The 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 MoreDrought Planning
Millions of dollars in bad decisions are made every year as ranches manage through dry-times. Not to mention the damage to pasture heath that occurs through delayed decision making. Primarily, hope of moisture to come and emotional attachment to breeding stock, drive the procrastination of necessary decisions. Having a well-developed drought plan is something that […]
Read MoreThat Crazy Grazing Stuff
“You guys don’t tell people to do that crazy grazing stuff with the electric fence do you? Because if so, I’m not coming.” That was an email I recently received asking about our Ranching for Profit School. I responded with a polite and honest answer but the more I think about maybe I should have […]
Read MoreProfit – What is it Anyway?
At the Ranching for Profit School since we talk about profit, we believe we better define it. We ask the participants at the school to come up with a definition of profit, they usually respond with something like Income – Expenses = Profit. Let’s play with that definition some and see how it works. If […]
Read MoreWinter Calving
Calving season has begun across cow-country and so have the stories of sleepless nights, calves being brought inside the house to warm up and heroic tales of battling the recent polar vortex across the country. Granted this weather was extremely unusual for some parts of the country, but for places where this is part of […]
Read MoreRanch Management Instruction Manual
As you open gifts this Christmas, they will probably include a few instruction manuals often, full of ridiculous legal jargon. Those manuals tend to get thrown out with the used wrapping paper and boxes. But what if your ranch came with an instruction manual that was actually useful? I’m not talking about how to fix […]
Read MoreA Good Day
Yesterday was a good day. We pulled bulls from a group of cattle, I’ve been custom grazing for long-time customers who are now friends. The day started early with some neighbors loading horses before first light and making our way up the mountain to the pasture. After riding a circle, we had 3 of the […]
Read MoreHealthy Land, Happy Families and Profitable Businesses: Stan Parsons’ Legacy
Hazel Parsons emailed me last Wednesday that her husband, Stan, died earlier that day from Covid-19 related pneumonia. I sat staring at the email, absorbing the news and trying to imagine what my life would have been like had I not met Stan. I first heard of Stan Parsons when I was an undergrad […]
Read MoreRanching 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 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 […]
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