Fall Cattle Journal 2025 | Growing Perspective: Rock Hills Ranch

“Cattle are one part of the whole ecosystem.” –Luke Perman

Luke Perman grew up helping implement holistic grazing management strategies on the family ranch near Lowry, South Dakota. Rotational grazing was almost unheard of when his parents, Lyle and Garnet, decided to build the first cross fence in 1985. Now Luke and his wife, Naomi, are bringing their four children up on the land. As they reap the benefits of past innovations, they are constantly challenged to continue improving the soils, grasses, and the business for future generations.

Perman thinks the concept of holistic and regenerative management is more widely accepted now by beef producers and consumers.

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“There is more interest from everybody in how we are growing our beef and how we are treating the landscape,” he said. “There is a greater awareness of the necessity to work with producers, not just to make better beef, but for our wildlife, biology, water quality; the whole ecosystem is at stake. We have a greater awareness that ranchers aren’t the enemy and cows aren’t the enemy. They are just a part of the whole cycle.”

This increased interest in how cattle producers do things is not always something that makes everyone happy, Perman recognizes.

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“I don’t always like the so called ‘simple’ solutions that some groups expect producers to adopt,” he said. “We operate in such a diverse landscape and sets of circumstances, there is not a cookie cutter set of solutions from corporate America or the public that fits everyone.”

Perman said the cattle industry is improving the way the story of beef production is told.

“For a time, some organizations took what I would call the ‘cattle, they’re not as bad as they used to be’ approach. I think that rationale is stupid. They are totally leaving out that the cattle are one part of the whole ecosystem, just like the bison were. It’s not just about how much land and water goes into producing a pound of beef, as though those inputs were going to be used for something else. That puts into peoples’ minds that what ranchers do is an industrial process.”

Most of the land devoted to grazing for cattle and other livestock is not suitable for tillage, crop production, or other uses, Perman said. Animal integration practices that increase soil health on crop land have also helped to share the story of the positive impact livestock provide.

“There has been more of an effort to quantify the amount of biology that’s out there on the prairie,” he said. “I think the livestock industry recognizes the necessity of animal integration and species diversity for improving soil biology. These are all things I learned in range science in college.”

Perman sees his fellow producers taking a step back and looking at land management as a natural, cyclical process rather than holding to an industrial perspective of “this concoction of inputs creates this specific output.”

“Grazing lands are not replanted every year, and on the crop side of things people are starting to come to some of the same conclusions. It should be a natural cycle; that’s what those lands were before they were cultivated: a natural system without anybody managing it.”

Adoption of conservation and regenerative focused management practices continues “in the right direction,” Perman said.

“With any innovation, you have your early adapters and your late adapters; I think we’re well into the middle part of the bell curve. With things like cross fencing and water I don’t think I have a neighbor who hasn’t done that at this point. Twenty years ago, that was not the case.”

The number of people in Perman’s circles who have attended a Ranching for Profit school has also increased.

“The question is not ‘did you go?’ but ‘how many times have you gone?'” he said.

“Production mentality” can be a tough mindset to change.

“There are always some paradigms that are tough to break,” Perman said. “I’m not sure how many of my neighbors have increased their stocking rates as a result of fencing and water development. There is room for improvement as an industry in our grazing skills. We need to allow grazing lands rather than individual animal performance to drive profitability.”

Anyone selling performance metrics will always have a better product or better numbers to push their marketing.

“There’s not a lot of money to be made telling you how to graze better,” Perman said.

In the last 20 years, organizations such as the South Dakota Grassland Coalition are providing more opportunities for learning about improving grazing and resource management across South Dakota and throughout the surrounding area. Many of these events only cost the time it takes to attend them.

“I’ve been doing this long enough I should have it figured out, but I am definitely still learning,” Perman said. “I’m realizing that management is more about what tools I need to use to respond to whatever conditions are thrown at us. It’s not about making the perfect plan; any plan is going to be outdated five days from now. That’s the ‘adaptive’ part of adaptive management.”

Change is hard for people, but a willingness to change plans is a necessity.

“I am still trying to figure out the right enterprise mix to allow us to adapt to different conditions,” he said. “I’m looking at it as a land manager who happens to use livestock for management. I feel like my options are a lot more open than some people in the industry; the idea of running fewer or more cows depending on the year is really hard for some people to be ok with. That can make it hard to have a good outlook when whatever sector you’re in isn’t doing the greatest.”

