Ranching in Temple Grandin's Vision
Contemplating the harvest of our bison, I’m keenly aware that the animal sacrifices its life for human consumption ultimately providing our family financially, and providing a sense of purpose and spirituality. Living in harmony with our surrounding environment, Fire Mtn Ranch promises to embrace a sustainability ethos, minimizing the stress on the animals, employing humane animal husbandry as our mentors say, as simple as “leaving the herd alone”.
After the arctic cold temperatures in mid-January, additional water troughs were situated next to the bison handling systems. This structure sits at the north end of the ranch, housing round bales of hay, the baller mechanical sorting equipment, and Preston's apartment. The sorting system is under this structure because the bison are more docile undercover. This steel structure houses the few times we humans mess with the animal, sorting for harvest and for tagging the red dogs, (bison calves) to identify their year of birth and gender.
I walked through the two-story steel structure, past the covered shoot--light pouring in, framing the corral of bison. Some of the animals started running, and circling, and Preston called out, “you are stressing them!” I was unaware, my photo position was in between their exit and the thawed water source. Preston is learning, intuiting. He is noticing their behaviors and is guided by the harmonious ranching practices our cousin Dave is teaching him. These ethos are echoedby Dr. Temple Grandin, animal activist and humane husbandry activist.
“Everything dies eventually, but we humans owe the animals we eat a good life while they’re here.” This quote by Dr. Grandin stuck with us as we started bison ranching. Our mission is two-fold. We want to provide for the food system in a way that is positive for the Western Colorado environment and for our community. We believe food is the most intimate connection that we establish with the land around us.
Preston, Sam, and I are psyched to listen to Dr. Grandin in person. She will be a guest lecturer at Colorado Mesa University in March. At Fire Mtn Ranch we promise to learn from the animals and acknowledge that we know very little but owe them the best life possible.
