1. Get a good spotlight. You'll need it.
2. Invest in your perimeter fences and working pens. Build them right.
3. Shop around for prices on feed and fertilizer, but but compare ingredients, not just price.
4. Don't expect a wife to enjoy (or even tolerate) working cattle.
5. Deer will eat your winter pasture. Either eliminate deer problem or plant enough to feed cattle and deer.
6. Don't wait till the vet is one the way to fix a working pen problem. Fix it when you find it.
7. Fix and prolapse and then put wheels under her.
8. Buy a good bull.
9. Get a good knife or multi-purpose tool and have it with you at all times.
10. Spend as much time worrying about your grass as your cows.
11. Ask for help when you need it.
12. When a cow is lame, get her up immediately and look at her hoof.
13. Spend time with your cows to notice what is going on in the herd.
14. Get your water system as automatic as possible (if you don't have ponds in a pasture) and check it often.
15. Set up a rotational grazing system.
16. Although it may sound good, you can't do everything recommended by the ag colleges and make a profit in the cattle business.
17. Feed just enough to keep your cows at a body condition score of 6 or so. Overfeeding just makes you feel good until you do your end of the year financial analysis.
18. Check your entire herd often and check on first calf heifers very often during calving.
19. Don't let buzzards hang around during calving season.
20. Be firm with your neighbors about their dogs in your pasture. Warn them one time.
21. Find a cattle mentor that you trust.
22. Spend the time to do your herd health things like deworming and taking care of flies (whatever method you chose). Also, manage your calves - castrate, dehorn (if not polled), ear tags, shots, etc... You get paid back for this investment.
23. If you're looking to buy a ranch, buy one that has the cattle infrastructure (pens, fences, barns, pastures) already in place. It probably won't cost much more and it will save you a bunch of money, effort and time.
24. You need a good dependable tractor if you're feeding round bales or if you have much land at all.
25. Enjoy the lifestyle. We're blessed and fortunate to be able to do this stuff. Lots of folks are stuck in cities just wishing they could do what we do.
That's all for me. :tiphat: