Western Ranchlands Proves You Can Do Well by Doing Good
- Keywords:
- growing the good
Ranching is one of the least ecologically damaging land uses; however, poor ranch management can still have negative environmental impacts. Ranching can also be financially challenging but good stewardship practices make it far less so.
Western Ranchlands
took on the challenge of being an agricultural investment and land management firm that maintains a focus on both profitability and environmental sustainability.
I recently sat down with Dr. Sheldon Atwood, Western Ranchlands’ CEO and President, to discuss how the company puts its motto of “Doing Good, While Doing Well” into action. As Atwood put it, “Our vision is to create a business model that perpetuates the conservation and preservation of large landscapes but does so in a very robust financial and economically viable way.”
Following is a summary of our discussion.
Christine Cooper: You’ve said that ranching operations often end up fragmented as the business gets passed down from one generation to the next. That, in turn, leads to the fragmentation of the land base and, ultimately, the dissolution of the business itself. What are the larger implications of this?
Dr. Sheldon Atwood: With fragmentation comes the loss of economies of scale from a business standpoint, as well as lost environmental contiguity. This puts land use on a slippery slope to ecological disaster and results in fewer people on the landscape attuned to the health of the land or capable of managing it effectively.
Cooper: Sustainability is at the core of Western Ranchlands’ philosophy. You’ve described the common idea that profits and sustainability are mutually exclusive in ranching as a “fundamental fallacy.” Could you explain why?
Dr. Atwood: The long-term economic health and long-term wealth that are generated by a living organism—land—are directly in lockstep with each other. Therefore, any impairment to the long-term ecological health of the land impairs the long-term financial benefit of that same asset.
Cooper: Can you talk about how running a more sustainable operation has revitalized the land?
Dr. Atwood: There are many examples. For instance, parts of the ranch that were historically precluded from grazing and were fire suppressed for a hundred years have become very dense, very thick, with very small-diameter trees. Our conservation-oriented partners did a number of biological assessments across the property, and one of their findings identified that the center of these over-dense woodland areas was essentially a biological desert. The trees weren't actively growing any longer, limiting their ability to extract carbon from the atmosphere. Relatively speaking, there was virtually no living wildlife very far beyond the outer boundaries.
We worked carefully with each of those organizations to craft an ecological plan that allowed for a diversity of structure and spatial organization of that timber. That allows areas that are opened up to be adjacent to areas that are still wooded, and it allows wildlife and natural migration into those edge areas. That edge becomes protective for the wildlife, but it is also juxtaposed with a food source for that wildlife. So, the biodiversity quotient in those areas goes way, way up. And the spatial distribution also reduces the threat of wildfires.
Cooper: Of course, you can only declare success if you can measure it. How does Western Ranchlands measure the financial success of its efforts?
Dr. Atwood: Being able to improve the health of the living sponge [land] and its ability to produce more grass or keep that grass greener longer into the year—that reduces my winter feed costs because I have green forage for longer. It also increases my turnover by allowing me to have more animals on a given land base because now I have more forage.
We can measure the amount of forage we harvest, proving the ability to improve carrying capacity, and lower the land cost per unit of production, or increase the rate of return per unit of investment.
Another thing we do is to use livestock as a tool to change vegetation and distribute nutrients. To improve our ability to do this, we have linked together a number of water wells with a pipeline that has the capacity to put all that water into one location, anywhere on the ranch at any given time. That allows us to put together large herds of animals. They go to a specific piece of property, and they graze it more evenly and more uniformly. They're not out there over extended periods of time creating trails and degrading the landscape. They make an impact, they leave, and then it allows more time for those plants to recover. You get less of the scrubby brush and more and more of the nutritious plants that livestock want.
At the same time, labour costs are significantly lower when there are fewer large herds than when there are more animals spread out over larger areas for longer periods. This also opens up other types of opportunities for other species and interest groups. The way we manage, livestock are rarely on more than 5% of the ranch at once. That leaves 95% available for wildlife and people at any given time.
Cooper: Given the success that you have seen and the evolution that you've been taking the ranch through, what are you most excited about in the future?
