Ranching from Scratch
Can’t be done. At least that is what conventional wisdom says. I’d agree that it can’t be done, if you follow the rules of traditional ranching – running cows the way everyone else does and owning everything. If you are willing to break some rules and challenge conventional wisdom maybe you can join the amazing […]
Read MoreThe Next Generation of Passionate Ranchers
Last week, in partnership with Wally Olson and the Plank Stewardship Initiative, we hosted the first ever Young Adult Ranching for Profit Workshop. We had 48 youth from 17 states in Sheridan, Wyoming for an incredible four days! The energy, enthusiasm, and passion these young people have for ranching and agriculture was contagious. Several times […]
Read MorePlanning in a Volatile Market
The landscape for marketing your products is changing so quickly it is hard to keep track of the changes that occur on almost a daily basis. I’m tired of hearing the term “uncertain times” during the coronavirus pandemic. Has there ever been “certain times”? Definitely not when it comes to ag markets! I’ve been spending […]
Read MoreBeauty in Simplicity
We tend to overcomplicate things. A simple business that does a few things well and at scale, is a thing of beauty! It is easy to get caught in the trap of doing lots of small things. After all, if someone is making money on the calves I sell, maybe I should background them myself? […]
Read MoreThe Power of a Plan
We are currently in a time of financial stress in agriculture. The past few months, as we have been conducting our Ranching for Profit Schools all over the U.S. the stress has been palpable from many of the operations that are attending. The hands-on afterhours work sessions we facilitate at the school have been busy. […]
Read MorePrinciples Not Practices
Most of your neighbors think in terms of practices. Should I feed this or that? Should we run this type of cattle or those other ones? Do we calve in this pasture or the one over there? It is easy to understand why we spend so much time talking about practices. Everywhere you turn someone […]
Read MoreAttracting & Retaining Quality Employees
“You just can’t find anyone willing to work anymore.” I hear this quite often from ranches struggling to find and retain quality employees. When we look deeper into the situation it is often no surprise, as we expect our ranch employees to give long hours in sometimes difficult conditions with mediocre compensation. In the Ranching […]
Read MoreJust 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 […]
Read MoreGet 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 […]
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