Ranching with predators
Some ranchers see 'predator friendly' as selling point with consumers

By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. - Although some of their neighbors opposed reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf, Arizona cattle producers Will and Jan Holder came to embrace it. For them, it provided a new marketing opportunity and the prodding to manage their operation in a way that benefits both predators and a ranching lifestyle in the West.

The Holders are part of a still-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.

Their approach goes beyond that of many other ranchers in the West willing to tolerate predators to a certain point: The Holders are among those who have refused 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 predator-friendly approach warily, seeing it as little more than a novel, niche-marketing opportunity unlikely to gain much footing 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, 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 more information on these and other stories see today'edition of the Post Register or subscribe online.

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