It Takes Strategy to Build a Cattle Ranch

It takes a lot of strategy to figure out how you are going to raise your herd of cattle. Some people say it is best to buy young calves, and others say that the best means to build a quality herd is to buy older feeder cattle that can provide an instant revenue factor. The main thing you have to do is to pursue every resource possible, and that can include local newspapers, the Internet, local farming organizations, and just doing basic homework. Local auctions are the perfect place to start your business if you have the money to start your cattle ranch, but networking with local and national cattle ranchers can make all the difference.

Next you have to figure out how to run your ranch, even before the cattle start to arrive. You need to determine the type of grass you want your cattle to thrive on and you need to make sure your land is usable for a large herd. Consulting a veterinarian is important to find out if your land is suitable for raising cattle. Once again, doing research on the Internet can make a big difference and save you a lot of time researching the issues you need to deal with before starting your cattle ranch.

Many cattle ranchers do not concern themselves with the shelter that will be needed for their ranch, but it is an important part of the cattle ranching business. Shelter is vital, especially in the Midwest where most cattle is raised and the weather can be harsh throughout certain times of the year. The cattle need to survive on your land and once the temperature climbs or the winds and rains start kicking up, it is very important to make sure your cattle is safe and comfortable from the elements.

Remember, cattle need to eat and stay healthy so that they can bring in a big price at the auction, so finding the right feed is vital. Hay is important and while many agree that Legume hay is the best way to produce good cattle that will in turn provide good beef, look at all of the other options. Some are now saying that alfalfa is the best fed for cattle even if it the most expensive. It is important to weight the bottom line when raising cattle. Also, always be sure to have plenty of salt available for the herd because is crucial to them.

Finally, make sure that your herd is hydrated at all times.

The typical cow requires at least 12 gallons of water every day because water is the main source of nutrients for your herd. Water consumption is vital all year, but make certain you have tested the water for various types of bacteria that might affect the consumption and the health of the herd.

Jeff Berlinicke

Cattle Ranching Hasn’t Changed Much in 200 Years

Out with the old and in with the new is not necessarily the best way to examine cattle ranching as it is today. Many of the ways the earliest cattle ranchers from centuries ago still work today, even in the Internet and high-tech society that is overtaking the cattle ranching industry. There are significant differences from state to state, but there is one thing that they all have in common and that is that cattle ranching is thriving and the nation’s love of beef is not going away anytime soon.

The Internet and new marketing strategies are certainly a part of the new cattle ranching industry, but there are plenty of ranchers who are sticking to their old ways, doing things the way they were done long ago. In rural areas, many ranchers do not have the access to the Net and to the endless information that may or may not be adequate to suit their needs, so they use the methods that have been so successful in the past.

There are definitely benefits to today’s new technology and it comes in handy for those that have access, but smaller ranchers still hit the local cattle auctions rather than going to the Net. The local auction is still the favored way to sell cattle. You can see the cattle on sale instead of just a photo on the Net.

Internet sales of cattle have not caught on as expected. People everywhere are shopping on the Net, but cattle ranchers still want to go to the local auctions. In order for the Internet sales to grow, they have to compete with the small auctions that have been a way of life in the Midwest for as long as the country has existed.

Also, in rural areas, Internet service does not come quite as easily, so the local auctions are more convenient. Interruptions in service, or even small delays, can cost a small rancher a lot of money because immediacy is vital today. Person to person contact is the way most ranchers do their business despite the changes taking place today. Studies also indicated a rancher’s reputation impacts pricing. According to the study, a rancher with a positive reputation “will realize a higher price across all cattle marketing channels,” and does not have to pigeonhole themselves into one particular cattle marketing channel.

 Jeff Berlinicke

With Cattle, the More Thins Change, the More It Stays the Same

Obviously, the world of cattle ranching is one that isn’t easily understood, but most of the world relies on beef as one of the staples of their daily diet and it comes from those people who tend to their herds on a daily basis, making sure they are healthy and that, ultimately, their beef makes for a product that is healthy. It is not an easy job and since the world eats so much beef, the market is high and can pay off in a big way if it is done correctly. The goal for the cattle rancher is to get the highest production possible while keeping overhead to a minimum, so new techniques are always being introduced to the cattle ranching business.

The cattle ranching business has certainly changed over time. It is no longer operated by cowboys roaming the Midwest searching for quantity over quality. The business is a real business and newcomers have a lot to learn. People will always be eating beef and it is up to the cattle ranchers to produce quality beef at a high rate. It isn’t easy, but at least the policies that have been put into place by the United State government has made it much more safe and made the quality of beef better and more healthy.

