I just wish I would have started about 20 years ago. Another La Plata County rancher, John Rice, tells a different story. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on his Thunder Valley Elk Ranch but promptly withdrew the filing soon after, he said. Like any agriculture, you have to bend with the market. If there is no market, you have to make a living in another avenue.
People just aren t wanting to get into agriculture.
The elk market has declined over the last year or two based on the fact that nobody is getting into the business. There are about 150 licensed elk ranches in the state, said Gary Shoun, the Colorado state brand inspector. Because there is not enough elk to sustain a meat market, most elk ranchers are breeding or selling off elk to new ranchers who want to start their own elk ranch, he said. It s ideal to sell a breeding cow at about 3 or 4 years old. Dyar said he is encouraged by the elk industry because the numbers are rising.