I’m an Oregon rancher. Here’s what you don’t understand about the Bundy standoff.
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- Category: Hammond Family Prosecution
- Published on Monday, 11 January 2016 04:59
The Obama administration has pushed our livelihood to the brink.
Keith Nantz is ranch manager at Dillon Land and Cattle in Maupin, Oregon.
Keith Nantz
Washington Post, guest editorial
January 8, 2016
Washington Post, guest editorial
January 8, 2016
This week, the Ammon Bundy-led seizure of a federal wildlife refuge thrust Oregon’s ranchers into the spotlight. While I don’t agree with the occupiers’ tactics, I sympathize with their position. Being a rancher was always challenging. And it has become increasingly difficult under the Obama administration.
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As a rancher, I’m always one bad year away from financial disaster. Every purchase I make — from new cows ($2,000 each) to a new piece of equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — is a major investment. And my ranch operates on very slim margins, so I have to be savvy to make ends meet.