Duke Phillips IV - Living with the Land Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Duke Phillips IV is the Chief Operating Officer of Ranchlands, a Colorado-based ranching and ranch management company that is widely celebrated for its deep conservation ethic. Duke oversees all operations across Ranchlands’ properties, which include the renowned 87,000-acre Chico Basin Ranch and the 103,000-acre Medano Zapata Ranch. Working closely with his father Duke III and his sister Tess, the Duke and his family share a commitment to long-term land stewardship, and they embody the Ranchlands philosophy of “Working together to live with the land.”
As part of a multi-generational ranching family in southeastern Colorado, Duke grew up with one foot in the ranching culture and the other in a more traditional life of school, sports, and typical childhood activities. After college, he decided to return to the family business, where he began to work his way up through the ranks to his current role of COO. Along the way, he learned lessons in leadership, humility, conservation, stockmanship, and business, many of which he shares with me during this conversation. Duke is one of the more humble and understated people I’ve met, especially when considering all that he’s accomplished so early into his career.
I met Duke out at the Chico where we sat around his kitchen table and chatted-- and it was truly a delightful conversation. We talked about the operations at their ranches, delving into some of the details around their breed of cattle, the Beefmaster. We discussed the apprentice and intern programs at Ranchlands, and why he and his family value teaching and educating both the general public and the next generation of land stewards. We discussed Duke’s thoughts on leadership and the importance of being humble and calm in all situations. He also explains Ranchlands open gate policy, and how that philosophy differs from some of the conventional wisdom around access to land in the West. We also discuss books, his heroes and mentors, flying helicopters, lessons learned from living and working internationally, and much more.
Finally, I wanted to mention that Ranchlands will be honored at Palmer Land Trust’s 10th Annual Southern Colorado Conservation Awards on October 3rd in Colorado Springs. We’ll be debuting a short film about the Phillips family that highlights some of their innovative conservation work throughout the state. If you’re interested in attending, follow the link in the episode notes for more information. I guarantee it will be an inspiring and fun evening.
There are many important lessons to be learned from this conversation with Duke-- check the episode notes for a full list of everything we discussed. Hope you enjoy!
https://mountainandprairie.com/duke-phillips-iv/
https://www.palmerlandtrust.org/2019-scca
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
3:30 - Background on Chico Basin 6:00 - Chico Basin’s open gate policy 8:00 - Education and birding programs on the ranch 11:15 - Background on open gate policy 14:00 - Beefmaster cattle breed 19:00 - Ideal characteristics of the Beefmaster breed 22:15 - Good books about grazing and ranching 23:30 - How travel and education have shaped their business 25:00 - Finishing high school and starting college 28:00 - Choice to study liberal arts 30:00 - Internship and apprentice program 34:00 - Traits Duke looks for in employees 40:00 - Duke’s evolution as a leader 42:00 - Importance of good communication 44:00 - Heroes and mentors 49:00 - Importance of being positive 54:00 - Importance of controlling anger 56:30 - Favorite books 59:00 - Flying helicopters and planes 1:01:30 - Using helicopters in ranching 1:03:10 - Most powerful outdoor experience 1:07:30 - Favorite place in the West ----
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