Dr. Atwood: People have come from around the world, and they see what this model could mean—not just for their patch of dirt, but for the earth, for the whole world. They can see for themselves that we can completely transform the marginal cropland and the imperfectly managed or degraded ranch land that's out there using this regenerative model. And, by doing so, we can completely reverse the carbon-negative footprint of our entire society while producing healthy food, maintaining open space, enhancing biodiversity and generating positive returns. In other words, without asking for handouts or relying on regulation, we’re taking the entire greenhouse gas emission equation and flipping it on its head. And that is positive for everybody that believes in climate change and the human impact.
The Western Ranchlands interview provided an insightful discussion on its commitment to operating a more conservation-minded business that has been both profitable and environmentally sustainable. Listen to the full discussion here.
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Christine Cooper: Hi, I’m Christine Cooper, Executive Vice President and Head of BMO’s Canadian Commercial Banking Group. I’m very proud of the steps we’ve taken at BMO to be a more environmentally and socially responsible organization. I’m also excited to work with clients who have evolved and innovated to become a more sustainable business.
Joining me today is Dr. Sheldon Atwood, CEO and President for Western Ranchlands Corporation, a conservation-minded agricultural investment and land management firm. Welcome Sheldon. It’s a pleasure having you join us.
Christine Cooper: To start, for our audience can you describe Western Ranchlands, who you are, and the vision you have for the business?
Sheldon Atwood: Yeah, thanks. Really Western Ranchlands grew out of a need that we saw within a number of producers to solve a problem. And that is that ranching wasn't particularly profitable. That very often these businesses are set up to be fragmented and fractured from a set of parents that own a property of one size, and then there's several children that the business needs to be passed on to, and the business doesn't scale when it's fractured and fragmented. And it leads to the dissolution of the business. And for many of us in agriculture, we saw that trajectory happening and recognize that well it's resulting in fewer and fewer people in our industry. It's also resulting in an ecological disaster.
Western Ranchlands is a team of professional ranch managers. Some of us from family operations, some of us through training, most all of us with a connection to ranching and to rural agriculture. But we feel like we're essentially a large family ranch and we're united by this idea that well-run properties can be profitable and can be environmentally sustainable.
Our vision really is to create a business model that perpetuates the conservation and preservation of large landscapes, but does so in a very robust financial and economically viable way.
Christine Cooper: You have a business motto of “Doing Good, While Doing Well.” How does your sustainability and conservation approach lead to revenue growth for the business?
Sheldon Atwood: There's a bunch of different ways to succeed financially. And some of that is through increasing your revenue growth, right?
And the degree to which we manage consciously in conjunction with ecological principles, influences how well the land can absorb water that falls from the sky, or that runs across the surface.
And its ability to produce more grass or keep that grass greener for longer into the year, then that reduces my winter feed cost because I have green forage for longer so I have to provide less hay. So that reduces my cost side of my equation. But it also increases my turnover by allowing me to have more animals on a given land base because now I have more forage. So it improves, my turnover improves my net return per animal. It decreases my costs. And then another thing that we do to facilitate the use of livestock as a tool is we have linked together a number of water wells with a pipeline that has the capacity to put all that water into one location, anywhere on the ranch at any given time, that allows us to put together large herds of animals. And they go to a specific piece of property. They graze it more evenly and more uniformly. They make an impact and they leave and then it allows for more time for those plants to recover.
Christine Cooper: So the economics speak for themselves at the end of the day for the improvements over the long term.
Sheldon Atwood: If you think of it very simply you save a full-time employee for every herd that you reduce. So if you think about that, a full-time person with a truck and a house. And the other support benefits and everything else that goes with that. It's well over a million dollars in net present value every time that you're able to consolidate herds and pull them together.
Christine Cooper: That is significant. I also know that you’re doing a lot with trees and plant care and other wildlife enhancements, which are quite interesting. Can you tell us about the tree project and how it supports the long-term health of the land?
Sheldon Atwood: We're trying to take care of the health of an entire ecosystem. And the tree project is also very closely related to water cycle and water issues.
In our case, there are parts of the ranch that were historically precluded from grazing and that were fire suppressed for a hundred years. So they've become very, very dense, very thick. And this was an immediate area of concern for everybody because in the center of these over dense woodland areas was essentially a biological desert. There was virtually no living wildlife.
