I periodically look at gross margin per acre. Smaller animals return more per acre during most of the cattle price cycle. The trade offs are higher investment and higher price risk. Also, you can not add one animal or one acre at a time. So there is a lumpy stepwise need for equity to stock new pastures.
This brings one to a Bud/Gordon moment where you either need to reinvest some profits each year in additional stock, or you need to increase risk even more by leveraging borrowed money. I don't want to borrow for cattle so I am retaining more calves each year and taking them back to grass the following spring.
The alternative is to subdivide and sell part of the last land purchase, and sell off some of the equipment, and go fishing. :idea: This would increase return per acre but I has some sentimental reasons not to go there. So I make some hay while I build the herd.