Turning Cows Out to Pasture: Why Land Stewardship Matters

One of the best feelings for a rancher is getting cows onto green grass after a long winter of feeding hay. There’s just something about watching cows and calves unload from the bull wagon and take off running, kicking up their heels on fresh pasture. Taking care of the land and caring about land stewardship makes this possible. 

In the western United States, it’s common for ranchers to graze cattle on public land, like areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Some ranchers also have access to private grazing land. Regardless of whether it’s public or private, the land has to be managed well to ensure both range health and cattle productivity.

I’ve always heard the buzzword that ranchers are “stewards of the land.” But what does that actually mean? By definition, a steward is someone who manages or looks after something. But to me, ranchers do more than just manage land—they depend on it. Our business relies on the land. If we don’t take care of it, if we don’t improve it and help it produce to its potential, the business fails. Land stewardship is very important to ranchers. 

I started thinking more about this concept while reading The Lorax to my daughter. I got to the part where the Once-ler is shouting about “biggering” his business. To do that, he chops down more and more Truffula trees. Eventually, the last tree falls—and with it, his business dies.

Do ranchers use natural resources for their business? Absolutely. We rely on the grasslands to feed our cattle throughout the summer. But what if we kept “biggering” too? What if we added more and more cows until they grazed the grass down to bare dirt? Our business—and our way of life—would end too.

So how could the Once-ler have done things differently? He could have managed the land better. Maybe he could’ve harvested the Truffula tufts in a sustainable way instead of cutting down the trees. He could have found innovative ways to make his business thrive without destroying the very thing it relied on.

That’s exactly what ranchers are trying to do. Many of us are working closely with the BLM and Forest Service to create grazing plans that benefit both the land and the livestock. There’s science behind how long cattle should graze an area and how much grass to leave behind, this is just one of the many ways that ranchers support land stewardship. Leaving the right amount helps promote soil health, plant regrowth, and ecosystem stability.

To be good business owners—and good ranchers—we have to take care of the land first. Because without the land, ranchers are nothing.

And for me, it’s personal. I want to pass this life on to my kids—not just the cattle and the brand, but the values, the work ethic, and the connection to the land through land stewardship. I want them to grow up knowing what it means to be responsible for something bigger than yourself. That’s why it matters so much to me that I leave the land better than I found it. Not just for the business, but for their future.