Drought Isn’t a Surprise
If you’re in the ranching business, drought is a normal part of life. David McLean is part of RCS, our sister company in Australia. David refers to planning for the average year as “riding the unicorn”. David says it a bit more colorfully, “Stop riding the bloody unicorn!” Managing your business for the average year […]
Read MoreApplying the Soil Health Principles
Recently I had the opportunity to co-teach a Soil Health Academy in North Carolina alongside Dawn and Grant Breitkreutz, Gabe Brown and Allen Williams. While attending the 3-day academy the participants and I got to see practical application of the soil health principles on Dark Branch Farm operated by Adam Grady. The results are undeniable. […]
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 […]
Cow-Calf Profitability
If you could only show me one number on your ranch that directly correlated to the profitability of your cow-calf operation, what would that number be? If you follow traditional thinking you might assume weaning weight, or price received for your calves. Not it. In fact, those numbers have little correlation to profit. So, what […]
Just Start
We just wrapped up the Abilene Ranching for Profit School. It was an amazing week with 53 forward thinking ranchers who are challenging conventional wisdom and driving their businesses forward. I was joined by John Locke of Hungerford, TX who served as a co-instructor for the school. John has attended the Ranching for Profit School […]
To Move or Not To Move
How do you know when it is time to move animals from one pasture to another? Most people figure that if they are out of feed in one pasture, it is time to move. The herd is probably standing at the gate voicing their agreement that it is time to “Mooove.” There’s nothing they’d like […]
Half and Half
Take half – leave half. It is probably the most common advice you’ll hear regarding grazing utilization. In my opinion it is bad advice. It was probably the brainchild of someone looking for a one-size-fits-all, easy-to-remember recipe. It may be easy to remember, but this recipe is likely to produce a crummy meal. What does […]