Greg Moore has been running Moore Land & Cattle Company near Wagon Mound, New Mexico since the early 1970s based on priorities that are different than what might first come to mind when you think of a cattle rancher.
“Here’s the priorities the way I look at it,” he says. “So water would be number one. Your soil would be number two – the dirt the ability to absorb that water. Grasses and forbs and browse would be number three. And then the wildlife. If you’ve got a good home for wildlife you’ll have a great home for a cow.”
Because of those priorities, Greg has managed a little differently too. He’s focused on restoring his 25,000 acres of prairie grasslands and streams through years of carefully planned and implemented prescribed fire. He also restored wetlands for the benefit of beavers and other wildlife, has released antelope, and is now working with state and federal agencies to reintroduce the black-footed ferret on his ranch later this fall.
In this 7:31 minute video, Greg talks about his management, and the changes in his own ideas. “Over time I’ve changed a lot of the thoughts and stuff that I’ve done and basically it’s just trying to get in sync with the country, trying to fit the cattle to the country, and rest and rotation,” Greg says.
Greg thinks of himself as a “practical resource manager.” He says, “All these things I’m doing have a return on investment – in reduced feed costs, more bred cows, and we’re starting to realize an income from the hunting. We have to make a living, but we try to do it practically.”
