Adaptive, Hopeful & Independent Ranching
Adaptive, hopeful and independent are the 3 words that Jennifer and Logan Hill use to describe their operation and I couldn’t agree more. While I have never been to HI/ Cattle Co. I have had the pleasure to meet Jennifer and Logan through social media and my RancherMind group. This family shares a powerful story of maintaining tradition but making necessary changes to be progressive operators. They set a good example of how ranchers can and need to be open-minded to future-proof operations to be passed down to the coming generations. Get to know Jennifer, Logan and Hill family by reading their responses below.
How would you describe your operation?
At HI/ Cattle Co. we are 5th, raising the 6th, generation of Hill family ranchers. We run a cow/calf operation as well as seedstock herd of registered Angus and Black Hereford cattle in the Central Sandhills of Nebraska.
Do you have other roles in the beef industry outside of cattle production?
We are very active in the American Black Hereford Association.
What part of your ranch or career in the beef industry are you the proudest of?
I am proud of our operation’s constant push towards honest evaluation and willingness to try something new and different. In agriculture, we tend to be slow adopters of change and reluctant to experiment with market disruptors. There’s historically been an attitude of “If it was good enough for Grandpa, it’s good enough for me.” There’s a lot of wisdom to historical practices and we’ve retained many of them, but we also acknowledge that the future looks very different and we must adapt to it. Our operation was situated in the NW corner of Colorado for more than 100 years where we ran on a mix of private and federal lands. We watched for decades as the federal lands degraded and grew increasingly fearful about our lack of ability to manage them or do anything about the situation due to government regulations and destruction from public abuse. We had to take a step back and honestly evaluate our belief in a future for federal lands ranching. After years of consideration, we made the gut-wrenching choice to sell the historical family place and relocate the ranch. It was the hardest thing any of us have ever done, but I could not be more proud of the fact that we made the hard choice and are learning and adapting to our new environment every day.
What are you excited about when it comes to the future of the beef industry?
We are excited about the growing meat friendly diet community who actively question historical nutrition advice and are ready to partner with producers. We are also eager to see what new innovations will bring to the industry and how they can improve our operation and product.
What’s the most challenging part about ranching/the beef industry?
The most challenges aspects of ranching are definitely the price fluctuations and the challenge of planning accordingly. Another hurdle is genetic generational turn over. Because you don’t see the full impact of genetic choices for many years, it can make change a slow hill to climb.
What’s the most rewarding part about being in the beef industry?
The most rewarding part of ranching for us is providing high quality cattle and beef. There’s nothing better than getting calf photos from a happy repeat bull customer in the spring or positive feedback on our beef when we sell it. Those positive interactions all help create the feeling of community that is so powerful in the agriculture sector and so important to us personally and professionally.
What’s your wish for the future of the industry?
We hope for a future full of economically sustainable operations that can thrive while implementing practices and ideas that make their unique operation successful. A future where all sectors of the beef industry are able to function with minimal intervention from the government and thrive on their own merit.
