Conservation Commons: Wendy Pratt
Wendy Pratt is a fifth generation Idaho rancher, living and working among the sagebrush and bunchgrasses of eastern Idaho alongside her husband, Mark, a fourth generation Idahoan, and her three grown children.
As someone who embraces curiosity and compassion, Wendy’s story speaks to anyone seeking a stronger sense of place and a better understanding of the role humans can play in the stewardship of land. In her own words, “A true land ethic is appreciating the complexity of a stand of brush, grass and forbs edged in quakies and knowing that every species plays a role.”
Q: Can you talk a little bit about your background?
Our ancestors came from Western Europe and homesteaded here, raising livestock from the beginning. Our families knew each other, but we didn’t meet until we were in our 20’s. Since our families were part of the same grazing cooperative and trailed up and down the same road to summer range, we had a lot in common.
Mark and I grew up staying close to home on our respective ranches, we helped feed cows in the winter and irrigate in the summer. About 25 years ago we started a learning journey about how cows fit into the ecosystem puzzle and how to make that work financially. We’ve been students ever since. It’s not easy being in business with your spouse though. Our kids used to tell us to go on a date and “no talking about the ranch”!
Q: How did Pratt Ranch come to be? Has the ranch evolved over time?
Joe Pratt started our existing operation in 1904 as a sheep outfit. At that time all the good dirt had already been homesteaded, so Joe settled on what was left, sand. It was a tough way to make a living and his kind were called “poor sandhillers.” When Mark’s grandparents, Eldro and Bonnie Pratt, took over, they switched to cows. Eldro loved the ranch and as Bonnie says she had to “learn to love it.” The next generation to run the ranch were Mark’s parents, Gary and Anita. They still help, as do our kids, who have outside jobs but see a future here and plan to keep the land intact.
Over the years each generation has purchased additional land holdings including mountain ground along the Blackfoot River. Our valley operation, where cattle spend the winter, is complemented by summer grazing in the nearby mountains. We walk the cattle to summer range, about 45 miles, and climb 2000 feet in elevation. The seasonal movement of livestock following grass is an age-old practice called transhumance. Whether we’re able and willing to keep this tradition alive into the future remains to be seen. Cows have been domesticated for about 10,000 years. They harvest grass exactly as they have always done. Despite changes in every industry, this part of our industry remains the same.
Q: I’d love to hear your thoughts on how ranchers and landowners fit into the broader conservation realm and why that role is so important.
We should be able to agree that well managed grazing animals have an important role in the health of grasslands. Wild grazers filled that niche throughout time, but today domestic livestock do the work of cycling grass. Additionally, economically viable ranching is our best hope to keep land from being developed.
One of the most exciting discussions we’re having is adding livestock back into the farming equation, which offers a lot of hope to improve soil health and water quality. The separation of livestock from farming is a fairly recent phenomenon brought about by the availability of commercial fertilizer, which has caused its own problems.
Q: The grasslands and sagebrush steppe are such important ecosystems for both ranchers and wildlife. Can you talk about how you manage the land you graze to benefit the whole ecosystem?
We try to the best of our ability to manage time and timing – when the cattle arrive, how long they stay, and when they come back again, with the needs of the plants in mind. Grass and forbs need time to express themselves and time to recover from being bitten. But being bitten is good for them as well. It stimulates new growth and promotes root pulsing which feeds life in the soil. Our efforts are far from perfect and logistics are always a challenge. We’ll spend the rest of our lives trying to get it right.
Essentially, we strive to shorten graze periods and lengthen recovery periods. This is achieved using a variety of tools including temporary electric fence and keeping cattle on the move as much as we can.
I was putting out a salt supplement for the cattle the other day and had taken my wildflower ID book along. I noticed a different white flower amongst the common yarrow that’s everywhere in late summer on the range. I found the flower in the book. It’s called yampah. Native Americans once ate the roots which tastes like a carrot. I dug some up and shared the tubers with Mark who was on horseback. It was such fun to learn something new when we’ve had an intimate relationship with this range for 30 years now. We even shared our new found knowledge with some agency folks who weren’t familiar with the plant. Cowboys teaching range scientists about range plants?
