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Financial Record-Keeping, A Rancher’s Favorite Chore
Mentioning that records are a waste of time can usually start an argument, or at least get someone questioning all the hours they have spent keeping detailed records over the years. Honestly though, most records are a waste of time unless they follow Dave’s rules. It is easy to pick on the little red calving […]
Read MoreUses for Profit
When we talk about uses for profit some people roll their eyes. “Profit – yeah right! Like that ever happens in agriculture.” The reality is that most ag operations are not profitable. In fact most are really expensive hobbies. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Many are profitable every year. Some are highly […]
Read MoreBreak Your Legs
Remember in the movies when the bookie’s tough guy would knock on the door and threaten to “break your legs” if they didn’t pay up? Sometimes, I think many of us would be better managers for our operations if someone broke our legs. If our legs were broken we wouldn’t be able to go outside […]
Read MoreA Fresh Perspective
The past few months have been about change for us. Our team at RMC has moved out of our original Wyoming office to a new building that will allow us room to grow. My wife and I have become empty nesters as our youngest just left for North Dakota to attend college and our oldest […]
Read MoreOverheads
My last ProfitTips article focused on the difference between being productive and being profitable and I used gross margin as a measure of profitability of an enterprise. In introducing gross margin I made the statement, “The best measure of profitability that I know of, is gross margin per unit.” I misspoke … or mistyped … […]
Read MoreProductive But Not Profitable
North American agriculture could be described in one statement. “Productive but not profitable.” For decades the primary messaging to farmers and ranchers has been to become more productive. You see it everywhere, from the magazines, to the radio ads, to the messaging in our youth development programs. “It’s your responsibility to feed the world. Less […]
Read MoreKnow Your Destination
There isn’t a one-size fits-all approach to running a profitable ranch. If it were as easy as coming up with a list of practices to follow, ranching would be easy and it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting and fun. Those who have never attended a Ranching for Profit School often have the misconception that we […]
Read MoreRanchers Need Vacations Too
Mention the word vacation to a group of ranchers and someone will proudly state “I haven’t left this place for longer than 2 days in 25 years!”. Really? Is the business in such bad shape that it can’t survive for longer than 2 days without your presence? A healthy business should be able to continue […]
Read MoreThoughts on Being Accountable from Shanon Sims
Shanon Sims ranches with his family in McFadden, Wyoming. I’ve long admired their operation for pushing the limits of what is possible. They are leaders in grazing, and leaders in running a family ranching business. I’ve also come to know Shanon as a gifted instructor. He is passionate about helping others, humble, and a lifelong […]
Read MoreA Business Mind Shift from Treg Ulmer
Treg Ulmer and his wife Courtney are members of the Executive Link program and building a business in Ohio. Treg shared some thoughts with me around balancing profit with other reasons why they choose to ranch. I encouraged Treg to write a ProfitTips column on this subject and I’m excited to share that here, with […]
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