For the inaugural episode of the Ranchlands Podcast, it only makes sense to sit down and chat with the man who started it all– Duke Phillips III, the Founder and CEO of Ranchlands. More than 20 years ago and with only 35 cows to his name, Duke moved his family to the Chico Basin Ranch located on the prairie just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Over the course of two decades, Duke, his family, and his growing team have built Ranchlands into a large-scale ranch management business that now stewards 380,000 acres of land across four western states. While Ranchlands’ business has evolved in many exciting and unexpected directions, Duke’s commitment to cattle ranching and conservation has never been stronger. As you’ll hear in this episode, Duke considers conservation to be the primary product that Ranchlands produces. We’re going to use this first episode as an opportunity for you to get to know Duke and learn more about the history of Ranchlands. We talk about the mission and vision of Ranchlands, and why we decided to start a podcast. Duke discusses people’s intellectual and emotional connection to the land, his life-long commitment to ranching and conservation, the fascinating individuals that make up the Ranchlands community, and much more. Thanks so much for tuning in– we’re excited to bring you many more conversations in the coming years. TOPICS DISCUSSED: 2:30 - Why is Ranchlands starting a podcast? 4:36 - What is the mission of Ranchlands? 6:48 - The importance of combining profitable/sustainable business and ranching 8:35 - The various businesses of Ranchlands 10:45 - The ranches currently managed and/or owned by Ranchlands 13:16 - The emotional and intellectual connection to land 14:24 - Duke discusses his career prior to winning the Chico Basin Ranch lease 16:13 - Why Duke decided to pursue the Chico Basin lease 18:45 - How Duke remembers his early days on the Chico 20:30 - The evolution of Ranchlands’ non-traditional business 23:20 - Duke’s cattle ranching philosophy 26:51 - Lessons learned over the years 27:40 - Conservation as a product of ranching 31:40 - Why interesting people are drawn to Ranchlands 35:14 - The long-term vision for Ranchlands 39:45 - Why should a life-long city dweller care about the land, land stewardship, and conservation? 42:14 - What is a common misconception about ranching or agriculture that you’d like to correct? 43:09 - Can you name a few resources that have played a critical role in your understanding of land and land stewardship? 44:55 - Using college to learn how to think 46:18 - When it comes to conservation and land stewardship, what is giving you hope? 48:00 - How can people get involved with Ranchlands? --- ABOUT RANCHLANDS: www.ranchlands.com Ranchlands Mercantile Ranch Stays Ranchlands Meat Stories Questions or comments? Email us at podcast@ranchlands.com!