Would it be economically feasible?

I don't know where you find those families who have no interest in ownership of the land they work.

Might work pretty good on a lovely april morning when all is right with the world and all that needs doing is a bit of feeding and collecting some steers on horseback to send to market.

Problem is, 3 AM in the middle of Feburary, patrolling the pasture for cows needing their calves pullled, doing it by flashlight, fresh out of Skoal, no hot coffee in sight, fourth night in a row, windy and snowing, Coyotes and feral dogs trying to choose between the calves and the afterbirth and you can't really shoot them because you can only hear, not see them......and the owner, about a half hour after sunup, points out the cow and calf you lost because they were hidden by a showdrift when the cow layed down for the last time..........and you realize that you do not own any part of this outfit and never will.

To be clear, I am neither a rancher nor a cowboy, but I have known a lot of both. I maintain that to do everything that's needed on a ranch and not own it, requires a man who is a born slave and loves being just that...........Joe