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Keeping a Bull with the Cows
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<blockquote data-quote="Anonymous" data-source="post: 14646"><p>OK folks, see if this makes any sense...</p><p></p><p>In my way of thinking (and I've never been accused of being brilliant) the cattle business is jut that – a business. The keys to making money as a producer, especially in a mature industry with a commoditized product, are efficiency, low overhead & expenses, and working hard/smart. There are two ways to look at what you're really making (I'm not talking Schedule F) at the end of the year. One is bottom line net income that's generated. Another is hourly income. Let's face it, you have to love the business to be in it. Like the daydreamer said, "If I only had a million dollars, I would ranch till it was all gone!"</p><p></p><p>Anyway, to make a wise decision on something (like whether to run bulls all year) I try to figure out how much NET INCOME - not revenue - it will add, and then how much time it would cost me to get the bump in the net. And there lies the challenge.</p><p></p><p>I don't argue that it wouldn't be advantageous in a lot of ways to have a 60 day calving season. But, having your calf crop come in all at once could work for you or against you, depending on several factors. I'm not really shooting for uniformity because I'm running mixed cattle. Sure, I might come out a little better selling by the truckload, if the market was right. But would it be enough better to make it worth the time, extra bulls, etc.? Maybe, maybe not.</p><p></p><p>As far a feed efficiency goes, I don't run that complicated of an operation. I'm like most folks, I guess. All my stock is on the pasture year round and they get all the hay they can eat in the winter – whether they have a calf at their side or not. Besides salt and minerals being out all the time, they get cottonseed cake when I check them. Enough to entice them in the summer and enough to help them in the winter. That's pretty much it. Nothing fancy, but they look good.</p><p></p><p>Now, I have done a lot of thinking over the years about weaning programs and breeding seasons. We're running cattle on a few different places and it would be somewhat of a pain to manage. There is no doubt that we could squeeze a little more revenue out of them. But would it be worth it? Don't forget the litmus test of hourly income. I can see it working real good for a single place with a couple dozen momma cows, or on a big time operation. Maybe we're stuck in the middle. I've sure given it a lot of consideration. I don't claim to know the answer for sure and y'all might sell me on the idea before this is over. But so far when I look at the increase in NET profit and the extra time it would take, I get the feeling I would be trying to fix something that's not really that broken.</p><p></p><p>If anybody has read any studies lately that contain hard numbers, I'd love to get the URLs to them. Thanks for all the food for thought.</p><p></p><p>Craig</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Anonymous, post: 14646"] OK folks, see if this makes any sense... In my way of thinking (and I’ve never been accused of being brilliant) the cattle business is jut that – a business. The keys to making money as a producer, especially in a mature industry with a commoditized product, are efficiency, low overhead & expenses, and working hard/smart. There are two ways to look at what you’re really making (I’m not talking Schedule F) at the end of the year. One is bottom line net income that’s generated. Another is hourly income. Let’s face it, you have to love the business to be in it. Like the daydreamer said, “If I only had a million dollars, I would ranch till it was all gone!” Anyway, to make a wise decision on something (like whether to run bulls all year) I try to figure out how much NET INCOME - not revenue - it will add, and then how much time it would cost me to get the bump in the net. And there lies the challenge. I don’t argue that it wouldn’t be advantageous in a lot of ways to have a 60 day calving season. But, having your calf crop come in all at once could work for you or against you, depending on several factors. I’m not really shooting for uniformity because I’m running mixed cattle. Sure, I might come out a little better selling by the truckload, if the market was right. But would it be enough better to make it worth the time, extra bulls, etc.? Maybe, maybe not. As far a feed efficiency goes, I don’t run that complicated of an operation. I’m like most folks, I guess. All my stock is on the pasture year round and they get all the hay they can eat in the winter – whether they have a calf at their side or not. Besides salt and minerals being out all the time, they get cottonseed cake when I check them. Enough to entice them in the summer and enough to help them in the winter. That’s pretty much it. Nothing fancy, but they look good. Now, I have done a lot of thinking over the years about weaning programs and breeding seasons. We’re running cattle on a few different places and it would be somewhat of a pain to manage. There is no doubt that we could squeeze a little more revenue out of them. But would it be worth it? Don’t forget the litmus test of hourly income. I can see it working real good for a single place with a couple dozen momma cows, or on a big time operation. Maybe we’re stuck in the middle. I’ve sure given it a lot of consideration. I don’t claim to know the answer for sure and y’all might sell me on the idea before this is over. But so far when I look at the increase in NET profit and the extra time it would take, I get the feeling I would be trying to fix something that’s not really that broken. If anybody has read any studies lately that contain hard numbers, I’d love to get the URLs to them. Thanks for all the food for thought. Craig [/QUOTE]
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