Rancher’s Resolutions

With a new year coming and thoughts of the past still present, it is a good time to make resolutions. Below is a short list of what I recommend to almost all my clients.

1. If you have 15 or more head of livestock, create at least 14 pastures or paddocks. Fourteen paddocks or pastures generate a perfect opportunity for a planned rotational grazing system. And you can still make enough hay for winter without cutting back the number of cattle on pasture.

2. Learn about organic, restorative, and regenerative agriculture. Subscribe to Acres USA magazine which promotes organic, restorative, and regenerative agriculture. Or attend a Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Conference this January, in Pflugerville, (I will be speaking on my system to graze 25 head for 180 days on one acre). The conference offers many opportunities to learn and build profit.

3. Use natural fertilizers. You can apply organic fertilizers in drought or rain and not lose the nutrient valve that fertilizers are meant to supply.

4. Use natural parasite controls - a good chemical-free way to keep toxins off your land.

5. Grow more native grasses. The benefits of native grasses are numerous but I’ll discuss them in a future column.

6. Grow more grass to feed less hay. Feeding hay in the summer and winter (when cattle can eat the same grass at no additional cost) makes little sense.

7. Cull animals with horns. See the article on “Horns” or contact me for an email version.

8. Breed more red, brown and/or white cattle. Black cattle do not like our hot summers and spend way too much time in the shade compared to lighter colored animals. While black animals fare better north of the Texas/Oklahoma border, they eat less during hot weather.

9. Rotate pastures faster in the spring and slower in the summer. When grass grows fast, rotate faster and when grass slows, rotate slower to keep grass recovery time to the max.

10. Move cattle before you graze 50% of the grass height. If a grass loses more than 50% of its leaves, the roots die back by 50% or more, meaning plants need more recovery time to stay healthy.

11. Raise smaller cattle. You can make more money with 900-1000 pound animals than with 1200 pound animals.

12. My clients know that they are saving more money than they are spending on me as a consultant. And those savings move forward every year. If you need help, find someone qualified to help instead of spending money that you can’t recover.

It can cost less to make more money when you apply simple concepts like these. Make it a great New Year!

David E. Will is a local rancher and consultant. He can be reached at 830-629-9876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.