Farmer looks forward to the new West
by J.D. Wilson, Outpost staff
Greg
Fuchs
Ask Greg Fuchs why he ranches, and he'll tell you,
"I do this because I like it. It's a great lifestyle."
OCCUPATION: ranch manager
RENO RESIDENT SINCE: 1995
He looks as though he were born to the business - ripped shirt, dirty hat, calloused hands, but Fuchs is a newcomer. Four years ago he walked away from a well-paying professional job in Oklahoma. Not the kind of thing a newly-wedded typically does, but after the honeymoon Fuchs and his new wife packed up their belongings and moved to a remote valley in northern Nevada.
Fuchs was an accountant before he became a rancher. He had no training or experience in farming or ranching when he started. He has had four years of on-the-job training as ranch manager of Fish Springs Ranch. He tends 1,500 acres of alfalfa, 400 head of cattle and 900 ostriches.
"It's not rocket science," Fuchs says.
But he's quick to point out that if something goes wrong, it can take all year to fix the problem.
Fuchs loads hay for sale at Fish Springs
Ranch. |
Some problems can't be fixed. That's why Fuchs is abandoning the ostrich ranching business. Ask him about it, and the accountant in him comes to life. Fuchs makes no apologies for the product. He blames the poor performance of ostrich meat on bad marketing.
Ostrich ranching itself has its ups and downs. Although Fuchs is able to maintain 900 ostriches on just 75 acres, it is much more labor intensive than cattle ranching. With more hands to hire, electricity for the incubators and a declining market, the ostrich business is not economically feasible, at least for now.
This foray into less conventional ranching speaks volumes. As much as Fuchs enjoys the lifestyle, this is somebody else's business. Fuchs is still an accountant to some degree, keeping track of someone else's money.
"It requires a significant investment," Fuchs says, pointing out the lineup of farm equipment. "Ag[riculture] in general, farming more particularly, is a lifestyle for someone who can afford it."
Fuchs sees a trend in ranching, away from small, family farms towards larger corporate ranches. Ranches that used to be passed down through generations are sold off to investors or other families when the children don't take up the family business.
The irony is that as family ranches are sold off, people like Fuchs get the opportunity to step into that lifestyle. As much as Fuchs loves his lifestyle, it's not one he was born into. It's probably not one that he could afford on his own. When it comes down to it, it's probably not a life he would have unless he was an accountant.
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Posted Dec. 16,
1999
Copyright 1999, Nevada Outpost
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