It’s intoxicating for us. This zeroing in on a single species - then up to a birds’ eye view - then backing all the way out to the human community that influences that range, and taking it all in with a sense of wonder that continues to compel us.
Once you learn to look down at the soil and fall in love with what’s growing there – once you nurture a land ethic, the rest is a worthwhile journey.
Q: Could you speak to raising children on a ranch? It seems like your kids, now grown, really appreciate the upbringing they had and continue to embrace it.
Our kids complained a lot about the constant work of a ranch, but, yes, they look back and value it now. They never learned to ski because every weekend morning in the winter was spent feeding cows. We didn’t take vacations and rarely took time off. I’m not proud of that really, but it did teach our kids that they could accomplish something by their own efforts.
They spent a lot of time interacting with and learning from animals – about real life consequences. Animals bring life and death close in.
Trailing cattle to the mountains every spring was a good example of what ranching does for kids. They would complain a lot the first day, but by day 3 they were in good spirits and ready to work. They got past discomfort, fear, boredom, exhaustion, and came out the other side having played an important role in getting the cattle delivered to grass. And with parents, grandparents and great-grandparents close by to offer support and instruction, it was a perfect set up to learn life lessons.
Kids need to experience the connection between action and consequence. Whether it’s feeding a 4-H steer, teaching a puppy to mind, or sticking with a job until it’s finished (not just until the clock runs out), all of this happens naturally on a ranch. There are some great kids raised in town, I just don’t know how their parents do it.
Q: With so much growth happening in Idaho, how would you hope to see our state move forward so that all responsible users can coexist while enjoying and utilizing Idaho’s outdoors?
It’s a tough issue. We’ve always believed it was better to work with the public and be generous with our land, but times are changing. It’s alarming how much trail blazing is being done all over our beloved mountains. We would like to see restrictions and enforcement of off-road motorized vehicle use. Folks can’t get into too much trouble on foot, a self-propelled bike, or on a horse. How to pay for enforcement is a big question but Idaho needs to face this front and center.
We think basic courses in food production and the intersection with the environment need to be taught to school age kids. The way the sun feeds plants, which feed grazing animals, which feed animals higher up the food chain - and how the whole thing is anchored by microbial life, should be common knowledge. It boils down to education and lots of back and forth, respectful conversations.
Q: Is there anything or anyone that has inspired you over the years?
Mark’s dad and my dad were both what I call naturalists. They were and are cowboys first, but taught us by example to love nature.
Allan Savory, the founder of Holistic Management, and author of a book by that name, has greatly influenced us. He taught that we need to pay attention to the 3 legs of the stool: people, land and money. And that failing to do so will always lead to failure. He admonishes time and again that the “whole” is integral to any management system. We’ve watched and participated in morphisms of this belief system, now called “all hands, all lands,” “outcome based management,” “collaborative conservation” etc. We keep thinking that this time it will surely take hold across disciplines, but it seems just out of reach. We’ve been at it for over 25 years and it’s never easy.
The late Bud Williams originated much of the low-stress animal handling techniques we use. How we work with cattle and herding dogs is very much influenced by his brilliant work.
Andre Voisin, who wrote Grass Productivity, and his descriptions of “the cow at grass” is always in mind when we evaluate pastures.
These giants brought what we do for a living into a clarity of focus that continually enriches our lives and our work. And we’re also learning from many in the regenerative agriculture world of today.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
There’s much talk about cattle’s contribution to climate change. What folks forget is that cattle CYCLE carbon stored in green plants and return it to the soil. In our modern world we value efficiency in all things. Cattle are inefficient and that’s a good thing. They leave lots behind them as they graze in the form of urine and manure and trampled plants, even saliva. All of this adds life to the soil.
