How Sustainable Ranches for Sale in Colorado Are Built and Managed

When you aspire to be a rancher for life, you ought to aim for sustainability. Building and managing sustainable ranches for sale in Colorado is more than doing your part in preserving the environment. Rather, the goal encompasses your ability to make your property profitable from the moment you purchase it until you retire or turn it over to a successor or investor.

Sustainability: What Does It Really Entail?

The different industries, groups, and individual producers generally have different takes on what sustainability is all about. For farmers and ranchers, it should center on ecological, economic, and social sustainability or the three Ps approach: planet, profit, and people. These three factors are interlocked and directly impact the viability of the ranch, which means the rancher will need to have plans in place for each of them individually and collectively.

Planet: Ecological Considerations

The wildlife population and capacity for domesticated grazing animals, abundance, diversity, and distribution of plants, soil quality and potential for erosion, volume and accessibility of water resources, and legal matters (especially concerning animal protection) are among the top considerations related to long-term sustainability. Everybody involved in ranch operations should keep these things in mind to help maximize the property’s profitability.

Profit: Economic Issues

Consumer demand may be an uncontrollable factor, but not profit margins. The rancher should ensure strategic land use and cultivation, livestock management, and other practices for optimal productivity. Naturally, if you don’t take care of the property’s ecosystem and your personnel do not behave in a responsible manner, you can hardly expect to sustain production and reap substantial profits.

People: Social Elements

In addressing this social dimension of sustainability, you must keep in mind that ranch managers, staff, tenants, guests, and any other persons with access to the ranch should contribute to making it livable and healthy. This includes co-existing with the animals and employing best stewardship practices, which intertwine with ecological and economic responsibilities, to maintain the land and its inhabitants.

Aside from offering you attractive choices when you’re looking for a viable Colorado ranch for sale, a skilled ranch broker and consulting firm such as Mirr Ranch Group can help you assess the ecological, economic, and social issues surrounding the property you wish to acquire. Such a company can also craft tailored plans for a more streamlined ranch ownership and management strategy that enables you to meet your sustainability targets.

Sources:

Ranch managers: Are you a seeker of truth?, Beef Magazine

Opinion: Is Our Use of the Term “Sustainability” Sustainable?, Beef Magazine

Experts say ranching done right improves the environment and wildlife habitat, Beef Magazine