Monday, April 10, 2023
10-20% calf losses in the Western US this winter is crazy. We can avoid that kind of risk and build wealth at the same time.
This winter, with its late, heavy, and still ongoing snow storms, has caused tremendous calf loss on ranches across the Western United States. Just two weeks ago I watched a news report out of Utah showing a 10- 20% loss of calves due to adverse winter conditions. That’s an insane amount of loss. As I visit with friends and family who are losing their calves, some just today in the storm that hit us yesterday, I keep asking myself “why are we still following this broken tradition?” There’s a better way!
Albert Einstein once famously quipped “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Too often in ranching we do things the way they’ve always been done, as if the methods handed down are so necessary that they must be followed in spite of yearly losses, and they must never be questioned or you could be labeled a ranching heretic. But your success matters to me, so I’m going to be a rebel. I'm going to risk questioning, and I’m going to risk you thinking I'm crazy for not doing the same old thing over and over again and getting the same broke and broken results. I'm going to risk being ridiculed for offering you a better way. I worry for my friends, I mourn their terrible losses this year with them, and I want to do more than just say words of sympathy. I want to offer another option that can work to prevent the kind of losses we’re seeing this winter.
Measuring the profitability of beef production through pounds produced per acre provides insight into the efficiency of land use, and can help ranchers optimize their operations for maximum profitability. Production of pounds-per-acre can vary depending on factors such as climate, soil quality, and management practices. However, in general, ranchers aim to produce as many pounds of beef per acre as possible while still maintaining the health and well-being of their animals and the sustainability of their land.
Profitable ranching is the only kind of ranching that will keep you on your land for years to come. By focusing on producing more pounds of beef per acre, you can increase profitability on your ranch while also promoting sustainable land use and animal welfare. This is Regenerative Ranching in a nutshell. If your ranch isn’t making a profit, you aren’t regenerative.
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