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Message: [QUOTE="veryolddog, post: 3041696, member: 129"] I do not understand why criticism is warranted as to how and why I raise and sell the cattle on my ranch. Let me go into history a little bit to explain my operation. My father purchased this land in 1930 for a dollar an acre during the great depression and it remained dormant until I decided to make the land work in 2002. I served in the Marine Corps for 23 years and had no experience in ranching and farming. While working in the business environment I studied the situation and saved the investment capital. When my wife and I moved there, there was a few crumbling buildings and no working wells. We live in a trailer, drilled for water and constructed our home. Having a business plan that we developed, we generally followed our plan, purchasing 250 head of cattle, constructed a barn and let the cattle roam the land. We arranged for the 200 acres of hay to be developed and later grew that to 1000 acres. I contacted companies in Dallas, Texas to explore my land for oil and natural gas. I hired a former 1st Sargent from the Marine Corps to manage the ranch as his family had agricultural experience. Built a home for him and his family and carved out 100 acres for him. With the use of the Internet as a tool, sales of beef and hay picked up by people with money. Natural gas was found and it took 3 years to get approval to harvest that fuel. (my understanding is that fuel heats a lot of homes in the NE during winter) What I do not understand is why the way I make a profit from this land and the way I raise cattle and to whom I sell my hay and the cattle, makes any difference to anyone. We live in a capitalistic society, thank God, where any many can muster resources to invest like the stock market or his own business and realize the American Dream. Today, my land is worth millions. I could even start a new business by issuing permits to hunt elk and deer on land that come down from the mountains in large herds to feed in the winter. But, I won't do this. The only shooting is mine. I also have wild horses roaming my land since time began. They use my wells to drink along with the cattle and get fed hay in the winter. Frankly, they are very protective of me and the herd has grown. Because of what we (my wife and I and the 1st Sargent) have done, I can now enjoy many things. We have a home near my son in San Antonio, Texas and visit our grandchildren who are young adults. Why is it such a problem to you as the way I choose to conduct business. It is my risk for success or failure. Apparently, my business model is not appreciated but it works. What you have works for you, and it does not matter to me. And I still view myself as the caretaker of this land. [/QUOTE]

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