Rancher Round-up: Trevor Knowles
Some ranches are passed down generation to generation, while others are built on the backs of a few determined individuals who are wholly unfamiliar with quitting. Mt. Vernon native, Trevor Knowles, is one of the latter. He grew up a competitor, carving out a name for himself in wrestling, and not the kind involving a 500 pound steer. Knowles secured back-to-back state titles in wrestling for Grant Union High School in 1997 and 1998, earning him a place in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame years later. Perhaps more well-known are his accolades in the rodeo arena, which include 13 consecutive appearances at the National Finals Rodeo, and he was a four-time winner of the Calgary Stampede. Mediocrity isn’t something Knowles is familiar with.
Inspired by his grandparents’ operation in Van, Oregon, an eight-year-old Knowles set his sights on building a ranch of his own one day. But he quickly realized that making an honest living raising cattle takes time, energy and, perhaps most important, capital.
“My grandparent’s place wasn’t big enough to support the entire family, so thankfully I found I had a talent for slinging beef. Rodeo became a means to an end and a way to gradually build our operation over the years,” explained Knowles.
While Knowles was supporting the growth of his family’s operation from the rodeo arena, his father and brother ran the daily operations. In 2018, the unthinkable happened. Knowles lost both his father and brother within six months, effectively ending his rodeo career.
“We had just leased a nice ranch and bought a forest permit, which was really the next step for building out our operation. Then, tragedy hit. My biggest challenge was restructuring my goals, because they were all oriented around my family. However, that wasn’t in the cards. It wasn’t near as enjoyable alone, but I’m not a quitter,” said Knowles.
And quit he hasn’t. Knowles has doubled down, embracing the challenges ranching throws at you and problem solving on the fly. When faced with a scours issue, he began sorting and shifting cattle every two weeks to different pasture, keeping the grounds clean. This type of tenacity and work ethic has also led him to see successes in his operation. In the past five years, he has increased his cattle’s weaning weights by 150 pounds. Not only is this a credit to his cattle acumen, but stewardship of the land. When you ask him, this success was not born in a vacuum and is often reflective of the advice he’s received and considered.
“Every stupid decision I’ve made, I’ve put a lot of thought into. I make it a point to ask a lot of questions of successful people. You’re never in a position where you can’t learn or tweak something to implement it and make it work for your operation. It’s important to me to be coachable and open-minded,” commented Knowles.
At the end of the day, there’s a type of camaraderie built within the ranching community. We’re all facing similar challenges, whether that’s market conditions, weather or viruses that impact the health of livestock. As Knowles coins it, “We all have to deal with the same suck.”
Knowles is proud to have the support of his family, including his wife Jena and kids Cheney and Huck. Everyone pitches in where they can, between work, other obligations and the reality of raising two toddlers. The Knowles clan is always on the go, and in his limited free time, you’ll find Trevor coaching wrestling or hunting. While there may not be enough time for the latter, Knowles doesn’t mind.
“I love what I do, even the exhausting part”, explained Knowles. “There is always something you can do to upgrade the place, whether that’s fixing corrals or improving pasture. I hope I’m known for always giving maximum effort and operating with integrity and honesty. While we all have different tastes in cattle, I’m always going to give it to you straight.”
We appreciated getting the unvarnished, “straight” truth from Knowles in our sit down. Ranching can look very different from state to state, but the values, challenges and victories are often similar across operations. In the coming months, we look forward to sharing stories from others in the industry. Follow along for more in our Rancher Round-up series.