Anything below bus pass

[Kiwi Pete]

That's the third of my target of five new things to learn every 24 hours right there. As I said I always assumed that 'ranching' was a generalised term for extensive reasonably large area livestock farming.
Hold on though……………. it still is, isn't it?

I generally greet my farming mates with "So.. how's life on the ranch?"
But, the first time I really considered the distinction was a post on here 'dad's brother moved to NZ and dad said, that ranch-style farming will never work out'
Second time was when I read your post

Every day, we learn.

 

[le bon paysan]

OK, will try
Out here in the western states a rancher is a keeper of livestock, cattle / sheep. Its' traditional to put up hay for winter feed for own use, mostly irrigated meadow hay and alfalfa.

Ranches are usually rated on their carrying capacity rather than by acres.........so a high yielding well watered place will carry more AU's (animal units) than a more arid place...an animal unit is rated at enough grass to keep a cow/calf for a month or..I think 5 sheep.?.......sheep are counted in bands.......a band of sheep is 1,000 head. Cattle and sheep will be cared for in traditional ways, cowboys run cattle.......the rancher will employ sheepherders to live with the sheep year round, dogs to guard / herd, a pony to ride...housing on wheels.

A lot of livestock will go to mountain pasture during summer months, leased from various govt agencies...forest service etc at very low rental rates, either trucked or in many cases, driven over several days in the traditional cowboy way.

On the other hand, a farmer is regarded as a grower of crops to sell, in my area it's totally irrigated thru center pivot on qtr sections of land (160 acres)
Cotton/corn/beans/ sunflowers/canola/wheat/potato's...whatever its considered farming.

Irrigated land I prefer, it gives the ability for more even cropping, managing inputs in a more precise fashion for max yield and consistent quality, dryland guys tend to farm more acres but yields are lower......each to their own.

Is someone who milks cows / owns a dairy farm a farmer or a rancher?

 

[Cowabunga]

Is someone who milks cows / owns a dairy farm a farmer or a rancher?

He's not a rancher but we are all farmers by the common definition, however the rancher seems to be a sub-division of 'farmer' just as 'corn farmer' or 'dairy farmer' or 'pig farmer' but looser in that it doesn't describe the actual enterprise, only the way it is carried out. Rather like being an 'organic farmer' or a 'hill farmer' perhaps?

That is, I think anyway, the way I now understand it.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

And the Bossfarmer..

 

[Roger Perry]

The term I use is dairy, or dairyman maybe......... as in "they milk 2000 cows at the dairy" he/she would be a farmer not a rancher.

Not given a lot of thought to this (until now) but a "Farmer" will have "hired men" loads of tractors, equipment, controlled potato stores and on and on......

A rancher will have men who "cowboy up" and run his place be it 50 acres or 50 thousand with pickups, horses, atv's simpler machinery and dogs.

Some of the older farmers may have a place in Arizona to retreat to, play golf..........ranchers have to stick around as cows need feeding in winter and calving starts in February.

 

[Roger Perry]

DR,
Yes, lot of malt barley grown locally, Coor's have a facility. Its all spring planted in April....irrigated and yields pretty good, warm days and cool nights seem to suit it well. I was told that the top yield to date was 184 bushel/ac.....so right at 4 metric tonn/ac.

 

[had e nuff]

Ranching

 

[unlacedgecko]

View attachment 595114 View attachment 595116 Ranching

Where do I sign?