News Release
August 1, 2008

Ranch practicum draws high praise from participants

Last year’s initial High Plains Ranch Practicum presented by extension educators and cattle industry professionals received high praise from participant.

“Without a doubt, it was the best learning experience I’ve ever been involved with…I learned more from this class than from five years of college,” one participant wrote.

That may sour ag college recruiters, but it’s sweet to collaborators Dallas Mount, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service educator serving Goshen, Laramie, and Platte counties, and Aaron Berger, UNL extension educator for Kimball, Banner, and Cheyenne counties. Twenty-three signed up for the course, which had five sessions over eight days from June 2007 to January this year.

Mount credits the quality of the speakers and the hands-on opportunity for the success. “We went for the best-known speakers and presenters in the region, nationally known people,” he says. “The interaction level that participants were able to have with the speakers was unique. For speakers like these, you are usually one in an audience of 800.”

Economist Harlan Hughes, professor emeritus from North Dakota State University, is one of those speakers. He also praised the practicum.

“It was very good program,” says Hughes, who lives in Laramie. “I think one of the key things is you can get so much more in depth when you have multi-day programs. I think one of the challenges and the weakness of the extension service is to have such short programs. You never get beyond the freshman material. When you go into longer series, the second day can be built on the first, and the third day on the second. To me, that’s the key.”

Mount has sent 1,600 flyers to recruit for this year’s class. The practicum’s Web site is http://HPRanchPracticum.com. The first session is June 9. Cost of the practicum this year is $600. Mount recently received notification from the Washington State University Western Center for Risk Management Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) that they will provide $400 scholarships to participants.

The course was modified from the Nebraska Ranch Practicum. “Asron Berger sat down with (UW extension beef specialist) Steve Paisley, (extension educator) Wayne Tatman,and me and asked what we thought about doing this, and we said ‘absolutely,’” says Mount. The Nebraska program is built on the ecology of the Sand Hills and was adjusted to fit the variable grasses and precipitation of Wyoming.

Participants came from Goshen, Platte, Laramie, Albany, Johnson, and Campbell counties in Wyoming and from all over the Nebraska Panhandle.

Experience ranged. “We had a nice cross section,” says Mount. “Some grew up on ranches and were extremely experienced and progressive ranchers. Then there were the folks who married into the ranch. They were coming back to the ranch they married into and looking to learn the business.”

Mount speculated the more experienced ranchers were there for Hughes. “Hughes was a major part of this,” notes Mount. “Harlan is one of the best-known livestock economists. Being able to work with Harlan at the level we did, I think that was what many were there for. He was also intrigued by other folks on the agenda, like Randy Hunter of the Wheatland area, who consults with feedlots around the country. One of his expertise areas is low-stress livestock handling.”

Participants were asked at the last session what they took home and applied. A few said they took what Randy taught and used it. For example, learning how to load, with no fences or corrals, livestock into a trailer.  “They get cattle to jump in the trailer,” says Mount.”It sounds wild, but it works.”

Grazing system planning was another key area. “A lot of ranchers are good on the livestock end of things, but the range, plants and ecosystem is more of a stretch for them,” says Mount. “A good number of folks said range management and grazing system planning were two of the most beneficial aspects of the class.”

Mount and Berger worked with presenters to whittle out information not needed. “Before classes, we got on the telephone with presenters and went through what they were going to talk about. We served as the sifting committee. We kept asking our presenters what is the take-home message? It was a challenge to us to get down to the nuts and bolts.”

Producers working their financial records continue to be a soft spot. The business side is also a target for Hughes. Before his retirement, he traveled the northern plains talking with ranchers. He says he spent a lot of time at kitchen tables. “Because of that, I have a pretty good feel for the economics of the ranching business. Traditionally, ranchers haven’t focused on the business side. They believed if they increased production that would take care of the business side. That’s not the case anymore.”

That’s why he favors multi-day programs.

“In many cases, we are back to the basics. You can do a 30-minute presentation and update them on the livestock side,” he says. “On the business side, you can go in and talk about managerial accounting, but some have very little experience in accounting. You have to teach accounting before managerial accounting. In my mind, the business aspect is what’s changing for the ranchers. The ones who are going to survive are going to have to increase their business savvy. That’s the challenge I see as an economist.”

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Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu
Archived News Site http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWAG/news.asp

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