What does the future hold for the cattle ranching business? It will be interesting as Americans and the rest of the world try to eliminate red meat more and more and organic cattle ranchers are claiming a larger stake of the business, but eating beef will continue and there’s no doubt about that. As long as policies are in place and regulations continue, the quality of beef will remain up to standard.

 As far as the ranchers themselves, it is a way of life that can’t be changed too much from the way it used to be more than 100 years ago. Technology and data collection has changed things, but cattle is still cattle and as cattle ranchers continue to live off the land, things aren’t going to change very much.

 The romantic notion of living on the range is outdated, but it is still a way of life. Drive across the plains of the Midwest and you can still see cattle grazing in the open just as they did a hundred years ago. The beef industry hasn’t changed as much as you might think despite the changes in breeding and tending to health issues among the herd. The techniques may change but beef and the cattle that produce it will always be the same.

Jeff Berlinicke

Make Sure Your Land Can Handle Your Herd

Just because you have plenty of land and are ready to start your own cattle ranch, don’t take all of that land for granted. You are dealing with cattle that care a lot more about their feed than they care about how much land upon which they can roam. Let’s say you purchase your land in the spring when the grass is green and looks healthy. It doesn’t stay that way for long. By summer time it can become very hard and dry, so make sure you are prepared to deal with the different seasons and the effects they can have on your land and your herd.

It isn’t what most cattle ranchers think about when they get into the business as romantic visions of cowboy life are glorified, ,but that has nothing to do with today’s cattle ranching industry. You have to learn about different types of grass and plan the future of your ranch on the type of grass you use. You also have to make sure that your land is capable of producing the types of grass you are looking for to supply feed for your cattle.

It isn’t all about the use of land and grass that produce a successful cattle ranch. Shelter is also vital in raising a productive and profitable herd. You don’t need to spend a fortune on high-tech shelter, because most of your herd will be perfectly content to spend their time roaming the land that you provide as long as you make sure they are well fed and have plenty of medical attention.

If you know your land and understand what your herd wants and needs, the cattle should feel welcome. Make sure that there are trees so that the cattle can find shade and the trees can also provide shelter when it rains or snows.  

Making sure your fences are in good working order is vital. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but sturdy wired fencing can keep your cattle from roaming out of bounds and into dangerous territory. Cattle ranching ahs its challenges but it doesn’t have to be difficult if you are willing to put up the financial resources and treat the cattle as a little more than a revenue producer. Taking quality care of your cattle will go a long way to producing a quality cattle ranch and the financial benefits go a long way. 

Jeff Berlinicke

To Stress Or Not to Stress When Handling Cattle

 

Cattle stress is not exactly a hot topic unless of course you deal with cows on a regular basis. With the amount of beef and dairy products that are consumed in this country it is easy to understand that dealing with cattle is a big job for some people. It seems that there is always time for improvement in pretty much anything and handling cattle is no different. While there is no "cow-whisperer" at this point, looking to Bud Williams, a leading expert on handling cattle, will help to handle a cow with less stress.

Stress and time management or the lack thereof, seems to go hand in hand. When things are done in a rush it will make the time generally more stressful. This is true of many times in everyday life and true when handling cattle also. Stress makes it harder to get things done with cattle. It is a fact that calves will get stressed and therefore slow down their regular weight gain. If the movement of cattle involves excitement and wild running then mothers can lose their calves, and that is very upsetting for them.

When cattle run wildly it is also bad for business in other ways. Besides the cows becoming stressed and the aftermath of that, some will be injured. It is also more likely handlers will be injured with activity such as this. There is also going to be a much greater amount of wear and tear of equipment when cattle get wild and worked up. That means money and man hours being used to fix  and replace these things.

While the idea of taking more time to move cattle seems counterproductive to some folks, because time is money after all, it is a large part of why Bud Williams’s methods work so well. He takes the natural tendencies of cows and uses that to better handle them. It is simply more time allowed with calm, slow movement. None of the old scare tactics are employed such as hollering, loud whistling, and fast movements such as arm waving. Keeping things slow and calm will not make the cows feel that there is an impending predator attack.

These ideas work the best with cattle that are generally nervous at the mere sight of people. If cows are used to seeing people all the time then they will not be as easy to move in such a calm and slow manner that Bud espouses. It is those cattle that live out in broad expanse of pastureland and are completely away from civilization that are most responsive. Likely that is because the tamer cows have had the fear of predatory attack mostly bred out of them because it is so rare.