In a previous article, I asked, Profitable Ranching — Is it Possible? I answered, “Yes, if you know how.” In two recent articles, I presented the five essentials for successful ranch management, which I believe are the essential attitudes, approaches or mindset you need to be profitable: You can find those articles in the May […] Read more
Major determinants of profit
From enterprise mix to inputs, Burke Teichert unpacks the decision-making that makes a ranch profitable
The essentials for profitable ranching: Part two
Burke Teichert discusses the remaining three essentials, as he sees them
In my last article I introduced the “five essentials” for profitable ranching and discussed the first two. The five essentials are: We will now continue. Planning and decision-making tools Acquire and use a good set of planning and decision-making tools. Today’s computers and cell phones make this job quite easy. We need accurate information to […] Read more
Essentials for profitable ranching: Part one
What makes a profitable ranch? Burke Teichert introduces his five ‘essentials’ and unpacks the first two
Since the end of World War Two, we have been developing a ranching and farming culture more dependent on fossil fuel, iron, synthetic fertilizers and chemicals. Early on those inputs (tractors, vehicles, equipment, seed, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) were relatively inexpensive. During the last 60 years, those input prices have increased more rapidly than the […] Read more
Profitable ranching — is it possible?
If you’re trying to improve your ranch’s profitability, here are a few things to consider
While not intending to offend anyone, I will express some concerns that may do just that. Most of the conventionally managed ranches on the North American continent are not profitable. A few are. Many are just breaking even when you take an average of good and bad years. And, quite a few are going broke. […] Read more
Don’t leave money on the table when marketing cattle
Remember the pillars of marketing when selling cattle: time, form and place
Marketing cattle from your ranch is dependent on the pillars of marketing that we learn in ag marketing classes at many of our universities — time, form and place. Market reports and information help us choose the time of marketing. We can choose the time to negotiate or take a price and a time to […] Read more
Grazing management and soil health, Part 2
A look at how to apply adaptive multi-paddock grazing to different, and constantly changing, contexts
In part 1 of this topic, we discussed how following the six principles of soil health can improve the four ecosystem functions or processes which will also improve your soil and its productivity. Now let’s graze. There have been many names given to grazing methods. Some even argue about the use of names and if […] Read more
Grazing management and soil health
By adapting grazing practices that fit your context and by following the six soil health principles, you can improve the soil on your ranch
I hope this title suggests that there is a definite causal link between grazing management and soil health. Nothing you do on grazing lands can improve soil health more than good grazing management. While growing up, I wanted to be a rancher because I liked cattle and the challenge of raising them profitably. I wanted […] Read more
Selecting a calving season
When considering a different calving season, think about what you want to accomplish and how moving the calving date might affect everything from winter feeding costs to pregnancy rates
In a previous article, I talked about selecting good cows to make a good cow herd. So, what do I expect a good cow to do? Calve unassisted every year in the first 25 days of the calving season. That means that she will breed in the first cycle of each breeding season. Be a […] Read more
Developing the right cattle for profitable ranching
Whether you’re culling cows or selecting bulls, look for the animals that can perform in your environment
For too many years I was like most of you. I thought profitable ranching started with the cattle. Truly profitable ranching starts with the soil, moves through the plants to feed the animals and then finally we manage the animals to provide a good profit. We will talk about soil and plants in later articles, […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
