Ranching New Year Challenge

How will you better yourself and your ranch this year? Toward the end of last year, I was asked what I was thinking when I look at pasture land. I had never really thought about that, because so many things are going through my brain at once. So, I started making a list. It contains over 40 broad items and I add to it as I think of new things.

At the bottom of the list was “What will make this pasture better?” This reminded me of a quote by Bobby Thoman, “I still can’t understand how such a fiercely independent group of people (farmers and ranchers) care so much about what their neighbors think of them. This is why it’s so hard to change. We want to be liked, and we care too much about what other people think of us. Shouldn’t we care more about being profitable? Shouldn’t we care more about passing on the farm or ranch to the next generation?”

I have seen ranchers influenced by people who have money to burn on their ranches. These folks often have other jobs that pay them well. They use the ranch as a tax write off. They expect all ranchers to keep their pastures “pretty and well-manicured”. They don’t want your weed seed blowing into their pastures.

There is always the “expert” influencer who has a great video showing off his/ her ranch but doesn’t tell you how they got there. But they have a product sponsor.

Ranchers can also be influenced by chemical sales agents. They want you to spend your money with them, because they know you will spend your money with someone else if they don’t get in your pocket first. It doesn’t matter that the product won’t make you a dime. It only matters that they make money. What should you care what these people think if it does not help your bottom line?

Those influencers are heading you in the wrong direction.

Very few ranchers have seen a profit over the past few years. Others are struggling to stay afloat. But why when prices are so high?

If you are making money, think just five years back. Were you making money then? Were you feeding cattle then or are you still feeding cattle? Were you able to save your cattle during the droughts or did you sell down? Are your pastures better today than then?

Have you blamed the low profits on dry weather, high price fertilizer or supplements? What was your excuse? Cattle prices were not bottomed out. Did you know that some ranchers made money during the drought?

If you are selling cattle now and not making money, perhaps you should sell out and do something else. Seems harsh, but not everyone is cut out for ranching when all they can do is follow the crowd.

Right now, cattle prices are great. Making more on cattle gives you a chance to improve your property. Maybe you can improve fences, install more water stations, or buy a new tractor. Those are things that most ranchers would do with more money. But how will these profit you in the future?

This could be a good time to put money into a trust to keep the ranch in the family or pass it on to someone who will appreciate all your hard work.

Will you use some of today’s profit to take a few courses in regenerative agriculture? Maybe you will get a subscription to a magazine that isn’t trying to sell you something where the cost of items exceeds the returns. Perhaps you could buy a bull that doesn’t fit into the typical sales pitch, but one that is proven to increase profit? And I am not talking Expected Progeny Difference (EDP) for feed lots.

How about using some profit to plant pasture in native grasses that could save your herd in a drought. Or create more pastures. Try something new this year. Take this as a challenge and don’t worry about what other people think. As Kit Pharo says, “It is better to walk alone than to walk with a crowd that is going in the wrong direction. If you follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing, you will never be above average.”

David E. Will is a local rancher and consultant. He can be reached at 830-6299876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.