Ranching & Education

Ranchers are some of the wisest and most intelligent people I know. When you look at ranching from a big picture view, you have to be a jack of all trades to successfully manage any operation. You are working with genetics, herd health, designing facilities that work in favor of animal behavior, fencing grazing lands, understanding what resources are available, plumbing, electricity and the list goes on and on and on.

I understand that some of these aspects can be outsourced, but you still have to have the basic knowledge of how it works in order to know what needs to be fixed or improved. What I often wonder is who do ranchers turn to and trust when they want to increase their knowledge in one of these areas or continue their education?

I speak from a different place in life as I round out college and get asked about grad school and future plans. Grad school is something that has always been pushed for me to consider and I am, but I believe there are other ways to continue your education. I view continuing education as something that can occur in numerous forms and fashions. To me, this can be gaining more hands-on experience, grad school, conventions & conferences, AI schools, ranch management schools and courses, apprenticeships or even business coaching.

I want your perspective on continuing education in the ranching space. How do you continue to grow? Is it something stated above or do you have a method of your own?

Best,

Shaye Ocea