I guess real world, practical education doesn't cut it any more.<br />n<br />n<a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MASTER_RANCHERS?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=BUSINESS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">College offers degree in master ranching</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Once upon a time, in the Wild West, all it took to raise cattle was land, grass and cowboys who knew how to rope the critters. Now, it may take an MBA.<br />n<br />nTexas A&M-Kingsville's Institute for Ranch Management is offering what university officials call the first ever masters degree program for ranchers – sort of a Harvard Business School for cowboys. In addition to graduate-level business courses, students are schooled in rangeland specialties, including animal nutrition and wildlife management.</blockquote><br />n<br />nI've always made the statement that if you are still in the buisness and making money, you are a good operator. You have to be. <br />n<br />nOne time I ended up hiring a guy that had been to a "cowboy" college. I found out after I hired him he had went to a special 6 month school to learn how to be a "cowboy." This guy was one of the most worthless sob's i have ever had around the place. He might have known a little something about horses, but he knew nothing about cows. I always tell guys, "cowboying has very little to do with the horse, and everything to do with the cows. Being smarter than the cow and knowing what she is going to do when confronted with a certain situation is everything when it comes to being a cowboy." Most guys can never figure this out though. Then this guy who had went to "cowboy" college had obviously never heard of the term "cowboy up." He got a little owie and ended up on workmens comp for 6 months until they threw him off for there being nothing wrong with him.<br />n<br />nI guess what I am saying is that not everything can be learned in the classroom for ranching and anybody that thinks it can is crazy. Don't get me wrong, there are some things I wish I knew more about but you know something, the Internet is a great source of information and usually you can find it if you just look hard enough. That's called continuing education and as long as you are willing to continue to learn you will never get out of date.<br />n<br />n<strong>Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. John Dewey </strong>