Herd Quitter

/hərd ˈkwidər/

noun

one who has enough courage to break away from the status quo, herd-mentality way of thinking

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The Story Behind Our Herd Quitter Concept

by Kit Pharo

There are several thousand Herd Quitter caps and bumper stickers scattered around the world. We sponsor the Herd Quitter Podcast and the Herd Quitter Minute every week. It’s no wonder we are often asked, “What is a Herd Quitter?” With that in mind, I thought I would share the story behind our Herd Quitter concept. This story also provides a concise history of Pharo Cattle Company.

From the inception of Pharo Cattle Company (PCC) nearly 40 years ago, we have always been very different from the mainstream beef industry. In the mid-1980s, we realized the beef industry was headed in the wrong direction at a high rate of speed. While everyone was focused on increasing the size of their cattle, we said, “It doesn’t matter how big your cattle are if they’re not profitable.” We decided to provide an alternative to the “bigger is better” way of thinking.

It wasn’t difficult for cow-calf producers to increase the size of their cattle — but most failed to realize that as animal size increases, production per acre will decrease (think cattle, sheep and chickens). At that time, the land grant universities and seedstock producers were leading the way in promoting bigger cattle. Unfortunately, most of them continue to lead the industry in that direction. As the old saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Within 10 years, nearly all cow-calf producers had substantially bigger cows — and their cows have continued to get bigger ever since. Because bigger cows eat more than smaller cows, producers were forced to reduce their stocking rates (number of cows per acre) and increase supplemental feeding to keep their so-called “new and improved” bigger cows in production.

With the recent and unprecedented increase in the cost of inputs, most of today’s “new and improved” big cows are struggling to produce enough income to cover their expenses — even with the record-high calf prices. I’m afraid things will get ugly in a hurry for many cow-calf producers when calf prices go back down!

Being different is never easy — but we knew, without a doubt, we were different for all the right reasons. Therefore, we persevered. Gradually, as time went on, more and more commercial cow-calf producers understood our philosophies and broke away from the status quo “bigger is better” way of thinking. We went from selling six bulls at our very first bull sale 34 years ago to selling over 1000 bulls every year.

We have cowherds from the winter wonderland of Minnesota to the sweltering gulf-coast states of Alabama and Mississippi. We have cowherds from fescue country in Missouri to the high-plains desert of western Kansas and eastern Colorado. We have cowherds from the southern plains of Texas to the northern plains of Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana. We also have cowherds on high-elevation ranches in Colorado and Wyoming.

We develop bulls on grass in five different states — and sell them in six different states. We currently have annual bull sales in Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Nebraska and Montana. We have sold bulls to customers in all but six of the 50 states, including Hawaii. We have also sold bulls to customers in Australia, Canada and Mexico. We have proven that our philosophies and our genetics will increase bottom-line profit in all environments.

Since our program is substantially different from the status quo model of beef production, I started looking for a term that would describe our program. In 2008, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking, “Herd Quitter.” This perfectly described our program! From the very beginning, PCC had quit the status quo herd and taken a totally different approach to beef production. While everyone else was focused on increasing pounds per cow (bragging rights), we were focused on increasing pounds per acre (profit).

When I first shared my Herd Quitter idea, it was not well received by a few individuals within the PCC organization. Although everyone understood the message I was trying to convey, some were reluctant to be called a Herd Quitter. I wondered why. I soon realized most ranchers have experienced the frustrations of dealing with a herd-quitter cow. If you have ever owned cows, you probably know what I’m talking about.

herd-quitter cows. When the cowherd follows the leaders over the edge of a cliff, the herd-quitter cow will be watching from a safe distance. 

We use the term Herd Quitter to refer to people who have enough courage to break away from the status quo, herd-mentality way of thinking. It is more about thinking for yourself than anything else.

The Herd Quitter concept applies to other aspects of our lives. Most of the people in all businesses and occupations belong to a status quo herd. They are all thinking alike. Very little individual thinking is taking place. Sadly, politics and religion are dominated by a status quo majority. It takes courage to break away from the status quo herd — but it’s worth it! Nothing of lasting value will ever be accomplished within the status quo herd.

The most successful people throughout all of history have been those who dared to be different. They were not afraid to break away from the status quo herd. In contrast, those who follow the status quo herd and do what everyone else is doing will never be above average. Dare to be different! Dare to think for yourself! Dare to be a Herd Quitter!