Top Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #10: The Challenges
A Top 25 list is, by design, set up to ignore the negative aspects of the subject being ranked. However, we’re shaking things up and presenting the challenges of cowboy life as the 10th best reason to live this life.
I’ll certainly not address every challenge cowboys and ranchers face. But here’s a quick look at the big ones: weather, markets, physical toll, unruly critters, critical public perception, and low financial compensation.
For about the last 30–45 days, my part of the world has been drier than normal. It’s interesting how one of the challenges out of control can cause so many other problems. Of course, with almost no rain in that timeframe, I’ve begun to worry about the amount of forage available to my cattle. The days have been long and hot and the cattle have been consuming more water than normal. I live in a somewhat populated area, and all of a sudden I had one water well’s capacity cut by nearly two-thirds. Talking to my well man, he said when everybody goes to watering their lawns in a drought, the water table drops. I’ve had to haul water just to keep up.
Another windmill just quit pumping altogether. The well guys are coming tomorrow to pull it.
Next, I’ve had cattle start pushing on fences harder. I operate in a rotational grazing system, so the cattle are forced to take the pastures down a bit more than they normally would before going to fresh grazing. In this drought, though, they’re running out of feed a day or two sooner. When that happens, their behavior changes. These steers bull on each other more intensely, crawl fences in higher volume, and brush up harder.
Finally, the biggest concern I have, is the steers won’t weigh up. Of course, that could result in a much lower than hoped-for sale price—particularly after the COVID-19 crisis already set prices back considerably.
So there they are: weather, markets, unruly critters, and low financial compensation. Some of the most consistent problems the agriculturalist faces.
So why do we toil on? We don’t know any better? We’re gluttons for punishment? Too lazy to get a real job and too scared to steal?
No, I think cowboys carry on because past challenges we’ve overcome have improved our perspective, so we know that the present hardships will do the same. For me, unfavorable weather just proves Who is in control. I need to be reminded of that. Unruly critters? They just make me a better horse hand, fence builder, range scientist, and water well operator. The markets and low financial rewards? Well, greed kills more people than whiskey, and I never have to worry about what to do with all that extra money. Instead of relying on money, hopefully I learn to rely on my family, friends, and faith.
So yeah, the challenges aren’t fun. They grind us down, but they show us who we are—or maybe make us who we are. And that’s worth the trouble.
photo: istockphoto.com/DaydreamsGirl