Perman said it might just be his optimistic personality, but he tends to feel like there are a lot of tools in the tool box.

“It seems like in some operations, the reason the farm or ranch exists is to make you miserable, and if you’re not miserable you’re not doing it right,” he said. “As I get older, I’m trying to do a better job of celebrating the wins, for lack of a better word; when there is a really nice sunset, just taking a little more time to pause for a minute or two, take it in, and appreciate what an amazing blessing it is to live here and do this.”

Even on difficult or challenging days, Perman believes it is important to make sure his children see him enjoying the life he has chosen.

“We can give kids lots of things, but they’re going to be watching what we do,” he said.

Knowing that he doesn’t have all the answers actually gives Perman more confidence.

“Experience has humbled me enough to know that I can handle challenging conditions,” he said. “When you’re 25 you don’t know what you don’t know. Whatever you thought was best then probably wasn’t.”

Previously, he might have bulldozed his way through a problem to prove he was right, but that is changing.

“I feel confident in my ability to handle changing growing conditions and market conditions. I’ve been through a few droughts and a few wet years; I’ve been through some open winters and some bad winters. I’m not saying this to say I have it all figured out. I know I don’t have all the answers and I know what whatever I’m doing now might not be the right answer a year or two or five from now.”

He’s happy with the genetics and productivity of the cow herd, and likes what he is seeing in the pastures.

“This year started out dry, and was one of the times when I saw most clearly the difference between land that has been managed well for a long time and land that hasn’t been managed as well. That was rewarding to see. I’m happy that I can involve the kids in a lot of stuff.”

Invasive species still need to be managed. Sheep helped to combat a leafy spurge problem, but smooth brome isn’t going away. Cedar trees are not an issue in Walworth County yet, but “I see that day coming,” Perman said. “Some of those things are going to continue to be challenges.”

Perman hopes their small flock of sheep will whet his children’s appetite to add more sheep to the ranch one day.

“If the kids don’t want to start a big sheep enterprise, that might be my retirement job,” he said.

Perman is, by nature willing to take risks to make changes, but says he’s probably never done anything truly novel or risky. He doesn’t look at change as a risk, but as an attempt to improve on what they’re doing.

“I sometimes make 100 phone calls before doing something different,” he said. “I want to think it through, ask if it’s valid, if it applies, and hear from the naysayers about why it won’t work. You need to have a network of mentors to talk ideas over with. You can go to all the seminars, watch all the videos and read all the articles but until you flesh ideas out in a conversation and have someone quiz you on ‘what about this?’ and ‘have you thought about that?’ it’s just an idea.”

Whether within a family or with people on the outside, you need some diversity of thought and people who are willing to push you, Perman said.

“My dad taught me that I better have thought things through pretty well before I bring an idea to him, because he was going to have good questions for me, and I had better be prepared to have answers.”

Attending soil health schools, grass schools and ranch tours gives an opportunity to meet people who are there for the same reasons you are, Perman said. Having a support system including people who are not in your specific area along with neighbors who are trying to do similar things is helpful. The internet means you’re only a click away from a network of people who might be spread out over a wide geographic area but who are all working toward common goals.

“When our parents were trying new things, they didn’t have that,” he said.

Luke and Naomi’s four children arrived as two sets of twins: Isaac and Ella, 14; Noah and Micah, 10. The kids are all called on regularly to help out, but the dynamic might be a little different than it was for Luke and his peers.

“When we were growing up, we all kind of felt like we were necessary parts of the operation to make it work,” he said. “Our parents all made it through the 80s, through some difficult years. More often than not we were relied on to keep things going as our parents were growing operations or just hanging on and making it through some lean years.

“A lot of us are now at the stage where we have had some good years, thanks to the sacrifices our parents and grandparents made, and we are not in as dire straits as they were. As a result, our kids don’t HAVE to be out there like we did, at least not as much by default.”

Perman has a full time hired hand and can hire contract labor for other projects.

“We have a lot different child rearing environment than what my parents had when I was a kid,” he said. “I went with dad and learned how to do everything he was doing, and then he turned me loose to do it by myself when he had insurance work to do. I don’t rely on my kids to the extent that I remember being relied on.”

