Grown with love
Lazy JM Ranch owners Betty and John Mobbs, with 1-year-old grandson Abel, sit at their kitchen table Thursday. In the foreground are photos of John's parents (right) and grandparents (left) who bought the ranch 50 years ago. Lazy JM is now a regenerative ranch that is home to four generations of the Mobbs family.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
John Mobbs carries a four-day-old calf after tagging its ear and taking measurements Thursday. The cattle on the Lazy JM Ranch are born on the ranch and fed grass their entire lives.
Lazy JM Ranch owner John Mobbs surveys the 150-acre Hauser ranch while out feeding cattle Thursday. The land is worked using regenerative agriculture methods.
In a twist of events, Press reporter Devin Weeks traded a camera for a calf only to be stared down by a protective mama Thursday on the Lazy JM Ranch. Hey now Mama, don't have a cow!
HAUSER — A massive mama cow bellowed as John Mobbs quietly closed in on her four-day-old calf.
In a flash, Mobbs was on the ground, the baby bovine secure beneath him.
"You have to sneak up on them," Mobbs said. "He's quick."
Mobbs banded the testicles, tagged an ear and took measurements around the legs as the mama stood near and kept a keen eye on the baby.
"He's about 43 pounds," Mobbs said, the calf's little face peering out from between his blue-jeaned knees.
There's nothing lazy about the work that goes on at the Lazy JM Ranch in Hauser, a family farm where every day is Earth Day. The ranch's moniker comes from its original cattle brand, which depicts the "J" on its side, called a "Lazy J."
Lazy JM's way of ranching — regenerative — may be a head-scratcher for traditional ranchers. For the Mobbs family, regenerative agriculture is a no-brainer.
"In reality, our grandparents actually farmed that way," Mobbs said. “The animal husbandry I learned from my dad — it was mainly horses, but he converted to livestock. My grandpa taught me how to raise cows and hogs, build pens. They taught me the good stuff."
At Lazy JM Ranch, no antibiotics, hormones or glyphosate herbicides are used. Cattle are moved using a "cell grazing," system so fields are chomped, stomped and fertilized by the cattle themselves — no chemicals needed.
"I'm out there every day," Mobbs said. "I look at the grass, I do the math in my head and I figure, 'This cell needs to be this wide.' I build the cell, I open it and the cows, without saying anything, they're ready to eat. They just walk in. I go out to the field at daybreak, I'll build another cell and in about 25 minutes I'm headed to the house."
These practices make for healthy soil that absorbs water like a sponge, which is crucial during drought conditions.
John's wife of 42 years, Betty, explained that every blade of grass acts as a free solar panel.
"We're not in the cattle business. We're in the solar energy panel business," she said. "After 10 days, our paddocks have all snapped back."
"We're pulling our energy through photosynthesis rather than pulling our energy from the roots," John added. "We're taking the top half off, which is where all the energy is for that animal. It's tender. They love it and their milk production explodes."
This change didn't happen overnight. It was a traditional ranch until John and Betty spoke with subject experts and conducted research on how to better care for their land and animals.
“We don’t want to put nitrogen into the Gulf of Mexico,” Betty said. "We don’t want chemicals in our waterways. When you start researching the dead zones on the Earth and how agriculture has contributed to this, we’re a part of the solution.”
In 2018, John experimented by choosing not to spray or fertilize one field on the 150-acre ranch. Within days, he noticed dung beetles only in that field. Weeds overtook the area for a year. The next, it turned into a dust bowl.
Then, Mother Nature worked her magic.
“I came back the next year and that field exploded,” John said. "It takes time to heal our ground. We decided we’re not going to play this game anymore. We’re going to take care of our livestock, but we’re going to take care of our land and we’re going to do it the best way we can.”
“It’s stewardship of the animals, the plants, the health, the soil,” Betty said. "It just was a natural slide into our own value systems that we have."
Today, on Earth Day, John and Betty are celebrating the 10th anniversary of when they bought the ranch from John's mom. This year is also the golden anniversary of when John's grandparents, Charles and Amelia Jaussaud, and parents, Jack and Leonora Mobbs, originally purchased the farm in 1972 — hence the "J" and "M" in the name.
Lazy JM Ranch is now home to four generations of the Mobbs family. As land is sold and sliced across North Idaho, this family legacy is here to stay.
"My grandfather walked on this ground. I want to make sure that ground stays in the family," John said. "Our goal is to make it to where no one purchases this farm again."
"Our heritage is not for sale," Betty said. "When you have the blessing of four generations working together, you don't take any of it for granted."
What is for sale is grass-finished beef, fresh eggs and other farm stand favorites, grown with love.
Book an appointment to visit Lazy JM Ranch by calling 208-659-9429.
Info: lazyjmranch.com
