Three new students join the KRIRM master’s program
Feature appeared in the KRIRM Fall 2020 Newsletter
The King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management (KRIRM) is pleased to welcome three new students into the ranch management master’s program this fall 2020 semester. Scott Crozier, John Worthington, and Ethan Young will call Kingsville their home for the next two years as they work to sharpen their financial, leadership, and ranch management skills.
Scott Crozier
Scott Crozier hails from northeast Utah and northwest Colorado area raised on a small family ranching operation. Working on the ranch, Crozier spent his time completing basic duties, but his favorite part was working cattle on horseback. He recalled that a passion for training horses began the summer he turned 12 when his dad gave him a 2-year-old chestnut filly to train. That sparked an interest and love in horses that carried through to adulthood.
After high school, Crozier served a two-year mission in Japan, an experience that he will cherish for a lifetime. Crozier attended Utah State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. While dayworking for a variety of ranching outfits during college, he appreciated his time and learning at an internship with AgReserves, Inc. in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Crozier grew his love of horsemanship while working for a successful reined cow horse trainer. This experience improved his skills and served as a catalyst to start a horse training business after graduation. After a successful run training horses for numerous clients, he eventually transitioned back to his family ranch, DJ Crozier Land and Livestock.
With the goal to generate an additional income stream, Crozier implemented a horse program at the ranch. With extensive knowledge in the characteristics of a quality ranch horse, Crozier planned a breeding program that would produce horses for ranch work and show. He began the program by being selective and keeping focus on decisions that were both profitable and sustainable.
“One of the biggest lessons I learned through starting the horse program is the importance of keeping both ‘checkpoint’ and end goals in mind,” explained Crozier.
Although his passion for ranching and horses runs deep, Crozier said that nothing beats being a husband and father. Crozier and his wife, Jacee, were married in the spring of 2018, which he said was the happiest day of his life, only rivaled by the birth of their daughter, Dixie.
The family looks forward to the opportunities that KRIRM will provide.
“Obviously I am going to soak up everything I can while I’m there,” said Crozier. “However, systems thinking has my attention most at this time. I’m very excited for the opportunity to be introduced to a fresh approach to problem solving.”
John Worthington
John Worthington’s love for agriculture was cultivated by his parents and his time spent growing up in Oklahoma at an Oklahoma State University Range Research Station. Early on, Worthington knew that he wanted to continue the tradition and pursue a career in the agriculture industry. His father was the research station superintendent, and Worthington had the extraordinary opportunity to take part in the daily operations, witnessing scientists and graduate students conduct research on native grasslands through cattle and grazing experiments. During high school, Worthington was active in the FFA and earned both a State and American FFA degree. He attended Oklahoma State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Rangeland Ecology and Management in 2009.
Worthington expanded his knowledge in conservation when he took a position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2010 at the Washita National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. He applied his skills in rangeland management to develop a grazing program to control invasive species and improve native grasslands on the refuge. As the assistant refuge manager and acting refuge manager, he conducted wildlife surveys, planned prescribed burns, engaged with partner organizations, and provided environmental education through public outreach.
The time at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave Worthington a wide range of management skills that built his leadership capacity as well.
“Directing a staff of dynamic professionals provided me opportunities to develop effective leadership skills and abilities,” said Worthington. “I’ve learned that a willingness to adapt and ‘think outside the box’ are essential characteristics when overcoming complex obstacles.”
Worthington and his wife, Hannah, look forward to beginning the KRIRM program. With hopes to increase his finance and marketing skills and become a ranch manager and industry leader, Worthington is excited to pair his current knowledge with the experiential education provided through KRIRM as he pursues creative solutions and progressive opportunities in ranch management.
Ethan Young
Ethan Young’s ranching experience began early, growing up on Ensign Ranches in northern Utah. Young worked as cowboy for the ranch at a young age alongside both the crew and higher management. His experience helped him develop a wide view of ranching and cultivated his love of cattle and the care of rangelands. After high school, Young served a mission in West Virginia. During his service, Young learned the importance and need for education.
Young graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, emphasis on Beef Production. While studying at BYU-Idaho, Young worked for a small family-owned purebred Angus farm and completed an internship with AgReserves, Inc. in Sheridan, Wyoming. Young learned much in the way of high intensity management, sale of breeding animals, and irrigation on the Angus ranch, but explained how he felt more “at home” during the AgReserves internship in an expansive rangeland setting. Through these opportunities, Young experienced different kinds of management and ultimately realized that ranches can be successful under a variety of management styles.
“I think that has shaped my appreciation for understanding goals. Not just year-end goals, but goals 10 years or further down the road,” said Young.
Young went back to Ensign Ranches after graduating college where he managed a unit of 2,000 cow-calf pairs on 30,000 acres of private summer ground, and around the same number of dry cows on 300,000 acres of BLM winter range. Through his management responsibilities in this position, Young handled communications with landowners, ranch owners, and other industrial companies. He further developed his knowledge of water systems, range plants, grazing practices, animal behavior and stockmanship while managing the units at Ensign.
Young and his wife, Annie, look forward to the new experience at KRIRM where he hopes to learn more on the financial and systems thinking sides of ranching. Young set a goal as a teenager to attend KRIRM after college, which paved the way for him to spend a few years gaining work experience before applying to the program. His goal of becoming a KRIRM graduate student motivated him in each step of his working journey to stretch his comfort zones and expand his knowledge in the ranching business.
View story in the fall 2020 newsletter here.
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