And so we worked to craft an ecological plan that allowed for a diversity of structure and spatial organization of that timber. And selectively went in and thinned some of these areas. And then what it allows to happen is it allows wildlife and natural migration into those edge areas. And that edge becomes protective for the wildlife, but it also is juxtaposed with a food source for that wildlife. And so the biodiversity quotient in those areas goes way, way, way, way up and the biochemical complexity of those soils goes way, way up, because now you have a lot of new introduced species. And the spatial distribution also reduces the threat of wildfire.
So it's a benefit for the landowner. It's a benefit for the wildlife. It's a benefit for the soil. It's a benefit for biodiversity. It's a lot more attractive.
Christine Cooper: You talk about supporting the full ecology of your land. Can you speak on how the bats and wildflowers are affecting ecological spaces and habitats?
Sheldon Atwood: There's opportunities for a variety of different kinds of species and the habitats and things that they like. So obviously many of those species are flowering plants and shrubs, and so they feed different kinds of wildlife. And so bees is a really good example, and having a healthy population of bees is wonderful for us. But bats, from an ecological standpoint, they're a very important species in managing insect populations.
And having a healthy population of bats benefits us as a landowner and benefits the health of the livestock and the working animals, the horses and dogs that our cowboys use to manage those animals. You know, they're all impaired when there's very heavy mosquito loads.
Christine Cooper: Your business model here at Tomahawk Ranch has been prosperous for you in terms of land viability and economic growth. What has been the response from others in your industry when they see what you’ve been able to accomplish?
Sheldon Atwood: They've seen what we're doing, and they really fall into one of two categories. They’re aligned with conservation values and interests and they want to participate, or they want to support what we're doing in some way, or they're from the agriculture background and they want to have a viable economic model where they can participate in this industry long term. And this is a model that can allow them to do that.
People have also come from around the world. They come and they see what this model could mean, not just for their patch of dirt, but for the earth, for the whole world. Because if we could transform the marginal cropland and the imperfectly managed or degraded ranch land that's out there using this regenerative model, we could completely reverse the carbon negative mindset and footprint because we're taking that carbon out of the atmosphere. We're reducing the entire greenhouse gas emission equation and flipping it on its head. And yes, cows burp. But the net equation is more stable carbon in the soil. And that is positive for everybody that believes in climate change and the human impact role that we're having. And so this requires a semi-open canopy system, but it pays for itself. It pays for the land, and it creates a healthy return on investment over the long run.
We're more resilient than other producers are because we have a healthier living organism. We're more resilient because we're operating more efficiently within the bandwidth of what producers do. We're operating at a higher scale.
And as we tell our story and other people come to the table and bring equity capital, that has a lower rate of expectation, because they know we're doing good for the world, that helps us out.
Christine Cooper: Great, and I especially like the concept that it’s more than just doing great business, it’s doing good for the world.
And thank you so much, Sheldon for taking the time to speak with us today and sharing how Tomahawk Ranch is really doing good while doing well. And you've been able to prove that raising livestock and sustainable conservation of land don't have to be mutually exclusive. I wish you every continued success. And thank you again for your time this afternoon.
Sheldon Atwood: Yeah, thanks a lot. Appreciate you guys.
Christine Cooper: Thank you very much.
Christine Cooper
Executive Vice-President & Head, BMO Commercial Bank, Canada
Christine Cooper is the Executive Vice-President & Head of BMO Commercial Bank, Canada. She leads a talented team committed to providing innovative financ…(..)
View Full Profile >Ranching is one of the least ecologically damaging land uses; however, poor ranch management can still have negative environmental impacts. Ranching can also be financially challenging but good stewardship practices make it far less so.
Western Ranchlands took on the challenge of being an agricultural investment and land management firm that maintains a focus on both profitability and environmental sustainability.
I recently sat down with Dr. Sheldon Atwood, Western Ranchlands’ CEO and President, to discuss how the company puts its motto of “Doing Good, While Doing Well” into action. As Atwood put it, “Our vision is to create a business model that perpetuates the conservation and preservation of large landscapes but does so in a very robust financial and economically viable way.”
