Silver Bullet
There isn’t a recipe for a profitable ranch. Not every profitable ranch calves in May and June. Not every profitable ranch has sold all their hay equipment. Not every profitable ranch uses some form of intensive grazing. It’s time to start looking beyond the production practices of some ranches and start looking deeper at the […]
Read MoreSuccession Assets vs Management
Succession. When the word succession is used in agriculture circles most think of who gets what and when. Typically when any industry group hosts a panel on succession, they include a lawyer, an accountant, a young and old rancher; all talking about passing down the assets. When you run an agriculture business, succession is much […]
Read MoreBumpers for Decision Making
“When I bowl, I need the bumpers to keep the ball heading towards the pins, as my wife Maggie and I make decisions on the ranch we need bumpers to keep us heading toward our goal.” This statement was made by Austin Troyer at the recent Executive Link meeting in Billings, MT. Austin, Maggie and […]
Read MoreBiggest Mistakes in Grazing Management
Too short a recovery period – When turning into a pasture ask, “Has this pasture recovered from the previous stress (grazing, fire, grasshoppers etc.)?” If not, then you need to lengthen recovery. It is possible for recovery periods to be too long, but too short is more common to see. Too long of a graze […]
Read MoreSystems Thinking
I was recently given some book recommendations by Executive Link member, Shanon Sims. Book recommendations are everywhere right now, but when someone you respect says “read this book” you pay attention. Shanon recommended The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. The Fifth Discipline is about training yourself to think in terms of systems. Humans are predisposed […]
Read More$100 Per Hour WITB
In the Ranching for Profit School we make clear the difference between WITB (Working In the Business) and WOTB (Working On the Business). We often say WITB, is the $10/hr work and WOTB is the $100/hr or more work. It is critical to get the WOTB done, but WITB needs to be prioritized into the […]
Read MoreSell/Buy Lessons from Aaron and Tara
ProfitTips is taking a different direction this time. Aaron and Tara Helmick recently shared with me a collection of “Lessons Learned” from the past 4 years as they have been on a journey to transform their business. I met Aaron and Tara at a Ranching for Profit School I taught in Rapid City, SD. Aaron […]
Read MoreThe Ranch Business Time Bomb
Think of a ranch business you know of, that is no longer in business. Now I want you to think of the underlying cause for that business no longer being around. Was it related to production? Did the cows not breed, the calves weren’t big enough to bring in decent money or was the death […]
Read MoreBusiness IQ
Dr. David Kohl of Virginia Tech has a solid grasp of what it takes to run a successful ag business. He has spent a career speaking, studying and writing on what separates those who are successful in ag business management from everyone else. I was recently reintroduced to Dr. Kohl’s Business IQ test and want […]
Read MoreGross Margin Inside the Cow Herd
We just wrapped up a full school in Oklahoma City. It was an amazing week where 54 people spent a week exploring the leadership of their businesses and making new friends along the way. Wally Olson of Olson Ranch and founder of Ranching FYI stopped by and discussed cow depreciation and how to make decisions […]
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