For today’s episode, Duke IV and Ed had the great pleasure of sitting down with Molly Baldrige, who is the owner of the MP Ranch. Located in the rocky juniper pinon hills of central New Mexico cattle country, the MP Ranch has been an important part of Molly’s family history for decades. And as you’ll hear in this conversation, Molly feels a deep, even spiritual, connection to the landscapes and history of the ranch, and she has a strong desire to steward the land in a thoughtful and responsible manner.

In 2016, Molly partnered with Ranchlands to take over the management of the MP, so this discussion centers around Molly and Duke’s shared love of this special ranch. We discuss Molly’s family history on the MP, the lasting role of her larger-than-life father’s vision for the ranch, Molly’s interesting career trajectory, and some of the specific stewardship challenges of ranching in arid New Mexico.

Both Duke and Ed loved this conversation, and they greatly appreciated Molly taking the time to chat with us.  We know that you’ll enjoy this episode.

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• Querencia by Molly Baldrige

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• 1:50 How Molly learned about Ranchlands
• 4:29 Duke's first impression of Monte Prieto Ranch
• 6:16 History of Monte Prieto Ranch
• 11:09 Carryovers from Molly's father
• 13:03 Molly talks about big yearly roping event at Monte Prieto Ranch
• 14:37 Molly's talks about her father's career and history
• 18:25 What made Molly's father successful
• 23:40 Molly's initial vision for Monte Prieto
• 29:31 The struggles and journey of expanding Monte Prieto Ranch
• 35:23 The role of the Quincho building
• 37:19 Molly's experience at the Zapata and Chico with Cam Shriver
• 47:54 Molly discusses her essay "Querencia"
• 49:10 Why should a life-long city dweller care about the land, land stewardship, and conservation? 
• 50:37 What is a common misconception about ranching or agriculture that you’d like to correct? 
• 52:10 Can you name a few resources that have played a critical role in your understanding of land and land stewardship? 
• 57:02 When it comes to conservation and land stewardship, what is giving you hope?

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