What does it mean to be a rancher?
This is a question I never thought I’d approach, let alone in the way I did. Meeting Texas Slim in Kerrville, Texas at the first Beef Initiative Micro Summit pondered this reflection. The crowd was a mix of technologists, writers, ranchers and producers yet everyone seemed to be speaking a common language. They had many reasons to be guarded, but each person I encountered was open to learning and sharing their own insights about their area of expertise.
That summit arrived at a turning point in my life; I was only a few weeks into a cross-country motorcycle trip that would take me over 100 days to complete. I had committed to taking state highways as much as possible, in order to see the real America. And that meant many, many ranches were ahead – and a few steaks to cook on my tailpipe.
I planned the rest of my journey in concert with the ranching community, aiming to visit ranches and hear the stories of the families that ran them. To find out what made them tick, what made them wake up in the wee hours of the morning every day to care for their herd. To find out what it means to be a rancher.
What I discovered changed my perspective on ranching and elevated the importance of producers. So I hatched a new plan, using the newly launched Beef Maps rancher directory.
I would create another tour, this time taking a group of individuals through the landscape of ranching on the ultimate freedom machines: motorcycles. I call this trip the Ride of Passage: American Heartland Tour, and it will run once in October 2024.
The idea behind the tour is simple; take a ride through the heritage and revitalization of the Midwest, from rust belt cities to regenerative ranches. All enabled through the connections I made on my tour across America in 2022 and the many Bitcoiners and ranchers who are building up the resilience of their communities across this land.
Ranches are not touristy, and that’s exactly why I built this tour around them. Being a rancher means exhibiting proof of work, honesty and grit – values that are missing in today’s society. There is no faking your way to a healthy cow, and there is no cruising by on the land. Ranching is hard work few are willing to do. However the fruit of that labor – the sovereignty over your own food system and the ability to provide for a community – is crucial to the very fabric of our health and resilience as a society.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t emulate the values and virtues of ranchers in our own lives. Not only for ourselves, but for our communities and societies.
The rapid decline in our food quality and food system makes these values especially important within the ranching community, but this is only the beginning. We must all exhibit a renewed ethic of hard work, honesty and resilience if we are to hold off the decline in our free, fair, and prosperous institutions. The times demand it from each and every one of us.
It all starts with a handshake. Will you shake a rancher’s hand on the American Heartland tour, or go back to scrolling?
You have until July 15th to sign up.
The choice – and its consequences – are entirely yours.