Following is a summary of our discussion.
Christine Cooper: You’ve said that ranching operations often end up fragmented as the business gets passed down from one generation to the next. That, in turn, leads to the fragmentation of the land base and, ultimately, the dissolution of the business itself. What are the larger implications of this?
Dr. Sheldon Atwood: With fragmentation comes the loss of economies of scale from a business standpoint, as well as lost environmental contiguity. This puts land use on a slippery slope to ecological disaster and results in fewer people on the landscape attuned to the health of the land or capable of managing it effectively.
Cooper: Sustainability is at the core of Western Ranchlands’ philosophy. You’ve described the common idea that profits and sustainability are mutually exclusive in ranching as a “fundamental fallacy.” Could you explain why?
Dr. Atwood: The long-term economic health and long-term wealth that are generated by a living organism—land—are directly in lockstep with each other. Therefore, any impairment to the long-term ecological health of the land impairs the long-term financial benefit of that same asset.
Cooper: Can you talk about how running a more sustainable operation has revitalized the land?
Dr. Atwood: There are many examples. For instance, parts of the ranch that were historically precluded from grazing and were fire suppressed for a hundred years have become very dense, very thick, with very small-diameter trees. Our conservation-oriented partners did a number of biological assessments across the property, and one of their findings identified that the center of these over-dense woodland areas was essentially a biological desert. The trees weren't actively growing any longer, limiting their ability to extract carbon from the atmosphere. Relatively speaking, there was virtually no living wildlife very far beyond the outer boundaries.
We worked carefully with each of those organizations to craft an ecological plan that allowed for a diversity of structure and spatial organization of that timber. That allows areas that are opened up to be adjacent to areas that are still wooded, and it allows wildlife and natural migration into those edge areas. That edge becomes protective for the wildlife, but it is also juxtaposed with a food source for that wildlife. So, the biodiversity quotient in those areas goes way, way up. And the spatial distribution also reduces the threat of wildfires.
Cooper: Of course, you can only declare success if you can measure it. How does Western Ranchlands measure the financial success of its efforts?
Dr. Atwood: Being able to improve the health of the living sponge [land] and its ability to produce more grass or keep that grass greener longer into the year—that reduces my winter feed costs because I have green forage for longer. It also increases my turnover by allowing me to have more animals on a given land base because now I have more forage.
We can measure the amount of forage we harvest, proving the ability to improve carrying capacity, and lower the land cost per unit of production, or increase the rate of return per unit of investment.
Another thing we do is to use livestock as a tool to change vegetation and distribute nutrients. To improve our ability to do this, we have linked together a number of water wells with a pipeline that has the capacity to put all that water into one location, anywhere on the ranch at any given time. That allows us to put together large herds of animals. They go to a specific piece of property, and they graze it more evenly and more uniformly. They're not out there over extended periods of time creating trails and degrading the landscape. They make an impact, they leave, and then it allows more time for those plants to recover. You get less of the scrubby brush and more and more of the nutritious plants that livestock want.
At the same time, labour costs are significantly lower when there are fewer large herds than when there are more animals spread out over larger areas for longer periods. This also opens up other types of opportunities for other species and interest groups. The way we manage, livestock are rarely on more than 5% of the ranch at once. That leaves 95% available for wildlife and people at any given time.
Cooper: Given the success that you have seen and the evolution that you've been taking the ranch through, what are you most excited about in the future?
Dr. Atwood: People have come from around the world, and they see what this model could mean—not just for their patch of dirt, but for the earth, for the whole world. They can see for themselves that we can completely transform the marginal cropland and the imperfectly managed or degraded ranch land that's out there using this regenerative model. And, by doing so, we can completely reverse the carbon-negative footprint of our entire society while producing healthy food, maintaining open space, enhancing biodiversity and generating positive returns. In other words, without asking for handouts or relying on regulation, we’re taking the entire greenhouse gas emission equation and flipping it on its head. And that is positive for everybody that believes in climate change and the human impact.
The Western Ranchlands interview provided an insightful discussion on its commitment to operating a more conservation-minded business that has been both profitable and environmentally sustainable. Listen to the full discussion here.
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