BUNKHOUSE
PLAYING THE INFINITE GAME
progress amid the cycle of uncertainty by CCA Executive Vice President Billy Gatlin What a wild ride the last 16 months have been. Since last March we have lived through a once in a lifetime pandemic, the largest wildfires in state history and currently Californians are living through what some are calling the worst drought since the 1500s. It has been crisis after crisis. We have seen cattle markets collapse and rise again only to collapse and then rise again. Uncertainty is all around. Something that struck me during the pandemic was the constant chorus of, “there’s so much uncertainty in the world.” While our lives were majorly disrupted and we were thrown into a tailspin of reorganizing our daily routines, the world at large remained as uncertain as before the pandemic started. As cattle ranchers, we know that every day is unpredictable and filled with uncertainty. There are the obvious unknowns like the weather and the general ups and downs of the cattle market. There are also the dayto-day trials, broken fence or irrigation pipes, flat tires, cows on the road, predators, etc. The everchanging uncertainty on a ranch makes each day new and exciting even if it is frustrating and exhausting. What makes 2020 and 2021 unique is that I have heard the term “black swan event” used more frequently amongst ranchers. While the perceived scope and magnitude of the uncertainty may currently appear to be greater, the fact is the world is and remains as unpredictable as ever. If you know what the weather will be in nine months and where the cattle markets will be over that time, I invite you to write this column for the next California Cattleman and share that information. If you know when the next pandemic will occur or any other black swan events, please share that information too. The fact is the world is unpredictable. And day to day life is even more unpredictable.
20 California Cattleman July • August 2021
Fortunately, ranchers are well trained not only to survive in an uncertain world, but to thrive. I believe ranchers are uniquely adept at dealing with uncertainty because they are playing an infinite game while most of the world is playing a finite game. Ranchers, for the most part, have no end goal. They are not working towards a retirement date or a “magic number” that will indicate they have finally achieved the financial wealth necessary to finally live out their dreams in their golden years. Ranchers do not retire. Ranchers are not building a business to sell so they can one day sail around the world. The “end goal” of a rancher is to honor the legacy of the generations before them by ensuring they have done enough over their lifetime to provide an opportunity for the next generation of ranchers—whether that is keeping the ranch in the family or passing it on to the next family. The goal of continually improving and leaving the land in a better condition than when they took over remains the same. That is the infinite game of the rancher. Unfortunately, we have witnessed and lived through countless instances where government has failed both ranchers and nature with excessive interventions (even if well-intentioned) that destroy and threaten our ranches and our state’s ecosystems. There is no better example of this than the plague of wildfires that besiege our state every year. It is powerful and moving to experience the ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
