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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 MoreA Strong Gross Margin
If you’re ranching for profit, there is one way to define “a good cow”. She has a strong gross margin. In much of my writing and speaking it might seem that I’m not a fan of cows. But I enjoy cows like most people. My family runs cows each summer for a long-time custom grazing […]
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 MoreMaybe We Should Keep Those?
Have you ever looked at a group of calves, heifers, cull cows and thought, “Well… maybe we should just keep those?” If you have, you’re not alone. Acting on this type of thinking often leads to complicating the business with a lot of little enterprises which can be bad economically and financially. When you start […]
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 MoreCan Small Scale Operations be Profitable?
I often hear from people operating on a smaller scale that their limitations of size make it impossible for them to be profitable. “I only run 12 cows and operate on 30 acres. I can’t possibly be profitable!” The limitations to profitability are usually self-induced. When we look inside this operation what we will likely […]
Read MoreGoing Backwards Working for Wages
I was having a conversation with a ranch family the other day about doing their own trucking. They haul cattle to corn stalks and back each year, so they hire about 20 loads hauled to get it done. They were running numbers thinking about what owning a semi and cattle pot (trailer) would cost. They […]
Read MoreThe Power of Visuals
The flip chart is one of the most important pieces of equipment on the ranch. If you are not using one, it is likely costing your businesses tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands each year. Every time you have a meeting on the ranch or when discussing something as a ranch team someone should […]
Read MoreWhat Can We Do vs. What Should We Do?
In managing through the recent drought covering much of cow country, I hear a lot of discussion around questions like: “How many cows ‘can’ we keep?”; “How much hay do we have on hand?”; “How much hay can we afford to buy?”. These questions are not very helpful. They miss the larger point. In looking […]
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 […]
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