is no cost for this. It is in our best interest for you to be comfortable having your livestock with us and that you be happy with the performance of your herd.

We will provide you with convenient monthly billing.

We will not provide a creep feeder for your calves. It is our feeling that if calves require creep, their dams are not producing enough milk. On our pastures, this should not be a problem, unless it is a genetic deficiency. What we recommend is this, after your cattle are trained to frequent moves, we try raising our temp. paddock wire high enough for calves to get under, yet low enough to keep the cows where the belong. In most cases, this allows calves access to fresh grass ahead of the cows.

If you feel it necessary to have supplements (salt, trace minerals etc...) we are more than willing to manage them for you. If we are required to purchase additional supplements, via your request, the purchase and associated cost(s) will be billed accordingly.

If an animal appears ill, we will attempt to notified you. If you can not be reached, we will contact our local veterinarian or a vet that has been pre-approved by you. This charge will appear on your next billing statement. We do not want you to lose an animal on our watch.

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Future members of the American Highland Cattle Assoc. & The Quality Highland Beef Program