Get Outside Your Area
Are you happy with the results your business is producing? If you want different results, you need to act differently. In order to act differently, we must think differently. If you think producing big calves is the secret to a profitable ranch, you will take actions to produce big calves. At the Ranching for Profit […]
Read MoreRanching “Granny Style”
We have a basketball hoop in our dirt driveway (makes dribbling interesting). My daughter, Gracen, a sophomore in high school, plays several sports including basketball. I’ll join in on a game of “horse” every now and then. We make it more interesting by calling the type of shot, hook, backwards, or of course “granny”. I’m […]
Read MoreWhat Will You Retire To?
As of this writing I have 68 days left running RMC before a new generation of management takes the helm. It’s been a good ride, but it’s been a long trail and Kathy and I are ready to hand over the reins. But just because we are ready doesn’t mean it’s easy. When what you […]
Read MoreSuccession Expectations or Agreements?
Transitions are hard enough. A lot of folks make them tougher by making assumptions and building expectations. We can remove unnecessary drama and angst by turning our expectations into agreements. An expectation is something that either you or I have. An agreement is something you and I share. In the short run, expectations are convenient. […]
Read MoreWant To Keep It? Then Build It To Sell It.
Stan Parsons wrote, “If you want to be a cowboy get a job.” A business owner’s job isn’t to put up hay, work cattle, or build fence. It is to build a business. We hire employees to produce results that contribute to customer and owner value. When business owners hire themselves to work in their […]
Read More“No” Starts The Conversation
“No” is a powerful word. There are dozens of ways to say it … “That won’t work here,” or “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” But regardless of how it is said, it protects the person who says it and can be maddening to the person who hears it. “No” protects the status […]
Read MoreWhen Assets Become Liabilities
Look up the definition of asset in Webster and it’ll tell you an asset is “anything owned that has value.” But Webster has it wrong. If I put a down payment on a ranch, financing the balance, the full value of the land shows up in the asset column of my balance sheet, but I […]
Read MoreHaving a Ranch AND a Life
A friend included me in an email chain informing us of a farmer he knew who recently took his life. I don’t pretend to begin to know this man’s pain or anything about his situation. But the story struck me as beyond sad. Responses in the email chain spoke of the stress of farming, peer […]
Read MoreSmart Resolutions
A lot of people make New Year’s resolutions. Gym memberships go way up in January. By Valentine’s Day that box of chocolates is looking pretty good and gym attendance is way down. It isn’t that resolutions are bad ideas. They’re not. Or that people can’t change. We can. It is that most resolutions don’t provide […]
Read MoreIf Someone Is Doing It, It’s Possible
I often hear people joke, “Ranching for profit? That’s an oxymoron.” I get frustrated hearing it, but I don’t blame anyone for thinking it. There is a lot of evidence to support the “ranching isn’t profitable” paradigm. These days ranches are valued more for the scenery than for livestock production. In fact, looking at a […]
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