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Well-known member
Some ranchers become 'predator friendly'
By BECKY BOHRER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BILLINGS, Montana -- While some of their neighbors opposed reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf, Arizona cattle producers Will and Jan Holder saw a business opportunity. The Holders are part of a small group of livestock and wool producers considered "predator-friendly."
They view peaceful coexistence with predators such as wolves as a basic principle, sound business decision and potentially profitable selling point to consumers. They refuse to take lethal measures against predators - even those that might kill livestock - and instead change their practices to try to avoid conflicts.
"We don't believe it solves anything by killing a predator, and we like to see wildlife," said Jan Holder, whose family runs a cattle ranch in eastern Arizona and has encountered such predators as mountain lions, coyotes, bears and wolves.
But some livestock industry leaders view this approach warily, seeing it as little more than a novel, niche opportunity unlikely to catch on in the West, where predators are a regular, sometimes costly way of life for producers.
"How would you like it if I came up every few weeks and pulled $500 from your wallet? That's pretty much what wolves do when they kill a calf," said Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. "Ranchers are going to have to get a pretty hefty premium to offset that cost."
Helping predator-friendly ranchers command a premium price on products such as meat or wool is the idea behind a certification program administered by the Predator Conservation Alliance in Bozeman.
Certified ranchers - and there are only about a dozen so far, scattered from Arizona to Washington state to Vermont - can use a special brand with track marks in advertising and on certain products, said Janelle Holden, program director with the alliance.
The brand cannot be placed directly on meat because of federal labeling requirements, she said. But it can appear on signs at local markets and on restaurant menus, as well as on wool goods.
The idea is to give discriminating consumers with an environmentalist tilt another reason to buy the products, often already raised organically or naturally, she said. The program is too new to say how much of a premium the tag might draw on the market.
"At this point, no one's really saying, 'Buy my beef because we don't kill coyotes,' but 'Buy my beef because it's good for you and the environment," she said.
For the Holders, part of raising a healthy product and protecting, even enhancing, rangeland conditions is recognizing the role played by predators - in helping keep rodents in check, for example - and managing their ranch to accommodate it.
Their cattle are no longer dehorned and are often moved, like the chickens, to keep them from being easy targets for predators. Often someone will camp with the cattle, in hopes that the human presence will keep away predators.
"There are a whole lot more people that care about wildlife more than cattle ranching; that's reality," Holder said. "We're outnumbered. And unless we make changes, our lifestyle will cease to exist."
Some certified practitioners admit the approach may not be for everyone, and Jan Holder said they might consider lethal action if faced with a "deviant" animal.
Having a predator killed, regardless of the circumstances, would result in certification being revoked, said Holden, the alliance program director.
"If we set it up so you could kill an animal every now and then, it's not really predator-friendly," she said. Her group took over the program from a group that included ranchers and conservationists about a year ago and is trying to breathe new life into it.
Making a financial go of predator-friendly status is hardly assured.
"I think that those already involved are committed to this and that has less to do with an economic benefit than their belief in this lifestyle," she said. "As we can prove an economic benefit, I think others may jump on the bandwagon."
By BECKY BOHRER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BILLINGS, Montana -- While some of their neighbors opposed reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf, Arizona cattle producers Will and Jan Holder saw a business opportunity. The Holders are part of a small group of livestock and wool producers considered "predator-friendly."
They view peaceful coexistence with predators such as wolves as a basic principle, sound business decision and potentially profitable selling point to consumers. They refuse to take lethal measures against predators - even those that might kill livestock - and instead change their practices to try to avoid conflicts.
"We don't believe it solves anything by killing a predator, and we like to see wildlife," said Jan Holder, whose family runs a cattle ranch in eastern Arizona and has encountered such predators as mountain lions, coyotes, bears and wolves.
But some livestock industry leaders view this approach warily, seeing it as little more than a novel, niche opportunity unlikely to catch on in the West, where predators are a regular, sometimes costly way of life for producers.
"How would you like it if I came up every few weeks and pulled $500 from your wallet? That's pretty much what wolves do when they kill a calf," said Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. "Ranchers are going to have to get a pretty hefty premium to offset that cost."
Helping predator-friendly ranchers command a premium price on products such as meat or wool is the idea behind a certification program administered by the Predator Conservation Alliance in Bozeman.
Certified ranchers - and there are only about a dozen so far, scattered from Arizona to Washington state to Vermont - can use a special brand with track marks in advertising and on certain products, said Janelle Holden, program director with the alliance.
The brand cannot be placed directly on meat because of federal labeling requirements, she said. But it can appear on signs at local markets and on restaurant menus, as well as on wool goods.
The idea is to give discriminating consumers with an environmentalist tilt another reason to buy the products, often already raised organically or naturally, she said. The program is too new to say how much of a premium the tag might draw on the market.
"At this point, no one's really saying, 'Buy my beef because we don't kill coyotes,' but 'Buy my beef because it's good for you and the environment," she said.
For the Holders, part of raising a healthy product and protecting, even enhancing, rangeland conditions is recognizing the role played by predators - in helping keep rodents in check, for example - and managing their ranch to accommodate it.
Their cattle are no longer dehorned and are often moved, like the chickens, to keep them from being easy targets for predators. Often someone will camp with the cattle, in hopes that the human presence will keep away predators.
"There are a whole lot more people that care about wildlife more than cattle ranching; that's reality," Holder said. "We're outnumbered. And unless we make changes, our lifestyle will cease to exist."
Some certified practitioners admit the approach may not be for everyone, and Jan Holder said they might consider lethal action if faced with a "deviant" animal.
Having a predator killed, regardless of the circumstances, would result in certification being revoked, said Holden, the alliance program director.
"If we set it up so you could kill an animal every now and then, it's not really predator-friendly," she said. Her group took over the program from a group that included ranchers and conservationists about a year ago and is trying to breathe new life into it.
Making a financial go of predator-friendly status is hardly assured.
"I think that those already involved are committed to this and that has less to do with an economic benefit than their belief in this lifestyle," she said. "As we can prove an economic benefit, I think others may jump on the bandwagon."