He still takes his children with him and keeps them involved, particularly as their aptitude and ability has increased as they have gotten a little older.

“At this stage they are still shadowing me and doing things with me. I’m taking them with me not because I need help but because I want their help. Some are more willing than others, and I try to do as much with them as possible but still not make them feel like they always ‘have to’ come along. Sometimes they HAVE to help, for instance, when we need to move yearlings. But I don’t need them to put in a 14-hour day on a regular basis. I try to make it enjoyable and try to read them to see who seems to be really enjoying what we’re doing and who’s doing it because they’re trying to be obedient to their dad. I’m trying to prepare them for life whether it’s on the ranch or off the ranch.”

If his children choose to leave the ranch, Perman wants to send them off with a useful skill set.

“One of our boys doesn’t take much interest in livestock, so teaching him how to sort pairs is probably not something he’ll use in life. But if he knows how to run a backhoe, that might be a job skill that would help him pay for college.”

Whatever his children choose to do and wherever they go in the future, sharing with them the stories of the grassland ecosystem and where human stewardship meets nature’s cycles is important to Perman.

“They will have conversations with their peers and I want them to have the right perspective,” he said.

Lyle did his homework prior to transitioning ranch management to Luke.

“Dad saw a lot of failures to plan for transitions, some that didn’t go as planned, or had no planning period. Your most important resource, again, is having some mentors who have been through it before that you can talk to. Find somebody that’s done it and done it well.”

Professional help is available for the legal aspects of a ranch transition, as well as for creating a tax efficient business structure.

“My parents had it pretty easy, with only my sister and me; she didn’t want to come back and I did. It’s going to be a lot more complicated with our four kids. I’m anticipating that possibly more than one will want to be on the ranch, but they are still young. Even if just one comes back, there are three others. How do we handle that in a way that’s the right way?”

Lyle and Garnet still stay involved and active.

“Dad and I talk pretty much daily; he knows what is going on and does whatever projects he feels like he can be helpful with. Mom is still the support staff, making food if we have a big day of working cattle or ranch guests. She has a big garden where she is using her biology degree; she is applying at least five of the six soil health principles in her garden and has her own science lab there.”

Rock Hills Ranch has hosted several interns over the years.

“Right now I have four interns, and they all share my last name,” Luke said. “We probably should have quit having outside interns earlier because I felt like I was raising more than four kids. Now that our kids are an age they can do things I had interns doing, I wanted to give them my full attention and not be as pulled away with other young adults looking for experience. We get nieces and nephews who come out off and on throughout the summer so I am doing plenty of youth educating. But usually with people related to me.”

Naomi has been a full-time mother and helps on the ranch as needed.

“When you have kids two at a time, there’s not a lot of extra time to do other stuff,” Luke said. “She helps with some outside work and helps process cattle. Mostly she stays busy just cleaning up the messes the rest of us make. Now that our kids are quite a bit more capable she is ready to get more involved.”

Sustainability. Holistic resource management. Conservation. Regenerative practices. These terms and phrases are used frequently by ranchers and other professionals describing a variety of management tools and goals. Are they more than just buzzwords?

“I like the fact that they’re all generally positive,” Perman said. “They trouble is they don’t really have a definition, and that can lead to some problems. Some producers are turned off by those words because they have been hijacked by different people. I can understand being apprehensive about what you are signing up for when you start using those words to describe what you do on your ranch.”

Whether they like it or not, ranchers and land managers are on display and the subject of an ongoing conversation about how food is produced and where it comes from.

“We do have a lot more potential impact on the environment than other sectors because we have a large land footprint, for lack of a better word,” Perman said. “It’s something to be aware of. Everyone can see what we’re doing when they drive by or look at google maps. We need to be honest; we don’t need to be defensive, but we need to accept and not be surprised or afraid that people want to talk about what we’re doing.”

Sharing facts only goes so far, he believes.

“Telling a story goes a lot farther. We’ve been trying to ‘educate the consumer’ for a long time rather than listening, asking what they are concerned about and trying to draw off that. The public is just as interested in the whole story about biology, water quality, even butterfly migrations, as how good the steak is.”