Chantilly Ranch and Infinite Banking
Welcome to Chantilly Ranch! Located in the beautiful Northern California town of Browns Valley. We are a three generation regenerative ranch raising both cattle and goats. Our evolution toward regenerative principles started with a book called the Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollen where I was introduced to concepts that were brought to life on Polyface Farm by Joel Salatin.
I admit I was a bit skeptical at first wondering how the principles could be applied to our hot and dry summer environment. In Browns Valley we often have weeks of 100 degrees Fahrenheit temps with no rain for five to six months of the year. I found it difficult to listen to the rotational grazing advice of a rancher in Virginia where they receive over 3 inches of precipitation every single month, throughout the year. Same total inches of annual rainfall, but totally different distribution. Precipitation envy is a real thing! Here in the Golden State, our environment resembles more of a monsoon season with heavy wet periods causing flooding and dry hot periods causing droughts in the same year. I had my concerns that rotational grazing just wouldn’t work here but I loved the idea of the concept so I dived deeper into the Regenerative Ranching world where I found Allan Savory and his Holistic Context body of work.
Now this was making more sense to me. Hailing from Zimbabwe and practicing his principles in South Africa, Botswana, and Zambia, Allan Savory’s Holistic Context mirrored the actual situation I was facing in Browns Valley, CA. Working quickly during the short growing season, we move the cattle and goats through the quickly growing grass and silvopasture of our ranch. This leaves a growing root behind to regenerate our pastures and retain more water to extend our growing season. We still turn hot and dry in the deep summer months but we’ve found that we can reduce our hay bill considerably by grazing this way.
In addition to reducing our hay bill, we’ve increased the health of our animals by moving them off of their manure, reducing parasite load. The methods used in regenerative ranching have made a massive impact on our bottom line and on the condition of our pastures. We are seeing a progression of species with perennial grasses becoming more prevalent and extending the growing season.
Speaking of bottom line, at Chantilly Ranch we use the power of Infinite Banking to take control of our financial context. We use a combination of whole life insurance policies to store our cash reserves, securing death benefits on all members of the family. Each generation has a built in inheritance that will be passed on to the next, tax free. Our cash reserves function as our banking system allowing us to fund our own endeavors. Considering that the average cow-calf ranching operation in California carries between a 6 - 26% debt to asset ratio, controlling the interest on the debt can make or break an operation. Costs for trucks, shipping, livestock, feeding and land access add up. Controlling interest is a major factor in the bottom line of our profit loss statement.
Regenerative ranching for us has moved beyond our pastures and into our whole life. The concept of taking what we have, growing it and making it better, permeates through all of our decisions. Each project we undertake passes through our regenerative test:
Does it positively contribute to our natural environment?
Does it positively contribute to our financial environment?
Is it good for all parties involved?
Does it contribute to our greater purpose?
If any part of the project fails these tests we do not proceed. Through the careful management of our pastures and our financial processes we move our operation from sustainable to more and more regenerative each year.
This knowledge that we’ve gained through research, education and experience tends to be a little outside the box and creates a mentorship opportunity for other ranchers trying to improve their operations. We offer comprehensive training and mentoring relationships with emphasis on the holistic context of our partner ranches. We have workshops, consultations, webinars, and one on one planning sessions to help families take their operations to the next level both agriculturally and financially. An agricultural business plan is nothing without a solid financial plan for current operations as well as succession planning. It is our vision to provide all ranchers, farmers, and agricultural families with the tools they need to excel in regenerative principles both agriculturally and financially. Our definition of to regenerate is to “restore to a better, higher, or more worthy state.”
For more information about the Infinite Banking Concept visit https://www.chantillyranch.com/wealth-strategies
For more information on Regenerative Ranching visit https://www.chantillyranch.com/regenerative-ranching
